Tag Archives: Anarchist

Nashua Tool Show, April 2015

April 22, 2015 @TheRainford 8 Comments

This past week I made my biannual pilgrimage to the ‘Live Free Or Die Tool Auction’ and tool sale out in the parking lot behind the Holiday Inn in Nashua NH. I’m glad my schedule worked out that I was able to go on Thursday morning — it was a beautiful day, I saw some friends who were only around on that day and didn’t spend too much money. Friday morning it was pouring so I briefly stopped by to see some friends from the school but many of the vendors were all packed up.

Let’s take a quick tour of some of the more interesting items I checked out:

The cabinet below from the Union Twist Drill company of Athol Massachusetts (same town that is home to Starrett Tools) looked to be in great shape.

Inside the cabinet was a nest of drawers which once housed all kinds of drill bits and similar hardware. It was also interesting to see the notes scribbled on the inside of the doors.

On another table was a nice looking moxon style vise with threaded wood handles. Made from a fairly large bit of timber I like how the maker removed a bunch of wood to make room for an angled saw.

This year I finally got to meet Tony Murland in person. Over the years I’ve bought a lot of wood planes from his shop in the UK — including my matching pair set of hollows and rounds, snipes bills, sash planes and complex molders. On hand he had a great assortment of French Plumb Squares — some of which had some great decoration on them. I would have loved to get one if I had room in the budget this season for it.

Casks of cut nails and a nice old tool tote with a dovetailed in handle and interior partitions.

Next to a box of saw sets was an old 1980s Ertl Metal ‘Case’ backhoe/loader which was one of my favorite toys as child — and something I had not seen in years. If it was in better shape I might have even picked it up.

As always some interesting benches found their way to the show.

And here is a nice old tool chest that I spent some time looking at. Constructed with finger joints, this chest had some handsome hardware I wanted to highlight.

Inside the paneled top there were some great old reference/conversion tables tacked into place.

The corners had some nice brass hardware and all of the screws were carefully clocked (oriented in a specific way) — I know this makes my OCD happy as it likely will make my friend Chris Schwarz smile as well.

And last but not least was an ‘Elite Tool Chest for Boys’ that was used to haul some wares to the tool show.

What did I buy this year? Not too much which is probably a good thing. I’m trying to keep to the tools I regularly use and I have a very good working set. Also my tools/wood/toy budget has been saving towards a tractor and building a barn this summer — more on that in some upcoming posts. I bought nice Stanley Bailey transitional jack plane that I’ll be using to clean up some timbers — that wood sole will be a lot easier to use on green timbers. A nice metal block and tackle with a line lock that will be useful on a gin pole and about a dozen old manual training guides, tool catalogs/reprints and old woodworking texts.

Take care,
-Bill

Other, Sewing

The hunt for an Auger Bit Tool Roll…

October 16, 2013 @TheRainford Leave a comment

A well tuned auger bit and brace can be a joy to use. Most new auger bits are mass produced junk and even some of the few remaining better quality bits like the Russell Jennings Pattern auger bits from Clico (UK) take a fair amount of tuning before they cut well. So if you are going to spend a lot of time and hard earned money on these tools, why would you let them bang around in a tool box?

I set out to find a good home for my auger bits…

Unfortunately there are not a lot of options out there. I was unable to find any auger bit tool rolls that met my quality and budgetary needs. Given the lack of commercial options, I decided to fire up the old sewing machine make my own auger bit tool roll. I made another pilgrimage to Jo-Ann fabric and braved the awkward conversation with the ladies behind the desk at the cutting station. When asked about what I was making they just gave me the usual look of ‘you’re crazy, why would someone want to protect drill bits like that?’ But after some more polite conversation they seemed happy to see someone doing something out of the ordinary.

Design Goals:

Protect the cutting end of the auger bits
Have individual graduated pockets for each bit in a standard set (sizes 4-16)
Be made from tough materials that will wear well
Have reinforced corners and bottom
Have a tie off string/ribbon that allows for quick and easy storage
Protect the tools from flash rust

Rolled up for storage -- complete with with a bow. — Rolled up for storage — complete with with a bow.

I’m not trading in my chisels to become a tailor (Who would of thought I’d remember so much from middle school home ec?), but for for a modest amount in materials and a few hours of taking over the dining room table I’m quite happy with how the tool rolls turned out. This roll has earned a place in my tool chest.

I’m hoping some other woodworkers out there will give it a try and make some interesting new tool rolls and help protect a few more auger bits from the ravages of a messy toolbox.

Take care,
-Bill

P.S. If you’d like to see more details of how I put this tool roll together, please check out the slideshow below (if you are viewing this via email click over to the post on the actual blog to see the extra photos)

Slideshow Below:

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Historic Places, Traditional Woodworking, Woodworking Techniques

The Woodwright’s School

September 6, 2013 @TheRainford 2 Comments

For Labor Day weekend this year I flew down to the Woodwright’s School in Pittsboro, North Carolina to take a 3 day class on making a Jointer Plane with Willard ‘Bill’ Anderson (more on that in an upcoming post).

My flight got in early on Friday and I had the chance to hang out with some friends at the school during the last day of a class on building the Anarchist’s Tool Chest with Chris Schwarz.

The Woodwright’s School is located in downtown Pittsboro which is a scenic town about 20 minutes from Chapel Hill.

Don’t let the sometimes quiet streets fool you, once inside the school you are in a lively space full of folks who as passionate about woodworking as you are. Roy was on hand to help students as they worked their way through the last day of week long class on building a traditional English tool chest based on Chris’ book ‘The Anarchist’s Toolchest’.

The class busy working on their Anarchist's Toolchest — The class busy working on their Anarchist’s Toolchest

One of the attractions to Roy’s school is its focus on only using traditional English/American hand tools — there were no whining power tools, no Dozuki saws and no plastic handles to be seen — or at least none that I saw when Roy was making his rounds. 😉

Feeding Bill's bar tab and Khrushchev's shoe — Feeding Bill’s bar tab and Khrushchev’s shoe

If you ever read Roy’s book on public speaking you’ll get why Khruschev’s shoe is an interesting trophy. Beyond the witty stories and advice on how to keep a crowd engaged and entertained, the last chapter on the morning after a presentation was the one that resonated the most with me. Applying the advice therein has improved several lectures I have to make each year.

Traditional woodworking can feel like a very small world at times — the gentleman in the photo above was also in the class I took earlier this summer on making a Name Stamp with Peter Ross at Roy’s school — even though I was 700+ miles from home I happy to see that I could still run into people I knew.

Roy's corner cabinet — Roy’s corner cabinet

Loitering in the back of the classroom is a corner cupboard you may recognize from Roy’s show. I heard his wife has been waiting on it for a while — which made me feel a tiny bit better about the dresser I owe my wife Alyssa — which reminds me I need to get working on that again….

It was also great to spend some time hanging out with my friends Chris Schwarz and Megan Fitzpatrick including a stroll through Ed’s tool shop above the school.

No toolchest is ever completely filled and Ed’s shop has a huge collection of traditional tools on par with some of the best regional tool shows. I tried my best to be good and save my pennies for the Nashua tool show later this month, but I did find some new toys.

Chris' Dutch Tool Chest — Chris’ Dutch Tool Chest

I had fun chatting with everyone, examining some interesting tools and helping to sweep up before a trip to the City Tap — which is a awesome bar just behind the school with great food and drinks.

On my way out of the school I saw my old friend Otto Salomon and various other proper woodworking models from the Teacher’s Handbook of Sloyd.

It seems the Woodwright’s School is full of new and old friends that are literally popping out of the woodworking.

If you’d like to learn more about the school, make some new friends, meet up with old friends, or sign up for a class you can check out the school’s website here.

-Bill

Other, Sewing

The Softer Side Of Woodworking Anarchy

March 14, 2013 @TheRainford 4 Comments

As a woodworker we often delve into specialties other related trades and crafts — blacksmithing, forestry, drafting etc, but not many talk about the woodworkers who sew….

You sew?! Yep, and the is the same look I get when I walk into a Jo-Ann fabric wearing Carhartt — I know exactly what I am looking for and where to find it. I’m usually in there picking up supplies to make tool rolls, saw cases and similar projects. In fact the only reason we have a sewing machine at home is because I picked one up to make tool related projects.

Do you do it to be cheap? Like most woodworker’s I’d make water from a powder if I could, but I don’t think its ever really been much about saving money — that sewing machine + supplies was reasonable, but certainly not cheap. I learned the basics of using a sewing machine in middle school Home Ec and figured it would be like riding a bike. When it came time to make a tool roll for my timber framing chisels or a saw case for my panel saws I could not find anything on the market that met my needs, was made in the US or was worth the price being asked of it. So out of necessity I decided if I wanted a nice saw case for my panel saws I better make one myself.

So I bought some heavy duck canvas, poly edging and metal snaps and started making some patterns. Shown in this post are the results of that effort. I made the first of these cases when I was a student at NBSS and they have served me well. I also lined them with material that will protect the tool metal and compared to its unprotected brethren who were only wearing a coat of oil the saws in their cases remained free of rust. My only complaint is that the cases are a bit of a saw dust and cat hair magnet, but so long as I put them back in my tool chest as I do with a plane sock they have been holding up well. Critical joints have been reinforced, the corners sealed (you can melt poly so it does not fray) and the closing strap secured with a metal snap. Just make sure you keep or replace that little plastic tooth protector or you run the risk of sawing your seams. I’ve been very happy with the results and just picked up some material to make some more custom tool rolls for my auger bits and some other smaller tools, so stay tuned for more info on those projects.

If you want to take your subversive woodworking to the next level the next power tool you buy might be a sewing machine, or better yet track down an old treadle powered model. You might be surprised at the results.

If you’d like to learn more about subversive woodworking and anarchy check out these links:

http://video.pbs.org/video/2265289533/

http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/Ezine/Articles/Roy_Underhill_A_Quarter_Century_of_Subversive_Wood_6204.aspx

Historic Places, Tool Reviews, Workshop Projects

Anarchy at the Tool Show — Classic Tool Chests

September 23, 2012 @TheRainford Leave a comment

I need to get something off my chest– literally. Ever since reading the Anarchist’s Tool Chest I’ve had Tool Chest envy. My wife and I recently moved up to NH from Boston and it seems like it has been taking a lifetime to get my shop setup and fully functional again. Teaching, work, life, smaller projects and commissions keep getting in the way. Once winter sets in and I get more ‘me’ time in the shop I plan to build my own proper tool chest — though right now hand my tools ride around in style via a mobile tool chest/cart I built as a student at NBSS — complete with curved fenders, a retractable handle, 4 drawers and a tray top (I’ll post more on that in an upcoming post).

This past week I was at the Live Free or Die tool show and auction in Nashua NH — and is part of my twice annual pilgrimage to the ultimate old hand tool show. Beyond great deals on hard to find tools, it’s also a great place to see lots of faces from NBSS, vendors I’ve been buying from for years and the one random guy who only seems to sell very ornate turned plumb bobs every year.

Below are some of the more interesting tool chests I was able to find and photograph with my camera phone (please excuse the quality of them). The wide variety of what survived was a great source of inspiration.