Found in my Dad's shed

mudman · Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 1:27 pm Post subject:

BEWARE!

If you so much as take a small piece of wire wool to a bit of rust you are in danger of a steep descent down a slippery slope.
If you decide to just sharpen the blades, then you can quickly find yourself rapidly toboganning out of control.

If you find yourself wondering about things such as webrax, sharpening angles, fettling, japanning, scary sharp versus waterstones, you should place the items in a dark cupboard and play with a power tool for a couple of hours. If not, you will soon be Googling for information on Bailey planes, Stanley numbering, posting questions here on how to flatten a sole, looking at the planes section in eBay and buying large pieces of float glass (or would MDF be good enough).
Then you will truly be lost to the tailed tool community. Sad

Mind you it is fun.

Cheers,
Barry

Alf · Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 2:38 pm Post subject:

John,

Nice find. Very Happy

Definitely use 'em. I shouldn't worry about lapping soles and so forth to start with. Clean 'em up, sharpen up the blade and try them out. A look throught the archives should find you plenty of info to get you started; Barry's list of all the things that should drive you to put the planes into the broom cupboard would make good search words for a start! Laughing

To begin with I shouldn't worry about replacing the blades unless they're so badly pitted that they won't take a good edge. Record irons of that vintage are really pretty good. You might be able to date the #6 by going here if you're interested in that sort of thing. The spokeshave is an old classic, but you might need to shim the blade in the fulness of time. Don't worry about details to begin with though, give them a whirl and we'll be happy to help with further questions as they come up. Very Happy

Barry, LOL. Laughing

Cheers, Alf

Off for a fresh can of grease for this newly populated area of Slope... Twisted Evil

Johnboy · Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 3:47 pm Post subject:

Adam, they will definitely be looked after and cherished. I have asked my Dad and he got them when his brother in law died in the early eighties. He was a chippy and apparently there were some wooden planes and some old chisels as well. I must finish sorting through his shed.

Barry, it has already started, the wire wool and oil stains are on my hands as I type.

Alf, thanks for the info and offer of help. I will sharpen up the blades and give them a try.

John

Johnboy · Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 3:50 pm Post subject:

I meant to say that the original owner was my Uncle Alf.
Very Happy

John

Alf · Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 3:55 pm Post subject:

Heh heh. I like him more and more. Laughing

Cheers, Alf

Espedair Street · Guest

Oh, I wish this could happen to me. I was chatting, a while back, to a colleague who knows my love of hand tools, and was explaining what I'd been doing to a 4 & arf from a car boot sale. He told me, with no hint of remorse, how when his father in law died (he's 54, so FIL must have been ooh, 70 odd), they found a load of metal planes in the shed/garage/workshop, and threw them away

Disgusted. That's what I was. Pah.

Alf · Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 4:45 pm Post subject:

Hell's teeth, Esp. You might give warning before you tell such horror stories. Shocked

My blood ran cold. Surprised

Shuddering in a rather warm Cornwall, Alf

Pete W · Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 5:31 pm Post subject:

Good find, John. Use 'em well Smile

.

When my Dad died 11 years ago, I was living in a studio flat in central London - classic non-cat-swinging setup.

My Dad had a shed that - with only slight exaggeration - had at least one of every tool ever invented. I remember from childhood planes, classic cabinet screwdrivers, chisels, hammers and saws and all kinds of marking and measuring tools. Sharpening stones. The whole deal.

So I took a few toolbox-type tools - a single screwdriver, a pair of pliers, a pair of wirecutters, and a small pein hammer. My brother in law picked up a few things and the rest - boxes and boxes, went to some bloke who lived near my parents.

I'm almost over it now, honest. I only give in to the wailing sobs occasionally Smile

.

johnjin · Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 8:57 am Post subject:

Hi Pete
Oh my god!! That is a real horror story. If that had happened to me I would never have been able to sleep at night again. The problem is that when we are not interested in something we do tend to dismiss it as junk and only later when the light dawns do we realise how silly we were. Of course by then its often too late. I really feel for you. What a loss.

My commiserations

John

Johnboy · Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 9:19 am Post subject:

I have been having "help" from my 2 brothers in law in de-cluttering my parents house and shed and have to be very watchful. They are complete muppets about any DIY or woodworking and would bin anything without a power cord if they had their way. Luckily Dad watches the skip like a hawk and removes any tools.

John