OldTools Archive
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266122 | Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> | 2018‑07‑19 | old tool |
I have been an accumulator for a looong time, but I think it finally paid off. I believe the year was 1972 - 46 years ago. I was newly married (I got my trophy wife the first time) and had used my dad’s workbench and scanty tools since I was a kid - so time to set up shop! I rented a garage 1/2 block from our apartment in Bristol, north of Philly, built a workbench of 2X4’s and plywood, and got a vice and a few “necessary” tools at garbage sales. I bought a brace and it turns out it is a North 2100 that I still use. I got a #6 and a #8 plane because, well everybody needs them. Turns out it is a Sargent 424 (#8) in primo condition, and a Stanley type 5, first lateral, #6 and I have never seen another type 5 in the wild. I also bought a Stanley 55 from the original owner, well used in a wooden box for $10, and was amazed when I sold it 6 months later for $40. Needing more tools post haste, I then went down to Silvo Hardware in Philly. Silvo at the time was this enormous tools supplier downtown Philadelphia that did mostly mail order and deliveries to big companies. They weren't set up for a young dolt who hardly knew the jargon to come in and buy tools over the counter. I went through one of their catalogs (they had several types) and stocked up. I got a 1/2” Stanley 750 new out of a box of about 8 or 10 thinking “they are so pretty I should buy them all”. but of course I didn't. I got a maroon 9-1/2 block plane which my brother still uses for maintaining his barn/house. I got a Stanley 59 dowel jig because everybody used dowels to build furniture, right? Oh, and I threw in a box of dowel centers, little plugs that fit in a hole and allow you to press that piece against its mating piece so it leaves a little dimple where you drill the corresponding hole. I did not drill more than a dozen holes with that jig and I can't think of a time where I actually used the dowel centers. (anybody need a one-owner Stanley 59 dowelling jig?) So fast forward to 2018. A couple of weeks ago my daughter was in town to raid my shop for tools for a Ukulele building class she is giving for young girls in Brooklyn NY. One of the big supply houses donated 15 ukulele kits and lots of tools and sandpaper and miscellany. I managed to find 10 1/2” chisels (I think 7 1/2” and 3 3/4”) that I put an edge on them. We threw a bunch of clamps in a box, and we cut various boards and battens to use as jigs and mounts. Then she pulled out one of the necks from the a kit and we found it had 2 holes drilled in it for dowels. The directions say to drill a hole in the body 1/2” down from the top and one 1-1/4” down from the top. We measured the location of the holes and they were not those dimensions. We looked at a second one, and they were a little different than the first. Oh oh. So a light bulb went off in my head - that’s what a dowel center is for!!!!! I had re-organized my shop about 2 years ago and remembered tight where they were. Yesterday I made a trip to Brooklyn to help with the neck setting - drilling the 2 holes. The neck has to point in the right direction, both left and right and up and down. My daughter and I got a system going and drilled all 10 necks successfully. And I got to use a tool I have had for 46 years just waiting for me. And yes, I gave them to her to put in her tool kit for future uke building. Ed Minch |
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266123 | Erik Levin | 2018‑07‑19 | Re: old tool |
Ed bragged: >And I got to use a tool I have had for 46 years just waiting for me. Allow me to congratulate you. This is why you NEVER get rid of a tool. Well, why I never get rid of one.... Haven't had a holdout any where nearly that long, though, nor one that was dead perfect for the job at hand after more than 10 years or so, either, but I have a few that may eventually be contenders. *** This message was sent from a convenience email service, and the reply address(es) may not match the originating address |
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266124 | Kirk Eppler <eppler.kirk@g...> | 2018‑07‑19 | Re: old tool |
I pick up dowel centers for exactly that reason. Never know when you will need them. Oh, and brace reamers, gasket gutters, etc etc etc. On Thu, Jul 19, 2018 at 2:05 PM, Ed Minch |
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266131 | scott grandstaff <scottg@s...> | 2018‑07‑20 | Re: old tool |
OMG you actually --went-- to Silvo? Walked in the door? Thats like a fantasy to me. Don't you want to tell a little more about the experience? How did it look? How big was it? I was pouring over their catalogs at the same time. I let the #59 dowel jig that I bought from Silvo go. But I kept the bushings! The jigs are easy to get and by the 70's when we bought ours they were aluminum. The old heavy cast iron #59 jigs are dirt cheap, but always missing drill bushings. (has anyone ever done a 59 timeline? They changed logos over time) I have used mine 1000 times. For a little while I had a strong local reputation as a screen door maker. Made some pretty nice ones, but nobody was going to pay me to chop mortises by hand out here in the sticks. I got dowel augers from Silvo too, they were for sale then right alongside regular auger bits and 2 bucks apiece. Do you know a Stanley #59 dowel jig fits into a standard classic recipe card box, just like a glove? hahah try it, it does. So tell me, how many long crank neck, boxwood handled paring chisels did you get? They were there. Hope I got to see some pix of Meems holding class!! yours Scott -- ******************************* Scott Grandstaff Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca 96039 scottg@s... http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/ http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html |
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266140 | gary may | 2018‑07‑21 | Re: old tool |
Hi Ed--- Talk about keeping the faith! I still have a Satanley dowelling jig that I purchased in the early winter of '86 and used once, right then. The jig's still waiting to go back to work, but likely to be somewhat pessimistic after 32 years and several months. I didn't use the centers then---or ever since---but they're still ready to go too. Should I take up ukulele luthiery? Nay---find someone who does that, that's the ticket. There must be a lot of them, 'cause we're plagued with ukes in Oly WA/USA--- way to go, way to be-yr pl gam "If you were Einstein's father, we wouldn't have the bomb." Peggy Hill ca. y2k From: Ed Minch |
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266141 | gary may | 2018‑07‑21 | Re: Ukulele Orchestra |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=122&v=pLgJ7pk0X-s not always wimpy, these ukes----best g How horrible it is to have so many people killed!---And what a blessing one cares for none of them! Jane Austen |
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266142 | Mike Lynd | 2018‑07‑21 | Re: old tool |
Lovely story - the very raison d'être of tool-accumulating! Mike Lynd |
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266362 | Don Schwartz <dks@t...> | 2018‑08‑19 | Re: Whysit/whatsit |
On 2018-08-18 6:47 PM, Bill Webber wrote: > Anyone know the purpose of these small chisels? The blades are a > little less than 3 1/2 inches. Look like they are intended for > scraping but I cannot figure what for. Seem rather specialized. > > http://billwebber.galootcentral.com/woodcraft.jpg > > thanks... turning small things! Don -- Nullius in verba ( Take nobody’s word. ) motto of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge “The information we consume matters just as much as the food we put in our body. It affects our thinking, our behavior, how we understand our place in the world. And how we understand others.” — Evan Williams |
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266363 | Kirk Eppler <eppler.kirk@g...> | 2018‑08‑19 | Re: Whysit/whatsit |
yup. turning chisels, like the other guys said. But I think I know a bit more. They were made by Ramelson. Looks like the same set I found https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-nwJxKK5 Kirk in HMB, CA On Sat, Aug 18, 2018 at 5:47 PM, Bill Webber |
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266364 | Kirk Eppler <eppler.kirk@g...> | 2018‑08‑19 | Re: Whysit/whatsit |
Crud, send too soon. Someone in the know suggested turning small boxes, rather than pens, so more scraping action, as someone else noted. On Sat, Aug 18, 2018 at 8:42 PM, Kirk Eppler |
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266368 | Bill Webber <ol2lrus@v...> | 2018‑08‑19 | Re: Whysit/whatsit |
Thanks all. I couldn't find the same set described, but generically "for jewelry work, dollhouse miniatures, wooden toys, military models, railroad models and furniture finials Great for miniature size lathe turnings in soft metals, wood or plastic." Mini lathe tools are generally a set of tiny gouges, skews, parting tools, etc. I thought these might have been advertised for a specific task since they are all scraper profiles. Anyway, at $30 I couldn't pass them up. I think they will be useful for working faux ivory finials, screw arm tips, or brass knobs for my plane pursuits. Oh, mine are nicely new. I was too lazy to take a picture so I grabbed one off the *bay. And, yes Kirk, pretty much same as yours but no box. Thanks Bill W. Nottingham, PA Woodworkers visit me at http://billwebber.galootcentral.com/ |
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