Gumtree tool haul

[TFrench]

So after trying resist buying more stuff recently, I ventured onto gumtree and spotted a box of old planes for sale - mostly woodies and junk, but an infill with a nice brass cupid's bow was just peeping into one corner of the photo. Went to look, and a deal was done to take it all off his hands...
Chisels - all decent makes like Addis
carving chisels
Selection of hammers - not sure on what the wooden flat faced mallet is for?
hammers
Various measuring tools - I wasn't sure that the vernier was, turns out it's a gear tooth measurer, probably worth what I paid for the whole lot!
measuring bits
Couple of modern ish tenon saws, the sandvik brass back one has a nice feel to it though.
saws
Lots of hand drills, not sure if there's anything special there? The left one on the top row seems to have a particularly massive throw on it!
drills
Odds and ends - the Chesterman tape is in really good condition.
random bits
Woody planes - can't make out all the makers, but there's a martin and shaw and a mathieson in there. The spokeshave is mathieson too.
planes
Getting onto the good bits now. Never seen a smoother like this - can't find a name on it but it looks like it was built this way! The sole at the front is steel and can be adjusted using the screw on top. The iron is a GW poppins, which I'd never heard of before.
steel sole plane
steel sole plane 2
Something else thats new to me (probably common!) is this 22" jointer with a removable part in front of the mouth. Any ideas?
Jointer
Really nice brass inlaid brace by Turner of sheffield, and a preston patent round bottom spokeshave.
brace and preston shave
Unknown infill - can't find a maker on it but it's nicely made. The front infill is quite cracked though but hopefully it will epoxy back together.
infill

So much for not buying more stuff...

 

[AndyT]

Good grief, you jammy b...I mean
"Well done, I'm not jealous at all"!

Setting in a patch on a worn plane was standard good practice. It shouldn't be loose, so just give it a dab of hide glue to hold it in.

Braces with more than 10" throw are rare and quite useful (or so I'm told by those who have one.)

And infill planes with a nice Cupid's bow are seriously rare!

 

[AndyT]

PS.
I've seen that steel toe in a catalogue (maybe Preston) but never in the flesh. I'll have a look later.

Can we see a close up of the pale colour woodies? I'm wondering if they are European or owner made - possibly by a pattern maker?

 

[JohnPW]

Good grief, you jammy b...I mean
"Well done, I'm not jealous at all"!

It depends on the the price, doesn't it?!

 

[AndyT]

John, I'm assuming he didn't pay much if the gear measurer on its own is worth more than he paid.

Those adjustable toe pieces were a standard item and are shown in several catalogues. This image is from a Tyzack catalogue of 1908. They are shown in the Preston one of the same date but I wouldn't assume that Preston made them.

I've never heard of Poppins, and they aren't in British Plane Makers, so maybe they were a retailer.

 

[TFrench]

Thanks Andy, trove of information as always! The brace is a 14" swing. It's a shame the little bits either side of the mouth of the metal toe piece are broken, apart from the crack on the side of the body its in good condition. Couple more pics of the small beech hollow planes:


They're made of two pieces laminated together. I thought at first they were factory made, but now I look the wedges are all different shapes and the irons look homemade.
Paid £55 for the lot, which I was pretty happy with.

 

[AndyT]

They certainly look like patternmaker's planes to me. There are lots of nice sets of these around, almost always user made - but if you had the skills of a patternmaker, why wouldn't you make your own!

I think you got very good value for your money.

 

[toolsntat]

Very nice......
Cupid bow bridge is possibly Norris. Check the rear of the bridge for a mark in the casting. I have one and Richard Arnold had one. Both unmarked but marked ones have been found with Norris and Buck.
Small Beech planes are Pattern maker user made.
Cheers Andy

 

[TFrench]

Just cleaned up the gear vernier and its etched with "Alvis shop" Pretty cool!

 

[toolsntat]

If you ever feel the need to remove the rear infill please let us see any markings in the bottom of the casting.
Cheers Andy

 

[Racers]

Very nice!

Pete

 

[whatknot]

I would suggest that both mallets are for leather work

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Hmm. Metalwork, I would say. I think you have a bossing mallet and two planishing hammers.

I used both these tools for copper beating in school metalwork classes. The bossing mallet for beating a hollow shape, used against a hollowed wooden block or sand filled leather cushion. This was followed by the planishing hammers - with the wide, flat face - give that beaten finish to the copper, and work harden it. No doubt their use is wider than that, but that's all we learned to do with them.

 

[whatknot]

You may be right in that they could be used in several trades, I just remember them from time spent working in a shoe factory many years ago

Recently I bought a job lot of tools including quite a few leather workers tools, amongst them were :-

 

[AndyT]

Mallets are useful for whatever you need to hit, but I can clearly remember drawing the first one in a school metalwork lesson, where the caption was "Tinsmith's bossing mallet."

 

[whatknot]

They can also be used for lead working, I notice theres a roofing hammer in the pile of hammers

 

[Sheffield Tony]

This doesn't look like a lot that came from a single tradesman ... Is that a garden spraying syringe I see ? The long brass thing with the red handle ? But yes, there is a slater's hammer in there too.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

What a strange selection. Tools for the trades of patternmaker, carver, sheet metal worker, roofer, carpenter, gardener, engineering machinist - and at a range of dates from about late 19th century to about late 20th. All of good tradesmen's quality - no real rubbish.

It's almost like a collection, but none of the tools look to have had any tlc since their last proper use.

Left-overs from someone's used tool market stall maybe?

(PS - Damn good snaffle for the price, though!)

 

[TFrench]

Yes, leftovers from someone's antique stall. The hammer I was talking about was the wooden one with two flat faces and the waisted in section in the centre. Never seen one of that design. The teardrop one I would call a tinmans mallet.
Andy, I'd like to restore it as well as I can so will quite possibly take the infills out. Need to do some more research though, don't want to jump in and wreck anything!

 

[whatknot]

I recently bought a job lot with some similarities to your find

But mine wasn't as nice as yours, the man in question had passed away and his family were clearing everything out , when I got to it a lot of the better stuff had gone

He had a variety of interests, mechanics, plumbing, tiling, lathe work, carpentry & leatherwork/upholstery plus a few others, a lifetime of tools & bits and pieces

His collection of nuts & bolts, screws, clips etc mirrored my own to some extent and I doubt I will go short of consumables for many a year ;-)