Hello all,

Long time reader, lurker, admirer etc.
Throughout my youth (I’m not that old, but after having a kid I’m feeling older :)) there was this old ancient woodworking bench in my parents garage that seemed so mysterious. My dad told me it was there when they bought the place from a man named “Old Man Shoe”, who apparently was a carpenter and was the original owner (old house). I’ve always been intrigued by woodworking and hand tools, watching videos of Paul Sellars making hand tool work look like child’s play, admiring fine well crafted old furniture, appreciating the handsawn dovetails and imperfections knowing that a craftsman made those, with their own two hands, and one day hoping to do that. 
After college I was poor, no direction but knew I wanted to test myself. In our apartment I bought a few clamp and a Japanese style handsaw, clamped my stock of wood to my bed frame and tested myself on how to handcut dovetails.
Fast forward a few years, I built a bench, from I believe a FWW magazine I bought while working at Lowes, out of plywood and 2x4s and put a Jorgensen bench vise (so expensive to me at the time) on it and made a wagon vise out of a Jorgensen handscrew wood clamp. It was so satisfying to me to have a bench, to be able to, try to, plane stock straight and true. To be able to lay my Stanely hand planes out, that I hand sharpened, and try to be a woodworker haha. 
Fast forward to today, I picked up that mysterious woodworking bench in my parents’ garage. It is an exciting day. Its a Cable Co. bench, I’m trying to find some history on it, but its super neat to finally have that bench in my shop. Wooden screws, worn top, some termite damage, but all in all salvageable. 

Here are some photos. I’m curious if anyone has repaired damaged wood screw threads before, it would be neat to keep this bench as original as possible, but I’m fine ordering new ones., or trying to make them. Also if anyone has any knowledge on the Cable Co. I have work ahead of me to check if its flat, repair or replace damaged wood and make a few dogs for the bench. I’m just excited to finally be working on this bench that was tucked away in the back of their dark garage for the past many years. 
Thanks