Used tool markets in London?

[robert king]

I will be in London June 15th (Thursday) till June 21st (Tuesday). Are there any good markets to buy used tools, especially planes, chisels, marking devices, etc.

Also are there any interesting shops that specialize in the use of hand tools that would welcome someone to visit? Anything else to do woodworking wise while in London? God bless the Queen on her birthday! You can Email me at robert@alij.com

[Alice Frampton]

Robert, try here. Anything you find or can confirm/deny the existance of I'll be glad to hear about, btw.

Cheers, Alf

[Dave Carey]

Robert,
It's been a while since I visited and even longer since I lived there so the following may be out of date. Portobello Road (Sat AM) in my view doesn't have much to offer and is overpriced. Bermondsy market on Friday mornings is a little harder to get to but is more oriented to the working man and often had some interesting tools. There are a bunch of furniture warehouses in that area as well and if you stumble into the basement shops by mistake you'll see antigues being made! Camden Lock has some tool sellers as well but is spread over a huge area and takes lots of time to find the tools. A friend was looking for spoon bits, didn't see any but chatted up the owner of one of the tool stalls who was able to find some and send them to him. Happy hunting. I envy you the trip. Dave

[Teresa Jones]

Robert,

You might post your question on the UK Workshops forum.

Google UK Workshops and it should be the first listing.

TJ

[Hank Knight]

Robert,

I have enjoyed the Portobello Road market on Saturdays. I picked up a nice Norris A5 from John King there a couple of years ago for 135 Pounds and several other lesser items over the years. It's kind of hit-and-miss. Sometimes you'll find lots of stuff, other times not. I haven't been in several years, so I don't know how the prices are these days. In the past, though, I've generally found them moderate - not outrageous, but not cheap either. It's an interesting Saturday morning. There's everything inmaginable there. If your wife is going with you, take her. She'll enjoy it.

Covent Garden isn't what it used to be; it's overly commercialized and tourist-oriented these days, and much smaller that it used to be. They've actually moved most of it across the river to a large fruit/flower/produce market. There are supposed to be several tool dealers that set up at Covent Garden, but I've never found any. I dont' know if I've gone at the wrong times, but I've never seen a tool dealer there.

Have fun. London is a great city.

Hank