Exclusive Video: Carpenter's Chest and Tool Haul
🕑 Added 2021-08-28 11:01:01 +0000 UTCFriends:
This is my "week off" where I handle administrative parts of my business. I don't usually do a video, but I've been just delighted to see so many Patrons upping their contribution to get in on the Workbench Sessions. Last night, we hosted Ron Hock, who gave a fascinating interview on edge tools, sharpening, and metallurgy. Everyone learned a lot.
So, as a little thanks for all the new Partner and Leader-level members, I did an exclusive video just for my Patrons. The video is for everyone at every level since all of my Patrons make my work possible. Everyone is appreciated!
Have a great weekend!
--Rex
Comments
Wil Cooley
Naw, I've got a Curtis that only has a 30" plate.
Jonathan Lillpopp
That is amazing stuff! Thanks for sharing this. I must admit to being a wee bit jealous! LOL
Kit Joyce
I'm no expert but I've never seen a crosscut saw that short, I wonder if it was cut down from a longer one. Most I see are 3'+ and I have a 5 1/2' which is still a one-person saw. I'm still learning how to sharpen and tune them but they're good fun.
JdC
Yes, posted a few on the new forum under Grand Dad’s Toolbox
Matthew Leigh
I feel the same way about my grandfather, who was a talented metalworker and coppersmith. I would have loved to learn from him but he died when I was 15, and before then I wasn't able to appreciate it
Joel D Canfield
My Dad was right. I, on the other hand, don't care one whit ;) I call 'em channel locks all day long and twice on Sunday.
Al Guden
True enough. I wasn't around when he got the tack so the trunk really could have come from anywhere. Age would be probably mid 20th century. He left the cavalery in 1938 and I saw the trunk as a kid in the 1950s.
Rex Krueger
End grain is a whole different beast. I wouldn't judge these based on that one thing.
Rex Krueger
Thank you!
Rex Krueger
I do not deserve these tools.
Rex Krueger
The files are already donated to the smithing club!
Tom Manseau
As an aside, what files do you recommend for saw sharpening? I was gifted some larger Dyston panel saws and they need some attention.
Rex Krueger
Ooo. Can I get pictures?
Rex Krueger
I just tried one and it works great!
Rex Krueger
Of course you're right. It's not a "real" channel-lock!
Rex Krueger
I love that video!
Rex Krueger
I think a tool cabinet is a great idea, but it's a really differnt project. Something for another day!
Rex Krueger
It's always possible that this was originally used for something else. It does seem like a carpenter's chest, though.
Rex Krueger
I'll keep that in mind. It's a new thing for me.
Rex Krueger
When I was in CA, I couldn't find a wooden plane to save my life. In OH, they're everywhere!
Rex Krueger
I'm glad you're excited. I am too!
Rex Krueger
Rasps have very different teeth, so you can't make a file into a rasp, but you CAN make them into knives and turning tools.
Rex Krueger
I donated those files to my smithing club. I've made a few knives and I totally hate it!
Rex Krueger
Thank you!
Rex Krueger
The longer you do this, the more stuff just falls in your lap. Trust me.
Rex Krueger
I think I'll do a pretty direct copy since this one is holding up so well. And the summer is drawing to a close here in OH, so the green wood thing will be going to sleep for the winter.
Rex Krueger
Already donated them to my smithing club!
Rex Krueger
Yeah I was none-too smart as a lad. Could have picked up a lot more. Oh well, I'm alive now so I'm getting after it!
Rex Krueger
Giving them is especially fun. I have enough tools!
Rex Krueger
I think I would build it a little box that could just sit in the chest.
Rex Krueger
Appreciate that!
Rex Krueger
Thank you!
Rex Krueger
Of course! I plan on $2 Patrons getting everything they've every gotten before, including exclusive videos.
K. Hampf
Dito.
Nikoloz Petelava
Thanks for keeping the lowest tier patrons included. I hope this does not change too much in the future.
Caleb
I am attempting to use some expansive bits to bore out some waste for an end-grain turning project I am working on. I would consider myself in the "these are useless" camp, but will definitely check out Richard Maguire's work on them to see if I can make them work better. Thanks for the tip!
Csongor Halmai
It's so satisfying to see how these old tool have found their way to the most appropriate person, you. Very nice collection, congratulation.
Csongor Halmai
- The hack saw is not that old, it has a sticker that says it's made in China. - China is an old country, maybe it has been made 3000 B.C. ;)
Dad Kewl
To be honest... I am a bit jealous 😳😜
Matt Evans-Koch
Thank you Rex for cutting into your vacation and admin week. That was a nice haul of tools and a toolbox. Everything was definitely in need of some care but some items as you pointed out are ready to go. In reference to some of the items, the two braces are identical to the two I salvaged from my dad's shop. The large crosscut saw, when properly sharpened, will cut green wood like a demon. I have two 5' saws and even dull they cut well. All of the files can be used by your blacksmith club to make all sorts of items needing hard steel
JdC
Hey Rex, I acquired one of those tool boxes from my wife’s grandfather about ten years ago. It includes several small tool storage boxes you spoke of.
Bill Walker
I've had a couple of those adjustable auger bits for years. They DO work just fine. Then again, I about seven years younger than your tool box.
Bill Walker
I
Robert Judy
Looking forward to the tool chest reproduction.
Darren Malin
Lovely tools and chest :) as a blacksmith those old files will make great forge welded blade edges. Those junk saw could make nice Ulu Knifes they were often made out of saw blades. make one for your wife for a few gold stars in the good boy bank :)
Joel D Canfield
oh my giddy aunt, the crosscut saw. I remember our last winter in Wisconsin, 1967, my parents went out into the woods, cut down an oak tree with an axe and 2-man, er, -person crosscut saw. they spent an entire day trimming it and cutting it to manageable lengths, then we hauled it back home on the trailer behind our '49 Chevy.
Joel D Canfield
@17:20 I heard my Dad's voice saying "Channellock is a brand, so they're only Channellocks if . . . " and before he could even finish "Crescent is a brand; it's only a Crescent wrench if it says . . . " He was a mechanic for a living when he was a teen and he took it seriously. We used, not Channellocks, but "water pump pliers" or "arc joint pliers" and "adjustable wrenches." Though he never did explain the difference between an Imperial adjustable and a metric one.
Fred Cousins
I eagerly look forward to the video on the toolchest build. I had recently watched a YouTube video from the English Woodworker about a similarly built tool chest using a technique called clinched nail construction. This technique fascinated me.
John Morrison
Looking at the tool chest, I'm wondering if that could make a wall hanging chest/cabinet. I would make it half the depth and probably make 2 to get the same total space. The key change though would be having a sliding front that could be dropped down and out in order to get access to the tools.
Al Guden
Rex, that chest looks familiar. My dad had the same chest in the attic of our garage when I was a kid. It contained all of his tack - saddle, bridle and other related stuff from his days in the 101st Cavalry. The chest was US military issue and when they converted the horse cavalry to motorcycles, the troopers got to keep the tack and maybe the box too. He had a similar smaller box that was an ammo box from later when he was in WWII. It didn’t have any hardware. Just the same basic construction and the top just fit nicely.
Stuart
I look forward to what you end up doing with the crosscut saw. I have some longer one (and two) person saws. I will tell you now that they don't do a very good job or ripping large chunks of semi-dry maple
Tom Manseau
I look forward to the saw restoration(s)! Amazing what people throw out. I'd take that wooden try plane! Hard to find planes like that in the PNW and I like the feel of a wooden plane.
Jeanine Hoffman
This is awesome! Its a great treasure chest video. One of the things I love most about your work is the attention and respect paid to history. The knowledge and little details you share are what makes this one of the few channels I support-you speak to the history nerd in me 🙂. I can’t wait to see some of these come back to life and helping you turn out interesting and fun projects!
Daniel Tickle
With a worn out file, it makes me wonder how difficult it would be and what tools you would need to turn it into a rasp. I mean the shape is basically already there, right?
Kevin S Thomas
Rex, I've seen many old files turned into great knives. You could mix your blacksmithing & woodwork in a video.
Chris Hammersley
Great video. Looking forward to a tool chest build.
Dean Wight
Very fun to watch, and what a great haul! I could haunt flea markets for years without turning up that much useful stuff, and it's so satisfying to see it not go into the trash. Thanks Rex!
Geoffrey Wilson
Super excited for the tool chest build! I'm one of the people you were talking to in the beginning of the video. I'm not super interested in green woodworking, and was wondering if that was where the channel was going. Hoping we can go with nailed/rabbeted construction, instead of screws, and that we can build some internal drawers/tills!
Pete seddon
Rex, that blacksmith I was telling you about in Asheville NC uses old spent files for blacksmithing. I don’t know enough about the metallurgy to know why they’re so suitable, but he made really cool stuff out of them. Maybe you can repurpose those old files that way too, if you have no other use for them. I enjoy these kind of videos. Thanks!
James Rawdon
i love your show. It seems so simple but you are teaching some lost arts. It has some sentimental value for me. My father would be 111 years old now and he knew much of what you are showing us but I was to smart to learn how to do it then. Now I am learning some old skills of his, I have gotten much smarter now.
Hansenomics
Love this type of content! Nothing quite like finding old tools and bringing them back to life to use or give as gifts.
Mike M
Nice video! I'm excited for a tool chest build, especially if you can show since tips and tricks for fitting in delicate planes -- like how would you go about making a spot for Stanley No 50 for example?
Thomas Hverring
Thanks, Rex, you're the best!
Tom
Don't forget to relax a bit Rex I really enjoyed the look around the farm.