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  1. #1
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    Default Tools from an inheritance

    So, several years ago my Great Uncle passed away. He was rather eccentric, but a top shelf kind of guy. Lived very very conservatively and cheaply.

    Anyway they finally got around to selling his house etc so had to clear out the shed. As I have been taking an interest in woodworking and just moved into a property I got most of the tools that where left over. My cousin wanted a few for keepsakes as there was some old stuff in there.

    tools.jpg

    Excuse the photo qualities. Done in poorly lit shed, with crappy hand phone from someone who has no photographic skill or desire.

    That is pretty much all the tools (minus a few others like an old powered drill and boxes of sandpaper). I received BOXES of hardware and odds and ends. I also received a bloody huge ladder that is made of Oregan (sp?) and is damn heavy and over 90 years old. Not in photos is also a few really nice socket/spanner/ratchet sets.

    Some items in that pack. Woodworking vice (bottom left), I don't have one so greatly appreciated. Under the bunch of hacksaws and the Kmart Tenon saw (yeh yeh, I don't have one so again, appreciated) is a large "Superior" crosscut saw around 7TPI. In great nick and will be put to use after a very small basic clean.

    There is some squares and gauges that will come in handy after cleaning etc. Files...heaps of them. Screwdrivers of all sorts and sizes including a saw screw one (sorry I don't know the technical name). Heaps of plyers, grips etc etc. A good rivet gun, a heap of drill bits (actually pretty damn decent) and a 3 piece tin snip pack. As you can see...heaps of stuff.

    Items of note. The two wooden hand planes are damn old. My Great, Great, Great Grandfather (I think 3 greats) was a carpenter and came to Australia from Scotland in the 1870's...he bought the Jack plane with him. Not sure on the little Coffin Plane. My Cousin got the other old wooden plan as a keepsake and a couple of old hand saws. These will be put to great use and I plan on using these after cleaning them up a touch...nothing major but the sole is a little.....bumpy.

    There is a wonderful old Bit Brace under there with a selection of bits. Going to clean that up (its useable now) as I think it could look amazing. Some old chisels, considering I have no chisels...I don't care that they are basic firmer chisels. They will be cleaned, sharpened and used. My Great Uncle stored them with masking tape over the bevels for safety. I have since cleaned them up and there is a big bloody heavy 1 1/4 Berg. A solid 1 inch Ward and a finer 1 inch chisel whose name I can't remember. There is also one or two Charles Taylor chisels in there. These will get used.

    A coupe of "egg beater" drills that my 3 year old has taken a liking too and a good selection of old hammers...a really nice lot actually that might be restoration projects.

    The one "shock" item is the #4 in the box at the back. I meant to take some pics, sorry. At first glance I ignored it as I have a #4 I already use and thought, well after the wooden planes are up and running I might turn this into a Scrub plane etc. I had a look only yesterday. It was stored in its plastic cover, instructions etc in there and the remnants of a dark wood from its only use. Then I saw the stamp on the cap...USSR. I then checked the box and its in, what I assume, Russian. I can't tell you more than that but thought that was pretty cool and unexpected.

    All in all, lots of fun. Several old family heirlooms that will get some work, lots of old tools begging for restoration and a heap of other things that will be good for the young one to claim as "his". These all came in a giant metal tool box. I plan on making some real simple dividers and shelves just to help organise them for easy storage. I have since cleaned up the chisels a small amount ready for sharpening and they look great.

    tools2.jpg tools3.jpg

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  3. #2
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    Those Russian planes come up fairly frequently on Flea-bay. We have one in our tool room at the Bundaberg Woodworkers Guild that I spent a bit of time on, they’re not too bad. As a smoother I’d probably rank them alongside a Carter or a new Stanley Bailey. The one thing that throws people is that the depth adjustment wheel has a right handed thread so you have to turn it anti-clockwise to advance the iron.
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

  4. #3
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    Thats a pretty good haul there and should keep you busy restoring for a while. I find I enjoy rescuing old tools just as much as woodwork. The old wood planes look like they will scrub up well. Any brand names on them?
    It's good to have some tools with a family connection.
    Regards
    John

  5. #4
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    Default

    I havn't had a chance to really look at the wood planes yet. I plan on cleaning and sharpening all the blades I have lying around which will include these two. I can tell you the irons are nice and hefty and still hold a reasonable edge. Should be fun

  6. #5
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    Ok so just ducked out to the shed to have a quick look before all the light disappeared. I made a break through with sharpening a chisel so that was awesome...

    But I checked out the two wood planes. They are both of roughly the same era and both have the same "ward" mark on the iron.

    Dads%20old%20Plane%20005_small.jpg (I nicked this pic from the net, its not a photo of mine)

    The also have reference to Mathieson & Sons (I will not guarantee this until I give it a small clean to verify) on the plane themselves. What I did find though which, to me, is most important. The name J Dawson placed beautifully on the end of the Jack plane. That is my Great Great Grandfathers name...now that is pretty awesome.

    I think I will just do the Paul Sellars Linseed Oil and steel wool clean to leave most of the character, then clean up the blade and sole for use.

  7. #6
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    Slothman,
    Ward made very good blades and they were used by other plane makers too. Matheson would have had their own blades but old planes often end up with replacement blades down the track. I have a couple of old Matheson planes one being a coffin smoother very like the one in your pictures. It's a joy to use.
    As you say keep the restoration to no more than is needed to make the planes work well. Trying to make them look new kind of looks wrong.
    Regards
    John

    mathieson tool catalogue - Google Search
    Alexander Mathieson & Sons - Wikipedia

  8. #7
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    So a little update.

    First off the saw. Cleaned the blade off, sanded back the handle (but kept a lot of the character), cleaned and polished the medallion and screws etc, sharpened and tested...works well.

    5TPIRip_restored.jpg

    And the small plane. So a little update. This plane is the one with the Mathieson stamp on it. Also the name E Pitts was stamped in various places. Interesting note, my father (family historian) has no idea who E Pitts was. So we went investigating a smidge. Initially I thought my relative came from Scotland to Australia. Not quite. He did a stint in London. So that makes the rest a bit more logical.

    My GUESS, and that is all it is, is my relative had the small plane sometime before he moved. Maybe during his apprenticeship or something. I reckon E Pitts was the original owner. I cleaned this with steel wool and alcohol/linseed oil. I cleaned and sharpened the blade and sanded the base to get it flat....I am Very happy with the result.

    small_cleaned.jpg

    small_working.jpg

    The mouth is very wide due to use, and the shavings are pretty solid. So this may be a scrub plane. I need to learn how to set it up better, but honestly damn happy with the result...back to the history.

    So after this one I have started cleaning up the Jack plane. I cleaned the two ends. Now, this I thought was a Mathieson as well, BUT after cleaning it up I reckon I am wrong. John Mosely is the manufacturer, 54-56 Broad Street, Bloomsbery. So this is a London made plane. No identification on the iron cap and the blade is Ward (like the small one, most likely replacements). My relatives name J Dawson is stamped nicely on each end.

    BUT after some more cleaning I noticed an extra stamp on one end. Upside down in relation to other stamps. It appears to be a place of purchase. It requires cleaning and daylight to see properly (instead of the lighting I do most of this with). So I reckon this was purchased by my relative in London, before he came over...and I will be able to tell you the store once I get some daylight.....so that is freaking cool As more information comes to light, the story of its history is changing.....pretty cool.

  9. #8
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    Nice work on the restore.

    Your collection looks like a VERY similar range of gear I collected out of FIL's Shed a month or so back, although yours look in far better shape. FIL's leaky shed was located just across the road from a beach and have not been touched for about 15 years.
    The main difference in the two sets being that FIL had 9 handsaws, some of the saws date back to ~1860 and odd ball stuff like sets of BSP and BSW dies.
    These tools were inherited by my BIL but unlike his dad he is not very handy and will not be using any, but he does at least appreciate the historical value and so has asked me to sort through them and assess their background.

    I've restored and am keeping the dies and die handles, and a couple of saws and hammers. The remainder has been offered to other relatives but there have been few expressions of interest.

    Except for my son who is showing more interest in hand tools the interest from other family members is only for one or two to keep as "mementos".
    My son is taking all bar one chisel, two planes, 2 hammers and 2 saws, plus a few other bibs and bobs.
    We're going to restore these together over the next year or so.
    He would take all the measuring gear (Squares, rulers, tape measures etc) but other relatives have dibbed those.

    My BIL asked for a couple of tools for display purposes so I've semi cosmetically restored a Stanley 91 marking gauge, and a small Mathieson woodie.
    However, as it is just for display I am not going to sharpen the blade.

    Woodie.JPG


    I'd keep this woodie but I have a box of about 50 woodies that I got from another deceased estate I still need to sort through. Three of the great grandies just want something to remember pop by and have selected a tool each, I was hoping they'd take more as it leaves me with a pile of stuff to dispose of that is worth little or nothing. I think the blokes from the local HTPA might be getting a visit,

    One grandy put his name on an old wrench which was very rusty so I offered to at least removed the rust in my citric acid tank. To do this I hand to remove the wooden handle but ended up losing the 3/8" BSW LHT steel collar that holds the handle on. I asked around to borrow a LHT to make a replacement but no luck. In the end I found a chrome plated brass knob from amongst pops "stuff" and I turned out the hole so it would fit onto the handle and epoxied it in place.

    Wrench.JPG

  10. #9
    Boringgeoff is offline Try not to be late, but never be early.
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    I've been trying to work out what brand your brace might be from the photos in your original post, I'm not game to hazard a guess.
    Got an early xmas pressie from BobL yesterday when he dropped off some of his FIL's auger bits, thanks Bob.

    Cheers,
    Geoff.

  11. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobL View Post
    You should've posted this in the 'shifter' thread, Bob.
    It's what I used to see in the Donald Duck comics in the fifties, always referred to it as a "monkey wrench". I took notice of it because it looked a bit like the 'Stilsons' I was used to, but with that very solid, squarish shape & short handle. It wasn't until I lived in Canada I saw one in the flesh - they are (or were) very common tools over there. I only used one once or twice, & it struck me that while it's a more solid arrangement than the common style of shifter we use now, it's too bulky to get into many places, and has no crank, so you can't keep reversing it in a spot where you have very limited leverage. I can see how the other style gained popularity...

    Cheers,
    IW

  12. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by IanW View Post
    You should've posted this in the 'shifter' thread, Bob.
    It's what I used to see in the Donald Duck comics in the fifties, always referred to it as a "monkey wrench". I took notice of it because it looked a bit like the 'Stilsons' I was used to, but with that very solid, squarish shape & short handle. It wasn't until I lived in Canada I saw one in the flesh - they are (or were) very common tools over there. I only used one once or twice, & it struck me that while it's a more solid arrangement than the common style of shifter we use now, it's too bulky to get into many places, and has no crank, so you can't keep reversing it in a spot where you have very limited leverage. I can see how the other style gained popularity...,
    Thanks Ian, it is indeed made in the USA. This one is doubly useless because the adjustment thread is so worn it slips along most of its length The grandy who chose it did so because he likes the look of it. If he uses it I'll bet it will be as a hammer!

  13. #12
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    Thanks for that post Bob. I think I read your post about this somewhere else on the forum. Those look great as restores. I don't know about you but I find the "family" connection gives it a bit desire to restore. I nearly went at mine with sandpaper as the wood does look great, but I like the "old but clean" look for these due to the family connection.

    There is one or two I might clean right up for display and keepsakes, like you had done.

    Geoff, that Bit Brace will be next after the Jack plane. I have started it and it cleans up nicely. I was going to grab some rust remover gel to do the rest. Its in pretty good nick. The wood is fantastic and is coming up nicely. This will again, be another user so will keep that "old but clean" look. At the moment I am doing a few minutes here, a few minutes there in between other jobs. I am trying to get better storage for this lot otherwise it will all just get bundled back into the large toolbox and we all know what tool i will want then.

    Interesting story with the bit brace. My experience is...well non existant with restoration, wood work and all things related. So its kind of learn as I go. There was 2 screws holding the head on. I was very gentle in removing these. I could not get the head off. I tapped it, it pried it. I noticed a bit of "mushrooming" over the cap. I got a Stanley knife and VERY carefully tried to "shave" it. Nothing was working. I hit it with a mallet...gently. I scratched my head, looked at it. Whipped out the phone and googled it...first page..."DON'T HIT IT WITH A MALLET".....rightio. So yeh, I now know that they screw on

    I have been slowly sharpening the chisels. They take a bit, but we are getting there. I really need to put it all aside, sort out the storage, pack it all away. Make a small solid FLAT workbench for the shed then get back to them.....thats what I should do.

  14. #13
    Boringgeoff is offline Try not to be late, but never be early.
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    Yes a lot of them do screw on/off but also the wood may not have been fully seasoned at time of manufacture and over the intervening 50-100 years have tightened up considerably.
    Can you see a name or number on it?
    Cheers,
    Geoff.

  15. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slothman View Post
    Thanks for that post Bob. I think I read your post about this somewhere else on the forum. Those look great as restores. I don't know about you but I find the "family" connection gives it a bit desire to restore. I nearly went at mine with sandpaper as the wood does look great, but I like the "old but clean" look for these due to the family connection..
    I agree - sandpaper or similar is a last resort.
    I prefer to use weak acid soaks or electrolysis to remove corrosion and then various forms of polishing.
    I've been using a fine 8" Scotchbrite wheel with a fair bit of success.
    IMG_3389p.jpg
    It takes the rust off but doesn't really touch the metal so it doesn't damage the makers marks and leaves a substantial amount of patina on the metal.
    Usually I use 6 fold wheels but that wheel above is made up of 2 x 4 fold wheels I bought on eBay.
    The folds enable the material to get into places on tools etc that would not be otherwise possible

    Recently I found 3 old carbide miners lamps in FIL's shed/midden.
    They originate from SWMBO's Grandad who was a one man operator/gold miner up north in the 1920's
    The steel handles were completely rusted. the Al upper and lower chambers where chalky grey with corrosion, and the brass bits were a black brown colour.
    The chambers still contained some carbide although most of it had turned into solid limestone so they were a real challenge to get apart.
    A few days soak in various acids did the trick although a couple of the brass bits are still permanently corroded together.
    Then everything was soaked in citric acid ranging from a few hours for the brass, a day for the Al chambers and a couple of days for the steel handles.
    Then the Scotchbrite wheel was used to remove any residual corrosion and polish things up a tad.

    Lamps.JPG
    Full details of the restore are in the metal work forums here Small find amongst FILs stuff
    There was no intention of ever getting those back into working items although I did manage that with the following one which I didn't fully cosmetically restore this one as it has gone to my son and it will be unto him to do that if he wants to.
    Lamps2.JPG

  16. #15
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    Yuk! The stench of carbide! While reading your post, I got a distinct whiff of the stuff. Our neighbors down the road where I grew up were 'tin-scratchers' and used carbide lamps a lot. The light these things give off is amazing, but I don't know how they worked all day in a confined space, with that stink.

    Thank goodness for LEDs & lithium batteries!

    Cheers,
    IW

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