I Like Old Tools

[Warren Mickley]

There are exceptionally good hand tools available now.... At least as good as the best of the past.... But - they are coming out of "boutique" makers at a premium price.... Honestly, truth be told - they always did.... Mathieson wasn't a high volume shop.. I bet neither was Witherby (at least until after WWII)..

As to why they went away?
It wasn't the bean counters - it was the carpenters, cabinet makers, and furniture makers...
2 words:
Power Tools....

Jointers no longer use sash mortise chisels and paring chisels to make window frames - they use large automated routers and saws.. No doubt they own a chisel or 2 for some clean up work... And just because....

Mills no longer manually plane and carve details into trim - it's all done on big router units....

It's the same with high quality hand saws... The Skil saw was the death knell of the Diston panel saw....

And electric sanders were more or less the end of scraper planes....

It's the same in many other trades. I visited an old, well known Luthier a month ago.... His main chisel was an old Witherby paring chisel... He "inherited" it from his master when the man retired... And that man "inherited" it from his master when he retired.. And it was perhaps 1" shorter than new... So 3 professionals used the same chisel for the bulk of their work careers - and didn't use it up... But then honestly - Luthiers don't really beat up chisels like a Jointer bashing out window mortises would...

I have experience making sash and window frames by hand. We don't bash out window mortises or beat up our mortise chisels. If we did the sash would look even crappier than the machine made stuff. My mortise chisels haven't lost an 1/8 inch in length after thousands of mortises and thirty years. Hand work is about finesse not bashing. For somebody with skill, there is no trouble competing with millwork shops; their insurance costs and workman's compensation costs are horrendous.

I like to use 19th tools because the steel is much better. Manufacturers today don't even know what to look for in a good tool.

[Todd Stock]

I know there are luthiers out there with mallets, but they are seldom necessary, so compared to a sash joiner, there's a lot less noise and whacking things about. We might forgive John a bit of hyperbole in the service of a little humor.

[Matt Lau]

I dunno. I'm a total noob, so take my words with a grain of salt.

When I started my hobby of building guitars, I immediately found that some older tools worked far better than the what I'd find with many modern suppliers--eg. my Grizzly #4 handplane would not get sharp despite multiple days of lapping on float glass. I lusted after the old infill planes, the Bedrocks, Sweethearts, etc.

After getting into this a bit, I find that there's good tools and bad.
The Japanese stuff that I bought is superior to anything I've handled, but the old Berg, Swan, Witherby chisels do take a wicked edge and have a special charm. I love my Lee Valley BU planes, but a well tuned Stanley works just as great.

Not any financial affiliation, but I'd challenge you to try any of Stan Covington's recommended tools...they are phenomenal, and new.

[Ray Selinger]

When I started my carpentry apprenticeship in '71, they were still making hand tools back then. Maybe not great ones, but we did use hand tools daily, handsaws ,brace and bit. They were expensive and carefully thought out purchases for an apprentice. My chisel set was an English made Stanley #5002s, Stanley "Blue Chips". I left carpentry for millwrighting after 10 years. I'm retired now and can do what I love, making sawdust. At a fleamarket I found I could buy Sandvik #280s for $5. When I was an apprentice, I paid $46 ! There I found a Swedish made, Footprint labeled chisel. With it in hand , I was Errol Flynn , sword in hand , fighting on a pirate ship. What balance. I have Beavers, Wm. Marples, and E.A.Bergs now.

[Jerry Olexa]

It's the same in many other trades. I visited an old, well known Luthier a month ago.... His main chisel was an old Witherby paring chisel... He "inherited" it from his master when the man retired... And that man "inherited" it from his master when he retired.. And it was perhaps 1" shorter than new... So 3 professionals used the same chisel for the bulk of their work careers - and didn't use it up...

Well said, john...The above is amazing: 3 generations using the same tool...refreshing..Not much of this anymore. Thanks

[Robert Zschoche]

I confess to liking the old hand tools just because they are old and have that "patina". I do get extra enjoyment when using some of the hand tools that were owned by my grandfather and my great-grandfather. My favorite old tool from Grandpa might be the workbench he built ~ 1941.

[Jim Koepke]

I confess to liking the old hand tools just because they are old and have that "patina". I do get extra enjoyment when using some of the hand tools that were owned by my grandfather and my great-grandfather. My favorite old tool from Grandpa might be the workbench he built ~ 1941.

Howdy Robert and welcome to the Creek. It is kind of nice to have family history in your tools. Any chance you can post a picture of the bench?

jtk

[Stewie Simpson]

Because very few seem to appreciate the depth of history and skill that went into making these earlier made tools.

[Stewie Simpson]

Work on refurbishing this traditional moving fillister plane has been completed.

Reglued the boxwood wear strips;
Reworked the irons bed to flat;
Flattened the sole of the plane;
Shortened the wedge length at the toe by 1/4";
Resharpened the iron and nicker;
Restored the patina to the worked areas of bare wood;
2 coats of wax;
Tested the planes performance;





The planesmaker is Griffiths-Norwich. The following covers their history.
https://www.sgriff.com/planes/griffi...nesandproducts

[Phil Mueller]

Stewie, as always your restoration work is superb.

[Stewie Simpson]

For those that share an interest in refurbishing these early made traditional moving fillister planes I removed the depth stop adjuster to allow you to view their basic design. Unfortunately if the top mounting screws are made of steel their likely rusted in by now and can be a challenge to remove. I will be replacing mine with 7/8" brass wood screws.

[Frederick Skelly]

The planesmaker is Griffiths-Norwich. The following covers their history.
https://www.sgriff.com/planes/griffi...nesandproducts

That was interesting to read. Thank you Stewie.
Fred

[James Waldron]

For those that share an interest in refurbishing these early made traditional moving fillister planes I removed the depth stop adjuster to allow you to view their basic design. Unfortunately if the top mounting screws are made of steel their likely rusted in by now and can be a challenge to remove. I will be replacing mine with 7/8" brass wood screws.

Stewie:

If they are available in your area, you may want to look into using silicon bronze screws rather than brass. They are much stronger in all ways you might be interested in (and here in the U.S. are not much more expensive than brass). If all else fails in sourcing them, they are often used in wooden boat building and should be available in marine supply sources. You're very unlikely to ever break off a silicon bronze screw by over torquing with hand drivers, brace and bit or most power screw drivers. Maybe you could overpower one with a hammer drill driver. Or maybe not. I've never tried to over drive to that extent.

Edit: One (certainly not the only) US mail order source for anyone interested: https://www.boltdepot.com/Wood_screw...on_bronze.aspx

[Stewie Simpson]

2 more Moving Fillister Planes to refurbish.

[Jeff Heath]

Here's a little love shown for a vintage Greenlee 3" slick I just picked up. I really like vintage Greenlee chisels (all their cutting tools, for that matter, as I have a drawknife from them that is excellent) as they were made not 50 miles from where I live now. This slick arrived in the usual state, with about 20 or 30 different bevels, all thrown in at 45°. I bet it wasn't much fun to use, as it was as dull as the back side of a butter knife.

Anyway, I had to re-establish a proper bevel. I chose 25°.

I still have to hone it and flatten the back, but it's going to make a fine user for the larger work I do, as well as trimming tenons and scarfs on an upcoming timber frame building I'm making.

Greenlee slick.jpgSlick grind 2.jpg