Thread: Slippery slope - my new toy

Hi Scott
I know what you mean , I had a few scabby chisels and cheapo plane from Ebay and I found a nice veritas Shoulder plane on ebay {never used} .... anyway many veritas, stanley and LN planes later with a collection of good old Titan Chisels { I like the idea of aussie chisels} and many harsh words from SWMBO about "How many tools do you need anyway?" here I am almost totally darkside now , Fast running out of cupboard space , So it looks like in the near future building a new cupboard is on the books LOL

anyway mate welcome to the endless slope enjoy the ride

Glenn

Originally Posted by madcraft

....... and many harsh words from SWMBO about "How many tools do you need anyway?"....

It occurred to me the other day, as LOML was rummaging through a pile of shoes looking for the 'right' pair, that some of us have the perfect answer to that question.

Or maybe not - perhaps it wouldn't be wise to start an 'arms race'......

Cheers,

I justify the hand plane purchases to my pregnant wife (our first child, a boy) with a twofold argument.

1. They're hand tools & make no noise so i can still work without waking the baby.

2. When asked about the price I say I'm paying for quality that jnr can inherit & evenh pass on to his sons in time. It's money well spent !

As Ian put it.... I may have started an arms race.

That's the only bad thing about Veritas tools, they're harder to pass off as hand-me-downs or $2 market buys !

Originally Posted by Sam

That's the only bad thing about Veritas tools, they're harder to pass off as hand-me-downs or $2 market buys !

Many years ago I worked in a Ham radio shop, and we had two receipt books - the official one for the accountants and for warranties, and a dummy book (properly printed and very official looking) that we would write up receipts listing whatever price the customer thought he could sneak past the missus and survive.

Just whipped this up in an afternoon. Small learning curve but a beautiful tool & (almost) idiot proof (as evidenced by the end product).

** Warning - project may contain traces of mdf **

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My friend I know exactly the problem. I have been turning good wood into saw dust for nearly 20 years. The problem started one Sunday afternoon just after I got my first computer. I set the thing up and put it on my desk. "Now where will I put these floppy disks?" I asked myself. So I went out to the shed and found an old piece of chip board. I grabbed my horrible, rusty blunt saw and hacked it into a few small bits which I nailed together with a few horrible rusty nails. It that one small project I used every tool I owned. When it was done I looked at it and thought to myself that making it was more fun than I had had for some time. And with that the die was cast. Now two decades later I have a small mountain of tools, though not nearly enough, and have made several houses full of furniture. But my love of tools and timber is undiminished.

In recent years I have been investing in good quality hand tools. You have found, as I did, that not only are good tools a pleasure to use, but they are beautiful to hold and to look at. I read once, it may have been on this forum, where somebody was decrying what he called "the pride of ownership". Now mere pride of ownership, if it gives pleasure, is better than nothing. But for me there is much more. My pleasure comes from many sources.

At the very least there is the sense of achievement I obtain from working towards the purchase of a tool. I am not a wealthy man and some of the tools and especially machinery I have, cost a lot of money. It took time, self-control and effort to get the money to buy the stuff at all. It pleases me to work towards a goal and to get there.

Then there is the pleasure I get from learning new skills. Good tools need to be worked with. They work best when you use them as intended. It takes time and effort to learn how to use a new tool. I get real pleasure from my continuing increase in skill.

I like looking after tools. I know that some people find sharpening a chore. But I like it. I have bought and restored many old hand planes. Getting in some old rusty dog and turning it into something useful is good fun. Getting a blunt chisel and making it so sharp that the air gets scared is good.

The objects I have made fill our house, the house of my children and associates. They are beautiful and useful. Knowing that I have added something to the lives of others makes me happy.

Well made modern tools are beautiful objects. My Veritas BU smoother is a work of art to see. I suppose there is an atheistic pleasure in collecting tools that is often ignored but is very real. I have an old Stanley No 7 jointer which is not just a work of mechanical art but it has a history also. I am glad it is mine.

On a purely practical level for some years I earned my income teaching children to use tools as a manual arts teacher. I was fortunate enough to work for a school that sent me to TAFE to gain the qualifications to teach this subject. One of my most cherished memories comes from a classroom. I was helping a young girl to use a hand plane. I showed her how to use her body weight to control the plane and the tool started to work for her. She looked up from the work bench, smiled at me and said "using hand planes is fun." We were separated by 40 years of age, gender, life experience. But for one moment we shared something which united us. I looked back at her, smiled and said "I know. I like them too."

Of all the things I have, the best by a long way is a wonderful wife. For 33 years in good times and bad she has supported me to get my dreams. I know that some men feel like they have to negotiate a path past their wife to get tools but my wife is different. She helps me and encourages me at every turn.

I have a budget of pocketmoney (the wife & I spend this as we wish) and am slowly acquiring some very nice handtools. I am on the lookout for a hand brace at the moment but am in no particular rush. My wife too encourages me despite the fact that I'm yet to make anything "house worthy", she can see the improvment in skill and most importantly she can see the enjoyment it brings me.
I've only been married 3 years but i hope i'm saying the same things you are in thirty more !

Chook, I have had my eyes opened by being lucky enough to own a Veritas BU smoother also. I could not have imagined taking transparent shavings & leaving a nigh polished surface with a hand plane prior to owning this beautiful tool.

Originally Posted by Ozziespur

I have a budget of pocketmoney (the wife & I spend this as we wish) and am slowly acquiring some very nice handtools. I am on the lookout for a hand brace at the moment but am in no particular rush. My wife too encourages me despite the fact that I'm yet to make anything "house worthy", she can see the improvment in skill and most importantly she can see the enjoyment it brings me.
I've only been married 3 years but i hope i'm saying the same things you are in thirty more !

Chook, I have had my eyes opened by being lucky enough to own a Veritas BU smoother also. I could not have imagined taking transparent shavings & leaving a nigh polished surface with a hand plane prior to owning this beautiful tool.

We do exactly the same thing as you and since our kids have all long since grown up and left home the amount has increased. I am older (not old!) and having the knowledge that some of my income is mine to spend as I like sweetens each working day.

In September my daughter is returning from Canada to visit for a few weeks and she is bringing home a bags of tools from the Lee Valley store in Vancouver which is very close to her home.

The BU smoother is a wonder to use. All my other planes are old restored Stanley's and they are okay. But the Veritas is in another league altogether. I have plans to get a few more.

As to wives, well of your wife is even close to as good a woman as mine you are a very blessed man indeed.

I am glad you get pleasure from your hobby.

Originally Posted by chook

Of all the things I have, the best by a long way is a wonderful wife. For 33 years in good times and bad she has supported me to get my dreams. I know that some men feel like they have to negotiate a path past their wife to get tools but my wife is different. She helps me and encourages me at every turn.

Its a bloody shame you can't buy them at Hare n Forbes or Garbotec, i'd be beatin the door down!

Steve

Not only do they not sell good wives at Carbatec, you cannot take an old worn out one into the shed and fix them up

Originally Posted by kamusur

Its a bloody shame you can't buy them at Hare n Forbes or Garbotec...

I can't remember where I got mine. She suffers a lot from chatter, and occasionally digs in. I might have to take her out to the shed for a damn good fettling...

Cheers, Vann.