I don’t have nearly the assortment of tools that most hand tool gurus own, but I’m early on in my journey. Here’s what I have so far, and I’ll post pics of them as I’m able:
- Gyokucho 9 1/2″ Ryoba Saw for Hardwoods [pic]
- Stanley #4 Smoothing Plane (brand new, sorry!)
- Stanley Victor #1105 Jack Plane (great-grandpa Rudolf’s) [info]
- Stanley #60 1/2 Block Plane [info]
- Millers Falls Bit Brace #772-101 (great-grandpa Rudolf’s) [info]
- Crown Dovetail Saw
- Irwin Chisel Set (4) [pic]
- Lie-Nielsen Scrapers (2)
- Starrett Combination Square Set
- Bevel Gauge (from a kit)
- Spokeshave (handmade but not by me)
- Mortise Gauge (Stanley #77)
- Sharpening Stones (King: 800, 1200, 4000, 8000) [pic]
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December 18, 2008 at 12:25 pm
David
Hello, just wondering if you like your Irwin chisels. I have read online that you have to sharpen them after a few mallet hits. Are they really that bad?
December 19, 2008 at 1:53 am
Eric
Hey David,
I love my Irwins. They are generally considered by the woodworking community to be very solid, value-for-the-money chisels. Sure, if you’re whacking your chisels with a mallet, the edge will dull faster than if you’re, say, paring. But it’s not like the chisels are made of soft butter steel. They’re tempered, hardened tool steel and hold a decent edge.
I think you’ll find that most experienced woodworkers (and I am not one yet!) keep their sharpening station at the ready, and frequently re-hone an edge several times during a chiseling session.
June 1, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Tom
Last year I attended a one-day workshop on hand-tool woodworking, taught by the masterful Paul Sellers. One point in particular stuck with me from that class: At the end of the day, when you’re done sweeping the shop, sharpen the edge tools you used (maybe just a few strokes on the stone), before you put them away. Next time you use them, (surprise!), you won’t need to wonder which ones need to be sharpened first.
June 2, 2009 at 2:49 am
Joe
Hey Eric! My father is quite a woodworker, and I used to help him with projects when I was younger. I recently felt the “itch” to get back into it. The only problem is that I don’t have any tools and live in an apartment with no space for a shop. I wanted to work on a box with dovetailed corners, and stumbled upon your project on lumberjocks, which led me over to this page! I’ve been catching up on your posts since then!
I just ordered a vintage Stanley No. 4 smoothing plane on ebay, and look forward to picking up more hand tools as I go along.
Thanks for all of your posts…it is a good reminder that everyone starts somewhere, and that getting in there and doing it is the only way to get better.
June 2, 2009 at 10:51 am
Eric
Tom: Sharpening is one of those things I’ll just need to stay on top of. As it is, I’ve let almost all my tools dull, and now I’ve got a ton of work to do before I can really get to woodworking again. At least I like sharpening, once I’ve got it all set up.
Joe: As you’ll see from my blog, shop space isn’t a requirement for woodworking. Shoot, even lack of tools shouldn’t stop you! :^) My next shop (in the house into which we’ve just moved) will be a 4×8 section of our kitchen (and that will include the 2×6 bench!). I really need to think of how I can maximize the 6′ or so of wall I have as well. Get yourself some chisels (Irwins are fine) and a saw (I prefer the Japanese ryoba myself, and it’s cheap) and you’re ready to get going. You’ll figure out along the way what tool to get next!
October 21, 2009 at 7:57 am
Chris
I’d love to see a picture of the handmade spokeshave. Any chance?
October 22, 2009 at 1:17 am
Eric
Sure thing Chris! It’s in Malaysia right now so I’ll do that after we get back (January).
May 16, 2010 at 1:55 am
Trevpr
Ah, you must have been folloring Josh’s FMM. Sorry about the “snipe” If I come across one I’ll forward/grab it for you.
Thanks for visiting my site, The wordpress looks pretty good, do you have to pay? is it hard to learn/worth switching from Blogspot?
Thanks,
Trevor
May 17, 2010 at 9:23 am
Eric
Hey Trevor, no worries, I’m just joking about how furious I am at the snipe. I’m really only mildly outraged.
Yeah, I have no troubles with WordPress. I’ve used Blogger and Movable Type in the past, and I’ve also done a self-hosted WordPress blog. This one (hosted on wordpress.com and forwarded or mapped or whatever to my domain) lacks some of the frills of the self-hosted one but is only $10/year (plus hosting fees of less than $10/year), so the price is right! I would say it is not hard to switch from Blogger. Sure, there’ll be a learning curve but you won’t have to really look hard to find the functions you need to use. But I haven’t used Blogger for some time so I can’t speak to the benefits of one over the other.
May 16, 2010 at 2:23 am
Trevor
I can spell real well by the way.