Need to streamline my hand tools

[Sideways]

Since I'm interested in wood. metal, electronics, machinery, the whole works, I've ended up with tools coming out of my ears. A point brought home recently when I needed to clear enough space for some major plumbing alterations.
It's spurred me to throw up this thread and ask your opinions on a streamlined hand tool kit for woodwork.

You need to know. that I'm a power tool guy. I'm very happy with my machines, tracksaw, jigsaw, routers, etc and won't be giving those up, but might shed a couple of "duplicates".

Hand tools are for the pleasure of it, and all the fine stuff that comes after the noise stops. Simple hardwood furniture and fittings.

What I want to do is cut the hand tools down to two cases - (wheeled "Storm" cases as it happens) - one for all the most used stuff, one for the less used tools that sometimes make life easier.

Each box is about 490mm wide, 290mm front to back, and 180mm deep - together they're about the size I'd think of if making a toolchest.
Why these ? I can wheel them if I need to and they are water and airtight which is good for my tools over winter.

I'm weeding through
Record #5
Record #4 x2
Japanese wooden body kanna
Axminster low angle jack
Axminster and two stanley block planes
Clifton small shoulder plane
LN chisel plane
LN skew rabbet
LN scraper plane
Axminster 80 scraper plane
Dad's record multiplane
A stack of chisels: japanese, marples boxwood, some vintage cast steel paring chisels ...
Gyochuko japanese pull saws - kataba and dozuki styles
3 tenon saws - a big pax that has to go as I don't get on with it, and couple of small ones that I need to learn to sharpen
For this box, a stanley warrington pattern hammer and a couple of smaller antiques. (I have no qualms taking a hammer to a Japanese hooped chisel and you need one to adjust the plane)
A simple basic Marples marking (strictly, cutting) gauge
Similar sliding bevel
Traditional woodworking square - going as I have a good combination square which is far better

Sharpening kit, hammers and mallets, rules, clamps, etc all litter the shop and get used for other tasks, not just hand tool woodwork, so they come for "free" !

What I want to know is :
What should I keep in Box 1 ?
What should I keep in Box 2 ?
What should I let go of ?

 

[Cobbs]

Since I'm interested in wood. metal, electronics, machinery, the whole works, I've ended up with tools coming out of my ears. A point brought home recently when I needed to clear enough space for some major plumbing alterations.
It's spurred me to throw up this thread and ask your opinions on a streamlined hand tool kit for woodwork.

You need to know. that I'm a power tool guy. I'm very happy with my machines, tracksaw, jigsaw, routers, etc and won't be giving those up, but might shed a couple of "duplicates".

Hand tools are for the pleasure of it, and all the fine stuff that comes after the noise stops. Simple hardwood furniture and fittings.

What I want to do is cut the hand tools down to two cases - (wheeled "Storm" cases as it happens) - one for all the most used stuff, one for the less used tools that sometimes make life easier.

Each box is about 650mm wide, 350mm front to back, and 200mm deep - together they're about the size I'd think of if making a toolchest.
Why these ? I can wheel them if I need to and they are water and airtight which is good for my tools over winter.

I'm weeding through
Record #5
Record #4 x2
Japanese wooden body kanna
Axminster low angle jack
Axminster and two stanley block planes
Clifton small shoulder plane
LN chisel plane
LN skew rabbet
LN scraper plane
Axminster 80 scraper plane
Dad's record multiplane
A stack of chisels: japanese, marples boxwood, some vintage cast steel paring chisels ...
Gyochuko japanese pull saws - kataba and dozuki styles
3 tenon saws - a big pax that has to go as I don't get on with it, and couple of small ones that I need to learn to sharpen
For this box, a stanley warrington pattern hammer and a couple of smaller antiques. (I have no qualms taking a hammer to a Japanese hooped chisel and you need one to adjust the plane)
A simple basic Marples marking (strictly, cutting) gauge
Similar sliding bevel
Traditional woodworking square - going as I have a good combination square which is far better

Sharpening kit, hammers and mallets, rules, clamps, etc all litter the shop and get used for other tasks, not just hand tool woodwork, so they come for "free" !

What I want to know is :
What should I keep in Box 1 ?
What should I keep in Box 2 ?
What should I let go of ?

Safe to say, whatever you get rid of, you'll need the next week...

 

[paulrbarnard]

Simplest thing to do is when you use a tool add it to one of the boxes. Do this until both boxes are full then get rid of the rest.

 

[Tony Zaffuto]

Safe to say, whatever you get rid of, you'll need the next week...

Go a step further, the danger in organizing tools, is failing to remember where you relocated them to. That is how I now have duplicates and triplicates of so many. Another axiom is, after buying another tool, you find where the misplaced tool is.

 

[niall Y]

Simplest thing to do is when you use a tool add it to one of the boxes. Do this until both boxes are full then get rid of the rest.

This is a very sensible and logical approach. Trouble is logic and common sense are often absent when one is aquiring tools.

 

[Sideways]

It's all very well trying to "trade up" but I'm not so good at getting rid of the superceded tools.
It can be handy to have a few tools for rough site work and good ones for the bench, but that only excuses a shoebox worth of duplicates.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I used a tool a few months ago for the first time. I bought it thirty years ago because it might come in handy one day.

 

[Spectric]

What I want to do is cut the hand tools down to two cases - (wheeled "Storm" cases as it happens) - one for all the most used stuff, one for the less used tools that sometimes make life easier.

All you need is an extra storage box that you can put all your uncertainties into, then put it in your loft. As you use the tools in the two wheeled cases and find you need something else then retrieve from loft but I bet in a few years they will be untouched and then just drop them into the for sale section.

 

[Bingy man]

I did this when I finally got my workshop together- I just went through everything and as you say the duplicates triplicates and in some cases quads . I ended up with the tools I couldn’t live without and gave away the rest to a friend , I kept my Yankee ratchet screwdrivers as these I purchased with my paper round money. Probably won’t use them but they look nice on my wall . Just make sure you can actually live without the tools you are not going to need..

 

[Ttrees]

Those boxes won't last long if packed with iron like a Studley.

 

[nosuchhounds]

Theres a method that UL hikers use that I saw Lemongrass picker on youtube mention. They put a piece of tape on all their bits of gear. When they use it they remove the tape. After repeated hikes they then ditch the stuff that still has tape on.

Saying that, i bought some gimlets years ago and still never used them but ill never get rid!

 

[Sideways]

Some great ideas here guys, thx.
I need to be radical when I organise and do it while the impetus is there. It'll probably all go in a heap, i'll pack the 2 boxes best I can.

Hardigg (now Peli) Storm cases are good kit. These 2 are army surplus from mine detectors in Iraq. I'd stand on them without a second thought.

 

[Scruples]

Since I'm interested in wood. metal, electronics, machinery, the whole works, I've ended up with tools coming out of my ears. A point brought home recently when I needed to clear enough space for some major plumbing alterations.
It's spurred me to throw up this thread and ask your opinions on a streamlined hand tool kit for woodwork.

You need to know. that I'm a power tool guy. I'm very happy with my machines, tracksaw, jigsaw, routers, etc and won't be giving those up, but might shed a couple of "duplicates".

Hand tools are for the pleasure of it, and all the fine stuff that comes after the noise stops. Simple hardwood furniture and fittings.

What I want to do is cut the hand tools down to two cases - (wheeled "Storm" cases as it happens) - one for all the most used stuff, one for the less used tools that sometimes make life easier.

Each box is about 490mm wide, 290mm front to back, and 180mm deep - together they're about the size I'd think of if making a toolchest.
Why these ? I can wheel them if I need to and they are water and airtight which is good for my tools over winter.

View attachment 166359

View attachment 166360

I'm weeding through
Record #5
Record #4 x2
Japanese wooden body kanna
Axminster low angle jack
Axminster and two stanley block planes
Clifton small shoulder plane
LN chisel plane
LN skew rabbet
LN scraper plane
Axminster 80 scraper plane
Dad's record multiplane
A stack of chisels: japanese, marples boxwood, some vintage cast steel paring chisels ...
Gyochuko japanese pull saws - kataba and dozuki styles
3 tenon saws - a big pax that has to go as I don't get on with it, and couple of small ones that I need to learn to sharpen
For this box, a stanley warrington pattern hammer and a couple of smaller antiques. (I have no qualms taking a hammer to a Japanese hooped chisel and you need one to adjust the plane)
A simple basic Marples marking (strictly, cutting) gauge
Similar sliding bevel
Traditional woodworking square - going as I have a good combination square which is far better

Sharpening kit, hammers and mallets, rules, clamps, etc all litter the shop and get used for other tasks, not just hand tool woodwork, so they come for "free" !

What I want to know is :
What should I keep in Box 1 ?
What should I keep in Box 2 ?
What should I let go of ?

I, too, am a hobbyist with the same sort of interests. I have a few different places for the various disciplines.
So, I have -
A diy building box which houses my trowels and home diy tools and dedicated accessories like tile spacers etc.
An electrical box which holds all my electrical wiring tools; I was once an electrician.
A Shed/workshop where I keep the big machines and has the bench and storage for woodworking/turning and general metalworking stuff. (The above boxes are stored in a dark corner of the shed).

And, finally, I have a cupboard in my study which holds all of my electronic stuff.

My advice is to have something similar and reduce your tools so that they fit those places and no more. That way, you may endeavour to avoid adding more 'things' and controlling what you keep.

 

[okeydokey]

Simplest thing to do is when you use a tool add it to one of the boxes. Do this until both boxes are full then get rid of the rest.

Or then buy another box

 

[Stuart Moffat]

You’ve got the perfect excuse to build a bigger workshop!

 

[okeydokey]

I like Scruples approach but find when called to fix something for someone I end up needing a mix of all sorts of tools - so after collecting tools from various boxes do the job -- do I put the tools back where they came from or do they just end up as another collection of sundry tools?

 

[clogs]

like Scruples I have wooden boxes for everything wood working hand tool wise....planes, chisels, marking out...etc...
I wont get rid of anything unless it's a duplicate and will go to someone who'll use it.....then I give em away......
So right now have no storage / workshop to speak off.......all my boxes of tools just got stacked on a pallet which is on top a p/truck....
easy to get at.....rust is not a prob here......

My prob is I work both wood and metal......my file drawer alone must weigh around 30kgs....need I go on....?

Stuart is right get a bigger shed even if u need to move house.....
over winter my wife lets me keep my smaller wood machines in the front room.....along with my m/cycle on occasion....hahaha.....

AS we all suffer from the same situation......stuff the kids inheritence and enjoy what u do.....even if u need to move away for a bigger shed.....
IT'S UR FUN TIME....enjoy what u have left, u've worked hard enough for it.....
I'm very lucky, I'm getting a bigger shed and live in the sun.....Life is too short.....

 

[paulrbarnard]

I, too, am a hobbyist with the same sort of interests. I have a few different places for the various disciplines.
So, I have -
A diy building box which houses my trowels and home diy tools and dedicated accessories like tile spacers etc.
An electrical box which holds all my electrical wiring tools; I was once an electrician.
A Shed/workshop where I keep the big machines and has the bench and storage for woodworking/turning and general metalworking stuff. (The above boxes are stored in a dark corner of the shed).

And, finally, I have a cupboard in my study which holds all of my electronic stuff.

My advice is to have something similar and reduce your tools so that they fit those places and no more. That way, you may endeavour to avoid adding more 'things' and controlling what you keep.

I have very similar structure to you but did add a 40sq meter lock up to handle the overflow. I collected a few bits from the lock up the other day and note it’s getting quite full. Perhaps another one will be needed for overflow from the lockup.

 

[Sideways]

Well, it won't all go in one box but it comes closer than I thought...

The multiplane and skew rabbet are for box 2, a few others will need to go there too as this is too full to work out of,
The spare #4, block, #80 and some plastic handled chisels to be kept for rougher work.

A bunch of chisels and a couple of tenon saws are parked pending disposal ...

 

[Sideways]

I have -
A diy building box which houses my trowels and home diy tools and dedicated accessories like tile spacers etc.
An electrical box which holds all my electrical wiring tools; I was once an electrician.
A Shed/workshop where I keep the big machines and has the bench and storage for woodworking/turning and general metalworking stuff. (The above boxes are stored in a dark corner of the shed).

And, finally, I have a cupboard in my study which holds all of my electronic stuff.

That's me !
Building and plastering stuff in buckets in the shed
Plumbing and Electrical boxes - 3+ of each in the loft
Elec test gear and the like fills a wardrobe
And the usual garage full