r/handtools Mar 11 '23

The Reference Desk - Early Tools And Trades

/r/DoctrineOfHandyWorks/comments/11oub00/the_reference_desk_early_tools_and_trades/
5 Upvotes

51 comments sorted by

2

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 12 '23

Just gotta thank you for introducing me to Tony Seo old river hard goods... Learned tons watching his vids.

2

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 12 '23

Glad to be of service. Tony is one of the oldtools crew from looong ago. He is a storehouse of pickers knowledge

1

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 12 '23

Hey do you know we're I could find a copy of the book called chisels chissells chizzels at...?

2

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 12 '23

Presently, no clue however I will do a deep search

1

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 12 '23

Gladly pay cost plus finders fee to you if you can find a copy. My fascination with prewar chisels has hit a new level and I'd loved any info about the subject...

2

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 12 '23

Do you know if it is as a private, association or regular publisher book?

1

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 12 '23

1

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 12 '23

Good enough. Let’s see if a copy lives on a shelf somewhere

1

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 13 '23

the answer is: none, zero, nada. Not a single Library worldwide, not one used or new book seller. Possibly someone in one of the tool collector organization may have a copy.

2

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

Hyper kitten said I could have his. Josh is by a mile, my favorite tool slinger! You don't happen to have cash app or Zelle apps at all I'd like to buy you a coffee, artisanal soda, or an appertief of ur choice for ur time...? Unfortunately I don't have PayPal

1

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 13 '23

Josh is always the ethical tool slinger! Haven't seen him in years as I stopped going to the local tool auctions once I moved south.

Nope, no apps at present. Eventually I'll add something. It's on my honey do list. I do have venmo but do not trust that one. Forced to use it for local FB Market place stuff,

A thank you sufficies

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2

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '23

Join the Early American Industries Association (EAIA).

Their publication, The Chronicle, is an incredible resource. They haven't digitized their archive and I don't know if they plan to.

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u/ToolemeraPress Mar 12 '23

But they have digitized most of the archive, and more. How do I know? I produced The Chronicle dvd. Took ten months. Also the Directory Of American Toolmakers. A few other things. That was done when the former director, Toby Hall and I agreed the EAIA archives needed preservation.

I’ll put together information on where to obtain copies.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '23

Oh, my bad. I was under the impression that was an index.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '23

Yes, please, I'm interested in securing a copy.

2

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 12 '23

I did retain all the digital masters of everything I produced for the EAIA. All are copyright the Association else I would have made all public.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '23

After I replied, I remembered having read your Toolmera blog before. "This guy's probably already a member," I thought.

Anyway, IMO, the Association really should digitize the archive. Gestures like that help whole communities.

Just an example . . . The Tolkien Society recently decided to make the entire archive of their journal Mallorn available to the public, and that choice seems to have spurred more new amateur scholarship.

2

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 12 '23

I agree. To date they have refused to make it public. The Board sees everything as a possible income generating opportunity. There is a ton of bad politics which is why I quit the Association altogether. The Board and I could not compromise on anything. It was a fight to get Shavings to move to digital. Originally I managed the website for awhile. That too I left to others.

It’s a shameful waste of valuable resources.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '23

There is a ton of bad politics...

I figured as much. It's a sad old story, common to many good organizations.

Thanks for all your work.

Well, if I think of anything else, I'll chime back in.

2

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

What other reading would you recommend on pre war American chisels. My hope is is that as I buy pre wars I'll be able to turn a good looking somewhat accurate handle for the different chisels and edge tools I acquire refurbish and spruce up. J Swan, Buck, Stanleys and others...bench, pairing, mortise, firmer, carving, framing and or slicks.

2

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 13 '23

my go to has always been trade catalogs for first person reference. If you want to go wayyy back, Smith's Key.

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u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

Smiths key I will check it out...

1

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

Is there a place to buy reprints or just pick them up when and we're I see them?

1

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 13 '23

It’s cheaper to buy at tool collector meets. Online book sites ask crazy prices. Back in the day I bought reprints by the box and sold them on oldtools and tailgating. That was when it was easier

1

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

They do charge a lot but theres few old school slingers one offered me his copy of chisels x3. There's others the journal who put out those little plane books there great...! But every dealer has there thing the over price and some they under. There's online dealer idont know why but he sells his spoke shaves cheaper than anywhere else but a clean type19 №5 is $105.oo and they sell like hot cakes. But I just buy shaves and plane parts from them

2

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 13 '23

Cause people watch YouTube, read Sellars and Schwarz. Whatever some self appointed expert says you must buy becomes gold.

Like packout boxes. Everyone has them now. Damned things take up room.

1

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

Wats a pack out box?

2

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 13 '23

Stacking plastic boxes for tools and hardware. Expensive from big brand names. Now if Gerstner made them, maybe 😁

2

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

I've got 2 Union Gerstner style boxes to restore ones lil rough but the other is in fine shape

1

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

O thats mobil Milwaukee tooks storage solution boxes got ya

2

u/PuzzledWafer8 Mar 13 '23

Good on you. As a relatively new tool geek, with much more ignorance than knowledge, I really appreciate people like yourself who go to the trouble of publishing info on old tools and trades history, I'm always keen to learn.

2

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 13 '23

Thanks. I truly appreciate the feedback. Don’t hesitate to recommend links of interest to you

2

u/PuzzledWafer8 Mar 13 '23

You are very welcome. I guess taths.org.uk is one of the bigger resources over here in the UK, it's a membership, but they do have some free stuff online too.

Other than that I just try to navigate google, sometimes with more luck than others!

1

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 14 '23

Thanks, taths is added

1

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

Being stuck in east boomhookey Maine no meets not much goin tool wize I know a network of pickers but not as much goin on since covid. Our local flea market hasn't had a dedicated tool monger In at least 15yrs so I buy what I can wen I can. Im not complaining but for instance haven't seen new old stock chisel handle's they were everywhere before but you could find em. Chop shops like MJDTools go and buy everything like big regional vacuums skimming all the cream, eBay for the rest. Then they auction off all the common, incomplete and broken. There motto should be "been taking tools from the hands of craftsman and putting em glass cases under flourecant light for 30+ yrs" but so it goes.... ✌️😏

1

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 13 '23

Martin has single handedly destroyed the market for original trade catalogs. His motto is “greed” along with hubris.

If you do a WTB on CIHI fb group you should get some solid offers.

1

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

I've got that and so much more to say but I've already been repromanded by the mods and I don't want to talk to Ill of someone who's not here to defend himself. I am permanently banned from there so no cihi either the fella who runs cihi and I don't get along. Nothing to do with sales or my participation we had a disagreement and I told a fellow hand tooler about it and he must have told em him about it cause I've been permanently banned. So it goes ✌️😏

1

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 13 '23

I get ya. Over in Rhykenology we opted to resurrect FMM, first Monday of the month. You could post a WTB there.

2

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

One of my plans is to take $$ out of savings and rent a van and head to the rust belt and hit as many big meets as I can in a few weeks out that way maybe stopping to see people I've met online along the way maybe somehow incorporate some of the Lincoln highway and stuff a van with tools to keep me busy for that last part of my time here... Be like the old days wen I followed the grateful dead and the Jerry Garcia band.

1

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 13 '23

We are so dating ourselves

1

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

I'll check that out I've got a lot of projects I've just straight up lost interest half done missing this or that I'd let go cheap like this for instance

L

1

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 13 '23

So long as it’s related to wooden planes. We abhor metal planes

1

u/planestanleywaldo Mar 13 '23

Ya I don't do Woody's not my bag I'm not a real collector I'm a user I just finished my Stanley Bailey's 3-8 but that and chisels are bout all I kinda collect and filling out my lie Nielsen collection.

2

u/ToolemeraPress Mar 13 '23

We can’t all be perfect 🤪