Antique Woodworker's Tools

lowpolyjoe · June 06, 2015, 03:27:48 PM

Today I stopped by a garage sale around the corner from my house and found a good sized (maybe 2'x3'x3' ?) wooden tool chest full of antique wooden hand tools.

Some really beautiful stuff, including some wooden (rosewood?) levels with brass trim, a nice rosewood mortise gauge. Tons of different hand planes spanning the spectrum from joiners, smoothers and moulding planes. The owner said he accepted it as part of payment for a job a long time ago, and the previous owner had inherited it from his grandfather. My understanding is that this was the original owner's full set of tools as a professional woodworker probably 4+ generations ago.

I very much wanted to buy the set but I couldn't justify a large offer given my limited time and resources to put into my woodworking hobby. I have no idea how much a set like that would be worth and was wondering if anyone on here would like to offer an opinion.

I thought it would be awkward to ask for a picture so sadly I don't have one. I will guestimate on some of the stuff I saw.

Maybe 5 saws - ranging from dovetail, carcass to good size rip saw - didn't look at them too much to see the condition
Maybe 10 planes of many types (all wooden body construction), as mentioned above. About half were in "good" or better condition. The other half were in worse shape (corroded metal pieces and/or cracked or chipped wooden pieces).
One largish router plane - I didn't see the cutter but there was a wooden box with assorted metal pieces that may have contained it.
One tool that looked like a giant spoke shave / plane but I don't know what it's called.
One or two augers - I didn't see the bit set but it might have been buried.
A very nice miter gauge.
A beat up marking gauge
One large and one small wooden level with brass rails I think
An interesting metal tool that connects to the auger brace and allows you to use it to drill into the side of a pipe (the owner was showing me).
A bunch of other assorted woodworking stuff.

A truly awesome collection. I wish I could bring myself to plunk down a big offer to take it off his hands. Owner did not state a price.

Would love to hear what you guys think that collection is worth.

beenthere · June 06, 2015, 05:32:58 PM

Not worth anymore than what someone is willing to pay. IMO
Don't let it go by without an offer of what you are willing to pay. Be it $10 or $100 or whatever.

lowpolyjoe · June 06, 2015, 07:26:45 PM

Quote from: beenthere on June 06, 2015, 05:32:58 PM
Not worth anymore than what someone is willing to pay.

That's the truth.

I offered him $200 because that's as much as I could put towards the set. I felt it is probably worth more (perhaps a lot more) but I couldn't rationalize paying more since I didn't know how well I would be able to restore the tools for use. The history behind the tools is a great story but I actually want to use them

Owner said my offer wouldn't get it done and didn't counter. He may be expecting much higher offer. Or maybe he doesn't really want to sell it

. That could be a possibility because it's such a cool collection and I think he's had it a long time.

My wife keeps asking me how much it was worth and I honestly don't have any idea. :D

Don_Papenburg · June 07, 2015, 03:32:24 PM

It would be hard to put a price on without seeing the tools .
Did you tell him that 200 was all you had to spend?
tell him that you would keep it in the neighbor hood?
Go ask how much more you would need to add to your dollars. That will help establish a price /value

lowpolyjoe · June 07, 2015, 09:00:46 PM

Quote from: Don_Papenburg on June 07, 2015, 03:32:24 PM
It would be hard to put a price on without seeing the tools .
Did you tell him that 200 was all you had to spend?
tell him that you would keep it in the neighbor hood?
Go ask how much more you would need to add to your dollars. That will help establish a price /value

I told him $200 was just as much as I could part with because I wanted to be able to use the tools and a fair number of them would be difficult to put in working order.

I'm going to keep an eye out for his next garage sale (I've seen him put on several per summer in past years). I'll try to get him talking more about it next time he's setup in the driveway. If I can get a ballpark about how much he's looking for maybe i'll save up and work on rationalizing putting more money towards it. My wife is actually very interested in it because it's such an interesting collection.

Don_Papenburg · June 08, 2015, 08:00:54 AM

In that case it might be advantageous to stop by for a friendly visit before the next sale too get a better look at the tools and maybe start work on a deal .

jueston · June 08, 2015, 08:04:59 AM

my wife and i really enjoy estate sales, and i always head straight to the basement or garage to look for tools, which are usually pretty well picked over by the people who are willing to wait in line. Unfortunately, many older craftsman are passing away with sets of older tools, and the majority of modern woodworkers don't want old fashion tools, they want modern power tools. so its a buyers market. i think $200 was a fair offer for his tools.

if there is rust on the tools, that tells me they aren't being used. some people would rather watch the things they own rust away to nothing, rather then sell it for less then they think its worth...

MrMoo · June 09, 2015, 05:37:36 PM

I also agree I think $200 was a fair offer for what you described

sandhills · June 10, 2015, 12:38:20 PM

I agree with Don, we settle on our new place Friday and according to the Real Estate agent we were out bid, but the sellers wanted us to get it so there it is I guess?. Besides, you can't ever have too many tools ;D.

Magicman · June 11, 2015, 08:35:58 AM

That seller was on a "fishing expedition". He did not know what it was worth either or he would have had it priced. It was either a tacky way of doing business, or he did not intend to sell it anyway.

lowpolyjoe · June 11, 2015, 06:31:45 PM

Quote from: sandhills on June 10, 2015, 12:38:20 PM
I agree with Don, we settle on our new place Friday and according to the Real Estate agent we were out bid, but the sellers wanted us to get it so there it is I guess?. Besides, you can't ever have too many tools ;D.

That's funny - we got our house a similar way. I'm not sure if the other offer was higher, but it was all cash or something crazy like that. Turned out my wife's mother knew the couple's son from a long time ago and we got our place 8). It helps to be friendly whenever you can to whoever you meet - you never know when you'll meet them again.

Quote from: Magicman on June 11, 2015, 08:35:58 AM
That seller was on a "fishing expedition". He did not know what it was worth either or he would have had it priced. It was either a tacky way of doing business, or he did not intend to sell it anyway.

You could be right on that. I understand him asking for offers since it's a hard thing to price, but it is a bit frustrating for me :D. I wonder how much value he put on it when he accepted it for payment originally.

Hopefully I'll see him around this summer and chat with him some more. If I do, i'll be sure to report back

Ljohnsaw · June 11, 2015, 08:06:07 PM

Quote from: lowpolyjoe on June 11, 2015, 06:31:45 PM
<<snip>>
It helps to be friendly whenever you can to whoever you meet - you never know when you'll meet them again.
<<snip>>

I want to install a solar panel on a pole for my well pump. Hitting the steel places - just too much money. CL has well drilling pipe, but very far away. Called my water well drilling company to see what scrap they might have for sale. Real nice guy I dealt with 2 years ago. He has a piece of 4-½" drill pipe about 18 feet long. Asked him how much he wanted (expected it to be a couple hundred) and he said "I won't sell you my crap, I'll just let you have it for free." 8) Then again, I did spent over $20k on my well... :

lowpolyjoe · August 22, 2015, 12:12:01 PM

I got it 8)

Lots of cool stuff. Might put a video together at some point as I go through it all. Lots of stuff that I've never seen before and need info on

samandothers · August 22, 2015, 05:18:49 PM

Good for you! Glad you got them.
I look forward to your continued posts of the tools are videos as you work with them or feature them.

Magicman · August 22, 2015, 05:43:37 PM

Congrats. That looks like a wonderful assortment of vintage tools. You did good.

Andy White · August 22, 2015, 06:30:01 PM

lowpolyjoe,
I see enough goodies to keep you busy for a long time! The first ones to clean up would be the dado planes, and the #12 cabinet scraper, and the bead planes. You now have enough tools to build a complete project by hand. Glad to see you getting a large jump on a great collection for such a good price!! As you clean and sharpen them, we would love to see detailed pictures. Congratulations on a great find.

8) 8) 8) Andy

lowpolyjoe · August 22, 2015, 08:26:13 PM

Thanks guys

We settled on a price a bit above my original $200 offer but I'm still happy with the purchase. When I came home without it the first time I was sorta bummed out.

Thanks for the advice Andy. I took a closer look at everything this afternoon. A few of the plane - they seem like they're made for a lefty. Is that possible? I've never used these types of planes but for some of them I would have expected the cutter to be on the opposite side.

On one of the planes I saw "91" stamped. I was wondering if that was a plane model or a year, as in 1891.

Took a few more pics.

The planes:

The saws and some tools that I don't recognize but thought might be tooth setters?

Some layout tools

Brace and bits

Is this what you call a beading plane? Good collection of cutters that seem to fit this plane

Any recommendations for rust removal. I think I asked before but don't remember. One of my buddies recommended looking in an autoparts store for 'rust converter'.

Andy White · August 22, 2015, 08:53:02 PM

lowpolyjoe,
The large plane with the knobs and rods is a moving fillister plane that can cut rabbets and beads on boards as far in on the board's face as the rods will allow. The planes with two irons facing opposite are dado planes. It looks like one has an adjustable fence. They all look to have depth stops intact. Any of them can do lots more with some out of the box thinking, and some guides clamped on the stock you are working. Any narrow planes with a nicker blade on one side only is a rabbet plane for edge of board use, and will also have a depth stop. Again, a good looking collection you have there!!! Andy

lowpolyjoe · August 22, 2015, 09:36:39 PM

Great info - thanks a ton Andy

S.Hyland · August 22, 2015, 11:34:56 PM

That looks like a great set of tools for the price. Some of those look quite nice! I would stay the heck away from any rust converter! I think that could damage things. The rust in the pictures really doesn't look serious, just a little surface rust. I would just use some mineral oil and fine steel wool to clean them up a bit. Personally I like to keep the patina on old tools, I don't try to make them shiny. It's easy to go overboard on cleaning things which can lead to regrettable results. My advice would be to stay away from any harsh chemicals, and stick with a mild soapy bath and a toothbrush to clean things then give it all a nice oiling. Is there any major pitting on the steel? If so you may have to lap some of that out.
Those tools with the saws are to set the teeth. Now you just need some triangular files!
Congrats on the great find!

lowpolyjoe · August 23, 2015, 09:55:18 AM

Thanks for the info and words of warning Hyland. I've never used rust converter and have no idea what it actually consists of.

I was thinking of trying a toothbrush or brass brush with some WD40, but I will try mineral oil first.

Some of the pieces have minimal surface rust that will be easily brushed or sanded away. Some of the irons on the jointer planes are in awful shape and will need more serious work. On one of the rabbeting planes, the hardware on the adjustable fence is completely corroded and I think unfixable. I will post more detailed pics if I ever try to tackle that.

I have a small set of diamond files from Harbor Freight. One is triangular and I used it to sharpen a backsaw I recently bought at a flea market... but it might be too small for these larger saws.

Hopefully i'll have time to play with this stuff later today and report back again

beenthere · August 23, 2015, 11:19:27 AM

Hope you have some Blue Creeper to use... far better than WD-40 IMO

lowpolyjoe · August 24, 2015, 11:14:36 AM

Just ordered some Bluecreeper 8)

Spent some time on some of the cutting irons yesterday. Lots of sanding. They're in pretty good shape. Still have to sharpen them though.

Before

After

Haggis · August 25, 2015, 11:53:42 AM

Wow I am really jealous. I would love to finds an old set of tools like that. Especially for the price! Congrats on the tools.

lowpolyjoe · August 25, 2015, 12:38:25 PM

Thanks Haggis

Long road ahead to clean everything up to useful condition and learn how to use them effectively.

I'm thinking I really need to build a dedicated woodworking bench if I'm going to take this hobby seriously. All I have now is a DIY vise attached to a countertop and it's difficult to hold things securely