Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 17

Thread: We Need to Act Now!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Edmond, Oklahoma
    Posts
    1,749

    We Need to Act Now!

    In the thread about repurposing, both Tom and Jim mentioned workbenches being repurposed into restaurant tables, wine servers, kitchen tables, etc.!

    I hope converting old workbenches into decorative tables doesn't become a trend, something like painting pictures on old hand saws became a trend!

    If someone painted up a rusty Sears "Home Owners Companion" model handsaw with a Doug Fir blister maker handle, that is one thing. However, I would guess that there are plenty of Disston #12s painted up too.......... . . . . . . TRAVESTY, TRAVESTY I SAY!

    If perfectly good vintage workbenches begin to be taken out of circulation at a record clip to become wine tables for restaurants, it should be the cause of a major national debate on the direction we are heading as a country!

    I have wanted to build my own workbench for quite some time, but if a good quality vintage workbench came along, with high quality vises on it, and for a price of about what one of the vices cost new, that would be a big temptation. This, however, could greatlly drive up the cost of old workbenches.

    Fortunately, it sounds like Jim has mostly seen well worn benches used for this purpose, but you never know.

    Still, as mentioned above, you never know.....why.....the next thing they might do is put coat hooks on 1950s Delta 14" band saws and use them for decorative coat racks.....or use 1950s Delta cabinet makers table saws to mount cash registers on....vintage 1/4" stanley 750 chisels used to hold up papers on bulletin boards......vintage Columbia woodworking vises used on tables to hold paper napkins....this whole thing could spin wildly out of control!

    Who knows what they might do!

    I think we should act now before it is too late, keep an eye on this trend. Maybe we should form committees of correspondance right here on this bulletin board to keep each other informed.

    Maybe we should dress up like Indians and throw tea in the Boston harbor......I don't exactly know how that would help, but it worked once.

    How big do you think the threat is? Are there other actions we should take?

    Stew
    Last edited by Stew Denton; 01-05-2018 at 1:16 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    1,561
    Blog Entries
    1
    I wish someone would come up with a great way to repurpose those stars every house has.
    I like to imagine 2 ladies checking out the decor at an open house. One leans over and wispers excitedly to the other "look at that!!! They don't have a star on the house....nowhere!!! Isn't that bold?!!!."

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Stew Denton View Post
    ...

    How big do you think the threat is? Are there other actions we should take?

    Stew
    Start building 'vintage' workbenches to sell to the Pottery Barn crowd (only somewhat joking).
    Last edited by Noah Magnuson; 01-05-2018 at 8:25 AM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,468
    A few years ago, I posted my discovery why Stanley #5 planes were disappearing ...



    Unfortunately, these were not likely to be rescued (I did have a work with the owner of the store) ...



    Today I found two more ..





    Welcome to Shabby Chic.

    Regards from Cape Town

    Derek

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,582
    Quote Originally Posted by Noah Magnuson View Post
    Start building 'vintage' workbenches to sell to the Pottery Barn crowd (only somewhat joking).
    This is probably a great idea

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    22,493
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Noah Magnuson View Post
    Start building 'vintage' workbenches to sell to the Pottery Barn crowd (only somewhat joking).
    No, not joking . . . this could be the start of something.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    twomiles from the "peak of Ohio
    Posts
    12,120
    And I thought these were bad enough...
    IMAG0138.jpg
    At least there was a couple "Diamonds in the rough"........

  8. #8
    I rescued and rebuilt a guitar that had been screwed to the wall of some sort of store...

    It took quite a bit of work - but it's a good guitar now..

  9. #9
    Honestly, though - building tables that look like vintage work benches (but are actually real tables ergonomically) actually makes more sense....

    Work benches have a lot of stuff hanging underneath to bang your knees on... And are usually too narrow to be a good eating table...

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Itapevi, SP - Brazil
    Posts
    672

    Exclamation OMG! It is so macabre!

    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Cohen View Post
    A few years ago, I posted my discovery why Stanley #5 planes were disappearing ...



    Unfortunately, these were not likely to be rescued (I did have a work with the owner of the store) ...



    Today I found two more ..





    Welcome to Shabby Chic.

    Regards from Cape Town

    Derek
    It is something macabre IMO... poor tools!

  11. #11
    Agree with Osvaldo. The worst case nightmare scenario of the first one is that it's a Fathers Day tie rack made from the Dad's own planes ....and the two cloth objects are new ties !

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Crystal Lake, IL
    Posts
    577
    I actually like the plane tote coat hanger idea for the workshop, but I would make the totes myself.

    My wife's best friend, when seeing my shop and workbench for the first time this past winter, asked how much I wanted for my workbench, since she "knew I could make another." She wanted it for a kitchen island.
    Jeff

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Berkshire County in Western Ma
    Posts
    200
    I once saw a segment somewhere of a guy who collected mandolins, with literally rooms full of them by the hundreds. These were all vintage instruments that will never get to be played by anyone else. Makes no sense.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Neither here nor there
    Posts
    3,831
    Blog Entries
    6
    IMG_2815.jpg

    Found this bit of blasphemy on a visit to the states.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Southwest Virginia
    Posts
    277
    I have on my project to-do list building a scaled down version of my split-top Roubo to use in my man cave. I was going to go with all wood vises and screws to give it that "antique" look.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •