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View Full Version : Tool Barn haul/gloat



Tony Shea
08-08-2010, 12:45 PM
This is my latest haul over at the Tool Barn here in Bar Harbor Maine. I feel I did pretty well all in all. Prob my favorite item I picked up and really needed was my Simonds Crosscut saw which I sharpened yesterday and cuts beautifully now. I got it for $15. The plate is pretty much perfectly straight, which is pretty rare over at the Tool Barn, and the etching is still very legible. I haven't been able to find a whole lot about Simonds saws for some reason and would love to hear from anyone that knows anything about them. I also really like the Starret square I picked up. It is in almost unused condition and still took it out there for $25. The other tools are a Stanley #79 side rabbet plane, a Stanley #95 edge trimming block plane, a Stanley #98 side rabbet plane, and an unknown make flat sole spoke shave. All combined I paid about $85 for all those tools which I thought to be a steal in the condition they are all in. The 95 will probably need the most work as the iron is a bit coroded but still has the Stanley Sweatheart logo at the top of the iron. The spokeshave is in perfect condition and only needed the iron sharpened. I am not a collector but a user and really don't know much in way of what these tools are worth.
157776

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Gary Hodgin
08-08-2010, 1:03 PM
Nice haul!

Jim Koepke
08-08-2010, 2:16 PM
That is a nice haul. The #98 alone is selling for almost that much. It looks like yours has the depth gauge.

Some folks do not care about the depth gauge, I think it is quite and asset for the tool.

Search Simonds saws on the internet and you should find a lot of information. I believe the Simonds' family started in the steel business in about 1910. The company was acquired in 1978 by a company that went out of business in 1982.

jim

Derby Matthews
08-08-2010, 3:02 PM
Went to Liberty Tools in Liberty Maine last weekend and was a little disappointed in the offerings there, (tho' I did pick up a nice 2-1/2"Sorby blade/cap iron combo for my Spiers Panel plane - for $2.75! I've already ground it into a convex edge for panel scalloping)

I'm very glad to know that I can drive another few miles and find another good Neander store to get lost in while my beautiful loving bride beats me to all the good stuff. (She found a small infill chariot plane while I was pawing thru the cap iron drawer - dang!)

Thanks for the heads up and pics of your great haul. Especially nice side rabbet planes!

Can you ping me with the address or any other info about the store you went to so I can GPS it?
We're going up to Baah Haabaah Next weekend. I'll try to make a better haul than last weekend in Liberty. I'm still gonna recommend them as a Neandertourist stop too, just not as much of a must-see as it was the last time I was there.:confused:

What's in YOUR toolbox?!

Tony Shea
08-08-2010, 4:40 PM
That's too bad to hear Derby as I was just planning a short drive over to Liberty as I've always heard it makes the Tool Barn look tiny. They are actually in conjunction with each other, run by the same people as well as a couple other places in the state. The Tool Barn is located in Hulls Cove just before you come to the first Acadia National Park entrance on your way into the town of Bar Harbor. I think Hulls Cove is actually considered Bar Harbor.

Here is a link to the Jonesport Wood Co. site who owns all the neat little neander tool shops.

Tool Barn (http://www.jonesport-wood.com/hullscove.html)

Tom Winship
08-08-2010, 5:22 PM
Nice haul Tony. I think we must be kin as I noticed the white 5 gallon bucket full of "sticks" in the background and have one exactly like it. Will trade you my bucket of sticks for you Simonds saw.

Tony Shea
08-08-2010, 6:49 PM
Yeah I bet you would Tom. That bucket o' sticks makes for good fire starting material come winter time. I need a larger bucket though as it is always on overflow.

One more thing I didn't take a pic of and forgot to mention is the protractor that came with the Starret 12" combo square. The protractor was part of the $25 and is in as nice of condition as the square itself. Boy I didn't realize what I was missing all those years without that style of protractor. I use that thing almost as much as the square itself.

Steve Friedman
08-08-2010, 10:59 PM
That's too bad to hear Derby as I was just planning a short drive over to Liberty as I've always heard it makes the Tool Barn look tiny. They are actually in conjunction with each other, run by the same people as well as a couple other places in the state. The Tool Barn is located in Hulls Cove just before you come to the first Acadia National Park entrance on your way into the town of Bar Harbor. I think Hulls Cove is actually considered Bar Harbor.

Here is a link to the Jonesport Wood Co. site who owns all the neat little neander tool shops.

Tool Barn (http://www.jonesport-wood.com/hullscove.html)

For any of the Jonesport Wood Co. Regulars, how would you compare the selection at Liberty Tools and Captain Tinkham's to the selection at Hulls Cove?

Depending on traffic, I should be crossing the Maine border in about 11 days and 18 hours - can you tell I'm looking forward to to the trip? I'll be in Maine for about a week and planned to do some damage at the lobster pounds, Lie-Nielsen, and at Liberty Tools or Captain Tinkham's.

While Bar Harbor is amazing, we're staying around Rockland this time and, with a 16-hour round-trip drive from NJ, I was hoping to avoid the 5 hour round trip to and from Hulls Cove. That's why I was wondering whether the selection at Liberty Tools or Captain Tinkham's is comparable to Hulls Cove.

Also, I have seen Bob Easton's Maine "map"

http://www.bob-easton.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/maine_map.jpg

but wonder if there are any other tool acquisition hotspots that would be worth the time and effort? I know there used to be a couple of massive "junkyard" type places on Route 17 midway between Rockland and Augusta, but they seem to be gone.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Steve

George Sanders
08-09-2010, 7:12 AM
Nice Haul! I love the link. So many tools; so little money.

Tony Shea
08-09-2010, 4:00 PM
I myself have never been to Liberty Tools but have heard the selection was the best out of the bunch. I've been to Captain Tinkham's and was not impressed at all compared to the Tool Barn. The Tool Barn is typically one of the best hand tool store's out of the bunch. I would think that after driving all that way you should probably spend the extra few hours to give it a look. But then again this is your drive and schedule.

Jonathan McCullough
08-09-2010, 4:46 PM
Tony, looks like you've got a No. 61 Blue Ribbon Simonds saw. Herewith, everything I know about Simonds saws:

http://galootcentral.com/membersites/brianwelch/simonds/handsaws.htm

I have a couple that I got up in Maine (Simonds was based just outside of Boston as I recall) but haven't cleaned them up yet. They seem to be well made and with good steel. They have a good reputation and are harder to come by on the auction site that dares not speak its name.

The one you've got there has a really nice geometry that I favor--straight back with lots of heft. I find that it's easier to "let the saw do the work" with that moreso than with a skewback. But that's just my preference. That's probably a really really good saw. Can't do better, especially for the price.

Walter Plummer
08-09-2010, 5:37 PM
[QUOTE=Steve Friedman;1485936]For any of the Jonesport Wood Co. Regulars, how would you compare the selection at Liberty Tools and Captain Tinkham's to the selection at Hulls Cove?

I have been going for about 30 years. Hulls cove is the best woodworking tools and a selection of everything else. Liberty has a lot of everything else and some woodworking tools. Capt. Tinkhams is a place to stop and stretch between the two and maybe get lucky. In the summer, Rt 3 (what you take from Liberty to Hulls Cove) has lots of flea markets, antique stores, and book barns. Do not be surprised when tools at these other places look like they came Skip`s stores because a lot of them did. One more reason the pickings are slim sometimes.

Rob Paul
08-09-2010, 9:58 PM
See also Wictor Kuc's WK Fine Tools website for some Simonds catalogs and other data
http://www.wkfinetools.com/hUS-saws/Simonds/pubs/simonds-pubs.asp

Matt Meiser
08-09-2010, 10:59 PM
Liberty was more quantity but lower quality and a lot of non-woodworking tools. Hulls Cove is smaller but has more nice woodworking tools.

Tony Shea
08-10-2010, 4:26 PM
Nice John, that site is exactly what I've been looking for. I would agree that it turn out that it is a model 61 Blue Ribbon Straight Back crosscut saw with 10TPI. But I suppose it could also be a No. 5. I think it's the 61 due to the very high polish that is still left on the saw. Either way the saw seems almost unused and has been absolutely amazing after sharpening it. Was easy to sharpen due to its' great shape and seems to stay sharp even after cutting lots of hard oak.

I agree that Hulls Cove Tool Barn has just been an amazing resource for antique tools with many of them in top shape. It has enabled me to go down the neander path without having to start out buying LN quality tools. Feel very fortunate that I live 10 mins away. If only good quality lumber was as easy to get.

Steve Friedman
08-10-2010, 6:38 PM
I agree that Hulls Cove Tool Barn has just been an amazing resource for antique tools with many of them in top shape. It has enabled me to go down the neander path without having to start out buying LN quality tools. Feel very fortunate that I live 10 mins away. If only good quality lumber was as easy to get.

Is there an icon for envy? Somehow it seems unfair that you get to live only 10 minutes from both Acadia and Hulls Cove! I'm surprised to hear that wood is hard to find. I would have thought that reclaimed lumber would be abundant.

I try to get up to Maine at least once a year, so are there any other hidden treasures like Hulls Cove that you're willing to share?

Steve

Matt Meiser
08-10-2010, 9:58 PM
+1 We were up there last summer and my daughter keeps asking when we can go back. Not sure if its because she got to eat lobster 3x while we were there or if she just liked the area :)

Steve Friedman
08-10-2010, 10:39 PM
+1 We were up there last summer and my daughter keeps asking when we can go back. Not sure if its because she got to eat lobster 3x while we were there or if she just liked the area :)

I agree with her - you haven't lived till you've had lobster for breakfast. After 7 years of summer camp and a couple of years at rowing camp, my daughter grew to love Maine so much that she ended up going to Colby College in Waterville. Until she graduated a few years ago, we were in Maine at least 6 times a year. Since then, we're lucky to find the time to make it once each year.

Steve

Matt Meiser
08-10-2010, 10:42 PM
No arguments here. But I think I'd have to live outside Portland rather than up near Bar Harbor--a little too far from big city conveniences for me. Not that I want to live IN the city, just within a short drive.

Tony Shea
08-11-2010, 4:09 PM
You city boys are funny. I absolutely love being a long drive from the hectic atmosphere of a big city. I really don't have much need for them, other than finding a good supplier of lumber. Although I suppose a city isn't always a good source for lumber mills either. It's amazing how much I take living in this area for granted as I couldn't imagine not having miles of woods behind my house to be able to hike through on a weekly basis. And a short drive to the oceanside or some remote area offshore with some decent size breaks to surf on. Just couldn't handle living to many other places. But the downside of it all is our brutal winters. You haven't lived until you suffer through a few of Maine's terribly cold winters that seem to be much longer than our summer. But I think I would even miss the cold and snow. And the lobsters you guys can keep all to yourself, I'll hoard the steamed clams that I can dig down the road a mile. No thanks to Lobster.

Derby Matthews
08-11-2010, 8:05 PM
snip-" the protractor that came with the Starret 12" combo square. The protractor was part of the $25 and is in as nice of condition as the square itself. Boy I didn't realize what I was missing all those years without that style of protractor. I use that thing almost as much as the square itself.

Tony, thank much for the link!

Don't want to digress from all this great information and realization that Liberty and Hulls cove are all intertwined - very cool, and I'll be happy to pass along any tips to you all AFTER I've had a shot at poking around the Tool Barn in H.C. :D I would highly recommend everyone go to the Liberty store first (since I've been there already - again with the ":D")

Anyway, I purchased a new old stock Starrett Builders Square last year (they don't make them anymore) and since purchasing a fixer-upper home to spend the rest of my life working on I use it constantly - as in EVERY day. I cant believe how much I've come to depend on it (mostly as our home isn't quite square. It takes the protractor head on a regular starrett square to it's logical conclusion on a large scale (no pun intended!)

Going to spend two days in Maine next weekend and will plan for one of them to be at as many locations of the Tool Barn as I can manage!

Again, an inspirational haul and gloat!

Dewald van Lamp
08-12-2010, 10:42 AM
I was at the Tool Barn last Thursday and picked up these:

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee212/Constantcompanion/America/Dewald5079.jpg

They have a lot of stuff there, but their prices are somewhat steep, except for the saws:

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee212/Constantcompanion/America/Dewald5077.jpg

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee212/Constantcompanion/America/Dewald5076.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee212/Constantcompanion/America/Dewald5075.jpg

george wilson
08-12-2010, 10:57 AM
There is a setting you can put on your digital camera so that it doesn't take the photo just as you push the button. Takes the picture just after you push the button,and avoids the shaking you are getting. I have had the same problem with my small camera.

Dewald van Lamp
08-12-2010, 11:32 AM
I'm sure there is, George, but for me to find it..?

:confused:

Sorry about the large pics. I have not posted pics here yet, and they changed the format to enlargeable small ones over the years.

I guess the "how to" is posted somewhere, and I just have to do some reading.

The Tool Barn was fun, though! We do not see this stuff in Africa! I guess I went, "Booga! Booga!" for some time there!

:)

I'm still awaiting my purchases... Mail takes its time over here..!