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agree with all of the above, but two words of warning from a fellow learner: Although there is nothing inherently difficult about refurbishing, setting up and sharpening old planes, it is a lot of different things to learn all in one go. If you go down this route you might want to consider...

It is true the thread was marred by tantrums and nastiness at times, but personally I learned a lot from many of the contributors. Anyway, all things must pass. The only pity is that - when it eventually turns out I was right all along - there will no longer be any evidence to prove it!

I don't think anyone knows exact dates - evidence from the collected research by contributors to this forum means we can be reasonably confident that the (older) laminated crucible steel blades were produced in the UK by both Stanley and Record until the mid/late 1950s (Incidentally, I've often...

I think this is an important point - many of the things that may seem frivolous to experienced users (expensive new planes, jigs, flattening the backs of plane irons, new diamond plates etc etc) are actually good ways for beginners to remove some of the many variables that can make it hard to...

Here is your vice I think - shown top left. This is from the Buck & Hickman 1913 catalogue (note the same "instantaneous grip" mechanism is also used in the rather more complicated vice below). It looks like E&K licensed the design to several companies, which is presumably why there is...

many thanks for posting Kevin, it does look a cracker. A US maker called Massey made a copy of the E&K woodworkers vice under license in the late 1800s so, now you have found a metalworkers vice by E&K, I guessed they will have also made that too. Looks like this was the case...

they do still make the springs http://www.knighton-tools.co.uk/acatalo ... pares.html (towards bottom of the page) and this should fit all apart from the very old Record QR vices. Not cheap though - I wonder if a watch/clock repairer could make you a copy (assuming you still have the original...

good point Tom, someone posted a while back about a bench where they painted the legs - look great i thought. Why not let a little bit of artistic flair into our workshops? As everyone else has said it is hardly worth bothering with the top as it will be scratched/dented/stained to buggery...

bp122 it honestly isn't as complicated as the internet makes it appear :) My advice, as a fellow beginner, is that If you don't have access to someone who can show you how to do it then this video series on sharpening is comprehensive, straight forward and easy to follow...

thanks for the plug Andy, although I am afraid that thread is a bit rambling even by my standards! I summarised the little I could find about the Entwisle and Kenyon vices here. The part above looks like the toothed block from their "instantaneous grip" woodworkers vice (I confess I did...

This has proven to be the lesson in the otherwise rather different world of software development - start with something small, be ready to throw it away and - if it has promise - iterate lots of small improvements. Actually, I wonder if this true in most areas where there is uncertainty and...

I bought a set of Irwin 4'' jaws to replace mine too - I can see they are not as deep but assumed the holes would line up. Do they not fit at all? As it happens I could not remove the old screws in order to check. Even hefty whacks with an impact driver would not budge them. How did you...

I always enjoy your musings BM so I hope you do build a boat - I don't really mind what kind.

also, what is the logic of estimating a very high quote for a job you would rather not do? is it just a polite refusal or a true reflection of the minimum you'd accept to do an unappealing job? Genuine question! PS I think the happy outcome of trade work depends as much on good clients as it...

The other tip for good garlic crops - other than planting out in Nov - is to start with big fat cloves. The tiddlers never amount to much so just eat them rather than putting them in the ground.

I've got a William Greaves adze stamped 'electro boracic steel' - apparently it was not uncommon to stamp tools like this at the end of the 19C. I am not sure anyone has ever discovered what (if anything) it meant - the term predates electric crucible furnaces so presumably is not about a...

eh? VAT and Sales Tax are both taxes on end consumers - how is changing from one to the other going to alter the tax paid by Amazon, Google etc? Serious question - I am not a tax expert!

I've got those too - they work fine on thin tops.

I once had to shorten the rod on a Record plane to get it to hold the handle tight. Not sure why it was needed - perhaps he handle was replaced at some point and was not an exact fit. as is often the case when we believe the Americans are buggering about with the language it turns out they are...

the phrase "scary sharp" appears in a tongue-in-cheek post from the 1990s, so not really a new craze: https://groups.google.com/forum/m/?hl=e ... ajwPtph3kJ presumably using sandpaper for the occasional sharpening of edge tools goes back as long as sandpaper has been around (a long time...