Thread: Seaton, anyone?

Thank Paul

Astounding, thanks for the photos, what a day!

Perhaps the son died or maybe dad bought them to give his son in the hope he would take up a trade.
Beautiful stuff though and lucky for us. Some unspoiled history.

TT

Originally Posted by Twisted Tenon

Perhaps the son died or maybe dad bought them to give his son in the hope he would take up a trade.
Beautiful stuff though and lucky for us. Some unspoiled history.

TT

I have the first edition of the book , there is a second expanded version that I have not seen .

From what I remember Benjamin had got the tools together and made the box , working within his fathers business.
The book says he was possibly planning on going off on his own, possibly over seas I think , but his Father suddenly passed away, and it was he, Benjamin who ran the business from that point.

If your interested in a small side story of a tool in this chest , see the link below.

On page 4 of Paul's link, there is, what the description there says is a lock mortise chisel.

In the Book they call it a Bolting Iron , same thing I suppose ?

Back in 2013 Pete and myself made some bolting irons , copying the Benjamin Seaton tool, and at the end of the thread is myself using it .

What a great little tool.

It gets used whenever I'm fitting drawers and locks.



https://www.woodworkforums.com/f152/bolting-iron-167483

Rob

"And then there are the saws..."

Oh dear. I think I have just dribbled all over my shirt front !

I think I know of at least one saw maker on the Forum who will appreciate the "simple" handles. Actually i would describe them as elegant.

Regards
Paul

Those handles reflect someone who has both extremely good taste and ability to design, as well as superb execution of the proportions and the lines.

I haven't seen a new saw handle that is the equal of those, only perhaps when George Wilson makes a copy of a saw handle, and I know for certain I couldn't make one as clean as those.

They are exceptional. Beyond exceptional.

It occurred to me that I had seen some of the saws before, particularly the hand saw with the distinctive round nose, so I went looking.

It is of course Wenzloff, who copied the design.

http://www.wenzloffandsons.com/compo...hest-saws.html

Regards
Paul

Some nice looking handles there.
Those horns are particularly fine - in both size and execution!

Thanks for that link, Paul. What a wonderful set of tools.

Originally Posted by hiroller

Some nice looking handles there.
Those horns are particularly fine - in both size and execution!

I agree; They are..well.. flamboyant. Love them, even if they are a little fragile. Do we know what the timber is? I will have to go back and have a look.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

I agree; They are..well.. flamboyant. Love them, even if they are a little fragile. Do we know what the timber is? I will have to go back and have a look.

Regards
Paul

Looks like the usual Beech and the book confirms it . it says all with the "flower " the medullary rays" showing on the side .

so 1/4 sawn as well . In the link you can see it on some.

The book has seven pages 2 with photos dedicated to the description of the saws . all the specs and grinding details .

It says all of them show signs of use and the backsaws being bent and kinked .

Never lend your saws out, eh !! Later relatives probably trimming fruit trees with them ?

Rob

I am looking at these pictures and wonder about the shape of the ends of the horns. Usually I round them off with the diameter of the roundness being the same as the thickness of the handle. But it looks like these are more pointy. I would love to see a picture straight on from above or below.

Originally Posted by Corneel

I am looking at these pictures and wonder about the shape of the ends of the horns. Usually I round them off with the diameter of the roundness being the same as the thickness of the handle. But it looks like these are more pointy. I would love to see a picture straight on from above or below.

If no other pictures show up, the difference in making them vs. making something like a handle with a fatter top is just that the curve is run all the way up to the top of the handle out to the tongue instead of pushing the curve at the top of the handle and then thinning the taper out quickly leaving the top fat.

The top of the handle still has a very rounded profile looked at from above.

The bottom is a stub and sticks out flat on the closed handle saws, but is similarly curved to the top.

Instead of tapering your curve radius off as you get to the top of the horn, try running one out like that.

I see the comment above that the handles are more fragile, but they are not particularly fragile (I've made two like that, but I haven't pushed the radius at full size up to the top like that, though). The only thing they are threatened by is being dropped, but that's a threat to all handles. I've broken fat disston handles by dropping them, something I thought wouldn't occur.

I've got a matheisen closed handle plane that employs the same thing as these, pushing the radius of curvature around the thickness of the handle way up to the tongue at the top, and it looks particularly nice. I drop my planes too often to make them like that yet, but I'm inclined to start doing it, anyway, because of the boost in attractiveness.

The other thing that strikes me about some of these older handles is that the width is more and the chord less than a lot of newer handles. The thinner handles more common are about 1 inch wide on my planes, but the alternate mathiesen handle I mentioned above, as well as one on an english badger plane, is done 1.2 inches wide finished.