Help please!

[Ross M]

Hi All

Firstly I am not a woodworker but my father was a cabinet maker, Wood Turner and wood carver in Bradford.

He sadly passed away recently, and from when I was a kid he made it clear that many of his tools and machinery could be worth a fair bit, and to make sure they went to a good home. I have no idea where to start, or what most things are, such as the image posted. There are lathes, band saws, circular saws, tool grinders, extractors and scores of hand tools and wood.

How on earth do I even sell these? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Ross

 

[marcros]

Which side of Bradford are you? I am in kirkstall so when the distancing allows if you are the Leeds side I could probably help you with identifying what you have.

In the meantime some pics would help.

 

[Ross M]

Thanks for the reply. Based in Eccleshill. I'll be going up again in a couple of days so will get some more photos and post them as soon as I can.

 

[AndyT]

Short answer: you can only maximise return by knowing what you have, describing it all, listing it where buyers will see it, wrapping, despatching etc. There are easier options where someone else does that work, but you get less income.

Long answer: have a read of this guidance note:

https://taths.org.uk/tools-trades/notes ... ollections

Also, if you have specific questions, there are plenty of us here who will help identify things.

 

[Ross M]

Thank you Andy. To be honest as long as they go to good use I am really not perticularly bothered about maximizing a return, I'd much prefer to say give a lathe away in return for something being made from it.

And thank you for the link, I never though about tools that had historic value. Many hand tools were handed down to him so will be 60+ years old.
I will certainly reach out here and to taths once I have sorted out his workshop and garage over the next couple of months.

 

[Lons]

Hi Ross
What Andy said but you might well get a shock at what some items are worth and maybe some of the items that look valuable will not be, if he had a stock of hardwood that has a value also.
Pics and descriptions will help members on here offer their advice and maybe even offers to buy and the offer of help from Marcros could be very useful. I think you'll find members of the forum are usually very genuine.
You mention he was also a woodcarver in which case if some of his chisels are known make such as Addis they can be collectable.

It's not a pleasant task clearing after the death of a parent and usually too emotional to be detached when it comes to values, something many unscrupulous house clearers are well aware of. I have a horror story from the experience of a close friend who was persuaded to part with the contents of her husbands workshop for a tiny fraction of it's true value.

 

[Steliz]

The best way to understand the value of second hand items is to put the make and model into an eBay search and select 'show completed items' then, taking into account the condition, find a rough average of sold prices.
You'll get plenty of help and advice on here too.

 

[Ross M]

Thanks all for the replies. I today went up to sell the car, and didn't realise that his unused workshop in the rear of the garage still had many items of large machinery still in it, along with loads of other tools such as wood planes etc. And a lot of hard wood.

In a few weeks when I start the process I'll get some photos and brands/Part Numbers and hopefully some people will be able to help.

Thanks for the advice so far.

Ross

 

[profchris]

If he had a stock of cabinet making wood it might be rather valuable.

I just checked on eBay, and the asking price for an Indian Rosewood board 1.5m x 125mm x 33mm is £124.

You really need someone knowledgeable to look that over and at least estimate what you have there. Is there a forum member in the Bradford area who might at least give it an initial once over? You could reward that person with a plank or two, or one of the hand tools. The biggest sadness would be if someone took it away for firewood!

Same with the hand tools, which are complicated by the fact that some might have value to collectors.

A good-sized stash of wood and a set of cabinet-making tools should be worth several thousand pounds at retail prices.

I'm in the process of winding up my father's and mother's estate, so I know you don't want to spend days researching, cataloguing and selling. I'd say you have two options:

1. Contact a specialist woodworking tool dealer, if there is a large quantity, and sell them as one lot. I guess you'd get less than half retail price, but the work of selling them off would be substantial. Members here will know who the few specialists are.

2. If there is a local woodworking club, do a deal for them to clear the workshop, catalogue and sell things, and then share the proceeds. I could imagine a woodworking club might enjoy the work and the income.

If you can get photos and post them, members here could at least give you some idea about what you have got. I'm not an expert, but from a picture of a shelf full of planes even I could say, "that lot is worth £X upwards".

 

[Freddyjersey2016]

Agree with the advice above for the more valuable items.
For the other tools /less valuable timber there are several Men's Sheds around Bradford who would probably be interested in taking them off you. see https://menssheds.org.uk/find-a-shed/

 

[Ross M]

Thanks again for all the info. I started to clean up a little bit and here are a couple of machine photos, accompanied by models labels.

Loads more to do yet.

 

[Ross M]

And some of the hand tools.

 

[Ross M]

And just uncovered this. Which I have no idea about.

 

[AndyT]

Some of those Henry Taylor carving tools are unused - they still have protective gunk on the ends. They are still made, in Sheffield, and retail at £20-30 each. Stockists include Toolnut, Classic Hand Tools and Axminster. Ebay prices are often high, especially in that sort of condition.

 

[Ross M]

Thanks Andy. That is just a small collection I found in the loft. I've found lots of others branded ASHLEY ILES ones also which I will research too.

 

[AndyT]

Henry Taylor and Ashley Iles are both examples of proper tools, made in England. The Toolnut site lists both.

https://www.toolnut.co.uk/

 

[profchris]

A Stanley no. 6 plane should fetch £60+ on eBay if in good condition. I suspected you might have more value in the hand tools than you would have thought.