Cornered

Alas, I am undone. Woe is me. You'll be sorry when I'm dead* Etc.

Yes, as you may guess, I'm feeling sorry for myself. What was an irritating freshening of a mild cold on Friday descended on me in force on Sunday lunchtime and I have A Cold. Yea, even unto it being Man 'Flu; not really 'flu at all, but try telling that to any bloke suffering from it... Wrapped myself up in a blanket, dived under the duvet and have been there more of less ever since, feeling (as previously mentioned) sorry for myself. For full effect read this blog entry with periodic sneezes, blowing of nose, mutterings of "damn, where are the tissues" and so forth.

Anyway, apart from that the weather this weekend was dry with hints of sunshine, so I hit a couple of car boot sales while there's still anything there to speak of. Got a handful of old woodworking mags on Sunday; Woodsmith, Wood and Woodworker's Journal, all of which are previously unknown to me. To be honest I think they'll be largely remaining unknown to me in future too. Altogther too much tablesaur stuff for this bandsaw-lovin', hand tool-totin' neander. Funny though; the bloke had them marked up at 20p each, or six for a pound. Well I found five, and paid him the pound. He raised his eyebrows and wordlessly indicated the sign. I looked at the remaining Good Woodworkings and Woodworkers of modern vintage and sadly shook my head - "don't want any of the others". I think he thought I was nuts - long-term readers may fell he has a point of course, but for other reasons...

But Saturday brought my Best Buy - in fact the only thing in the place worth bothering with. There's a character who has a deplorable habit of keeping his stock, mainly tools, in a rusting, leaking old shipping container. I don't know what state the tools are in when they go in, but when they come out they've definitely been introduced to the joys of ferrous oxide. He has most of them displayed in plastic trays on the ground, with the real dregs not even earning a tray, and the select few he thinks are worth something on a table. I have a theory that tools start out on the table, weeks go past and the effects of the shipping container are felt until they are relegated to a tray, Time moves on, and if the tool doesn't, it will eventually make it to the bottom of the social scale and the bare ground. What happens to them then, who knows? Although there are rusty stains on the ground where he usually sets up, so either someone's cut themselves and bleed to death there or the tools become so rusty they actually dissolve and return to the earth. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust...

Anyway, occasionally there's something on the table that's worth paying the slightly inflated price for - a Marples honing guide with instructions, f'rinstance. The trays; well even insane rust remover that I am, I don't bother with the trays. As for the grounded stuff... (shudder) So anyway, I had a look, and what does my wondering eye behold? Actual shiny plated metal! Hey, a joist or corner brace by Skinner! I never, but never see those. Certainly never expected to see one in good order, that's for sure, and certainly not here. And a not insane price!

Friends, it was my duty to save that tool from the fate of another week in the shipping container. Surely you can see that?

So I did.


Already the old man has said "ooo" and "that'd be useful", so its chances of residing in the workshop for any length of time are slim. He does more boring in awkward spots than I do anyway, so I might as well accept the inevitable, clean it up and give it to him for one of his birthday presents. And what's more, he'll probably have forgotten about it by then, so it'll come as a surprise...

* The eternal cry of the wronged eight year old.

Aversion therapy

I know what you're thinking - she's slipping. Missed a day and now repeating a post. But it's not the same plane, honest, This is the other #4.5 that's been waiting about for me to clean it up. I took it all to pieces and gave it a scrub, ooo, months ago, but it's been waiting around asking to lose parts ever since. So I bit the bulet at last. Not that it can complain - it was in the toolchest so that's only, what, two and a half years ago... It's the one top left in this pic:


Not the prettiest then, and not really the prettiest now, but would make a good user I reckon. Of course I don't have time to tune it up, so I'll probably have to find a new home for it at a cut rate. Type study makes it to be a 15 - 1931-1932 - which ties in pretty well with the other Stanleys in the box iirc. What it has demonstrated to me is that my tote is considerably clunkier than it ought to be - those old rosewood totes are really incredibly elegant.

I also cleaned up the #79 side rebate I got last month, de-rusted the iron of the lignum vitae coffin smoother and found it correct size cap iron (still needs the wedge), cleaned the Ward & Payne chisel (still needs a lot of work on the back, and a new handle natch), oh and cleaned the guides of the Marples mitre box. On inspection the box isn't in any too great shape, so as I'd thought, I dug out the as-new Crown, put a quick groove in the top for the guides and set it up as my brand spanking new improved mitre box.


And I still know what you're thinking. You're thinking "Alf, this is a good deal of prevaricating about the bush - what about the saw till?"

It's aversion therapy.

I reckon if I do enough tool cleaning I'll get so fed up with the dirt, mess and general mechaniciness of the workshop that I'll be desperate to get back to the cleanliness of working wood again. Plus I get cleaned tools where before there was rust. They'll still be in the way mind you, but at least they won't leave dirty marks...

Oh, and for eager viewers of ParrotCageWatch - got a call to say the colour I'd chosen was out of stock, so three week delay. The suspense is killing me; how about you?

Tote-ally Crazy

Not a word vis-a-vis arrival or otherwise of cage, but the free gift I hadn't realised I was getting arrived:



Sort of appropriate get-up for a more Normite parrot, no? But with a beak like that I reckon the pliers are a bit superfluous quite frankly...

In a continuing bid to prevaricate over the saw till, more handle-making struck. At least this is clearing up a few "To Do's" on the list - this one's been waiting only about 5 years for a rear tote... A very early purchase, this #4.5, came equipped with a modern plastic handle that neither fitted nor suited it. I think it's something like a type 8 or 9, so turn of the century.



Trouble is the luscious low front knob is awful dark - possibly been treated with BLO at some point which can turn rosewood almost black. Dunno whether to refinish in the hopes it might lighten up a bit or not. Really I ought to be making the unoriginal tote darker, I know, but with that gorgeous streak of colour through it? Not perishing likely. While I was at it I figured a little cleaning up to bring out her looks wasn't a bad idea; my idea of plane cleaning has changed a bit in five years and I'm less tolerant of some patina than I used to be. It's like the phenomenom of putting away a seldom used tool "sharp", only to find it's mysteriously got blunt when you return to it. It's simply your notion of "sharp" has changed in the intervening time. May have done myself a bit of a disservice in fact; looks so sparkling now I'm wondering about an aftermarket blade and cap iron... Oh deary me.

New home for the winter

'Tis a shaming thing to look back and find I was discussing new housing for Bertie, my African Grey, as far back as May and yet only now have I actually placed the order. Naturally I've now got cold feet about it, but getting him to go in it without panicking and falling to the bottom in a tizzy will at least give me something to do with the long winter evenings. 'Cos the nights are really drawing in now; a scent of woodsmoke in the evening air instead of the whine of Flymos; classic drama on the Beeb... Sigh. I must be getting old; I dread winter more and more every year (and not just because of the classic drama). It seems such an achingly long time until the days lengthen again and everyone cheers up. Oh well, looking at it another way, winter means timber felling time, so it's not all loss. I wonder when might be a good time to talk to the Wood Guy again...?

This weekend's activities? The gavel and block was well received. Luckily the Ancient One is afraid to ruin it by banging it too hard, so no worries! And the Saw Till? Tsk, haven't even settled on any dimensions yet. So far successful displacement activity has saved me from any danger of decision-making; nothing new there then...