Off Topic The Hand Tool thread

Brian Rust · Nov 8, 2018

Miller '72 said:
I dont know much about planes but thought this to be a nice treasure.
It might be a little while till I get to cleaning but I wanted to post before I forget about and rediscover it in a drawer I place it in to not forget...

Very nice number 5! Looks like a type 11! 1900-1915 (or something like that). I love finding them just like that! Rusty with a little dirt/sand mixed in, that rust will come off way easier than you think because of that dirt! Plenty of iron left on her too! Nice score!!

phantomknives · Nov 8, 2018

Brian Rust said:
Those are normally called “floats”. Lots of different shapes and sizes. Most known from wooden plane makers! I buy them every chance I get!

wait these are floats? i didnt know they'd be rounded

A17 · Nov 8, 2018

Here's a FREE 100-125lb 6 inch jawed vise. It works but its rusty and has a chunk out of the guide. The 4th pic is from the back of the guide to the tip of the screw end. Just for fun I took some pics of it with my other bench vises. I guess vises are one of my vices.

The top is a 3.5 inch jaw Littlestown my dad "gave" me (he just doesn't know it yet) and the middle is a "Monkey" Ward's anvil vise no 117. It was a definite strain on my bench's holding capacity.

A17 · Nov 8, 2018

I don't think it's a float. It looks like a "soft metal" file. A float has straight teeth, not curved ones.

I'mSoSharp · Nov 9, 2018

A17 said:
I don't think it's a float. It looks like a "soft metal" file. A float has straight teeth, not curved ones.

Yes, I thought that. It's much more like a car body file for "lead loading", from when lead was used as a filler. Another style was flexible with a turnbuckle on the back or the holder for use on curves. Maybe.....

garry3 · Nov 9, 2018

A17 said:
I don't think it's a float. It looks like a "soft metal" file. A float has straight teeth, not curved ones.

Not familiar with any floats that have teeth? There are probably many tools I am not at all familiar with though.

garry3 · Nov 9, 2018

I'mSoSharp said:
Yes, I thought that. It's much more like a car body file for "lead loading", from when lead was used as a filler. Another style was flexible with a turnbuckle on the back or the holder for use on curves. Maybe.....

The file it's self is like any file, hard, stiff and not at all flexible.
Here is one of my handles. It's an old Plomb, a company that made many tools for the automotive industry. There is a swivel on both ends of the rod. The sole is spring steel so this could possibly accommodate a file with some bend in it. I have not seen any curved files but I have not looked either. The extra weight of this handle aids in it's use. These files are very much like the newer Iwasaki carvers files.

I'mSoSharp · Nov 9, 2018

That is an automotive lead loading file/rasp, are you sure there isn't any flex in the file?

And a 27" London pattern screwdriver.

Obviously for precision work

. Sadly can't make out the mark & date.

garry3 · Nov 9, 2018

I'mSoSharp said:
That is an automotive lead loading file/rasp, are you sure there isn't any flex in the file?

And a 27" London pattern screwdriver.

Obviously for precision work . Sadly can't make out the mark & date.

And a beauty it is. I could find a use for that on occasion.

As far as flex you can get some. But it is very slight.

phantomknives · Nov 9, 2018

I'mSoSharp said:
That is an automotive lead loading file/rasp, are you sure there isn't any flex in the file?

And a 27" London pattern screwdriver.

Obviously for precision work . Sadly can't make out the mark & date.

I keep telling people that those are screw drivers but they doubt me because they're absolutely massive

Square_peg · Nov 9, 2018

I'mSoSharp said:
All wooden clamps.

Anyone know what wood they use for those screws?

Square_peg · Nov 9, 2018

A17 said:
Here's a FREE 100-125lb 6 inch jawed vise. It works but its rusty and has a chunk out of the guide. The 4th pic is from the back of the guide to the tip of the screw end. Just for fun I took some pics of it with my other bench vises. I guess vises are one of my vices. The top is a 3.5 inch jaw Littlestown my dad "gave" me (he just doesn't know it yet) and the middle is a "Monkey" Ward's anvil vise no 117. It was a definite strain on my bench's holding capacity.

Now THAT'S a vise!

A17 · Nov 9, 2018

An update on THAT vise. Turns out the screw was rusted solid. It took 1/2 a can of 3in1 spray lube and a 4lb sledge to bust it loose. It's still so stiff I'll have to finish unscrewing it with a hammer and clean the threads very well. Moving it around and holding it still is a royal pain.
Ps. The anvil it's on is a 100lber + or - for scale.

garry3 · Nov 10, 2018

Square_peg said:
Anyone know what wood they use for those screws?

I think most are Maple.

I'mSoSharp · Nov 10, 2018

Square_peg said:
Anyone know what wood they use for those screws?

garry3 said:
I think most are Maple.

Or Boxwood or Beech..... maybe.

Square_peg · Nov 10, 2018

I was thinking boxwood. I'm recalling that many chess pieces are turned of boxwood.

"Boxwood tends to be somewhat difficult to work in flat dimensions, though it is superbly suited for turning."
https://www.wood-database.com/boxwood/

Steve Tall · Nov 10, 2018

Square_peg said:
Anyone know what wood they use for those screws?

Some new vise kits available today use "hard maple".

A17 · Nov 10, 2018

I think mine's beech. It has medullary? rays and is fairly hard. That kit has the exact same parts as mine.

Miller '72 · Nov 22, 2018

62lbs. On my scale
Millers Falls NO 2
Universal Angular and Ratchet Drilling Machine
Roughly 24" vertical rise

Square_peg · Nov 22, 2018

Bigger than it looks! Your hand for scale helps. Like like it would still work with a little oil.