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Squashed Ducks & Steel

Squashed Ducks & Steel

I like complex, interesting, and historically important food. You might call me a foodie. You might also be wondering what that has to do with metalworking. Well, recently we’ve had a customer bring in a couple of pieces of very specialized cooking equipment, and there is possibly nothing in the world I like more than very specialized cooking equipment. This is a duck press: The duck press before refinishing. A duck press is used to create a dish called, interestingly enough,

Revitalizing Treasured Family Heirlooms: Menorahs

Revitalizing Treasured Family Heirlooms: Menorahs

I know what you’re thinking. A holiday post? In retort, I will say that December is a bad time to start thinking about having your menorah polished. We’ve had a couple folks recently who wanted to be absolutely sure they were ready and brought in their menorahs for polishing. The first menorah is a small brass piece with the shamash (the ninth light) on an arm with a Star of David. It came in a bit tarnished and bent, with the Star of David turned to the side. So we did what

Custom Manufacturing Roundup

Custom Manufacturing Roundup

Happy almost Thanksgiving, everyone! In this post, I’d like to highlight some of Progressive Bronze’s custom manufacturing projects and capabilities. We’ve already covered some custom manufacturing projects like these curtain rods, and now we’d like to cover some of the other projects we’ve taken on. Here at Progressive Bronze we have a fully equipped shop, able to machine, spin, or cast parts. The parts are then finished to your specification, be it raw, polished, or plated

Eyes on the Prize(s)

Eyes on the Prize(s)

We recently had the opportunity to refinish a number of sports trophies from St. Viator, a nearby Catholic school. There is some serious history in these, with the oldest dating back to the 1920s and the newest of the bunch coming from the 1950s. They are mostly for baseball and softball, but don’t think St. Viator is a one sport school! There is a swimming trophy in there too. As you can see from the ‘before’ image above, these trophies were definitely showing some of their

Fixing Up a Fireplace Fender

Fixing Up a Fireplace Fender

Here in Chicago, we are preparing for Thanksgiving and hope you are as well. Today I’d like to highlight a fireplace fender we recently refinished just in time to not want to use a fireplace. With the number of wood-burning fireplaces dwindling and modernized designs, fireplace fenders are becoming rarer. But because most fenders were produced early-to-mid 20th century they are typically made of solid brass, and are therefore extremely durable. One such fender was brought in

Recent Refinishing Roundup

Recent Refinishing Roundup

I thought I’d highlight some recent refinishing jobs that maybe don’t warrant their own posts, but are interesting none the less. This cute little brass door knocker came in a little dingy, we gave him a polish and an oil rubbed finish. And of course our outdoor lacquer so he’ll stay this way for a long time. This brass tray came in for a refresh after several years of faithful service. We sent it back out so shiny I couldn’t get a picture of it without including yours truly.

I Think That Lamp is Hiding Something

I Think That Lamp is Hiding Something

I think it’s safe to say that I love old lamps. And the lamp a customer recently brought in is a doozy. This lamp is old. We’re not entirely sure how old, but we think it was converted from oil to electricity sometime early last century. It’s got a lovely painted ceramic vase and brass hardware. Unfortunately it was knocked over (or fortunately for me, since I wouldn’t be writing this if it hadn’t happened) and the base was bent. Most importantly we had to get this fixed. We

An Antique Lamp Come in for a Cleaning

An Antique Lamp Come in for a Cleaning

A couple of weeks ago, a gentleman walked in to our shop with this antique lamp: Apparently it’s an old-style dentist’s lamp, and has been in his family for quite some time. There are all sorts of articulations on it that allow tooth illumination from several angles. It swivels and tilts in its wall bracket, as you can see below, as well as has a telescoping pole. After the telescoping pole, the four-lamp head hangs down to give you plenty of light while you polish. Over the

Reflecting on Chrome Plating

Reflecting on Chrome Plating

Don’t let our company name fool you. Here at Progressive Bronze, we deal with brass, aluminum, and in this case, chrome! Recently a local customer found us on yelp, while looking for someone to refinish a set of door handles. While we were working on those with him, he asked if we also dealt in re-plating chrome bathroom hardware to which we replied, “Of course!” Our customer showed up the next day with a cardboard box full of chrome-plated early 20th century bathroom hardwar

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Squashed Ducks & Steel

Squashed Ducks & Steel

Polishing a Plaque so it Pops

Polishing a Plaque so it Pops

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