Vintage woodworking tools.

[chill45100]

My story is similar to some in that my father was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker during and after high school. After WW2 Dad changed to another path and many of his tools went away. A few Sargent planed and some small chisels are now mine. Perhaps I can introduce my grandson to woodworking as we install a photography dark room this summer. There is a woodworker by the name of Paul Sellers that has a very good series of woodworking videos on YouTube which I heartily recommend!
Chill45100

[Bazoo]

Do you have any of the vintage Ruger hand tools?

Here's a pair of different Ruger Corporation hand drills.

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That’s neat. Thanks for sharing. I had no idea they existed.

[Bazoo]

I have had a cabin "off the grid" since 1964. Over the years I have accumulated a good number of hand tools from axes to wood planes. Good things to have. Early on I was putting in a sink and did not have a drill to start the hole for the drain through the floor. Stood on a chair and used a 12 gauge to start a hole I could then get my key-hole saw into. Fun times!

Thanks for sharing. I am in the beginning stages of a small trapper cabin. Just plan I and cutting a few logs right now. It’s going to be on skids and made small enough to move. I figure it’ll be a fun camping spot and maybe hunting cabin, though for my 18 acres, not needed. Just fun.

[Bazoo]

A sharp plane used correctly saves a lot of sanding.

I agree. At one time the plane pictured was functional but I let it set a while.
And it always has needed some tlc and tuning. I picked that up after my house fire. At the shop I kept a block plane handy and found it to be invaluable.

[truckjohn]

As a fellow accumulator and user of vintage woodworking hand tools... Be aware that rehabbing old rust is a hobby of its own. My #1 advice is buy quality and be aware that costs incurred rehabbing is part of the cost of the tools.

I got fairly unhappy buying old tools "In the wild." They are often horribly abused and badly rusted/pitted. Now, I pay a lot more attention to condition and brand before I buy. This pushes cost up some, but the tools end up a lot better and take way less work to get them back on the wood.

[EVR]

I hand forge some of mine tools.

Here are some hammers and a drawknife I made.

[Bazoo]

Here is a few odds and ends I have along with my yankee drill and a plastic crank drill. Even though some of these are cheap, like the chisel and drill, I still think they are neat. The drill I’ve had since before my house fire.

[Bazoo]

As a fellow accumulator and user of vintage woodworking hand tools... Be aware that rehabbing old rust is a hobby of its own. My #1 advice is buy quality and be aware that costs incurred rehabbing is part of the cost of the tools.

I got fairly unhappy buying old tools "In the wild." They are often horribly abused and badly rusted/pitted. Now, I pay a lot more attention to condition and brand before I buy. This pushes cost up some, but the tools end up a lot better and take way less work to get them back on the wood.

I’m pretty much a take what you can get kind of accumulator.

[Bazoo]

A hatchet given by a friend.

[beemer]

I found a handsaw vice and a set, I'm not perfect at it but still trying. One of the most aggravating things I have ever made is a handsaw handle. I have made a couple of nice ones but it's not really worth it unless it's something special.

All the younger folks think cordless tools are a new thing.

EVR, That's the bottom line, make the tools to make the tools.

[chsparkman]

I make bamboo fly rods from scratch, so I'm constantly using Japanese cut-off saws and block planes. I sharpen my plane irons with water stones. I also keep my chisels sharp and handy as well as my hand router plane. I also often use a Yankee screwdriver. Don't know where I'd be without my hand tools.

[contender1]

The Ruger Corporation made the hand drills,, as well as yankee screwdrivers & a Bit & Brace. I'm still looking to find a yankee screwdriver. I'll have to see if I can get a picture of the Brace.

[Bazoo]

I’d love to be able to sharpen and set my own handsaws. I have only a Chinese made craftsman with the truck cut teeth for a handsaw. Guess I’ll be on the lookout for the gear. Always on the lookout for a good single man buck saw too but I want a tool, not a decoration...

[Wayne Smith]

I have a bunch of hand tools from my great uncle and grandfather. I suppose I have the ability to sharpen a saw, I have the knowledge and can get the files and think I have a tooth setter among the two tool boxes, but being ADHD I don't have the patience. I take even my chain saw blades to the local Shure Set company - they can sharpen almost anything.

[blackthorn]

"Stood on a chair and used a 12 gauge to start a hole I could then get my key-hole saw into. Fun times!"

My wife just doesn't understand the utility value of things like that.

Wayne

Neither did mine! May have been because she had her back turned and did not know what I was about to do---till the gun went off!

[Bazoo]

I too enjoy old tools.
Have a small collection.
Also have a few that need to be repaired.
Just getting to old to do it these days.
If your interested, I can dig them out and post some pictures.

I am interested. You have a collection of everything don’t ya?

[Mk42gunner]

I’d love to be able to sharpen and set my own handsaws. I have only a Chinese made craftsman with the truck cut teeth for a handsaw. Guess I’ll be on the lookout for the gear. Always on the lookout for a good single man buck saw too but I want a tool, not a decoration...

Do as chill45100 suggested, look up some of Paul Seller's videos. He makes sharpening, and setting, a handsaw look very easy. About the only thing you really have to buy is a decent triangular file.

He also recommends using a No 4 plane for most things a block plane is used for. I found an ancient no name plane close to the size of a No 3 Stanley; it seems to work easier than a block plane ever did for me, and is light enough to use one handed.

Robert

[JimB..]

Seems there may be some galoots here.

I always enjoyed Roy Underhill’s series “The Woodwright’s Shop” on PBS.

There is a series of outstanding books by Charles Ellsworth that are less about tools and more about technique.

[Bazoo]

I appreciate the replies. Especially the ones with suggestions of books and videos.

I have always like the woodwrights shop. Watched it and the new yankee workshop since I was a kid. No tv currently so no watching.

I been woodworking since I was ten years old. And using various hand and power tools. Of the various hand tools, the hand plane and occasionally a chisel has been useful in my joinery work. Mostly though you don’t need them because of correct preparation and execution.

Nothing looks as good as a hand planed board though.

I’d love to find a #3 Jack plane. I been wanting another #4 so I can sharpen one with a round edge for fast and cross grain work and and then also have one for fine planing. It’s a trick I seen on the woodwrights shop.

Finding a #3 plane is not something one runs across on the norm.

[atr]

I too enjoy working with wood, always have and I do have quiet a few nice old hand tools. Block planes, Jack planes, joiner planes, rabbit plane, twist drills and braces, a good assortment of chisels. carpenters squares and hand saws both finish and rough. I remember once I was helping the community build a wood play station for the kindergarten and I used the planes to finish the edges etc. No one had every seen anyone use a hand plane before!
You should keep looking for that old stuff, the quality is almost always good and better yet if it is stamped "Made in America"
best atr