I hear of good people sending Chris tools to help young makers. Most of us have too many tools; I am still buying tools at 66 and giving lots away to students and friends. It’s a great gift, something you have used and worked with. There is a load of romance in used tools. The history of who had it before you were given it, or got it on eBay. Their sweat is burnished into the handle. If you are like me, you hope that a little of their skill will help you do a bit better job.
I put out a general “if you have any tools that you think could go into this chest to help a young maker get going let me know.” Well I don’t know if British makers are just mean or didn’t hear me but the response has largely been from across the pond. Typical is this:
David,
I hope these help get someone inspired to work more with their hands and wood. It’s odd that a nail set or chalk line can provoke something inside. And this something can last a lifetime. Well, these tools are genuine… nothing fancy. Please consider something for the runner-up … to all of us who didn’t make first place.
Bob
Bob asked for his gift to be anonymous, well I respect that, but cannot allow it to go unmarked. (sorry, Bob) The tools Bob sent me, and it cost him $70 to mail it to me, are old, good and useful, and all will go in the chest. I will also take Bob’s point on “failing” to win. Something for the poor devil who will do the final week but not win the chest. They have the courage to try and fail and deserve recognition. So who amongst you, following Bob’s example, have a good shoulder plane that you can give up? Let me know here and I will get back to you.
I have, I must admit, asked Matthew at Workshop Heaven to donate here. I will, where I can afford it, buy tools in, like the panel saws and see if I can upgrade my own tool box. I will then pass one of my saws on to the young person who will get this tool chest. (They only have one more month to apply.) I wanted a No 6 bench plane; what Matthew sent me very kindly was a 5-1/2 Quangsheng. My aim was to look at these planes again. When they first came on the market I reviewed them and was less than happy. They have since revised these planes and they seem to be getting a good place in the market. I am delighted by this. From the point of view of the young maker with shallow pockets, I hate it that good tools are shiny and rosewood decorated, and expensive.
I have got a Lie-Nielsen No 7 in one of the many student tool boxes here that is a strong candidate. It’s in use at the moment so Jon’s No 6 is showing in my images. My comparison is between the Cheap Chinese and the really good Yank.
First a credit to the work of one man. Tom Lie-Nielsen has done more to enable good making to carry on, in my lifetime, than anyone I know. Quite simply he has put tools out there that give you a chance. For years in the 1980s and 1990s I wrestled with steel bananas. Tool-shaped objects created by marketing departments and accountants that challenged anyone attempting to learn to make. What was wrong you, or the tool? That they were patently not fit for function took us some years to establish. I vividly remember one student flattening a Record No. 6 eight times in 12 months and the damn thing was still moving! Tom gave us flat planes, and publicly, I thank you. Veritas followed behind often with “that’s a great solution but what exactly was the problem?” Their contribution should also be applauded. Alan Reid at Clifton gathered the remnants of a destroyed Sheffield tool industry and heroically attempted to enable good affordable bench planes to be made available to us. His forged steel Victor blades were in all planes at Rowden that could be modified to take them. I am desperately sad that these blades are no longer being made and not offered by the new management at Clifton.
The Western bench plane is a precise and complex version of a chisel stuck in a block of wood.
When any bench plane comes into the workshop at Rowden we check the perimeter flatness on a ground granite slab that has been certificated for compliance to almost atomic flatness. I remember it cost me an eye-watering amount of money. They go on this slab and our finest now rather crumpled feeler gauge is tested around the edge. Most planes these days get past this test (or they go back!!). It’s what is going on in middle of the plane surface that concerns us next.
Putting a straightedge across the plane sole from side to side now slip that feeler gauge under the blade in the centre of the plane sole. Tom’s planes generally come out quite well with half a thou being the worst. This we remedy in the time-honoured way with thick sheet glass, checked for flat, well-supported as a surface to work on. We use double-sided tape rather than spray adhesive and #180-grit wet and dry paper and a little water. There should no need to do too much work on the sole to get most of the hollow out. Wearing the abrasive unevenly is a challenge that good technique just about overcomes.
The LN No. 7 was pretty well spot-on, needing a very short dressing, but the Quangsheng showed a good three quarter thou hollow that I told Jon not to spend more than half an hour working on.
The LN No. 7 has a blade and back iron that does a great job. It’s A2 steel, which holds a decent edge for a long time. For stock removal and general work this is a good blade. For final shaving it’s is a little lacking in sharpness. But you would probably not use this plane for that purpose anyway.
The Quangsheng 5-1/2 is a potential finishing plane being small and fitted with a carbon steel O1 blade. I didn’t go and check this plane out as I have a walnut table in my studio being polished. But Jon set it up and got some pretty fine shavings.
In winding this up, to complicate a simple problem. I offer an image of my current bench plane. Chisel in block of wood, but it’s the most sophisticated version of a simple concept. I would not suggest this for the beginner. It’s like driving a Ferrari, you have to be good enough or it will kill you. But I offer it as an idea to those of you who are older and wiser and needing to conserve energy. These light, incredibly sharp tools can be very effective in the right hands. In Summer School I glued up my chest half day after my fastest students, but was able to catch up, by the afternoon, even allowing for glue to set up, as my planes were that much better at final finish.
Thank you Tom, thank you Matthew. Both planes are going in the tool chest for our young furniture maker.
I know, we all know about hammers. When I earned cash dismantling exhibitions at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London in 1978 the deal was this: We meet at this pub on Sunday night at 9 p.m., each of us with a nice big 16 oz claw hammer. Two hours bashing apart exhibition stands, and by 11 p.m. we were back in the pub for last orders and with cash in hand.
“Most important tool in the workshop,” my mentor Alan Peters would say, whacking a builder’s lump hammer onto the bench. The so and so did it hard enough to make me jump. Alan used this tool to aid assembly of almost all carcase work. He was precise in how he used it, but he would drive home dovetailed sides where the glue was getting stiff with mighty whacks.
He told me once he had to assemble a small casket built to house the ashes of a client’s late husband. The client arrived. They carefully poured the ashes into the carcase, three sides had been assembled. The secret mitre dovetailed last side was glued and WHACKED down.
“Stop, Stop, please don’t hit him,” cried the distressed client. Alan carried on. Two more good whacks and it was all down and quiet resumed.
There is not much to a hammer. Weight, a nice, well-formed head and a handle of good length. “Well balanced” we say. Always hold your hammer low down on the handle; don’t strangle the damn thing. Use the length to give you accuracy and weight of the blow. It’s about rhythm and eyeballing the stoke.
We have a group nice hammers to chuck in the chest. My own hammer drawer is full of the damn things of all sizes, shapes and nationalities. Dead-weight hammers, nylon, soft-faced tappers and the good old Warringtons.
I used to not properly fit steel hoops to my Japanese chisels. I was a prat (some say I am still a prat, but they can b….. off). Now I do it properly and can whack the living daylight out of them. These are my favourite hammers; they are Japanese and bought on eBay. Though I did like a nice American hammer that Chris had when he was with us this summer.
LUCKY WINNER
Boy… the lucky person who wins this tool chest is going to get a treat. Not only a great historic chest made by Chris Schwarz. This one of the very last chests he is making with students for the foreseeable future. Chis is now going into a period away from the classes, doing new work, writing and research, and I wish him good luck; we were very fortunate to get him to come to Rowden this summer.
Not only that, but she gets a whole chest FULL of tools chosen by us here at Rowden with Chris giving input on the side AND a signed hardbound copy of “The Anarchist Tool Chest.” You have heard of that book haven’t you ?? If you haven’t go get it NOW.
There are people out there that YOU know WORLDWIDE. They are 25 or under and busting a gut to become a great maker. It is your job to get them to win this chest of tools ENTER HERE They would need to be able to come to Rowden for a week if they reached the final. We will pay their expenses whilst they are here as our guests but air flights are down to them. Also shipping this baby home if you win.
Measuring Out Tools. Beware the Traitor in the Camp I have put a selection of rules in the tool box. They cannot be too long in the shop most of have three rules: one metre, either a 600mm or a 300 mm, and usually a 150mm. In Imperial measure that would be 3’ rule 12” and 6”. Boy, that was a brain ache. I haven’t thought in Imperial measure for 30 years. They can be almost any brand. The ones shown here are Axminster Power Tools own brand and Rabone.
I have been using Rabone measuring rules all my life, but they are no better that many others. What I tend to council is choose one brand that you like and get your set of three or four rules in the same brand. THEN CHECK THE SUCKERS. Make sure they ALL tell the same measure, check ‘em real carefully; we have binned or returned 10 percent of rules that have passed through Rowden.
Straightedges Top of the photo above is our straightedge. This is an essential piece of kit. A really good 600mm straight edge from Starrett costs an arm, leg and part of your wedding tackle. This is a cheap but not very straight straightedge from Axminster Power Tools. The blade of this edge is tapered to a thin profile SOOO… there is not a great deal of work to get it really straight. (Jon Greenwood, thank you.) Take a really flat surface, we have a granite slab, and wet and dry paper #1,280 grit and carefully, rub then check, rub then check.
Squares I did have a passion for engineers squares in the 1980s. This was when it was common to see very inaccurate wooden stocked squares in workshops. Now we are making our own wooden squares as teaching exercises!
This image below shows common squares in my tool box. It used it be possible to buy guaranteed squares to BS 939 ( for the Americans amongst you that is British Standard, not what you are thinking!) Now we cannot get these as easily so all kinds of inaccurate squares are coming into Rowden. My answer is Starrett. This great American engineering company has been making reliable squares and measuring tools for as long as i can remember. Which is a damn long time, dear boy! I have taken to the adjustable square. This is because it is that much more useful than the fixed square, and, being well made, is accurate enough. We keep one serious square that is not used, or dropped, that is “Workshop Standard.” All squares are checked against this now and again, Daren keeps it hidden.
The maker who wins this will be assembling a small collection of squares, the square I have bought to start this collection is the Starrett 12” below, which is a great tool and one I want myself.
Last but not least this is one of the squares that we will be seeing a lot more of at Rowden. It will be one of the first things a new student makes: two nice mahogany squares, one large one small, with hard-wearing maple work strips. I am taking more and more to light wooden tools as I get older. The benefit of these is they can be relatively easily trued square if they go out of whack.
Boy, there are some poncy marking gauges out there. I know this is the age of the amateur Woodie, and that Gentlemen’s Tools Rule, but Jeeeez.
All we need is a stick and a stock and cutting blade. Anyone who knows me and my work knows I go for simple tools, and the fewer the better. I spend more time giving tools away to students and mates than buying them. The fewer the better.
An old guy once told me that speed is about picking up and putting down tools. This is about building a collection of decent professional hand tools for a young maker. There is a competition closing date end of November, so if you know a young would-be Woodie 25 or under able to come to the UK for a week for the final, and able to pay the shipping of the chest if she wins …. GO HERE or tell them to GO HERE.
These are the gauges we are putting in the chest. They are simple wooden cutting gauges made by Marples of Sheffield (OK I admit it. I go for British tools, but only if they’re really good). You need about four of these babies in box like this. Two of each. Each gauge would be set up either bevel-in or bevel-out. (Just buy the gauge then turn the blade around to suit.)
Like a marking knife, the cutter has a bevel on one side only The flat vertical faces the job; the bevel faces the waste ALMOST ALWAYS. You need a couple of each because you will want to leave the gauge set up as you move through a process.
Turn this tool into a pencil gauge. Drill a hole in the stock and fit the pencil nice and snug in there. Then you can mark pencil lines parallel to an edge. All for the cost of a pencil
Marking gauges are also popular in this type of gauge. They come with a pin and need sharpening carefully with file. You need a vertical face and a bevel. This is harder to get right than the cutting gauge. Try it and test it on long grain and across the grain; it should leave a clean scribed line in either. The tool makers catalogue says you need both cutting gauge and marking gauge (one for across the grain and one down the grain). Well, they want to sell tools. It is not true.
This is a modern mortice gauge. It has two stems, not one. This is mine, we are not giving this away unless Veritas want to donate one. It’s expensive but very good. I use it a lot for all kinds of work not just mortices. It has a small wheel on the end of each stem (one bevel-in one bevel-out). These turn and give a lovely clean line. They are easier for the beginner to use. What they cannot do is tap and try.
Set the gauge roughly to the thickness of the job, only roughly and tighten the screw. Hold the job in one hand and offer the gauge up to the edge. Say the pin is too wide. Now tap the end of the stock on your bench side and check again. Too small? Tap the other end of the stock. This is the way. Don’t fiddle with adjustments; use you eyes, tap and try.
This is another shiny “gentleman’s” modern gauge from Workshop Heaven. I bought this a while ago hoping I would get on with it. Looks Purty, but I cannot say I get on with it… yet. She took a lot of sharpening to become usable and still needs bit of work.
