OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

262355 <ecoyle@t...> 2017‑05‑26 Re: oldtools presentation
Oh so many GOOD suggestions, have been sent my way following my RFA (request fer
advice) PLEASE keep em coming.



I’ve got an empty tool chest that I was thinking of stocking with the
fundamentals and pulling them out one by one, but maybe throwing in a few
“discovery” tools of a bizarre note (like my pool cue repair tools, arrow
fletching tools etc.) I’ve got no idea how much time is alloted.

But thank you one and all for the great suggestions. 

Regards 

ERic
262356 Michael Blair <branson2@s...> 2017‑05‑26 Re: oldtools presentation
If I may add my voice to the chorus, I'd like to agree with
demonstration.  The tools need to talk.  You don't want the audience to
be thinking, "Wow these guys really had it tough and primitive!"  It's
better they were thinking, "Hey, that really works.  I could do that!" 
Planing is good.  Working with a moulding plane is even better.  I'll
bet than virtually none of the folks will have ever worked with a really
sharp saw.  Even less likely they have ever worked with a turning saw. 
I can't forget the episode where St. Roy explained the advantages of
using a turning saw -- that you could so much more easily watch the
blade and the line.  

I'll second the recommendation for the planing bench.  Chances are that
nobody has seen one, and less again that they've seen one used.  Yet you
can do just about everything on a planing bench (don't forget a holdfast
or two -- holdfasts are eye-openers for sure -- the original quick
release clamp). 

One thing that surprises people a good deal is drilling with the old
bits -- the center bits and spoon bits.  They're amazed that these bits
work well and quickly. 

As for the "discovery" tools, they illustrate something else people
never consider -- the diversity of the woodworking trades.  For the most
part, carpenter meant house carpenter.  Cabinet making, at the very
least, was a separate trade, with it's own set of tools.  Coopering was
yet another, with a different set, as was the wheelwright's trade. 
Visitors to Sutter's Fort often remark, looking into the cooper's shop,
"This must be the woodworking shop."  I have to tell them, "No, this is
the cooper's shop. We make casks, tubs, and buckets.  The carpenter's
shop is at the north west corner of the fort, and the cabinet maker's
shop is at the north east corner."  Speciality tools for specialized
trades. 

Mike in Woodland
262357 Ed Minch <ruby1638@a...> 2017‑05‑26 Re: oldtools presentation
I did a woodworking demo with the local cub scouts a year back.  I demonstrated
some tools, then had a bunch of spoke shaves and pieces of wood clamped to the
tables for some shaping excersizes.  Went over bigly.

Ed Minch

Recent Bios FAQ