Rommy plan

Some hand tool woodworkers are lucky enough to live in areas with readily available old tools; others are not. I fall into the latter category. I occasionally get questions from others living in similar old tool wastelands about where and how I get my tools. I recently received an email from a reader named Martin that asked about finding old tools. He ended his email with this question:

"So I guess Im asking, whats your strategy?"

Heres my (slightly edited) reply, which might be of some use to others:

Hey Martin,

Im not sure I have a strategy - its more like an obsession :)

But Ill try to organize my thoughts (might be hard just now - 7th graders are wearing me out - I must be getting old!)

Sources:

1. eBay! Id say approximately 50-60% of my old tools have come via eBay. See below for more info.

2. New England. About 40%. Ive taken two trips back East and sent home coolers full of old tools each time. The coolers are a cheap, practical way to protect the tools and are then reusable back home. Of course, it is a little hard to explain why I have a shed full of coolers...

3. Various other non-Alaskan settings Oregon, Texas, Ohio, Kentucky. 5%. Basically, anywhere I go I scour the area for any place with old tools - flea markets, junk stores, antique stores, thrift stores etc. Basically, I cant drive past any even remotely potential source without saying "Hey, that looks like they might have old tools in there!" Have I mentioned that my wife is a saint?

4. Local Alaskan sources - 1%. Just not much here at all...but I keep looking!


Heres a nutshell version of my eBay rules:

1. Know what you are looking at. Knowledge is king. Most sellers dont know squat about what they are selling - "complete", "mint", "light use", "great condition" etc. mean nothing. You need to know enough to judge for yourself. There are endless examples of this: dado planes with no nicker iron called "complete"(avoid), #78 duplex rabbet planes "missing the front blade" - it only ever had one iron (not a problem - and could be a deal if others dont know that...), "unique block plane" that is really just a broken #3 etc.etc.

2. The web is your best friend. Use it to help with rule #1. If you havent found it yet - try Patrick Leachs Blood and Gore for information on Stanley planes, the Disstonian Institute for Disston saws etc.

3. Pictures are key. The more quality pictures, the more you can apply rule #1. Spend time studying the pictures.

4. Feedback is useful - to a point. Ive had excellent transactions with sellers with very low ratings - but I stay away from those with numerous negatives, or even one negative that has an unsatisfactory response.

5. Know what you are willing to pay - dont get sucked into the bidding frenzy. Ive seen used LN planes go for more than LN charges for the same plane new! And at least one person is regularly selling a book for over twice what Lee Valley (the publisher) charges for it. Crazy.

6. Spend some time doing searches of "completed" auctions - this will let you know what range of prices things have gone for recently - maybe that deal isnt really as good as it looks. See rule #5.

7. Snipe. Bid your maximum price (see rule #5) at the last second. If you get it great - if not, there will be more. In my opinion, bidding early only lets others talk themselves into outbidding you - hence the sillyness mentioned in rule #5.

8. Be ready to learn how to fettle. Sometimes you can score tools ready to go. But mostly you need to work on them a bit. Dont rule this out - it is a tremendous learning opportunity.

9. Be ready to be disappointed once in a while. But really, if you are applying rule #1 and rule #5 this wont be too often. Ive bought hundreds of tools on eBay and only been flat-out ripped off once, and extremely disappointed twice, and both of those were because I did not fully appreciate rule #3. My fault really.

10. Completely read the sellers listing - paying particular attention to the shipping section. Probably more important to me, as most sellers dont seem to know that Alaska IS on the continent...

11. Have fun with it. Its an auction - not a store.

Thanks for asking this question - Ive never really thought about this in any concrete terms. I might do a blog post on this...

Take care - Dan


And of course, these are just my opinions. I know others may have very different strategies that work great for them.

Good Hunting!

We got to visit with an old friend last week ... It was a pool table that I built and installed in1993. The owners have recently sold the house and the table will be arriving at its new home at their sons house in Connecticut this Wednesday.
Its an antique table that I bought, planning to use it in my own home for myself and Sam and Will to enjoy. They were 8 and 10 at the time ... But, like the one before that one, a client came through as I was involved in the restoration and bought it before we finished. After losing two that way, I bought a more homely one that I painted and refelted and still own today ... Its how we got started in our pool table career ... I think weve made 14 or 15 now .... This one was #2. click the photos to enlarge them ....
It was in a beautiful home, which called for a really nice cue and accessory rack that also made the trip out ...
If youve never seen one in pieces, heres how it goes ... You unbolt and disassemble the pockets and rails, pry the million staples from the felt and you are left with the three pieces of slate that are screwed to the wood frame below.
Then the wood frame is unbolted and broken down into its various parts ...
And youre good to go ..
Youve got a bunch of pieces when youre finished but it all makes sense if you take it a step at a time ....
The house is a beauty, designed by Jeff Barnes, a Manchester architect noted for his style and attention to detail ... Here are a few images just so you get the idea ...
The main entry
Coming into the kitchen from the garage
We were making this table when the client saw the pool table we were working on at the same time ...
Detail of the ebony and abalone inlay
A classic Sam Ogden turning piece ...And, a nice place to entertain ... great house !!!

I was thinking this morning about how my old man would have reacted to the current rebuilding of my tool cabinet. Here is how I think that conversation would have played out...

Old Man: What the hell do you think youre doing?

Son: Nothing. Why?

Old Man: Because it looks more like you are building furniture, thats why.

Son: Come on, pop. Im just making a display for my tools that I can enjoy looking at and still be able to use them. 

Old Man: What the hell are you talking about? Tools are only made to be used, not looked at. What the hell do you think they are, artwork? 

Son: Well, pop, they may have been made to work with, but that doesnt mean their designs shouldnt be appreciated. Some of them are really quite beautiful in their own right; like little sculptures. 

Old Man: Awe, bullshit! Do you ever listen to yourself when you talk that artsy-fartsy stuff? If you have to do this kind of pamby-assed thing, just bang a few nails in the back of the cabinet and hang the bloody tools on them. Stop making such a big deal out of nothing, for Christs sake. 

Son: The cabinet sits in my office, remember, not the basement. I dont want to look at something like that all the time. I want it to look good. 

Old Man: Well if you spent more time working and less time looking, you might actually accomplish something.

Son: Im retired, pop, remember? 

Old Man: Your too young for that nonsense, but ok, you want to sissify a bunch of tools; I can live with that, but do you have to spend so God-damned much money to do it? Walnut costs a bloody fortune. 

Son: It isnt sissified, pop. I just see things differently than you, thats all. And as far as building it out of walnut, I chose it because I know it was your favourite wood. The whole thing is sort of a tribute to you, if you must know. 

Old Man: Tribute - Schmidute. If you want to build something for me out of an expensive wood like walnut, build me a damned coffee table!

And with that, folks, he would have turned on his heel and stormed away, leaving me standing there shaking my head in wonderment. As he stormed away, though, I know he would have been wearing a grin from ear to bloody ear, the grumpy, old codger.

Peace,

Mitchell