The specialist tool

[williamwright]

One day in 1953 my dad was working as a joiner on a new housing estate being built by the NCB. For some reason there were some special panels to be fitted, the like of which Dad had never seen. The clerk of works came along and complained that the cut edges were ragged. Dad said that he had nothing that would cut the boards any better. Three weeks later the C of W turned up with a cardboard box. In it was a strange tool, brand new and made by Stanley. It was not unlike a plane, but with a large razor-type blade mounted at 90 deg to the sole. There were several spare blades. Dad accepted this device gratefully, but never used it because by then the job was finished. I still have it. It's in one of his two massive toolboxes, which are in my shed.

I'm getting increasingly worried about all his stuff. What's going to happen to it when I'm gone? I have a lot of his WWII memorabilia. I've got home-made fishing tackle that belonged to his grandad. No-one is going to recognise this sort of thing for what it is.

Bill

[Robin]

You could at the very least make an inventory, with photos and suggestions, and put a copy on a memory card/stick with your will.

Then there's eBay :)

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Many of the London Museums are trying to identify things donated to them at the moment. They are moving the archive out of London to a new site and much of the stuff was never catalogued, though has been kept in good order. Maybe anything unusual pushed toward the right place might be of interest. I'm not sure how you would know who might be interested in what, but ww2 stuff might be of interest to a local museum to where he lived. I know ours has acquired a number of very small children's gas masks. They contained asbestos, so had to be made safe before they were put on view Elf and safety and all that.

Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

No don't split it all up. I think that recent reconstructions of the lives of people from the past is where museums are going these days. Set pieces, yes, but it tends to show why things were the way they were in more contextual detail. Brian

[Jim GM4 DHJ ...]

just the way the world is these days....sad but true

[Bev]

There are lots of museums around the country. Some 'local' ones, some 'farming life' ones some 'military' some National Trust, some English Heritage etc etc

When we cleared Dad's things the Vet schools were interested in some of the old 'potion' bottles and instruments. In Mum's case an old teapot (souvenir variety) found its way back to Castle Howard who had never seen one before.

Now's the time to start your planning in conjunction with your children who may surprise you and want some of the things you mention.

[Jethro_uk]

The interesting thing - worth a moments reflection - is that in other cases, tools like hammers, chisels, trowels, floats - have remained unchanged for millennia.

[Theo]

On another newsgroup the son of someone who had recently died posted 'there's all Dad's old computer stuff - anyone want it asap or else it's going to the tip?' I pointed out that it was lockdown and nobody could come and collect, and also that the tips were shut. Instead what they did was catalogue it all and sell it off on the vintage computing section of ebay.

I think it raised quite a bit of money (went towards the funeral) and left lots of happy new owners of kit they had been looking for. Obviously that was more hassle than dumping it, but meant all the stuff was found new homes (and not end up at a home-clearance type dealer).

I have no idea if there are vintage tool aficionados, but given someone has an entire site devoted to classic British car jacks (hundreds listed), maybe there are.

Theo

[Davidm]

Not quite vintage but last year I sold on eBay a 40 year old Stanley rebating plane for over £100 (cost new was £13 10s, was written on the box). There's definately a market for old tools.

[Jethro_uk]

Because they were made to last ?

[williamwright]

Yes. I still use some of the tools he had before the war. Some of them were given to him by men who retired, so they will be nineteenth century.

Bill

[John Rumm]

And partly because the new equivalents are often silly money (go look at the price that Veritas or Lee Neilson want for a plane for example!)

[Thomas Prufer]

Possibly an Stanley scraper plane (though the #112 was only made until 1943), and new condition in an original box worth silly money. (~100 quid is about the going rate for a well-used one).

Sell it, take the money, and also know that whoever bought it really, really wanted it, because they paid more than everyone else. If it is to use it or to collect it -- does it matter? See selling at auction as sending the stuff off to a good and loving home, and it'll be easier...

Thomas Prufer

[Robin]

Quite so.

Different if family/friends really, really want it - which they'll usually have made clear by now (e.g. by borrowing it some time ago).

[williamwright]

Thanks for that.

Bill

[spuorgelgoog]

I sent my father's WWII stuff to the Regimental Museum.

During their research (a few years later) they found he was one of the first to join the new Intelligence Corps as his transfer was made on the day it was founded and the Intel. Corps museum would like most of the collection "to show the service of a founding father", so it will be passed on to them. The Regiment will be keeping what's relevant to their collection. They gave me the accession number so I can go and look at the stuff if I ever want to (although I copied or scanned most of the items).

I think that things which are insignificant in themselves can often be significant when part of a larger collection, which is the purpose of collecting things.

Owain

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

williamwright explained :

YAM at Elvington, or Doncaster's South Yorks air museum, or Eden Camp.

[Theo]

+1

Also Bill's description adds quite a bit of interest to what might be outwardly an unremarkable lump of metal. Auctioneers love 'provenance', and some info like that makes it more of an interesting historical piece, on top of its intrinsic tool value.

Theo

[Vir Campestris]

I found one of those in the back of a cupboard when we moved in. It's in pretty good nick - obviously not new, something has stained the base although not pitted it. No box.

What I don't know is how and what you use it for!

Andy

[John Rumm]

Anything like this? :

Its kind of like a hybrid of a traditional cabinet scraper and a plane.

Cabinet scrapers are quite handy for really "difficult" woods with lots of figure and swirling grain patterns, to avoid the surface tearing out. Also when you want a fine finish on things like contrasting inlay where you don't want to sand, since sanding would contaminate the light woods with the dust from the darker ones. Ideally one would plane such surfaces to a finish, but if a normal plane causes tear out, you would use a scraper.

However the disadvantage of a card scraper is its used freehand and has no reference surface - so its difficult to get something properly flat with one. The scraper plane fixes that by adding the sole plate, and having the adjustments to tweak the scraper angle, and the amount of bow in the blade mechanically and consistently, rather than doing the same with thumb pressure.