More carboot tools

[tombear]

Hit Accy flea again this morning and found almost nowt. Tools have completely dried up. I did blow £2 on a rather rusty (but the teeth are still sharp) small saw I'll do a before photo of it later and have a go at restoring it. It's about half way between a small Tennon and a gents saw and will be handy for certain jobs, if it cleans up alright. Same stall had a Norwegian ( or Swedish, it's upstairs anyway ) bow string gauge £1.

Theres still plenty of outdoors clothes in the charity shops, must be the season for finding your old, new last summer, kit doesn't fit. For various family members today I picked up one pair or Regattas and two pairs of Craghopper trousers, as new, all for three quid or less a pair. Oh and a rather fine pure wool single blanket in a acceptable blue for a quid.

My last buy was for £5 was a ziplock with about 35 packets ( from a quick look most are full or near ) of fishing hooks, only a couple were excessively big or small, most in the sizes the lads have asked for in the past. I know nothing of fishing gear but since I've paid a couple of quid for a single packet before now I thought I'd take a punt.

Hopefully there will be decent weather Sunday and I can hit my first boot of the year.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Well here it is, stamped on the backing
MANUAL TRAINING TOOL CO
WARRANTED SHEFFIELD CAST STEEL

I recalled id picked up a couple of odd little tools years back and after cleaning them up I dumped them in the bottom of the pot I store all my odd screwdrivers in and pretty much forgot about them. Anyroad as luck would have it they must be for the same sort of split nut used on saws and a small amount of file work got the slimmer bladed one a good fit for the screws on this. Id dropped on some release oil yesterday but this didnt stop me chewing up the brass a little (not beyond tarting back up thankfully) . after a few clumsy attempts it occurred to me to stick the split nut driver in the vice sticking out the end where I could see to get the blades into the slot and use the length of the saw as a lever while using my other hand to press the saw handle firmly on to the split nut driver. If id done it that way from the start I would have saved myself some work!

After poking about on the net I learned some rather interesting stuff about the maker, which was part of the whole Sloyd movement that was popular in Britain as part of the whole arts and crafts thing. I have them operating from about 1890 to 1910 but have seen nothing on them that's later. It would seam Scandi knives were popular over here once before,

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id...anual training tool company sheffield&f=false

See preview page 184.

Anyway I hope I can save this one as I like the history behind it as well as being handy.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Yesterday I got around to soaking the blade in oxcillic acid and disolved all the rust off of it and a Tyzack herself was given. I then gave the spines / backs a light going over on the wire wheel to pretty them up, next while watching TV i gave them a good rub with fine wire wool and oil (avoiding the teeth of course) until they were silky smooth. Since there's no functional reason to try and get them shiny (In the past ive been a bit AR about that and casused more harm than good) im leaving the patina on them from now on.

Later today Ill have a go at the wood, first a good rub with meths to get the dirt off then a good scrape and fine sand. I'll see if there any deep staining before i decide if I stain, varnish or just oil them.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Had a day out at the seaside and while the rest regressed and went paddling the eldest and I sloped off to do the charity shops. As well as the obligatory sack full fo Denby pottery to keep herself sweet and the lads SciFi books I lucked out and came home with this lot for £1.99.

Ok a couple of packs only have a few in but most are pretty full and with eye sizes i am always after. There were also two unopened packs of chinese ones that the lads can have and a bunch of hooks and eyes.

going to try and get to a couple of boots if the weather hold tomorrow

ATB

Tom

Tom

 

[tombear]

Much to my delight the two local carboots were on, about half the usual stalls but the sun was shining and fortified with a burger and tea from the van we had a good mooch about and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I didn't get a vast lot for myself but what I did get was dirt cheap and I could have bought all the basic tools I could have wanted for next to nowt but I'm only after the obscure stuff now!

Stoneware Jug 50p saves me moving a huge pile of crud to get at my spares now i've some more food grade linseed oil now herself has restocked me from the Tescos in Blackburn (not cheap, £2 for 250 ml ) to decant.

Hammer, no visible markings, untll its cleaned up I think there's bound to be some, with a copper tube handle Ill remove and use for collars on tool handles. 50p

Stanley Handyman pump drill with 4 bits £1

safety handles 50p each.

The next ones will be bigger the stall holders said when asked. Still, really enjoyed poking about!

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Knocked the head off the copper tube handle and gave it a quick whiz on the wire wheel. Oddly no weight but on what was the top a letter E or perhaps a stylised F , on the bottom side, repeated on either side of the eye L.N.E.-C.

ill clean it up and find a handle for it tomorrow.

ATB

Tom

 

[Mesquite]

Knocked the head off the copper tube handle and gave it a quick whiz on the wire wheel. Oddly no weight but on what was the top a letter E or perhaps a stylised F , on the bottom side, repeated on either side of the eye L.N.E.-C.

With those initials I wonder if it's a tie hammer.

 

[tombear]

Yup, the only reference to a L.N.E-C stamp ive found is on a railway lamp. The head on its own weighs 1 lb 11.5 oz.I thought it would be a handy size to use on my diddy little 56lb anvil.ATBTom

 

[tombear]

Done a bit of poking about on the net and although most tie/ railway spike hammers are 8lb plus they did make 2lb odd ones.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Rai...With-Holes-Blacksmith-Tool-917p-/311822889672

The long handle would be no use to me with regards what I want to do with it so I've fitted quite a short ash handle to it. Once it's out of the linseed oil bath it's stood in I'll do a pic. I've files the faces and then had a go at them with the buffing wheel, for the first time using the paste blocks I mention in a earlier post. For the first time since school I actually used the correct grades for coarse and then fine polishing steel rather than some general per pose stuff.

The he saw handles got sorted as well yesterday a light going over with the permagrits then just two grades of sand paper. The Tyzack still had some stains so I decided to replicate the stained varnish finish but the 8 in her came out a good natural beech finish. The Tyzach got a quick soak in "dark oak" stain then a overnight soak in that Danish oil with a dark stain incorporated I got cheap. The 8 in her went into the linseed oil bath. I think I'll yacht varnish both this time, first coat cut with turps to get some penetration.

pics later.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

So waiting for paint (well Varnish) to dry.

At least the hammers done, that will go straight into the mini forge kit.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

Got them all finished, Ill leave the saws 24 hrs before using them for the yacht varnish to completely harden.

Not bad for under a fiver and some light work. Like most of this thread it just illustrates that you can get decent equipment even if you are on a low income but have the time to go round the boots and charity shops. It really helps if you have read around the subject, know the quality brands, can gauge the restorability (I may have made that word up) of a item and dont rush theprocess.

ATB

Tom

 

[tombear]

I went for a bimble today, Accy flea was a bust but the antique shop in Ramsbottoms £1 bargain bin of tools had 4 bits for me

14" Elliot Lucas Cannock England pincers ( not farriers i think as the cutting edges aint like the hoof nippers ive seen, more like nail pullers.

9" Rabone Chesterman spirit level

BFO King Dick monkey wrench

A bunch of 2 small cold chisels, 2 Moore and Wright centre punches, 2 Made in England nail puches

Will do them up tomorrow.

ATB

Tom

 

[Robson Valley]

The shapes of the small cold chisels, particularly the lower oval one, is possibly a stone mason's carving chisel. Nice catch in all.

 

[tombear]

Cheers! who ever used them last sharpened them so apart from removing some rust nothing needed doing to them bar some light filling on burrs.

I'm happy with them anyroad. The reverse of the King Dick wrench is marked PO 1980 so later than I'd thought from the style but explains the great condition. All fill gaps in various kits nicely.

ATB

Tom

 

[ValeTudoGuy]

This thread inspired me to get up this morning.

Came back with this little lot:

 

[ValeTudoGuy]

How are you guys cleaning this stuff up so nice?

 

[Macaroon]

This thread inspired me to get up this morning.

Came back with this little lot:

Well now, there's a blast from the past; I worked at Henry Wiggins in Hereford for a while when I was younger. Disappeared in the late eighties along with all the suppliers and outworkers the firm used, same old story.
Knocked a huge hole in the place. It was very unusual for such heavy industry to be in this part of the country and the folk all had to move away to get work; I suppose that might be how this found it's way to where you are.

 

[ValeTudoGuy]

Well now, there's a blast from the past; I worked at Henry Wiggins in Hereford for a while when I was younger. Disappeared in the late eighties along with all the suppliers and outworkers the firm used, same old story.
Knocked a huge hole in the place. It was very unusual for such heavy industry to be in this part of the country and the folk all had to move away to get work; I suppose that might be how this found it's way to where you are.

Amazing, what a small world! Out of interest, what was Henry Wiggins?

 

[Macaroon]

It was a huge plant that forged and rolled specialist steels for medical and other uses, but the core business was all sorts of very specialised alloys for the aviation and mining industries. I guess the location made it easy for transport to the Welsh valleys for the mines and to Filton for the aerospace stuff.

 

[tombear]

Well, we hit three boots, dragged home 7 shopping bags of dirt cheap Denby for herself and these bits for myself.

All need plenty of work to bring up to scartch.

The lasting pliers are marked " R. Timmins & Sons Warranted Steel Hammer" with a large 4 £2
A aluminium bolt on file handle and file £2 think the file will clean up great despite the rust.
and from my wife who saw me looking at it and umming and arhing about getting it, a large adze. She talked the guy down to 8 quid. It will take some work to fettle it and getting some wood for the handle ,

ATB

Tom

As to cleaning stuff up , chemical solvents for rust, a wire wheel on a bench grinder.