Dark Chilly Autumn Bootfair

[jimi43]

Well...it may have been sunny but at 6am today it was freezing!

But I got something today I was looking for for simply ages...

You can see now how the seasons have changed...the sun is really low still for this shot...a good job I didn't get much! So from the top...my prize of the day...

A beautiful 3LB William Marples "Shamrock" axe...!

But not just any axe...a side axe!

And apart from the surface rust...virtually unused with a pretty sharp edge already....

As a side by side comparison...I thought I would clean the rust off this one with "RESTORE" from Workshop Heaven...and it did a pretty good job....

The reason I went for RESTORE was that being a GEL...it could be put on and left without dipping and since I have no intention of removing the handle I didn't want to use CORRO-DIP this time.

The rust is definitely coming off and showing more markings but I need to work it in more later...there is still underlying rust and it doesn't seem to be converting this as CORRO-DIP does. I shelled out a tenner for this but it's worth far more than that in this condition...pity it's not left handed! I guess you can't have everything. Looking for a left handed one owned by a righthanded guy to swap!

The lovely little 1692 slater's hammer showed her clues pretty easy....

Yup...the ubiquitous BRADES No.1692 with the original elm handle and steel ferrule which is a bit loose but a nice find anyway....especially for £2

This little lignum vitae and beech gavel is really cute...

Especially for another £2

And for another £2 this Marshall amp....

...has to be the bargain of the year...even if it is one of those dinky belt fitting practice amps...

The late great Jim Marshall gave me one of these at the Guitar Show at Wembley many moons ago and it has somehow disappeared...so finding a replacement goes some way to restoring the memory! Mind you that time it only cost me a cigar!

And I finally got a square chuck key for my ML1....which is great as I'm just about to sell it to make room for the new lathe!

So...anyone else crazy enough to be up before dawn?

Jim

 

[Tom K]

Well...it may have been sunny but at 6am today it was freezing!

But I got something today I was looking for for simply ages...



A beautiful 3LB William Marples "Shamrock" axe...!

But not just any axe...a side axe!

...pity it's not left handed! I guess you can't have everything. Looking for a left handed one owned by a righthanded guy to swap!

Jim

If you put the handle in the other side it is a leftie isn't it? (homer)

 

[Scouse]

Jim, that axe is the find of the day for me thus far, lovely patina on the handle and a great shape, single bevel, jealous!

I'm not sure who to thank or blame for the slope I appear to have begun sliding down (I do have a couple of suspects in mind), but for the second week in a row wooden planes have found their way home with me.

I can't see them taking the place of the iron planes for work, but I have just spent a satisfying half hour turning a piece of hard maple into a pile of shavings for no reason other than it felt good, using the first; a continental pattern smoother with a German blade I can't quite make out the name on. It's tapered and sharp though!

Next a skew filister/rabbet plane by A. Mathieson

Finally a Rabone Chesterman steel tape I have no use for, it was just cute.

A tenner spent, big smile up north!

 

[jimi43]

Yes tommo....you are quite correct but my quandary is whether on not to remove and disrupt that fine handle in order to turn it around or wait forever to find one the other way.

Scouse...yes that axe is indeed one of the finer ones of my collection...not as nice as had it been a W&P but you can't have everything!

It certainly cuts beautifully....I may go ambidextrous!

As you may remember, I have a similar continental horn smoother/scrub...actually..courtesy of Pedder...I now have two and they are lovely planes!

Post a picture of the iron mark...I'm sure we can identify it! We even managed the obelisk after a very long time so I am sure we can nail this one!

The Mathieson is absolutely gorgeous mate....the script on that toe is just up my street..I love this sort of marking. It's a pity someone did not know how to remove the wedge though...that has taken some punishment in its time!

Absolute bargain for a tenner!

Tomorrow doesn't bode well for bootfairs (again!)...lots of rain and wind...we shall see.

Cheers

Jim

 

[Tony Spear]

There you go, boasting about your Chopper again!

 

[xy mosian]

Nice hauls shown here.
The eye in the axe head will surely be tapered Jim. Definitely not for turning around.
xy

 

[dickm]

Well, just to comfort other car-boot failures, the big one up here was freezing cold, even at 8:30, but sunny. Probably last time we see the sun till next March .
Just for once, there were a few items worth buying -
- two pieces of Lignum about 1" square and a foot long for 50p.
Other things were more metal-oriented;
- a lovely 5/8" capacity No2 Morse drill chuck for £5,
- a set of as-new Starrett hole saws for a tenner
- and a small box of Britool and King Dick (have to buy those!!) sockets for £1.

The fact that this seems like an excellent haul just emphasises what a tool desert it is up here compared to sultry Kent!

But had an interesting chat with the chap selling the chuck and holesaws. Most of his stuff was Myford ML7/Super 7 oriented, and included a box full of unmachined bronze castings to make some unknown sort of model steam engine. We agreed that someone ought to complete it, but decided neither of us pensioners had the life expectancy to do it justice.