Thread: More Saw Talk

A very interesting thread to read.

There is nothing better than tools passed and you just can't buy that.

Although I'd happily pay for the two full sets of Bergs my BIL has from my Dad, and very crudely sharpened one up in front of me and used a hammer on.

Originally Posted by Waldo

.....Although I'd happily pay for the two full sets of Bergs my BIL has from my Dad, and very crudely sharpened one up in front of me and used a hammer on.

Know how you must feel, Waldo. Isn't there a plea like 'justifiable homicide'? Must be a story how HE came to be the recipient & not you....??

Yeah, money can't buy some things, alright. I'm not overly-sentimental about tools (there were a few of dad's I let through to the keeper) but that saw was something I always coveted, so I'm glad it ended up in safer hands that it might have. My own son is still too busy with life to be interested in such things, but maybe someday he will appreciate it, too. If not, I'm pinning my hopes on a grandchild or two that might inherit this love of tools thing...

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

Must be a story how HE came to be the recipient & not you....??

Yeah there is, he got into my Dad's shed the day he died before I could even get on a plane to Brisbane.

Originally Posted by Waldo

Yeah there is, he got into my Dad's shed the day he died before I could even get on a plane to Brisbane.

Surely the lousy so&so could let you have ONE of the sets - even the less good one??

P'raps this is not a good topic to pursue, Waldo, it'll just make you cross. I reckon I would quietly remove a couple each visit - if he treats tools like you describe, he'll probably think he left them somewhere & wait for them to turn up. 'Course you'll have to lock up YOUR shed when he visits

(And in case you are wondering how I came to have FILs saw - his own Flesh & Blood got the first offer, but declined it, so I had to keep it in the family. Such a chore, but I'm coping...)
Cheers,

Yeah, it raises the blood when I think about it. But, all this is stealing away from your thread.

As much as the horn on the saw is busted on the saw, would replacing it either take away its heritage, or knowing that you have renovated it add your addition to its heritage?

For me that would be a hard call.

That's sly. Good idea though.

I have a few of my grandfather's tools that I rescued from his garage around Christmas last year. He's been dead for over ten years now and doesn't use his stuff anymore. Not a lot of great stuff but it was his and that's what give it its value. My nan was waiting me like a hawk. "don't take my good saws" she was saying. They weren't that good and I didn't want them but I did acquire a few nice gouges and a stack of files that will be useful somewhere some day. I also got his stanley 4. Late model, made in UK. Blade has rounded top corners. Not sweetheart or bedrock but still useable and valuable to me because of the previous owner.

I have also been lucky enough to aquire a few tools of his brother in law's, Uncle Harold, who was a carpenter. I got them from my dad, who'd had them under the house rusting away. "can I have this one dad? I'll clean it and sharpen it for you" I'm also storing and using it for him... Of Uncle Harold's tools I have an 8" Lloyd Davies dovetail saw, 12" Tyzack tenon (or carcase?) saw and a Robt. Sorby handsaw about 5-6ppi. Dunno if it was rip or x-cut but I've since filed and sharpened it as a x-cut. Took a lot of steel off (close to qtr inch) but it came up a treat. It's probably late 19thC and it is one of the favourites in my collection.

I've got a few old Disstons from friends who know I like old stuff. I ask them to tell me the stories behind these tools so that I have some connection with where they were from and who used them. Gives them a bit more depth and life.

I feel that we are seeing the end of that generation of tools. I'm 40. Almost all of the old men of my pop's generation are gone now and with them, and their sheds, the last of the quality tools. When the baby boomers start to toddle off in the next 40 years the sheds will yield the tools of post WW2 "quality", if any of them have survived and there will no doubt be a surfeit of dodgy old power tools that will have nowhere to go but landfill.

A bit of a grim note to end on.

Cheerio (?)
Virg.

Originally Posted by Waldo

Yeah, it raises the blood when I think about it. But, all this is stealing away from your thread.

As much as the horn on the saw is busted on the saw, would replacing it either take away its heritage, or knowing that you have renovated it add your addition to its heritage?

For me that would be a hard call.

You're absolutely right, W. - 'tis a hard call for me, too! I reason it this way: I'm surprised the old chap didn't try to fix it himself, so it probably happened not that long ago, when his eyesight wasn't too hot, & he just whittled it (roughly) smooth & left it at that. Surprisingly to me, it makes little or no difference to the grip, with your eyes closed, you would not know the horn is missing. Had I seen it, earlier-on, I would probably have offered to fix it for him then. I had previously fixed a busted tote on his old 5 1/2 (now also safely in my hands! ), because I happened to have some scraps of matching Rosewood, so he would quite likely have agreed to that.

So one of these days, if I stumble on a bit of suitable apple, I may repair it. I would rough out a chunk & turn a dowel and fit it with the grain matching as closely as possible, then reshape it to blend in. Because the old handle is heavily stained and 'weathered' it will stick out as an addition, but that's ok - if it's good enough for the repairs on the karyatids on the Acropolis to show, it's good enough for this bit of antiquity.

But the wood has ben soaked in oil, as I said, which makes it doubtful any glue would adhere, and it's quite useble as-is, so chances are very high that I will still be deciding what to do when it's time for the next recipient to take charge of it....

Cheers,

One of those I'll-get-around-to-it-one-days situation. Until then, being able to step into your shed, knowing that it's your shed but at the same time it has some heritage to it, by way of tools through inheritance that it takes on a warmer glow.

Originally Posted by Virgil

.....I feel that we are seeing the end of that generation of tools. I'm 40. Almost all of the old men of my pop's generation are gone now and with them, and their sheds, the last of the quality tools. When the baby boomers start to toddle off in the next 40 years the sheds will yield the tools of post WW2 "quality", if any of them have survived and there will no doubt be a surfeit of dodgy old power tools that will have nowhere to go but landfill.

A bit of a grim note to end on.

Dunno if it's all that grim, Virg. I'm in the generation ahead of you, & still inheriting pre-WW2 tools, to add to those I 'found' myself. So as I and my cohort vanish, there ought to be some pretty nice hand-tools appearing from their sheds. (Agree the power tools are likely to be dodgy, though )

And the way things are going, there will be fewer people who care about hand tools, so those of you who do care will have a feast! Look after my saws, will you, if my offspring do what I expect & have a bl**dy big garage sale......

Cheers,

Save the garage sale and just send it all to me of course you'll have to box and freight ahead of time.

Nice story Ian, good to see some continuing family use from the tools.
When my dad died I inherited nearly all his tools, including a matching set of Disston handsaws, in mint condition- a rip and a panel saw, plus a tenon (backed) saw. When I was about 13 I was off to a mate's place with the rip saw on my pushbike. Somehow I lost grip of it and the blade went into the front wheel... and SNAP went the blade!! Upset and shamed, I stupidly got rid of it. Now I would have at least kept the handle and fittings, to put on another blade; and probably recycled the blade too, as scrapers, but too young with little nous....
I still use the other saws, plus planes, spokeshave, chisels and many other handtools I remember him using as a kid.

Cheers

The only handtool that was left of my Dad's after he had passed away was his Warranted Superior Handsaw 8PPI and crosscut.
It used hang on a nail on the laundry wall, and was the only one of his tools too big to be lost by my little brothers after I left home.
I have it still and love using it.
SG

Hi -

My Grandparents homesteaded in Saskatchewan, and Dad grew up in the proverbial log cabin (no electricity etc.)...

When we made a family trip back to the old farm (early 1980's) he found my Grandfathers ice saw (about 7-8 feet long)... believe it not - we brought it back to Ottawa as carry-on luggage....(those were the days!).

A few years later, we built an ice-house at our cottage, and used the saw to put up ice for the next few years... the ice really does last all summer, packed in sawdust!

Cheers -

Rob

Could tell some horrible stories of tools gone astray but my son uses tools used by both his great-grandparents.
Cheers,
Jim