It’s great to complete a project, and I ‘finished’ a couple of items this week.

First off, a wine/port bottle coaster for a friend who wanted a memento of his tour in Afghanistan, as part of Operation Herrick. Here, the ‘finish’ is Hampshire Sheen – a crystalline wax, that gives a superb shine.

The second, an oak box, with a mahogany drawer pull.

Here, the ‘finish’ is several coats of shellac, cut back with 0000 wire wool, and then National Trust Furniture Polish, applied with the wire wool, and buffed to a satin sheen.

I obtained some vintage tools this week, that had belonged to a shipwright/joiner. There are some real gems, that I will enjoy putting to good use:

I love spokeshaves, and have a collection of vintage Record, Stanley and wooden spokeshaves. They are very useful tools and I used a spokeshave to do the round-overs on the lid and base of the oak box, and to shape the drawer pull.
Spokeshaves are a great starter tool to introduce young children to using hand tools – I very much look forward to being able to teach my grandson (and granddaughter in due course) to use a spokeshave, when Covid rules allow.

In the collection were several wooden planes:

The more complex wooden planes in particular were the high end tools of the trade, and were prized possessions of the craftsmen of the time. Many such tools are – like these – stamped with the name of the owner. The quality of the workmanship, produced with these ‘old fashioned’ tools could be superb, matching or exceeding that from modern machinery.

The quality of the steel used in vintage, especially pre-WW2, tools exceeds much of that later produced, though a renaissance in tool making in recent years has resulted in high quality steel being used in the more upmarket brands. It’s a shame that standards slipped in the mid 20th century.

A good example of the changing quality of steel, is the mass production of hardened steel saws, that cannot be readily sharpened, creating the modern day practice of throwing away a saw when blunt. In contrast, the preceding vintage saws are often made of high quality steel, and are well-worth refurbishing and sharpening.

Amongst the collection of tools I picked up this week were a few such saws:

The seller of these tools, which had belonged to his father and grandfather, was keen that they be passed on to someone who will value and use them, which I will certainly do. And I have promised him that I will donate to IBTC any which are surplus to my requirements, for the use of the students there.

In the meantime, I shall enjoy doing a bit of research on these tools and giving them a refurb. I have bought a couple of new triangular saw files, and will have a go at sharpening these saws for use.