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Thread: antique divider

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Location
    Lafayette, CA
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    832

    antique divider

    I love old tools. Inviting one into my shop rewards me with a sense of reverence for its history and the thought of how its owners might have made use of it through the decades.

    A couple of years ago my brother-in-law gave me a Stanley No. 71 router plane, Type 4, from 1892 – 1895 that he had for some reason, before I knew what a router plane was. I have since spruced it up (it needed almost no work) and treated it to a set of blades from Lee Valley. I use it regularly now, each time with delight –– and excellent results.

    Late last year my father-in-law passed away at 98. He was an avid sailboat-model builder and made many exquisite models that still grace the family homes today.

    Well, my wife is finally finishing up the sorting of his possessions to go to the estate sale, and separating out the things the family wants. Today she noticed some mildly grungy small tools in his garage, texted me a photo, and asked if I wanted any of them. I said yes to four. This post is about one of them.

    Joe's divider 1.jpg

    This is a simple Starrett divider, four inches long, worth about fifteen bucks on eBay today. Besides its near-pristine condition (after a little 0000 steel wool buffing), the fact that it works like new, and its still-sharp points, this is what I like most about it:

    Joe's divider 2.jpg

    1885 patent: most likely bought near the turn of the century, right? Based on his family stories, Joe probably received this tool handed down from his father or uncle –– or more likely his grandfather –– when he was a boy in the 30s.

    I can get one of these on eBay, but to hold this tool in my hands gives me a quiet fullness. It's no accident that it enters my kit just as I sit on the verge of making dovetails a basic skill. I can't wait to lay out my first tail board with it.

    The others are two sizes of Craftsman outside calipers that he probably bought as a man (can't tell the dates) and a German compass of standard make circa 1990. But the Starrett is almost as old as the Statue of Liberty.

    I love this hobby.

    ______

    Footnote to this post. I went looking for 4" Starrett divider. I think the current model might be the 83A-4 , are around $70 list for new. This doesn't affect my appreciation of my little tool one way or the other, but it sheds light on the eBay price.
    Last edited by Bob Jones 5443; 01-19-2021 at 11:46 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
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    27,347
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    Nice pair of dividers Bob.

    For the longest time my dividers set idle. Then one day they were used to lay out some joinery and for a while it was hard for me to pass up a set.

    Now there are about a dozen pair in the shop and more in the house.

    It is easy for laying out joinery to set a point and slide the square up to it to mark.

    Enjoy your heirlooms.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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