Hand-me-down tools!!

This weekend I scored some nice hand me down tools! My grandmother was holding on to my grandfather’s tools for quite some time it seems! I had no idea, and was ever so delighted to receive the “treasure”.

The new to me tools even came in a tool chest. It was too heavy for one person to lift!

What goodies live in here?!

Some rasps and files in pretty good condition.

Some tins full of drill bits.

Some nice hammers and wrenches.

This spoke shave which is in better condition than the one I got from my dad.

hoo boy I will need to tune these up quite a bit, but I look forward to finding out if they keep an edge well!

For my fine measuring and hole tapping needs.

Super pleased with the sliding t-bevel as I only had a cheapo plastic one from my dad. The tightening lever isn’t optimal but I can live with it.

I’ll need to tune the drill but it came with a wide assortment of bits- very interested to see how well it works when it’s tuned.

I really needed these!

I’ve been wanting a rebate plane like this for a while- who knew my grandfather had one! I feel like it was meant to be! I have to buy a knicker for it but it seems to have the other parts

I heart all three of these lovelies. My aunt had dibs on the other saw that went with this one- I wish I could have kept them both!

My grandfather kept a bag of something in the tool box that prevents rust, so I’m pleased that most of the tools are in good  condition especially for having spent years/decades  out in a humid/unheated  shed. I feel like a kid in a candy store. I don’t prefer tool chests, but I will probably find a place to keep this one simply because it was my grandfathers and it’s instantly sentimental for me. Who knows maybe the tool chest idea will grow on me as I use this one.

Free shipping… damn you!

I’ve been noticing some holes in my tool collection and supplies while working on recent projects. I decided that I definitely need some more clamps. I think I’ve settled on Bessey revo K-body Jr‘s for that. I also decided that some professional grade chisels would go a long ways to improving my quality of life in the shop. After some research I’ve decided to go with Lie Nielsen chisels. The hard A2 steel and socket design(which prevents the handles from splitting after a pounding), and the low profile sides (perfect for working on dovetails) were key factors, but what cinched it for me was that Lie Nielsen’s set has true imperial measurements.  I noticed though that there are no savings if you get a set, so I’ll probably get them individually. I was fixing to purchase clamps or chisels next…

Then Lee Valley came along and foiled my plans by announcing free shipping on orders over $40. I’d been waiting for just such an occasion to make some purchases from them.  This round of tool buying felt a little bit like a game of rock paper scissors. Lee Valley won this round, but most likely won’t win the next.

Welcome home, welcome home.

24 lil’ blades. I plan to test out some maquetry on my scroll saw so I got some skip tooth 2/0 blades. For versatility sake I bought some spiral blades for the scroll saw as they cut with any feed direction.

To carry out said marquetry trials, I threw in some veneer tape so that I can properly assemble my pieces.

I’ve been longing for this saw- oh the dowels I’ve attempted to cut flush with a surface… the horrors. I have some peace now that this lives on my peg board.

My trim router badly needed this 1/4″ up cut spiral bit. I’ll use it to waste out material for inlays and possibly for mortising or grooves on the router table.

I have a tiny inventory of files and NO file brush. In an effort to save money I opted for a file/rasp in one.  I’m not sure I made the right choice- it seems very small, I’d have to use very short strokes. I guess I’ll find out once I use it. The file brush was an excellent value though- better than the ones at work even!

Lee Valley claims that this Norton water stone sharpens A2 steel noticeably faster than some other water stones. I bought a 220/1000 grit stone. I have a 4000 stone already.

The stanley planes I own have a thin film of rust on them. I wanted something a little gentler than the (rust-free)product I own to take care of that.

This little kit will serve me well! I have many more jigs and fixtures to make for the shop and I sure as heck don’t want to drop everything to go buy hardware every time I need to slap a jig together.

Looking forward to trying this out on some tables I’m making.

I confess that I had about ten other items if not more that I removed from my basket before checking out. Lee Valley is dangerous. Dangerous. That’s right I said it twice- you can thank their affiliation with Veritas for that.

Next I’ll post an update on other things going on in the shop. Thanks for reading,  happy tool purchasing- I mean happy woodworking.

Tool crazy… and I know it

The recent tool purchases…

I’ve started building some tables in the shop recently. I’ve needed to use my router a lot. I decided it wasn’t practical to keep moving the router in and out of the router table, I was losing time setting it up and breaking it down. For the most versatility I chose a router kit with two bases, fixed and plunge.

Porter cable was the brand we used most at woodworking school, it's solid and reliable and familiar, so I favour it.

I bought it "used" off of ebay for $150, but it's actually in mint condition, there's no dust, wear, or scratches ANYWHERE. There's even lubricant from the factory on the motor visible here.

Not a scratch.

I wasn't super keen on the old time-y features of a toggle on off switch and...

... a thumb screw for locking my settings in, and lack of soft-start. But I'd also used exactly this model at school. I knew updated features would be more convenient but that I could do without them for the sake of my budget.

I'll update you on how this kit performs.

At $40 I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get this mobile base for my router table.

Now it's not an awkward affair to re-position my router table when working on longer lengths of wood.

During my current build I was also in dire need of various sized forstner bits. I decided to get this set and upgrade only the most used bits to carbide later on.

Keeping tabs…

So as I tabulate how many tools I’ve acquired in the past 8 months I find I’ve been steadily adding to my collection and at a greater speed than I’d thought I could. This is partially due to my thrifty ways, the fact that I’ve been working to pay for my tool habit, and also due to a supportive spouse. I say that if we invest money in tools, there will be returns on it when I start selling furniture.

An analogy… to take away some of the sting

Of course it’s starting to become a bit tense in the house when mention of another potential tool purchase is made. “Another one?!” I often make the comparison to being a chef that needs to stock a kitchen from scratch. They must get all the large and small appliances, pots, pans, and any and everything else that is needed for a chef to properly do their job. So does a woodworker. I got a bit of a shocked stare when I mentioned that I now have about 1/3 of the tools I will eventually have.

Admitting I have a problem… but am still in denial

There’s a definite high that comes with my tool purchases, and I see that it can be an addiction. I’m often looking at or thinking about tools in my down time.I don’t want to get carried away, but at the same time this is the perfect window of time for me to be indulging in my profession’s trappings.I don’t have many expenses in my life and I haven’t started a family yet.

You can’t go back…

I find that once you’ve known the convenience of having the proper tool for the job, it’s hard to go back to “making do” with several starter tools that’ll get the job done but only with much effort and time. If I was a hobbyist I wouldn’t mind, but since I want to build a business, my time and sweat is worth more.

Being cautious about which tools to buy…

I’ll write a tool wish list, then I prioritize it and then I sit on it for a while. I work in the shop to see what’s the newest thing I find I can’t function well enough without. I often find out that my initial list of tools takes a back seat to what the shop tells me it’s missing. Good examples of this were that I wanted to buy an air filter to hang from the ceiling. I thought- “that’s top priority!” Next on my list was a dado stack and a dado brake cartridge for my table saw. But in reality at the time, my dust collection system plus dust mask were doing the trick, and I had a router table to handle the jobs that a dado stack would do. What I really needed were some parallel clamps, a bench vise, some glue and some sand paper! Those won out.

I recommend to any woodworker purchase tools based on immediate need first, it really does save on unnecessary tool purchases. For example, I want a lathe, but I still haven’t needed it, and can’t justify the loss of space in my shop. I want a spindle sander, but ended up buying a drum sander kit for my drill press to save on space also.At least for now.