I was interstate over the Christmas break and was at the MIL's. As usual, she was constantly chattering and I had tuned her out. No, I am not being unkind, here's a sample of why I tune her out
Me. "Margaret, where do you keep your glasses?"
Her. "Glasses? You want a glass? I keep them in the bottom cupboard behind the red bowl that Norman gave me. You don't know Norman, he was the husband of Mary that ran the old store down at Port Noarlunga before the bushfires burnt it down. That was a bad year for bush fires that year, the Aitkens lost all their sheep on their farm. That was their first farm ... and so it goes on, ten minutes at least - guaranteed."
Anyway, I am reading FWW and Margaret is chatting away. Whilst she was talking I found it very difficult to concentrate due to something she was saying "... old Mrs Maine ... bzzz ... tools ... bzzz ... husband ... deceased ... moving ... must sell ... serious hobby ... woodworking ..."
Eventually I came to my senses and truly listened, Mrs Maine's husband had died last year and she had to move into a nursing home. He had been a serious woodworker and she was selling off his tools but she had no idea what to charge for them. For the first time over the holidays, Margaret had my undivided attention.
We went over to her place and I looked at the 'shed', it was full of a lifetime of working tools. A RAS sat in one corner with a DP beside it. Across from them were a Dyco TS and a large sander. All the planes had gone to a relative already, so no luck there.
Since it was a ten hour drive to get home I was limited to what I could take, so I got a box of drill bits (the box is big enough to make the purchase of a drill doctor cost effective), a sharpening stone, a professional barbers strop (which restored beautifully with some neatsfoot oil), 5 good quality handsaws, a calliper, 2 machinist's squares, a bevel gauge, saw set, 7 old chisels, a set of 3 Bahco chisels and a Makita 3601B
1-3/8 HP 1/2" Router (complete with all accessories and in good working condition).In case anyone was wondering, I calculated the cost of flying my son home and taking some machinery in the van. One look from SWMBO when I raised the subject killed that idea.
Oh, price? US$30.
Greg