Why I prefer antique hand tools

For those of you who are new to woodworking, it is hard to describe what makes old hand tools so special. I will do my best to convey to you why they are special to me. Who knows, I might even convert a few of you. Let’s get started.

Antique hand tools can be superior to modern hand tools. The first aspect in the superiority of antique tools is durability. Nowadays, things just aren’t built to last. Most things, tools included, are made to be disposable. They are made with inferior materials. The processes used by most manufacturers are to speed up production efficiency. The more items that can be produced, as quickly and cheaply as possible, will lead to more profits. I bought a new saw about a year ago. I was so impressed by how well it worked. The design of the teeth made it cut better and faster. Within the first couple of weeks, three teeth broke off! It had a plastic handle that had a button on the side, so you could remove the blade. You can’t find replacement blades anywhere! What a piece of garbage! You would have to go out and buy a whole new saw!! With an old saw, you could repair it yourself. You could buy a replacement blade. You could even make a new blade yourself. Most often, the teeth on an old saw were less likely to break. Below are pictures of a few of my old hand saws.

                                      

The second aspect is affordability. Since modern tools aren’t as durable, you have to buy replacement parts or the entire tool every so often. With antique tools, you mostly just have to buy a replacement handle….once in a while. I have a nice claw hammer that is about as old as I am. It still has the original handle and I use it more than my modern one.

I consider these two points when I go out and buy any hand tool.

I find modern hand tools to be rather antiseptic. They seem cold and sterile. Whereas, antique hand tools seem to have an essence to them. As if they have a life of their own. After all, they have a history to them. Someone, somewhere, had used it for many years. They took care of it. They sharpened, polished or cleaned it. They took great care of it, so it would give them many years of use. Such dedication to these tools must have imprinted a part of that person to it.

Then you have the patina. Ooohhhh, the patina. It’s that special coloring to the wood and metal as it has aged over the years. It gives the tool that “well used” look to it. People have tried to fake that look on newer tools, but it never comes out quite right. The patina of the tool helps to give it the essence of life. Don’t believe me? Go and buy an antique hand tool. Hold it in your hands. Use it. Then go back to your more modern tool. It’s never quite the same.

Antique hand tools have a different feel to them, as well. They seem smoother to the touch. They aren’t overly shiny, but they still have a unique sheen to them. Modern wooden handles are either plain or have a sealer on them. Antique wooden handles have been oiled. Wooden handles that have a sealer on them still feel a little rough. That maybe due to small particles being trapped under the sealer. Again, go out and try it. Don’t just take my word for it.

So there you have it! I prefer antique hand tools because I find them more durable, more affordable and I like the way they look and feel. I hope you learned something new and are curious to give antique tools a try. After all, just because something is old, it doesn’t mean it’s not useful.

“Sawdust therapy”

Do you ever have one of those days where you just get really stressed out? Where it seems no matter what you do, everything just goes to hell in a hand basket? Of course you do, everyone has those kind of days. Maybe it’s your boss riding you about getting some report finished. It could be the kids constantly fighting over who’s turn it is to play the video game console. You got stuck in rush hour traffic in front of somebody who is horn crazy. No matter what it is, you are completely stressed out and feel like you want to snap.

Just take a deep breath and relax.

Do you feel better now? Yeah, me neither. When I get to feeling this way, I need a therapy session. I don’t mean going and talking about your feelings to some namby-pamby therapist, who charges you a days pay for 15 minutes of their time. I mean a real therapy session! “Sawdust therapy”! I mean going out into the garage or workshop and making a huge mess, while sweating your butt off. Sometimes, my therapy sessions might involve a beer. If it does, then absolutely NO POWER TOOLS!!!

“Sawdust therapy” is great! You can grab a hand saw and cut on a piece of wood to release some of the aggression you might be feeling. If there are a lot of little things bugging you, you can just chisel out some grooves for joints. If you are feeling down, depressed or sad, you can just grab some sandpaper (starting with coarse grit and working to extra fine) and slowly sand those feelings away. Hey, it works for me! Those pieces being cut, chiseled or sanded away are all of the negativity leaving me. All I end up with is a peaceful feeling and a finished product. How is that for multi-tasking?

Although, if you prefer to talk to a therapist, well, that’s up to you. I prefer my “sawdust therapy”.

Round Boxes

This past fall, I finally got myself a wood lathe.  I have been spending some time learning how to use it, mostly by trial and error.  Ok, mostly error.  I guess I’m just kind of stubborn that way.  I prefer to look at it as hands-on learning, my way.  Most people would say that it is wasting precious time and material.  Not me, I look at it as a mad scientist experimenting in his laboratory.  Muaaahaaahaaa!  Sorry about that.  Couldn’t help myself.  Ok, I started with square blocks of wood, and I tried to round off the sides to make a cylinder. 

My first attempt at making a cylinder didn’t turn out so well.  By the time I got the sides pretty much level, it was too skinny to do anything with.  So, my first tip would be to use scrap wood to start with.  You don’t want to waste a good piece of Osage….like me.  Next, I would be sure to find a good way to secure the workpiece.  I prefer to glue a small block of scrap wood to what will be the bottom of the cylinder.  Then, I screw the small face-plate to the scrap piece of wood.  Be sure the small block of scrap wood is centered on the workpiece, and that the face-plate is centered on the scrap wood.  Another way to secure the workpiece is to buy a chuck for your lathe.  I personally haven’t used one yet, but I’m sure I will eventually.  A chuck works just like the mouth of a drill that holds the bit.  Or at least that is my perception, again, I haven’t used one.  I would recommend you go ahead and buy a chuck for your lathe.  Gluing the workpiece to a scrap piece of wood doesn’t always work.  Yes, I have experienced this failure.  I can happily report that everytime the workpiece flies across the room, it has missed my head by at least a couple of inches. 

This Osage box is 2 1/4" in diameter and 4" tall.

Ah yes, be sure to wear your protective gear: safety glasses, ear plugs and dust mask.  And for you guys, a cup might not be a bad suggestion.  No, you don’t need a kevlar vest.

Once you have your piece secure, you are ready to turn some wood.  That is after your tools have been sharpened.  Always make sure your tools are sharp before you turn.  How you sharpen them is up to you.  Most of the time, it takes a while for the sharp edges to dull, unless you are using hard woods.  I prefer to sharpen my tools by hand using a couple of different sharpening stones.  That’s just my preference.  There are places you can go to get your tools sharpened, or sharpening machines you can buy.

After all of this, you should be ready to start turning.  My only advice is this: take it slow and don’t rush it.  If you start to get frustrated, stop and walk away for a little while.  You might want to see about finding some books on wood turning or take a class on it or do both.  Here are a couple of pictures of my experiments.

This spalted Sycamore box with Walnut knob and band is 2 3/4" in diameter and 5 1/2" overall height.