01-12-2018, 08:01 PM
But there wasn't any sport in the "hunt." Kind of a long story, but the ailing 87 year old father of a friend of a friend was a career aircraft mechanic and a hobby woodworker. He's dying, and he wanted to see his tools go to a good home before he passes away. He had in some folks who picked over the big ticket items--some lucky woodworkers out there got a free table saw, band saw, jointer, planer and drill press. I agreed to take everything remaining--I didn't want to just go in and pick and choose what I wanted, so I agreed to clean out his garage workshop as payment for whatever it was I was going to keep.
It's mostly odds and ends, but there's some stuff I am glad to have.
The most on point item is a Stanley 161 spokeshave. No doubt I will find many uses for it; it's a beast compared to the small LN spokeshaves I have had for a while.
In addition, There's a nice old Stanley (looks to me like a butt) chisel. It may be beyond repair; it's been ground with a back bevel an inch or an inch and a half up the flat side, I can see why people love these old Stanleys, though; it feels really solid. Then the standard plastic handled 3/8 chisel that everybody from his generation (and my dad's) always wound up with.
Some clamps, Bessey, mostly.
Some C clamps.
Probably the most valuable hand tool "score" from today's work: a beautiful, unused or practically unused, pair of starrett trammel points in the box.
I'm pretty excited to have acquired this cool old Disston 225 hacksaw. I have a Nicholson, but it is a gaudy orange, so I am going to tuck it away and display this one in its place on my pegboard. The chisels are in this picture, too.
This fella also served in the air force, which is almost like serving in the military, so I'm calling him a fellow vet. On the right are the navigator's calipers in their original presentation box, and on the left are some small dividers and tweezer looking things--I'm sure they have a name that doesn't relate to ladies' eyebrows, but they are tweezers.
These old files are going to be very handy. I have only recently discovered how gosh darn useful files are in woodworking. The few I had already got quite a workout on that block plane I made and posted last week.
Some old knives. That hooked wicked looking one is for leather, right? And does anyone know why the longer one has that hump on the back?
Look at this! There's over 100 drill bits here, I think. Yukon Tools, anybody know anything about them? Only the smallest 5 or 6 of these bits have been used, the others are literally like new. There's an old Dewalt hand drill somewhere in a box that will look spiffy hanging out with my newer Dewalt hand drill.
Lastly, there is this Dewalt radial arm saw and the bench it goes on. There's also a miter table, but we had to disassemble the whole set up to get it in the truck, so I just tucked the miter table away. This isn't mine, but I have it on long term loan. They years ago promised the RAS to another friend of mine (who worked with me today to haul everything). But he takes the "journeyman" part of his journeyman electrician title seriously, lives in a camper, and travels the west between job sites. So the RAS is mine until he settles down and buys a house, which he doesn't plan to do for at least 10 more years.
I understand that there's a sort of unofficial tradition that when you inherit an old timer's tools, you make him something with them. Any ideas for what I can make for his wife that will be small but meaningful? I'll be thinking about it myself, but if any of you have an idea, or have been there done that, I could definitely use some help with a project idea.
I seem to have maxed out my attachment limit for this post, but I have a few more pictures. I'll put them in a reply.
It's mostly odds and ends, but there's some stuff I am glad to have.
The most on point item is a Stanley 161 spokeshave. No doubt I will find many uses for it; it's a beast compared to the small LN spokeshaves I have had for a while.
In addition, There's a nice old Stanley (looks to me like a butt) chisel. It may be beyond repair; it's been ground with a back bevel an inch or an inch and a half up the flat side, I can see why people love these old Stanleys, though; it feels really solid. Then the standard plastic handled 3/8 chisel that everybody from his generation (and my dad's) always wound up with.
Some clamps, Bessey, mostly.
Some C clamps.
Probably the most valuable hand tool "score" from today's work: a beautiful, unused or practically unused, pair of starrett trammel points in the box.
I'm pretty excited to have acquired this cool old Disston 225 hacksaw. I have a Nicholson, but it is a gaudy orange, so I am going to tuck it away and display this one in its place on my pegboard. The chisels are in this picture, too.
This fella also served in the air force, which is almost like serving in the military, so I'm calling him a fellow vet. On the right are the navigator's calipers in their original presentation box, and on the left are some small dividers and tweezer looking things--I'm sure they have a name that doesn't relate to ladies' eyebrows, but they are tweezers.
These old files are going to be very handy. I have only recently discovered how gosh darn useful files are in woodworking. The few I had already got quite a workout on that block plane I made and posted last week.
Some old knives. That hooked wicked looking one is for leather, right? And does anyone know why the longer one has that hump on the back?
Look at this! There's over 100 drill bits here, I think. Yukon Tools, anybody know anything about them? Only the smallest 5 or 6 of these bits have been used, the others are literally like new. There's an old Dewalt hand drill somewhere in a box that will look spiffy hanging out with my newer Dewalt hand drill.
Lastly, there is this Dewalt radial arm saw and the bench it goes on. There's also a miter table, but we had to disassemble the whole set up to get it in the truck, so I just tucked the miter table away. This isn't mine, but I have it on long term loan. They years ago promised the RAS to another friend of mine (who worked with me today to haul everything). But he takes the "journeyman" part of his journeyman electrician title seriously, lives in a camper, and travels the west between job sites. So the RAS is mine until he settles down and buys a house, which he doesn't plan to do for at least 10 more years.
I understand that there's a sort of unofficial tradition that when you inherit an old timer's tools, you make him something with them. Any ideas for what I can make for his wife that will be small but meaningful? I'll be thinking about it myself, but if any of you have an idea, or have been there done that, I could definitely use some help with a project idea.
I seem to have maxed out my attachment limit for this post, but I have a few more pictures. I'll put them in a reply.
If you're gonna be one, be a Big Red One.
