I inherited a shed

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jessup

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20 Feb 2012
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Hi guys. I've inherited a shed of tools. New ones I know about but the old ones ... well I don't really know how to find out what's what. They're mostly wooden, lots of planes with many different profiles, chisels, uhm "shaving thingumies", some gorgeous saws. Really all sorts.

Any advice on where to look particularly any sites with info about older brands or markings would be great.

I know about Google but am feeling needle in a haystack and keep getting caught in pages and pages of company history. :shock:

Thanks
 
You've come to the right place - welcome aboard.

You'll find a lot by searching back on this forum. (There are two search tools; one at the top "search UKW" and another at the right - which lets you limit to just the hand tools sub-section.)

When you have made a few more posts, the software will know you're a real person, and you can post pictures yourself. There are plenty of old tool enthusiasts here who will identify your haul and tell you how to use and enjoy it.

And no, I'm not jealous at all.... :mrgreen:

PS - do put your location in your profile so we can pop round and help "tidy!"
 
Thanks Andy.

I'll take a look. I've gathered some makers names and will enjoy finding out what's what... because I am my father's daughter.

j
 
The easiest way to post pictures is to use an on-line picture hosting site such as Photobucket, Picasa or Flickr. Upload your photos there, copy the picture urls and paste into a message using the URL button on the message editor.

Or if they are fairly small, you can upload them to the site as attachments to a posting, using the 'filename' buttons below the editor.

Hint, hint!
 
jimi43, AndyT

Well let's see about some pics....
304.jpg

300.jpg

298.jpg

293.jpg

290.jpg
 
toolsntat

It's just the beginning. But time to walk the dogs I think.

Thanks for looking. Any info on what the heck some of those things are...very gratefully received. For example..is that a drill...near the mallet? Cos I think I have two of those.

J
 
toolsntat

It's just the beginning. But time to walk the dogs I think.

Thanks for looking. Any info on what the heck some of those things are...very gratefully received. For example..is that a drill...near the mallet? Cos I think I have two of those.

J
 
As Harbo says, it's a carpenter's brace.

Somewhere in the kit you've probably got a collection of twisty bits of metal about 9" long, with a pointy bit at one end and a sort of tapered square at the other. They're the 'bits' for it - the tapered square goes into the chuck on the brace, if you screw it open enough. They may be lurking in a canvas roll.

It looks like you have the foundation of a fairly comprehensive joiner's kit there. The metal planes look like a Stanley number 7 try plane (the long one), and it looks like a fairly old one, which many people prefer - the older ones were better made. The not-quite-so-long one looks like a Record number 6 fore plane. The long wooden one is a try plane, then there are two wooden jack planes and three smoothers - the boat-shaped ones. Often called 'coffin' smoothers, because of the resemblance in shape. The lightweight metal one is a scrub plane, and the wooden-filled metal one on the right (probably quite heavy) is of a type much sought after by collectors and users, because it's good at smoothing awkward timber.

Looks like you need a bulk order of cleaning materials, though!

Are you planning to learn to use them? Much fun could be had with a set of tools like that....
 
Wow, there's some lovely stuff there!

"...lots of planes with many different profiles, chisels, uhm "shaving thingumies", some gorgeous saws..."

You have identified these bits correctly yourself (the shaving thingumies are spokeshaves) and Cheshirechappie has given you a good start in identifying the rest of the main bits, I would add that they look like high quality tools in the main, certainly not DIY rubbish!

Keep the pictures coming!

El.
 
The heavy smoother looks like a Norris no3 or no6 model (but it has a metal front?) and as has been said this has the making of a nice set of tools :wink:

Lets see what the rest has in store :D

Andy
 
Thanks for posting...there are some gems there.

That looks like an old No.7 Stanley and a Stay Set Record plane (the metal ones..) which would clean up nicely.

But the gem is definitely in this picture:

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Can we have some pictures of the one in the bottom right....side and the name on the brass screwcap and the iron (blade).

I agree it is probably a Norris and quite an old one. That will probably be worth the rest put together.

This is a NICE shed!

Jim
 
Like the others have said, this is quality stuff and some of it is valuable, especially the infill plane, which would reach several hundred pounds on eBay. The things that will sell most readily on eBay are the metal planes.

You need to have a hard think about what you want to do with them, bearing in mind that a family connection makes them irreplaceable to you.

If you, or anyone close to you, ever wanted to get into old-style hand tool woodworking, they would be well set up with these. If you just want to turn them into cash, there is a Marketplace section on this site that you could use, or else eBay has a Collectables>Tools>Carpentry and woodworking section where such things are offered daily.

If you do want to sell everything, don't attempt any cleaning at all - you could seriously reduce the value. People's opinions differ, but many will prefer to do any cleaning themselves. None of these looks very rusty at all to me - all can be easily put back into use.

Also, don't assume you have any duplicates - tools that look similar will probably have significant differences. For example, if you have a second brace, you may find that the distance from the handle to the chuck is more or less than the one pictured. The moulding planes will have different profiles and widths, etc.

Btw there's a thread about your pocket chainsaw here: https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/post661633.html
 
Thanks Cheshirechappie.

You were absolutely right. I looked in the carpenters tool box and there was a canvas roll full of bits. Along with lots of other stuff like a no. 44 Record Plough Plane. I don't know if it's all there but it's in the bottom of the original box.

All I've done cleaning-wise is a gentle wax with a cleaning wax I use for chairs (I buy too many of) at auction.

I can see I've got my work cut out finding out what's what. I don't know about using them. I wouldn't know where to start.

Thanks for the help identifying things.
 
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