West coaster headed to Prov. Rhode Island. Looking of Neander sightseeing/rust huntin

[joel cervera]

Hey all,

Headed to Providence May 19 thru 26. Going with the family and planning on seeing the surrounding areas. including Boston.

I was hoping to get some recommendations on sights and places worth visiting. Historical and neander / woodworking related related would be extra cool. As well as any tool meets / tool buying opportunities/locales worth checking out. Shoot places to eat would be great too!

Never been to this part of the country other than NYC over a decade ago.

Hoping some of you locals can make some recommendations. Wonder if I'll be able to fill an extra suitcase full of hand tools for the flight home:)? Heard you east coast guys been hoarding all the hand tools.

Thx

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

I can't give any particular recommendations for Providence or Boston since I never spent much time there but having spent a year living in New England after growing up in the midwest and living in the northwest for a while, I can offer my experience.

I'd definitely come up with a list of things you might be in the market for because the antique tool market in New England is basically a different world. The big lesson I learned was that the price you pay for a tool seems to correlate to the amount of time spent finding said tool. In bigger cities like Providence or Boston I bet you could find places that specifically deal in old tools. If you aren't fixated on finding things for dirt-cheap prices I'd seek out places like this, eliminate the potentially wasted time spent rummaging through crusty old flea markets, and find exactly what you're after. While flea markets were the best place to find good tools for the lowest prices, they had some downsides. Getting to them sometimes takes you to random places you wouldn't otherwise go to, you have to spend time searching, and there's a chance you won't find anything. I get the temptation because every once in a while I hear a story about someone finding a Stanley No. 62 in good condition for $30-40 (that really happened, here in Kansas too) but those kinds of deals are not common and, like I said, what you save in money you will spend in time.

A lot of the people who run the operations that specifically sell old tools find their inventory by doing the craigslist, flea market, etc. thing so to some extent finding tools at places like flea markets means competing with those guys, and they tend to have the process nailed down since it is an income for them. Fun story that illustrates that point--when I was living in New England for a year I established a relationship with a guy in town who found/bought old tools and sold them for profit. I gave him a list of things I was looking for and if he found an item on the list he'd text me before putting it up for sale to anyone else. Highest on my list was a Stanley No. 7 or some other jointer plane. When he found one for me I got to talking to him about how he consistently makes money with this little operation without expending an unreasonable amount of time, and where he finds these things since I clearly wasn't able to find something like a No. 7 for a less-than-ebay price. Since I wasn't trying to compete with him or anything he explained his whole system to me. He knew every flea market within a couple hours of the area, and in most cases knew the regular sellers and knew which ones usually had tools. He kept an eye on estate sales, auctions, etc. every day. For something like that he would be sure to show up early enough to be the first guy to see the items and this was probably the most important part of the strategy. Sometimes, if something like an estate sale is advertised online he'll send an email or something asking about tools, if he can see some pictures or even come take a look before the sale, etc. His ability to facilitate things like this is increased by the fact that he's willing to buy in bulk a lot of the time. He makes it convenient by giving the seller the opportunity to get a lot of items offloaded in one transaction. Eventually a fellow like this gets enough connections that people sometimes start coming to him first when they have a barn full of grandpa's stuff that has been collecting dust for 50 years that needs to be cleared out.

Anyhow, for the No. 7 plane he found for me at some flea market (I think, I don't remember exactly) he showed up an hour early or whatever, established his place as first in line, and made it clear to the estate sale person that he was looking for old tools. When the sale opens up he knows exactly where to go and makes sure to get there first. Often times the seller would let him take a look before the actual starting time and he'd basically get first pick without any competition. He doesn't waste time inspecting every tool before saying he'll take it. If he sees something that is probably valuable like a No. 7-which he'll recognize from across the room-he'll immediately tell the person he'll take it. Anyway, at this particular sale some guy tries to squeeze in ahead of him in line but since he made sure that the seller knew he was there first it doesn't work. So after my guy goes through and picks any and all tools that look valuable the seller asks Mr. Failed-Line-Cutter if there's anything in particular that he's after. "Planes." So that can be the difference between being the first person to look through and the second--hundreds of dollars in valuable, easily-sellable tools versus nothing. I don't think this example is necessarily representative of how most valuable items are found for pennies on the dollar but I suspect that it occurs often enough, and the point is it only takes one or a few competitive, systematic fellows to have a lockdown on good deals.

After hearing stories like this I decided that I'd rather just pay a little more for a tool and save my time. If you genuinely enjoy rummaging through flea markets then I suppose you have nothing to lose but if you're like me, and you have limited time and just want to save money then I don't think it is worth it. Maybe it doesn't work this way everywhere but I imagine the old-tool-seeking cohort in a place like Boston is more competitive than where I lived. Given that you'll be on vacation I'd say find a few places that advertise a good collection of old tools, pay $80 for that nice wooden plow plane instead of $40, and spend more time at the museums or the beach.

Geez I went off on a bit of a tangent there. Anyhow, despite that cautionary tale the east coast is still an infinitely better place to find old tools than anywhere else I've seen, and I still found plenty of great tools for sub-ebay prices.

TL;DR do some digging online and find places that specifically advertise having old tools. Don't expect to find screaming deals because those only occur when the seller doesn't know what they have, and if the seller doesn't know what they have then it won't be easy for you to find it.

[Dave Parkis]

I don't know how close to Providence Matt Cianci's shop is, but I would recommend a visit to his shop. Matt is known as The Saw Wright and excels at saw work. He is also a really nice guy.

[Barney Markunas]

You might try reaching out to Patrick Leach - I am not sure if he is set up for visitors but if his monthly mailings are any indication, you could easily spend some time and money. I think he is a little NW of Boston closer to the NH border. I will second Dave's comment about Matt Cianci being a nice guy - he made a couple of my saws cut like a dream.

In Providence, get a lobster roll at the Providence Oyster Bar. In Boston, head to the North End (Little Italy) and get some cannolis from Mike's. Boston is pretty serious about its cannolis - kind of like Philly and cheesesteaks or Chicago and hot dogs. If the line is too long, you'd be fine at Maria's or Modern Pastry. Also, if you are in the North End you could do worse than grabbing some pizza at Regina's which has been there since the 1920s! You might get a little attitude along with your pizza but I doubt you'll be disappointed. Make sure you go to the original joint in the North End and not one of other newer ones that are scattered around town. Enjoy your trip!

[lowell holmes]

If you are in the area, see the Shaker Village. There is a lot of woodworking interest there.


https://newengland.com/today/travel/new-hampshire/canterbury-shaker-village/

[Jim Falsetti]

Joel, North Bennet Street School has their annual exhibition May 7-23. Probably some excellent work, believe it's free admission.