Carpenters tool chest

[lurker]

Yes Doug , except mine are slightly more muted colours

 

[Trevanion]

Funnily enough, Badger workshop uploaded a video yesterday of his restoring/customising an old carpenters tool box.

[youtube]m1FSaIPQzno[/youtube]

I think they come from a time where site carpenters took a bit of pride in their hand tools, looked after them properly and had a largish selection compared to what you'd find on sites today. That would usually be a hardpoint handsaw which would be chucked out every couple of days, some rough and ready chisels rattling around and a sad, abused hammer all which would be stored in an old bucket or something, and that would encompass about 90% of a 2020 site carpenter's hand tools. Back in the early half of the century, you'd find a couple of quality saws, a wooden-handled hammer, Brace with augers, some top-notch chisels with an India stone, a couple of hand planes and whatever else you could stuff in there.

Of course, today the site carpenters take immense pride in their power tools and have all the plastic systainers that all have to match up the same colours and there are massive debates on sites about "my power tool brand is better than your power tool brand" :lol:

 

[Jacob]

I kept notes, still use most of the kit:

Tops course kit

1 toolbox - made week 5

To contain the tools supplied:

5 1/2 Record jack plane

Good quality Sanderson & Kayser saws:
26" hand saw 6tpi
22" panel saw 10tpi
14" tenon saw 14tpi

3 Marples firmer chisels 1" 3/4" 1/2"
Rabone Combination square
Whitehill 16oz claw hammer
Nail pullers (Footprint?)
sliding bevel (poor quality)
double sided oil stone - box made week 6
big screwdriver
small screwdriver
2 ft boxwood rule
nail punch
brace & bit (one 32mm bit for yale locks
mallet
S&J carpenters axe
marking gauge
bradawl
brass face marples spirit level
plumb bob

 

[Doug B]

I think they come from a time where site carpenters took a bit of pride in their hand tools, looked after them properly and had a largish selection compared to what you'd find on sites today.

Personally I have more rather than less hand tools than I did years ago & there in lies the problem, wooden tool boxes are too heavy, once fill with tools you can hardly move them.
Modern lightweight plastic tool boxes are a real boon, so well thought out with loads of features that make transporting tools so much easier.

 

[lurker]

The ones I have are bigger and thus less handy.

What I really need is for Paul Sellers to do one up, then I could make a fortune

 

[Trevanion]

I kept notes

It'd be interesting to see more of your notes Jacob, back when was that?

 

[bourbon]

And the first time you throw something away, you will need it, ( Literally hours afterwards in my case).

 

[toolsntat]

What I really need is for Paul Sellers to do one up, then I could make a fortune

Oh yes Mr Lurker, along with the Arcoy Dovetailer :lol: 8)
Cheers Andy

 

[Jacob]

I kept notes

It'd be interesting to see more of your notes Jacob, back when was that?

1982.
We had a 15 minute shop talk everyday and took notes from the blackboard, filed along with a massive pile of printed course notes. Kept it all - stacks of stuff!
Anything particular you might be interested in?
n.b. no notes on sharpening - in the old days you learned it all in the first few hours - modern sharpening hadn't kicked in so it was still easy!

 

[ColeyS1]

I need to get into the habit of not keeping so much tat in the hope that one day it will get used.

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Tell me about it!!
I have the equivalent of four average garages as outhouses / workshops plus the loft.
Have great difficulty throwing anything away.
I am trying to reform

For example, yesterday I found a bucket full of springs from an old fashioned bed, I bet they have been in the back of the garage for 30 years!

Its difficult but I'm starting to believe that less could be more. My mum was a hoarder (think stuff up the sides of stairs about waist height !) so that probably didn't help with my thinking. All the potential uses of random rubbish are starting to become a burden more than a help. I think it's called decluttering. At the moment all the clutter from home is just being moved to the attic ha. A good house and workshop fire should put everything right again lol. - Off topic but a guy came in the workshop Monday to do a random 'computer generated fire risk inspection.' He was sound as a pound and stressed that no ones perfect and he didn't expect it. Fire alarms, extinguishers etc all tikity boo. He made a note of the whereabouts of gas bottles (for forklift) and said the only thing that i'll get is a letter just reminding me of 'house keeping' in regard to keeping fire exits completely clear.

I've made a new years resolution and so far it's doing good- no t.v until 8pm, 9pm if possible on weekdays. I'm having real issues with back pain and the easiest thing to do when I finished work was to sit on the sofa in the hope it stops hurting. The main goal is to keep moving, whether it means taking painkillers or having a few ciders. I am being more ruthless with 'useful junk' now though.

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[ColeyS1]

Before I smashed the toolbox up I did offer it to my workmate. I'd stacked a load of finished windows up ready to be dusted off for paint. For some reason I need to use the forklift and the front tyre just rubbed against one of the window cills. I could see it starting to tip so lent over to catch it, in fear of a dominoe effect. I caught the window but by leaning over lifting my foot off the clutch and....

Stabbed a forklift tine straight through his toolbox lol. It didn't stop there though. I also shoved his screwed down perfectly level 3mx1m bench about 4 inchs out of place ! I did save the windows though. I saved all of them, it was only a friendly nudge.
This was the exit from the fire officer that is the cause of the letter

Just as well he didn't look too close and spot this one

Joking aside I know I need to deal with the unnecessary clutter [WINKING FACE]

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[Doug B]

Thinking about old tool boxes this is my old Starrett engineers tool box, it’s a really well made box which still works a treat but I’ve all on to carry it when it’s empty :shock: perhaps I’m just getting old :-k

 

[Trevanion]

1982.
We had a 15 minute shop talk everyday and took notes from the blackboard, filed along with a massive pile of printed course notes. Kept it all - stacks of stuff!
Anything particular you might be interested in?

What other projects did you do?

You should see the paperwork you have to fill these days for the NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) side of it, pages upon pages upon pages of pure nonsense and repetitive questions and answers for every subject, enough to fill a couple of large binders easily.

Joking aside I know I need to deal with the unnecessary clutter

That's not even that bad Coley! I've seen much worse! :lol: :

Occasionally have a mad moment with the bandsaw and it all disappears.

 

[ColeyS1]

1982.
We had a 15 minute shop talk everyday and took notes from the blackboard, filed along with a massive pile of printed course notes. Kept it all - stacks of stuff!
Anything particular you might be interested in?

What other projects did you do?

You should see the paperwork you have to fill these days for the NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) side of it, pages upon pages upon pages of pure nonsense and repetitive questions and answers for every subject, enough to fill a couple of large binders easily.

Joking aside I know I need to deal with the unnecessary clutter

That's not even that bad Coley! I've seen much worse! :lol: :

Occasionally have a mad moment with the bandsaw and it all disappears.

So I'm not the only one then [WINKING FACE] The boxes have a certain charm about them if you have the room. Most of the ones I've seen have had custom holders made for specific saw handles so most likely need modifying to make them useful. They've also got alot of dead space which doesn't help when you're wondering if they're worth keeping.
Edit- this was my pride and joy https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic? ... source=app
But the reality is it was completely unsuitable for lumping/carrying around. It now sits in the workshop and doesn't move.

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[Jacob]

1982.
We had a 15 minute shop talk everyday and took notes from the blackboard, filed along with a massive pile of printed course notes. Kept it all - stacks of stuff!
Anything particular you might be interested in?

What other projects did you do?.........

We worked through a strict syllabus - starting simple obviously. Started with planing square all round, face and edge marks, half housing joints. Went on to make doors, windows, rods/drawings/layout, saw horses (an exercise in roof geometry), construct a small roof, shuttering carpentry, and so on, a long list, all entirely with hand tools.
I was bloody lucky really - I'd been bodging away for years previously, not knowing how little I knew. I only did the course as an alternative to being on the dole (business collapsed 1980 Thatcher's first recession).
The course had rolling entry - there were people at every stage which was really good as you saw every project in progress and could talk about it - and/or have things explained by people further on - really helpful.
PS just remembered - the first thing I learned day 1 was that you can't chop a mortice sitting down - got the p iss taken! Learned later that you can - if are sitting on the workpiece on a saw stool etc.
PPS the most difficult thing was a short flight of stairs with a bull nose bottom step - I'll have to look at the notes it's all a bit vague!
PPPS it's coming back to me in flashes :shock: -flooring, herring bone struts, scribing/mitreing skirtings around a varied angled bay window, draw boring, fixing door frames with axed propellor shaped plugs (axe was part of the kit), scribing with an axe, hanging doors and fitting hardware.....

 

[Jacob]

........ They've also got alot of dead space which doesn't help when you're wondering if they're worth keeping.......

Not the ones we made. They were designed to contain all the tools I listed earlier, plus odds and ends in the little drawers - room for a tobacco tin and a small pork-pie perhaps. The bare necessities. No dead space at all

 

[Doug71]

When I think back I can't believe how I managed to work with so few tools.

We all had a tool bass which you chucked your few hand tools in when you were going to work on site. Got fed up of the tool bass being full of wood shavings so I made a proper tool chest ( think my mother still has it in a shed somewhere).

Tried every tool box and bag going and settled on a Veto Pro Pac, it's brilliant, must have had it at least 15 years, were a lot cheaper when I got mine but would buy another if this one ever dies.

 

[ColeyS1]

........ They've also got alot of dead space which doesn't help when you're wondering if they're worth keeping.......

Not the ones we made. They were designed to contain all the tools I listed earlier, plus odds and ends in the little drawers - room for a tobacco tin and a small pork-pie perhaps. The bare necessities. No dead space at all

Show me a picture

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[Jacob]

........ They've also got alot of dead space which doesn't help when you're wondering if they're worth keeping.......

Not the ones we made. They were designed to contain all the tools I listed earlier, plus odds and ends in the little drawers - room for a tobacco tin and a small pork-pie perhaps. The bare necessities. No dead space at all

Show me a picture

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Red box - already shown by Doug earlier.

 

[TFrench]

Thinking about old tool boxes this is my old Starrett engineers tool box, it’s a really well made box which still works a treat but I’ve all on to carry it when it’s empty :shock: perhaps I’m just getting old :-k


View attachment 7456000000

I've got one of those, they're a cracking box.