Bootfair Booty now the sun is shining?

[jimi43]

In Tropical Kent at least...the Monsoon is now over and the sun shone..actually blindingly at 5:30 this morning...I couldn't see a thing on the way to the fair it was so low and bright. And this appears to have brought out the sellers in droves.

Even with this clamour for pitches...I only managed to spend my budget by a few pence over...and the haul was...

....excluding the bedding plants which my wife insists on putting on my booty table! :roll: You just can't get the staff these days! I mean...garden centres are for plants...not bootfairs...they are for tools...and the odd radio! :lol:

So...some interesting things in Kent today...first the boring stuff...

First ANOTHER torch...one of those DeWalty things..bright yellow and many pounds...

...except at bootfairs...where it was only a quid! Not working of course...needed charging and the bulb was blown...but those in the know...realise that DeWalt provide a spare...in the head! So it now works and will go into the tool fund! (I don't really need two!)

Now I honestly thought this was a book on Clarice Cliffe or Art Deco...two of my "other" favourite subjects...but I have a feeling that it isn't....oops...

Ok...back to the tools...

...some restoration work for this afternoon and in need of Corro Dip...we have...a rather nice EAGLE Kent pattern axe head...in need of a new handle...two nice bevel edge but cruddy plastic handled chisels of 70s/80s vintage...and last but not least a rather lethal and probably illegal Japanese knife in need of a bit of a clean up and sharpen...! :shock:

The axe should present a fine test for the restoration clinic!

...WIP on that one later...

Now the mystery items...

...five late Victorian copper coins...for use in a tool...there will be a prize for the first person to correctly guess how!

For the bargain of the day....

...I gave the guy a tenner...he's an old chap that is always there and makes a few bob spraying tools with WD40 and reselling them...and he wanted £15 for it but as he knows me quite well... he gave me a "special price"! I vaguely remembered a post...I think it was our dear friend Pedder some time back...who posted about these little Swedish beauties...and since most things Swedish tend to be associated with quality steel...I handed over the dosh!

The parts are all there....

...should come up really nicely....a quick test of the sole...

...shows it to be fairly flat in all the right places...indeed the machining is still visible and the Eskilstuna iron is a fine piece of Swedish steel...virtually untouched!

Again...another WIP project I shall be posting on the Hand Tools forum in due course.

The sharp eyed amongst our brethren will notice what this curvy Swedish beauty is sitting on...

...a virtually "as new" condition Workmate...from that period when they were made properly...I forget the model number but it's the pre-rubbish one! That makes three of these that I have now but for £8 no right minded woodworker can pass this time warp up...surely...honest...

Ok I'll sell one of them to get her indoors back on my side! Promise! Oh...and these two obligatory "tools" for the workshop....

:mrgreen: :mrgreen:

...but I might just keep the tiny International one on the right...that is a nice radio!

So...off to polish up some tools...what did you guys get this weekend?


Cheers

Jim

 

[Webby]

If it stays nice might go and have a look at the Cheltenham racecourse booty that is on Sunday

 

[=Adam=]

I went to a boot sale today (selling) and came back with 4 chisels, one pointed tool (not sure what it is for but I will use it as a centre punch) and one of those internal calipers that people use for wood turning, all of this came to £3.50!

I fancied a no7 Stanley plane (the long one) but the guy wanted £40 for it :0

Is it worth buying a jack plane if it doesn't have a name on it? I didn't take the gamble because I thought it could be poop!

 

[AndyT]

Is it worth buying a jack plane if it doesn't have a name on it? I didn't take the gamble because I thought it could be poop!

Jim's of course does have a name on, which has been written about on here as a good one. I'd be suspicious of something with no name if it looked very recent, but there have been respectable copies of the Stanley/Bailey designs for donkey's years, so you might be lucky and get something decently made in Sheffield.

From comments elsewhere on here, even the names you would generally avoid such as Anant or Silverline can sometimes throw up a good one. A lot will depend on how much cash you want to risk, but Jim keeps on proving that you don't have to pay much. You will need to look carefully and note the details of the casting, thickness of metal, quality of finish, blade, handles etc.

Oh and btw I think £40 for a Stanley no 7 - when you can see it, handle it, and assess it properly before you pay (ie not like eBay) is a very fair price. That's a big chunky and very useful plane!

 

[MickCheese]

The Stanley 5001 looks good as it is one of the larger ones that seem to be a bit rarer.

A set of five just sold on ebay for £50 or maybe a little less, just four more to go but I know you have some more!

Nice haul.

Mick

 

[AndyT]

Now the mystery items...

...five late Victorian copper coins...for use in a tool...there will be a prize for the first person to correctly guess how!

Jim

Are you planning to make a set of five chamfer planes, each with a different washer to hold the adjuster?

 

[jimi43]

Boy...you guys are getting to know me too well...I'm going to have to do something way out of wack to throw you off the scent!

Yes Mick...I'm gathering the old Stanleys...it will take time but if they are all like this one...I'm on to a winner. Just to update on that..I did hit the Corro Dip again today..first that fine axe....then I just dipped one corner of the other chisel to show you how effective this is without doing anything....

...and the other side...

That is just wiped off with a cloth! Impressive or what!? I actually don't like the axe like that so I think I'll blue it with chemicals....but you get the idea!

So...strengthened with the result..I chucked both of the chisels in for a full soak (I had to change to a tall jar to do this)...and the result...

There is some surface pitting on the hardened section of the Stanley...but nothing to worry too much about.

Andy...absolutely spot on! Probably only one prototype...one for the original...and I wasn't sure which ones I liked so since they were only 20p each..I got five. I apologise to numismatists up front for drilling holes through the Queen's head...but that particularly one is long gone..so I doubt if she'd mind! :mrgreen:

Now...what shall I give you for your prize Andy...mmm...let me think on that one! 8)

Jim

 

[Steve Maskery]

Ah, so that's why they are called Penny washers!
S

 

[No skills]

Envy the wide chisels, is the one with the yellow handle a footprint?

 

[jimi43]

Envy the wide chisels, is the one with the yellow handle a footprint?

Indeed Steve...taking into account inflation since Old Vic was around!

Hey..NS...not sure mate...there is no mark on that one. I only got it because it looked fairly decent steel and I vaguely remember on an extensive thread about plastic vs wooden handled chisels that the yellow clear ones also warranted some keen attention...

I haven't re-ground or honed either yet...will let you know how they perform when I do.

Cheers

Jim

 

[No skills]

Prolly not then, only mentioned it as I got hold of an old ratchet screwdriver by footprint and it has a similar nasty yellow plastic in the handle.

Have fun

 

[=Adam=]

I would like to restore the metal just the same as you have done.

I have seen corro dip but it is quite expensive for the amount that I need (4 chisels) so are there any other alternatives which are readily available/cheap?

Would nitro mores do the job?

 

[jimi43]

I would like to restore the metal just the same as you have done.

I have seen corro dip but it is quite expensive for the amount that I need (4 chisels) so are there any other alternatives which are readily available/cheap?

Would nitro mores do the job?

Hi Adam

I don't know of anything that works like this..even concentrated phosphoric acid (damaged metal too) or electrolysis...loss of oxide but can lead to loss of metal before all the corrosion is inhibited and removed.

I didn't think that I would use it that much but its one of those things that once you have it...you find uses for it.

NitroMors as far as I am aware is a paint stripper....it doesn't have much of an effect on rust.

Jim

 

[AndyT]

For anyone with only one or two rusty tools, the cheapest answer is probably supermarket 'value range' vinegar, which is even cheaper than the better known citric acid option. Loads of threads on here cover it and 'vinegar' or 'citric' are good search terms. Probably not as impressive as the dip, but will make a big difference.

 

[Jonzjob]

Please excuse my ignorance on this cleaning bit, but wouldn't a wire brush do the job? Or is it too harsh? :?

 

[Mark A]

I went to a boot sale today

Was it the Singleton Hospital car boot sale?

I was planning to go yesterday but didn't bother because usually the only tools there are rusty spanners and sockets!

 

[Bluekingfisher]

I'm sure you won't but, just in case you were thinking of taking the lock knife out with you Jimi ............ please don't. It's an offensive weapon per se', (locking blade) you'd get yourself well and truly nicked, with little or no reasonable excuse, unless of course you are a one armed carver and you were about to undertake a spot of whittling just prior to having your collar felt?

 

[jimi43]

No mate...no intention whatever...in fact...the spring has broken so it doesn't lock anyway. I'm going to use the Japanese steel for some toolwork I have planned. It's a good quality blade on it...shame to waste it! :wink:

The irony is that now I have restored them...the two chisels are far more lethal! But since I don't do site work...I shan't be taking them out in the street either... :wink:

Jim

 

[Bluekingfisher]

Hi Jimi - Very pleased to hear it mate. the law is confusing in many respects, particularly with regards to knives, which of course have been recieving lots of media attention due to stabbings and killings with knifes ( and other blades ) recently.

At the risk of boring you to death, a lock knife is an offensive weapon outright no matter how big (or small). They can be sold, but not used for anything other than a prescribed reason.

Gone are the days of being innocently in possession of a folding pocket knife, due mainly to the idiots who run around stabbing people for little or no reason. I belive there was a nasty one in Kent where a 63 year old was murdered in front of family members for enquiring if the crying baby of his assailant was OK. It is being tried at court at the moment. Very ghastly

In addition, if the blade is over 3" long, even if not a lock knife, it constitutes and offence under Sec 139 Criminal Justice Act (points and blades).

I would be staggered beyond belief if any forum member was arrested or detained for contraviening the act but I'm afraid ignorance would be no excuse. I don't mean to come acrosss as pompus but with the ways things are in our society now, even the legitimate user could find him/herself answering a question.

Good luck with the transformation of the knife anyway.

 

[Unib]

Hi Bluekingfisher, does that mean, if I'm out in the wilds with my Leatherman in my camera bag, that would be deemed against the law? Not that I'm likely to be Stop and Searched in such a place!