Long story short, today I walked into a garage, was at first amazed by how crowded, disorganized and dusty it was, and later shook my head in amazement at the treasure trove of tools housed within.
I was just in to look for a tarp, but I took a pretty good look around (and behind, and under). Unisaw, Jet lathe, Performax drum sander, Delta 6" jointer, Makita SCMS, a couple of dust collectors, a Delta 3hp shaper, various Dewalt, Porter Cable and other quality power tools. Stuff was everywhere, on the floor, under clothes, in cardboard boxes. No possible way you could really do any work in there. In fact, I didn't even notice the workbench until I glimpsed a Veritas brass bench dog sticking out from under a pizza box.
And that's just the beginning. Turns out this guy wanted to be a cabinetmaker but realized he could make (loads) more money as a GC. He's got chisels, gouges and turning tools of all size and description
- Sorby, Japanese blue-steel, etc... He's got measuring tools by Starrett. You need a handsaw? Pick one of the Pax variety from half a dozen. Pull saws more your style? We got those too. And behind the last door? A full set of Lie Nielsen planes. And I mean *full*. We're talking jointers, jacks and blocks....shoulder planes, specialty planes - you name it. There must have been twenty of them in there.
I know that I'm not ready for all of those planes yet, it just surprised me to see_those_tools in *that* environment. But you know what? I wouldn't trade my Veritas low-angle block for his Lie Nielsen. I've read that the Veritas is every bit as good as the LN, and I fettled mine myself - dead flat sole, slight chamfer to leading edge and a blade that's ScarySharp. (I might trade it for his 7 1/2 though!)
JP