Pointing to her husband, the woman explained, "This china was in his family for years." The husband said they tried but couldn't match the pattern after the plates were broken in a cleaning mishap. One plate was in two pieces, the other in five.

So the distraught couple, like thousand of other people each year, found themselves in the capable hands of Wayne Montano, "The Glass Doctor."

The ubiquitous Montano and his wife, Jan, who might be called "The Glass Nurse" are at almost every antique show on the West Coast, and have built up an impressive business. The work is practically endless, some 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. They've done 46 shows a year, and in 8 1/2 year, Wayne estimates that some 21,000 pieces have undergone glass surgery.