lie nelsen stuff

[jteneyck]

I still don't have many hand tools compared to what I see in most other shops I visit.  The only LN tool in my shop was given to me by a good friend.  It is a thing of beauty but in my hands works no better than the Stanley equivalent that I bought used for 10% of what the LN costs.  If you look at the work turned out by guys a hundred or more years ago it's easy to see that the quality of the tools has little to do with the quality of the work possible.  They may make the work easier but rarely better.  

John

[Handplanesandmore]

I love new tools -- power or hand -- but i am not a sucker or a hoarder. I use them if I buy them; I also get rid of the "older" ones that perform the same functions to recover money as well as shop space.

Woodworking is going to end one way or another (due to loss of interest or lack of things to build or health issues -- you can barely walk by yourself without a walker when you are 85 let alone use your #7!). I will sell all my gear when I am still around since if you leave your tools behind, they will be disposed of at 20% to 30% of their market values. I know because when I attend those estate sales, I see those kinds of prices. Books and lumber are even worse. Their prices are just a little better than garage sale prices.

Simon

[Enigmatic]

Wife can always donate them all to the local high school or Vo-tech or charity if she doesn't want to deal with trying to sell them.

My will is set up that whatever my wife doesn't want to spend time selling is to be given as a donation to any program that helps disadvantaged youth learn a skill set.

[Handplanesandmore]

Anyone who plans to go the donation route should find out where they want the tools to go. There are many "charity" organizations these days that are not what we think they are as they canvass for goods or money. Some of these cherry and pick their collections and then resell the rest to a third party by weight.

Simon

[AHill]

If you look at the work turned out by guys a hundred or more years ago it's easy to see that the quality of the tools has little to do with the quality of the work possible.  They may make the work easier but rarely better.  

John

I think the quality of tools 100 years ago was just as good if not better than many sold today.  Many vintage chisels (Stanley, Greenlee, Swan, Witherby, etc.), Stanley planes (pre-WWII), Yankee and Millers Falls braces, etc. were all pretty darned good.  Quality back then also translated to faster work with less rework.

[Handplanesandmore]

If those come my way, I would prefer them over modern ones, but I am a woodworker, not a bargain hunter and with the limited time availabe to choose between hunting them down and/or refurbishing them, and real woodworking, I get the best modern tools I can afford.

Simon

[Jack01]

Yup, same thing with fly fishing.  When we first started, we added every do dah we saw in the magazine or in the fly fishing videos.  I sounded like the Tin Woodsman walking to a stream and at the end of the day, my shoulders and lower back ached.  Not from all the casting, but from the weight of the vest. 


I had to take a step back and then an honest look at what I really needed.  MOST of that stuff was passed on to other newbies who just had to have it. 
  I think much of it has been passed more than footballs in a playoff game.

Now I fish with a small hip pack, small net, staff, and fly rod and reel.  Beautiful.

In the woodshop?  Lots of handtools.

This is true in Fly Fishing:  I started 5 years ago , started accumulating recommended must have fly fishing stuff per magazines, videos , fly fishing shops , in 3 years ended more than 1,000 flies, few rods, reels . gadgets, etc. all that did not help , I was not catching much but emptying my wallet. 

I did same thing , took step back , evaluate, decide to go minimalist. Start selling extra stuff, 6 month ago I sold all my extra stuff. Today I only have less than 40 Different patterns of Flies. rod,reel, net and sling pack. I am catching more fish that ever.2 weeks ago caught 16 trout in one day ( 6 hours) including a Grand Slam in a Alpine Stream 

I am doing same thing in woodshop, selling extra items, anything I have not used in 2 years going on Craigslist, ebay etc. Today I sold a new Freud 3 1/2 HP router, in box, never used. I purchase this years ago to install in a new Router Table but when I completed the table I install Porter cable router instead. 

I am sure lot of sellers are in same situation, purchase items on whim then, never used , years after decide to sell.

[stav]

I heard many times from other fishermen that lures are meant to catch the fishermen and not the fish. 

That being said, I do have one Lee Valley #4 and I like it quite well. I also have a vintage Stanley #4 and I find the most difference I can detect is the result of which has the sharpest blade. I find my Stanley is a little more difficult to get fine adjustments due to some play in the adjusting wheel as well. Probably due to age and use.