Woodworking and carpentry thread

[masraum]

Originally Posted by masraum

The latest acquisition from the 'bay today.
C.Nurse Round plane No 10.

Made between 1844 (maybe 1841) and 1860.

I received ^that^ plane, and I don't think it has ever been used. The wood is a uniform color and barely dirty. The heal end had a tiny little spot where a mouse had chewed on the corner, and there is a little rust on the tang end of the blade. The cutting end looks like it had factory grind marks and has never been sharpened and was darn sharp. I wish it had been a pair!

And I talked the guy selling these down a bit and talked the CFO into an "early Christmas present" so I have those on the way.

A normal half set of hollows and rounds is 9 pairs of planes. This is 7 pairs and a single that were all owned by one person so 15 matched/matching planes, and then One more that was not part of the original owners collection, and then 5-6 duplicate sizes which is nice since I consider those "spare parts".

Not that it matters, but this maker is relatively rare, and worked in Glastonbury, CT from the 1840 until 1871. I'll be keeping an eye out for the missing 2 planes, but I'm not holding my breath.

It seemed like a far better deal than buying new...
Although the HNT Gordon planes made out of some Australian hardwood and with brass boxing are sexy as hell. But I'm not driving a GT3RS....

[masraum]

I also have these on the way.



I used to have two 48" and two 36" Jorgenson parallel jaw clamps. When we downsized, I sold them in a garage sale thinking "If I need more in the future, I'll just buy them." I wish I still had them. Although it does look like Amazon has them for a decent price, $120/pr for the 48" which is only $10ea more than I remember paying.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by rwest

I have a small business that repairs the older Bridge City Tools. I acquired all of the old stock of parts when the company was sold in 2018. I also have just about every tool they have produced, so getting all the repair parts was good for me personally too.

Had to dig out my VP-60 plane to figure out what parts a customer needed. This plane was made in a limited quantity of 400. It can be adjusted to have a bed angle from 30 to 60 degrees.

This hadn't registered with me the first time that I read it. I think I wasn't familiar with the Bridge City Tools back then. Very cool!

[Zeke]

I have one of those large wooden clamps. They are good for modest pressure if you use them at all. Wax the threads.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by TimT

I just got a #80 cabinet scraper... I'll use it as the final finish before applying a finish coat. Even though this Black walnut piece has tight closed grain,, there are areas where even after using 600 grit mesh some of the grain fuzzes up...I should be able to shave the fuzz with this scraper.. The areas where the grain stays raised is the transition between the dark and light wood..

The scrapers path to me is pretty convoluted... Since you cant buy a tool like this at any retail store around here.... forget Home Depot.. So I ordered from Amazon....

I didn't notice that this tool was coming from Australia.. with Prime shipping it arrived quickly.. When I unboxed it I noticed the tool was made in England... So I bought a tool That originated in England from a place in Australia...I'm in New York

I'm scrolling back through this thread looking for something specific (that might not even be in this thread), and saw this post.

The area of the country that I live in seems to have very little in the way of old wood working tools. But the area that you live in, there are TONS of old tools. The northeast is full of cool old stuff, and there are frequently "meets" where folks take their old stuff, set up tables, and sell their old tools.

I've also found this FB group that seems to be VERY safe as far as buying and selling (I've bought too much stuff, and will be selling some of it soon). This group has good prices (usually much better than eBay where a fool is born every minute) and sometimes if you're patient, great prices.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I have one of those large wooden clamps. They are good for modest pressure if you use them at all. Wax the threads.

Thanks. I remember using some back in the 10th grade, I think. I took a woodshop class, but moved part of the way through the school year.

[herr_oberst]

I have a pair of cheap-charlie handscrew clamps (steel threads) that I mostly use as fixture clamps for keeping things in-situ, they come in handy at the drill press as a sort of poor man's float-lock vise. One for the work piece, the second one to lock the first one to the table.

They're a pain to use for gluing, though. I'm not coordinated enough to remember which way to turn them, ha ha.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

I have a pair of cheap-charlie handscrew clamps (steel threads) that I mostly use as fixture clamps for keeping things in-situ, they come in handy at the drill press as a sort of poor man's float-lock vise. One for the work piece, the second one to lock the first one to the table.

They're a pain to use for gluing, though. I'm not coordinated enough to remember which way to turn them, ha ha.

I received the 3 that I bought. They are enormous (the box weighed 27#). Hopefully, I am able to use them, but if not, they are still cool.

[Zeke]

I have the Jorgensen ones and the HF ones. The name brand are nice to handle and all that but the HF ones clamp just as well. Being OCD about it I eased the edges of the HF ones and put a light stain on them to mimic the high end clamps. I guess I didn't want anyone to think I used HF tools on the job back when. Now it doesn't make a bit of difference. It's the opposite, leave your good tools home and take the cheap stuff for when it gets stolen.

So now fully retired I have both in the cabinets. Gotta have a sale or something. 2 and 3 of everything is too much. Did I mention I have 5 air compressors? I'm down to 4.

I think.

One thing for sure, if something breaks I just toss it. There's another one over there.

Funny story: when I was working and doing bodywork at home, I had 3 HF angle grinders set up with different wheels. I carried a Metabo to the jobsite and used the hell out of the HF ones on my cars. Well, after nearly 25 years I'm down to one HF grinder and still grab it instead of pulling out the Metabo box, unwinding the cord and installing a wheel.

Yeah, tools that come in a nice case live in the case.

PS, using a corded tool and having it go away in a big blue flash is pretty exciting. Wear your gloves.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I have the Jorgensen ones and the HF ones. The name brand are nice to handle and all that but the HF ones clamp just as well. Being OCD about it I eased the edges of the HF ones and put a light stain on them to mimic the high end clamps. I guess I didn't want anyone to think I used HF tools on the job back when. Now it doesn't make a bit of difference. It's the opposite, leave your good tools home and take the cheap stuff for when it gets stolen.

So now fully retired I have both in the cabinets. Gotta have a sale or something. 2 and 3 of everything is too much. Did I mention I have 5 air compressors? I'm down to 4.

I think.

One thing for sure, if something breaks I just toss it. There's another one over there.

Funny story: when I was working and doing bodywork at home, I had 3 HF angle grinders set up with different wheels. I carried a Metabo to the jobsite and used the hell out of the HF ones on my cars. Well, after nearly 25 years I'm down to one HF grinder and still grab it instead of pulling out the Metabo box, unwinding the cord and installing a wheel.

Yeah, tools that come in a nice case live in the case.

PS, using a corded tool and having it go away in a big blue flash is pretty exciting. Wear your gloves.

I guess that's one of the benefits and a downside of us downsizing about 11 years ago. I got rid of a ton of tools except stuff that had a connection to my grandfather or parents (grandad's tools or dad's tools or gifts from mom & dad). There's been a bunch of it that I wish I still had. Fortunately, everything that I got rid of is either stuff that I still don't need or can buy again. So I don't have a ton of extra stuff (although I wouldn't mind having a garage full of the "extra" stuff.

Holy moly, yeah, having a power tool die with a blue flash would be very exciting. I've had a few die, but it was always more of a slow fizzle.

If/when you ever getting around to getting rid of old woodworking hand tools, if you are willing to ship, let me know. I would love to have some stuff from a well respected craftsman like yourself. It would be great to know that skilled hands had done skilled things with them, and to have known the previous owner even if it was just in the virtual world.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by masraum

I received the 3 that I bought. They are enormous (the box weighed 27#). Hopefully, I am able to use them, but if not, they are still cool.

Wow! Those are very cool.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Wow! Those are very cool.

I like that the screws are wood. I suspect metal screws would be more functional, but the wood is cool to me.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by masraum

I knew they would be big since the jaws are 20" long, but I didn't realize how big until I unboxed them.

The jaws are 20" long and about 2 ⅝" x 3". The wooden screws are 1 ¼" x 19" plus the handle. They are at least 8# each.

[herr_oberst]

One thing I didn't need was another project, but this was in the parking strip down the street; it was in 3 pieces, and from the road it just looked like a heap of slash but I knew what it was the first time I rode my bike past it. I kept thinking about it but kind of hoped someone else would pick it up and take it home. Two days later it was still there, so I gave it a closer inspection and then returned with my truck to load it up. All quarter-sawn oak, and except for a delaminating veneer on the chair back (apparently it was common to veneer solid bentwood to achieve a better grain back in the glory days of furniture manufacturing) it's in remarkably good shape. The hardware is all there and functional, no splits need gluing, the parts bolted back together easily and firmly. just a lot of sanding, bleaching and refinishing to make a nice piece of furniture. I doubt it will be worth much, there's really no market anymore for antiques and vintage furniture. I found some matching side chairs online, so it looks like it's maybe 75 years old. There's label from the same NC factory as these two chairs.

I've reassembled it (dry) and done about an hours worth of sanding (hours to go) but I think I like the shape of it, and it may end up being a keeper.






http://www.chairish.com/product/24271520/1950s-vintage-high-point-bending-chair-co-walnut-library-bankers-chairs-set-of-6

[masraum]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

One thing I didn't need was another project, but this was in the parking strip down the street; it was in 3 pieces, and from the road it just looked like a heap of slash but I knew what it was the first time I rode my bike past it. I kept thinking about it but kind of hoped someone else would pick it up and take it home. Two days later it was still there, so I gave it a closer inspection and then returned with my truck to load it up. All quarter-sawn oak, and except for a delaminating veneer on the chair back (apparently it was common to veneer solid bentwood to achieve a better grain back in the glory days of furniture manufacturing) it's in remarkably good shape. The hardware is all there and functional, no splits need gluing, the parts bolted back together easily and firmly. just a lot of sanding, bleaching and refinishing to make a nice piece of furniture. I doubt it will be worth much, there's really no market anymore for antiques and vintage furniture. I found some matching side chairs online, so it looks like it's maybe 75 years old. There's label from the same NC factory as these two chairs.

I've reassembled it (dry) and done about an hours worth of sanding (hours to go) but I think I like the shape of it, and it may end up being a keeper.




http://www.chairish.com/product/24271520/1950s-vintage-high-point-bending-chair-co-walnut-library-bankers-chairs-set-of-6

Very cool! Kind of like a cross between the "high point bending chair" in the screenshot (4 separate fixed legs) and a "banker's chair" (swivel with casters). That's actually what I want as a desk chair. I may hate it once I get it, but they look like the could be comfortable (maybe a pad for the seat would be in order), and the style would go better with/in our old home than a modern desk chair like an Aeron or one of the chairs that looks like the seat out of a race car.

I'd have one by now, because they do come up on FBMP from time to time, but when they come up, they are always 1-2hr drive away which is not something I'm likely to do unless I'm already headed that way and it looks like it's in good shape and/or a decent price.

[herr_oberst]

Interestingly, the name of the factory in NC was the "High Point Bending and Chair Co."
Apparently, they got their start in the late 1800's steaming and bending wood and later launched into manufacturing furniture.

[TimT]

Not sure where to put this...

I think these would make good stocking stuffers

Zippo Bit Safe

[masraum]

Originally Posted by TimT

Not sure where to put this...

I think these would make good stocking stuffers

Zippo Bit Safe

That's kind of cool. I don't smoke and have never carried a zippo, but my parents did. I've got a bunch of old zippos that were my dads that commemorate various things.

[gduke2010]

Drilling floating shelves for under cabinet lighting
Build a jig

Start hope with drill press for perfectly straight hole
Finish hole with 12” drill bit
Drill connecting hole from routered channel.

[masraum]

Cool