OldTools Archive
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205051 | Bob Miller <bobprime@b...> | 2010‑06‑12 | Introducing myself to the list |
Hello everyone, After lurking for several months I figured I should introduce myself to the list (also several list members I contacted in private suggested I do so). So here is a brief history of how I got here. I think it all started as a little kid when I would watch PBS every weekend just to catch woodworking shows. I loved to watch New Yankee Workshop and I thought Norm was the coolest. I also enjoyed watching that show with "the weird guy who doesn't know about electricity" though always wondered why he stuck with hand tools. I thought though that his woodshop/fort in the woods was cool (remember I was like 6). My parents house never had room for a shop and either way I never had money for lumber so while growing up I just waited. Through college and for a few years afterwords I lived in apartments which are uncondusive to the large shop required for tools with sparking tails. Finally I bought a house 2.5 years ago and decided it was finally time to start woodworking myself. I bought used (way cheaper) wood working machines and learned two things. First that I rather enjoy restoring old machines and two that I hate using almost anything powered by electricity. I found myself using my hand tools that I had bought from a borg store for odd jobs around the house more and more for my woodworking tasks. Eventually I bought my first woodworking book, Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking and saw that many things were possible with hand tools. I also remembered watching St Roy as a child. It was an epiphany of sorts. At about the same time my parents got me a subscription to PW and I started visiting their website. One of the blog posts was either about egg beater drills or bit and brace (I cant remember which one) and suggested Sandy Moss's site to buy said tools. This was about a year and a half ago. It has gone down hill since then... So far I have built various shelving units and book shelves, shop tables, a 3 bin compost containment unit and am currently working on a coffee table (once my joints started to look like something other than absolute tragedies I declared myself furniture ready). I have also built various shop fixtures and made myself a marking knife, marking gauge and 2 scratch awls. I find I like making tools to use almost as much as furnature. My wife recently got into lathe work in order to make drop spindles and various other tools for hand spinning yarn. In the process I discovered that I also enjoyed turning even though it was a tailed beastie. I now have a shop full of old tools and a love of using them. That, fellow list members, is my "brief" personal woodworking history (you can also add a bunch of bleeding, some swearing and a little bit of staring in sadness at parts cut to exactly the right size when I started with wrong measurements to begin with. I did have two questions for the list. The first is for some recommended reading. I want to set up and use a small charcoal forge in my back yard to make more tools. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a beginners book on blacksmithing, especially for those of us stuck in suburbia. The second is an identification and use question. This past Christmas my parents knowing my new found love bought me a box of rust (literally, all of the tools needed a lot of love to get working). It was one of the best presents I have ever received and now I have a bunch of tools that work beautifully. There is one exception though. It was a spoke shave that some previous owner "restored". And by restored I mean it looks like he took the blade and chip breaker to a wire wheel and then just rustoliumed the whole body without removing the rust first. After filing the paint off of the machined surfaces and back far enough from the sole to stop leaving black streaks on the wood I thought I had a very comfortable spoke shave. It was far more comfortable than the Stanley 151 that also came in said box o rust. Unfortunately the chip breaker will not hold the blade in position under use. I have not tried excessive force but no tightness of the screw in the center or the top will hold it. Does anyone know a remidy for this situation. Also I have no idea what it is. The blade has the Stanley rule and level "arch" logo. I think I can make out "Balleys patent" on one handle and a date ending in 1858 on the other. It is hard to read under the thick cover of paint and getting a rubbing on a curved surface eludes me. Since without pictures it didn't happen so here are a few pictures (please excuse the bad camera work, I was too lazy tonight to get out my light tent and non phone camera): http://picasaweb.google.com/105192907109903453543/Tools#5481762876098890226 http://picasaweb.google.com/105192907109903453543/Tools#5481762451649823298 http://picasaweb.google.com/105192907109903453543/Tools#5481762010909582178 http://picasaweb.google.com/105192907109903453543/Tools#5481761802444720082 Outside of woodworking I am a software engineer working for a small legal publishing company. If you live in the northeast in a medium sized town there is a good chance my company codified and published your town code. I am 28 and have a wife and a naughty cat named President Nixon. Anyway... Hi! Bob (from Rochester, NY) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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205052 | Archie England <christinmedaily@y...> | 2010‑06‑12 | Re: Introducing myself to the list |
Welcome, from way down South...near the Bayou (and, unfortunately the creeping crude) Your mystery shave is most likely a Stanley #51. I'm no expert; but do have a boat load of post-Katrina experience of rehabbing old tools. My first thought was, "He's got a blade that's used up and won't adjust any further." But, the pics of the blade don't really show that. Your adj. screw for the lever cap should easily tighten down completely. If not, work on it. Though the lever cap looks a little high on the frame, it should work. Replacement blades are available from several sources. Again, welcome. We're glad to have young blood join the ranks. Arch, near NOLA --- On Sat, 6/12/10, Bob Miller |
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205053 | Sanford Moss <sushandel@m...> | 2010‑06‑12 | RE: Introducing myself to the list |
Hello Bob=2C Welcome to oldtools! You wrote (in part) about your Stanley 51 spoke shave=2C "Unfortunately the chip breaker will not hold the blade in position under use. I have not tried excessive force but no tightness of the screw in the center or the top will hold it. Does anyone know a remidy for this situation. Also I have no idea what it is. The blade has the Stanley rule and level"arch" logo. I think I can make out "Balleys patent" on one handle and adate ending in 1858 on the other. It is hard to read under the thick cover of paint and getting a rubbing on a curved surface eludes me." At least the body and blade of your shave seem to be appropriate for a fairly early Stanley No. 51 shave. Stanley continued to produce the shave body with Bailey's 1858 patent date on the underside of the handle for quite a period of time=2C and it is usually so heavily japanned that it is tough to read. The arched logo also was continued for a long while (into the early 1900s)=2C in a couple of versions. But=2C for a shave of this vintage=2C I think the fixing screw on the cap is not correct (it is later=2C probably not earlier than 1909). A more correct screw would be shaped like an eye ring=2C or have a knurled top with a screw driver slot. Post-1909=2C Stanley began checkering the No. 51's handle=2C and yours is not of this vintage. So=2C I suspect that in your shave's history=2C someone gave it a new fixing screw=2C and probably a new cap iron--again=2C one not appropriate to the body and the blade of your shave. So=2C I suspect therein may lie the cause of your problem. You might cast around for an older cap iron=2C or a newer body and blade. Best regards=2C Sandy Tools for Sale list at http://www.sydnassloot.com/tools.htmBrace Collection at http://www.sydnassloot.com/brace.htm ----------------------------- ------------------------------------------ - |
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205054 | nicknaylo@a... | 2010‑06‑12 | Re: Introducing myself to the list |
Welcome aboard Bob! I did have two questions for the list. The first is for somerecommended reading. I want to set up and use a small charcoal forge in my backyard to make more tools. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a beginners book on blacksmithing, especially for those of us stuck in suburbia. I like Practical Projects for the Blacksmith by Ted Tucker You can start with an old weber, a hair dryer and some lump charcoal. Iforgeiron.com and Anvilfire.com (the iforge tutorials are great) arealso great sources of information. Michael-Frightening the neighbors since the year Four -----Original Message----- From: Bob Miller |
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205060 | Thomas Conroy <booktoolcutter@y...> | 2010‑06‑12 | Re: Introducing myself to the list |
Galooteratti: The blade of Bob Miller's Stanley 51 spokeshave is slipping even when the screw is tightened down hard. Bob, could the knurled screw in the cap be bottoming out on the underside of its knurled head? This would allow the blade to slip. The solution might be to back off the knurled cap screw a few turns and tighten down the slotted body screw a few turns. If the slotted screw won't go in further, I would investigate that t he hole in the body is gunged up with rust or rustoleum. A lot of the time, I ha ve found, maybe always, the slotted screw will hold the cap and iron firmly enou gh all by themselves, without the extra leverage of the knurled screw. Just a su ggestion. If that doesn't work, try slipping a thick spacer between the blade and the lowe r end of the knurled screw; a washer with a tiny hole might do. Or try wiping so me anti-slip sticky stuff on the blade and bed of the shave (watch out, though, you still want a bit of slip to adjust it.) Not speaking from experience, I use a 151, not a 51. But its all worth trying. Tom Conroy Berkeley From: Bob Miller The second is an identification and use question. This past Christmas my parents knowing my new found love bought me a box of rust (literally, all of the tools needed a lot of love to get working). It was one of the best presents I have ever received and now I have a bunch of tools that work beautifully. There is one exception though. It was a spoke shave that some previous owner "restored". And by restored I mean it looks like he took the blade and chip breaker to a wire wheel and then just rustoliumed the whole body without removing the rust first. After filing the paint off of the machined surfaces and back far enough from the sole to stop leaving black streaks on the wood I thought I had a very comfortable spoke shave. It was far more comfortable than the Stanley 151 that also came in said box o rust. Unfortunately the chip breaker will not hold the blade in position under use. I have not tried excessive force but no tightness of the screw in the center or the top will hold it. Does anyone know a remidy for this situation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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205056 | John <leydenjl@g...> | 2010‑06‑12 | re: Introducing myself to the list |
Bob from Rochester is looking for some reading material: Welcome aboard. With regard to recommended reading, if you like making tools and want to get started in some simple smithing for that purpose, "Make Your Own Woodworking Tools" by Mike Burton has some ideas for small tools and a simple starter forge. Also, "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" by Weygers, which is not exactly a contemporary work but a reprint of something about a century old, can keep your head full of ideas for more challenging things to try. Regards, JL ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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205061 | Bob Miller <bobprime@b...> | 2010‑06‑12 | Re: Introducing myself to the list |
Thank you for the advice everyone. I will be on the lookout for a replacement cap or at a minimum a replacement fixing screw. I find the sold cast handles much more comfortable than the hollow on the underside of my 151's handles. I plan on finding a local flea market (I have never been to one) sometime early this summer so hopefully I will have some new found tools to share with the list in the near future. Bob ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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205062 | Bob Miller <bobprime@b...> | 2010‑06‑12 | Re: Introducing myself to the list |
Tom, "Bob, could the knurled screw in the cap be bottoming out on the underside of its knurled head? " The knurled screw is actually very long for what it needs to do. Even with it tightened down all the way there is still room to extend it another 3mm (1/8"). Both screws move cleanly up and down all the way so it is not just rusted up. Looking at it again (I ignored it for a month after not being able to get it work) I noticed that the chip breaker/lever cap doesn't sit flush across the width of the blade, nor is is square to the line between the slotted screw and the knurled screw. I may try filing it to a better shape. Bob On Sat, Jun 12, 2010 at 3:49 PM, Thomas Conroy |
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205071 | scott grandstaff <scottg@s...> | 2010‑06‑13 | Re: Introducing myself to the list |
Hello Bob and welcome I am totally with you. No 151 featherweight shave compares, in any way, to a real solid handle shave, in your hand. The adjustable shaves can be made to work, but they can never be made to "feel right" once you have held a solid shave. I know. I have, and have had, a score of hollow back shaves. But only one solid shave so far, and guess which one I reach for, invariably?? If your screw is too long because it was from a newer shave, put a washer under the screw head. If still too long, try a thicker washer. Easy peasy. You can do this today, in 2 minutes. And welcome to a millrat's view of the world. Stanley's blades are great steel, but they are mostly too thin to properly close up the mouth of a shave for peak performance. Several guys make them. Rev Ron's blades can't be beat for the price, if buying new. Older Record blades were thicker than Stanley, if scavenging old parts. Or. Since you are getting into making tools, make a new blade yourself. Try a 12" solid steel circular saw blade as your stock. Some 10's are thick enough too. Just eyeball how much clear space you have ahead of the blade now, and this is how much thicker a steel you are looking for. The paper thin Dremel cutoff wheels will cut perfect and not draw the temper, on your second or third try, at worst. ......... If you are careful with the cutting (read patient and accurate) you won't harm the temper. You will find it easy to sharpen and holds its edge long enough too. You can later reharden and temper said blade for even longer edge retention if you want. But in the meantime you will find the standard temper satisfactory. Making a new and better lever cap is also another fine project. Pretty soon you'll be delighted to have a long screw and you'll be "lettin her out" to fit your new blade 'n cap. :) yous Scott -- ******************************* Scott Grandstaff Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca 96039 scottg@s... http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/ http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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205069 | Peter Robinson <peter.robinson.old.tools@g...> | 2010‑06‑13 | Re: Re: Introducing myself to the list |
Hi Bob, welcome to the list. Re your #51 shave, one more thing to check is that the bed isn't gunked up from the rustoleum. If the bed is not smooth and flat, the blade can move around under the cap iron and is hard to tighten down properly. Some careful filing is one remedy if the bed is uneven. Peter Robinson Brisbane, Australia On 13/06/2010, at 7:23, Bob Miller |
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205161 | Kirk Eppler <eppler.kirk@g...> | 2010‑06‑15 | Re: Re: Introducing myself to the list |
Peter Robinson wrote: > Re your #51 shave, one more thing to check is that the bed isn't > gunked up from the rustoleum. If the bed is not smooth and flat, the > blade can move around under the cap iron and is hard to tighten down > properly. Some careful filing is one remedy if the bed is uneven. > A nifty little article on spokeshave tune ups http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=smalser&file=articles_407. shtml -- Kirk Eppler Pharmaceutical and Packaging Engineering eppler.kirk@g... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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