Building a tool collection from scratch

[billw]

I do realise this is a slippery slope :shock:

 

[Aled Dafis]

Bill, Welcome to the forum.

I've been thinking over this for a couple of days, and based on your comment that you're not too fussed about the cost, here's what I'd buy if I were seroious about starting up. I also made the assumption that you'd rather spend time making shavings than getting increasingly frustrated with fettling older tools.

Planes - Lie-Nielson 62 1/2 Block plane
Clifton 5 1/2 Jack plane (or Veritas Low Angle Jack)
Clifton 4 1/2 Smoother (or Veritas Bevel Up Smoother)

Chisels - Ashley Iles Mk 2 - very good!!!

Saws - I have the Lie Nielsen DT saw and it's very good, but the Veritas DT saw has had rave reviews, and is about 1/3 the price of the LN.
I don't have a dedicated Tennon saw, but there are lots of good saws on the market LN, Adria, Wenzloff. There should also be a Veritas Tennon saw along shortly.

Squares - Steel engineers squares offer good value, I have a range going from 2" up to 6", but would like a 10-12" to complete the set.

Marking gauges - I find wheel gauges to work best. The Lie Nielsen is the best out there, but is very expensive. I have a Veritas micro adjustable gauge that works very well and is about a quarter of the price. You really need 4 or 5 to work efficiently.

Marking knife - Lots of people on here make them - drop me a PM and I'll see what I can do for you.

Cabinet scarpers - They're much of a muchness really, but dont forget to get a burnisher also.

Sharpening kit - There are lots of options, but the scary sharp method is a good start, I'd also go for an eclipse guide to give good repeatable results.

This list is of course fairly high spec, so will cost a fair bit, but if you're in it for the long haul, then it's a kit that should last at least a couple of lifetimes. On the other hand if you decide to sell up, I'm sure that you'd get most of your money back by selling either on the forum or the 'bay.

If you have any questions, just ask!

Cheers

Aled

 

[woodbloke]

I do realise this is a slippery slope :shock:

...and then some :lol: - Rob

 

[billw]

Hi Aled - it would seem that your thoughts are very close to mine so it's good to ssee I am clearly thinking along the right lines!

The Ashley Iles chisels, Veritas dovetail saw, and the LN planes were on my list.

I'll show my newbie status and ask - what's the scary sharp method?!

 

[Digit]

Although we all find out eventually that cheap tools are a waste of our hard earned cash there is cheap and cheap!
Shortly after Aldi opened their branch locally my rather expensive digital caliper blew a fuse. Aldi happened to be selling them at a fraction of that which I had paid, and the quality was probably better.
I have since purchased their 1/4 inch router, 'F' clamps, digital multimeter, reciprocating saw, detail sander and plug cutters.
All have proven to be excellent for their price.

Roy.

 

[Aled Dafis]

I'll show my newbie status and ask - what's the scary sharp method?!

Scary sharp is a method of sharpening where progressively finer grades of sandpaper are stuck to a flat surface such as glass, granite or even thick MDF.

If you have a look at the Workshop Heaven website, Mathew supplies a range of abrasives specifically chosen for the scary sharp method.

If you search this site, or Google, you'll find lots of information on Scary Sharpening.

I have a Trend Diamond Stone, and a Norton 8000 grit waterstone, which works pretty well, but means a substantial outlay, where the same results can be obtained with Scary Sharp for a lot less money.

I also use a little honing paste on MDF for the final polish, and it really makes a difference!

Cheers

Aled

 

[woodbloke]

I'll show my newbie status and ask - what's the scary sharp method?!

where the same results can be obtained with Scary Sharp for a lot less money.


Cheers

Aled

In the longer term though, the SS method of sharpening is generally reckoned to be less economical than the purchase of a diamond stone or other method of honing as you tend to go through a lot of abrasive medium, 'specially if you use the cheaper option of wet & dry paper - Rob

 

[Night Train]

I'll show my newbie status and ask - what's the scary sharp method?!

Hi Bill,
If you go back to my post on page one you will see, where I mention sharpening systems, a link to a vid on a version of the Scary Sharp method.

 

[Night Train]

In terms of planes, I generally only have second hand or old stock 'on sale' planes. This is mainly because I didn't want to spend the money on the really good planes when I was a student and now don't really need to.
I bought at car boot sales and on Ebay for as cheap as I could get and then spent time making it right.

I did buy a new Stanley No5 plane once and then found that the sole was concave by about 4mm and useless.

I have:
Stanley 5 1/2 - car boot
Stanley 4 1/2 - car boot
Stanley 4 - car boot
Stanley 9 1/2 block plane - trade show
Stanley 92 shoulder plane - trade show
Record 071 router plane - ebay
Record 778 rebate plane x 2 - car boot
Stanley 79 side rebate plane - car boot
Stanley 80 scraper plane - new from Axminster
Stanley 151 spoke shave x4 - car boot

Also around 8 wooden planes, some with curved soles, one of which I made myself for a specific job, four wooden spoke shaves and about 50 or so wooden moulding planes.

 

[Grinding One]

OK here`s my two cents worth,unless your very very good ,your going to need a mallet,or hammer to put the pieces together with....Tap,Tap,Tap.

 

[Digit]

Sadist!

Roy.

 

[Night Train]

OK here`s my two cents worth,unless your very very good ,your going to need a mallet,or hammer to put the pieces together with....Tap,Tap,Tap.

The first project should be a bench hook closely followed by a mallet and then a bench....



....hang on, that's not quite right is it?

:lol:

 

[billw]

OK here`s my two cents worth,unless your very very good ,your going to need a mallet,or hammer to put the pieces together with....Tap,Tap,Tap.

If only I'd made a joint tight enough to require a hammer