Greetings. I am a novice woodworker and tool-lover. I’ve dabbled in woodworking for years, but never enough to gain real skills. I want to change that. Setting up a shop, learning how to restore and use the tools, and completing some introductory projects are my initial goals over the next year. I don’t have a lot of time to devote to the workshop, so I don’t expect progress to be fast but I want progress to be made. As I do, I intend to document it here.
My great-grandfather was a traditionally trained carpenter from Britain and worked as such all his life. I am fortunate to have inherited some of his tools. My shop will be essentially a handtool-only shop; no big machines, and the equipment powered by me rather then electrons. There are exceptions, like for home improvement chores, a bench top drill press once it’s cleaned up, and maybe some small cool “old arn” pieces I’ve got tucked away for restoration at some point.
My great-grandfather’s tools are in remarkable condition considering they are up to 100 years old and were used daily for the first 3 decades or so of their existence. I was entrusted with a Stanley No. 4C smoothing plane, a Stanley No. 626 eggbeater drill and a Canadian Warren Co. 3/4” chisel. Other then these, my kit consists of typical hardware store toolbox items and a few select tools from Lee Valley, including the culmination of years of gift cards and my biggest purchase to date, a Veritas low angle jack plane. As I add more “fine woodworking” tools, most will be used or vintage and require varying degrees of restoration, which I will also document in this blog. Welcome to my journey.
blunt irons 