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After talking about the most embarrassing tools I own, I thought it would be good to get my mind off of these purchases by talking about my favorite tools in the shop. Feel free to add yours in the comments, or on your own blog (and post the link in the comments).
3. My Irwin chisels. From what I hear, Irwin chisels haven’t lost much of the original quality that their predecessor Marples provided. And I love ‘em. Use ‘em all the time. The best thing? If I ever do run out of blade (unlikely), or lose one, I can get me another for $10-$20. They’re pictured here in my chisel box in progress.
2. My great grandpa Rudolf’s tools. My great grandfather came to the States in 1913 (at the age of 17), and made a living as a carpenter. Last year, my dad gave me any and all of his old tools that I wanted, and I took a lot of them here to Malaysia (the rest I took a rain check on). Pictured is a Stanley Victor #1105 jack plane, a Stanley #60 1/2 block plane, and a Millers Falls #772-101 bit brace. They’re by no means in mint condition, but they’re still perfectly functional and it feels special to be using them.
1. My Guyokucho 9 1/2″ Ryoba (for Hardwoods). Sorry for bumping you to #2, Grandpa Rudolf, but this saw has changed my life (woodworkingly speaking, that is). They say that tools don’t make you a good woodworker; all I know is that this ryoba makes me look like a good woodworker, so I’m not complaining. You can’t argue with my pics showing how clean it cuts and how fine the kerf!
Last month, I posted about my adventures in hand-cut veneer. I was pretty proud of myself for how well it turned out; I felt a bit like David fighting Goliath (Goliath being the giant hurdle of working without power tools) and cutting off his big fat head.
I got several very positive comments both here and over on LumberJocks. The comments made me feel like even though I am still brand new in the craft, that there are already some things I can do well. One comment in particular (from Luis) still rings in my ears:
You are an excellent sawyer!!
There are a lot of areas in woodworking where my brand new skills are quite raw – including sawing. But knowing that experienced woodworkers see promise in what I’m doing has given me more confidence in attempting new things.
Tonight I needed a thin strip of wood for my chisel box. It will be glued to the inside of the box lid and will rest against the chisel handles to keep them pinned down when the box is closed. None of my plywood was thin enough, so I said, “Guess I’ll have to just cut a strip myself!” Telling myself, I’m an excellent sawyer! I jumped right in, grabbed the only scrap left of the wood I was using for the interior, and started in on it.
When I was done, I had a strip of wood that was 3/64″ all the way down. And when I sized it up where I needed it to go, I had cut it way too thin! So I’ll have to mix and match the woods after all. Oh well, it’s just a chisel box.
But tonight was a lesson in confidence. Kaleo recently passed on advice from one of his instructors to “trust in your hand tool skills” and not to worry about screwing up. Confidence goes a long way. And so do compliments, so let’s all keep encouraging each other as we all progress in the craft!
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