Both John and Phil have been buying up rarer tool bargains via eBay again. Phil found an R Groves 8” dovetail saw identical to one of mine that he needs to recut teeth in after some poor sharpening by some former owner. He will have an excellent saw when he’s done with it though. He has nice tools to work with these days.
These two Sorby planes at left are both mine from my personal collection
When John came in to the UK three weeks ago he admired my I Sorby jack and amazingly he may have bought the only other I Sorby 5 1/2 Jack plane on the planet. I at first thought that I had the only one in existence but John proved me wrong by finding the second one last week on eBay. His was grungy but underneath it was in good shape. I have two jacks to my collection of users. An I Sorby #4 and an I Sorby #4 1/2. There is no doubt as to their scarcity. I have seen only three of these planes in my 50 years of working wood. they are well made planes and I think celebrate the engineering work of Leonard Bailey by their fine engineering standards. I again hasten to add that these planes still have the thinner irons that never chatter as is the case with their Stanley and Record counterparts. I love these planes. Sadly the makers died out with their planes, but evidently there are some examples here to attest to their quality.
I do use my Sorby planes most days for different functions of planing and like the weight to length ratio which are similar to Record’s. I would like an I Sorby #4 1/2 but don’t actually need one. I have the #4 though. I feel this is slightly under par compared to the other Sorby’s.
6 Comments
Are we going to get a video showing how the refile the teeth on a saw ? There seem to be a lot of abused vintage saws that are missing teeth. I have been scared to tackle any of these.
Paul does have a video on the Woodworking Masterclasses site.
Sounds like these gentleman have talents beyond woodworking with finds like these. Please keep them on that side of the pond as there is enough competition for the hidden gems on eBay here as it is.
The grip John is using, with the back of the fingers making contact with the casting and fore knob, appears to be a good alternative for when you want to tune in finely to the wood. The back of the fingers has great sensitivity.
What an amazing opportunity John has. I’m not knocking the classroom, but aprenticeship seems to have so many advantages. Best of wishes, John.
How lucky am I having just managed to but an i sorby no4, stanley spoke shave no 51 military issue, rrobert sorby 5/8 firmer style chisel, an ebony and brass mortice gaue and sliding bevel, brade co 1 1/8 gauge chisel, robert and chesterman sliding right angle and a 12 amd 6 inch robert and chesterman steel ruler all for £29 only. Rare things are still out there. The plane he had priced at £10 amazing condition lovely long blade paint in excellent condition and handles still with the punch brand sticker on the rear handle. Thank you for your sharing your knkwledge it has been with this knowledge that I continue to work towards stepping into the world of woodwork.
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Are we going to get a video showing how the refile the teeth on a saw ? There seem to be a lot of abused vintage saws that are missing teeth. I have been scared to tackle any of these.
Paul does have a video on the Woodworking Masterclasses site.
Sounds like these gentleman have talents beyond woodworking with finds like these. Please keep them on that side of the pond as there is enough competition for the hidden gems on eBay here as it is.
The grip John is using, with the back of the fingers making contact with the casting and fore knob, appears to be a good alternative for when you want to tune in finely to the wood. The back of the fingers has great sensitivity.
What an amazing opportunity John has. I’m not knocking the classroom, but aprenticeship seems to have so many advantages. Best of wishes, John.
How lucky am I having just managed to but an i sorby no4, stanley spoke shave no 51 military issue, rrobert sorby 5/8 firmer style chisel, an ebony and brass mortice gaue and sliding bevel, brade co 1 1/8 gauge chisel, robert and chesterman sliding right angle and a 12 amd 6 inch robert and chesterman steel ruler all for £29 only. Rare things are still out there. The plane he had priced at £10 amazing condition lovely long blade paint in excellent condition and handles still with the punch brand sticker on the rear handle. Thank you for your sharing your knkwledge it has been with this knowledge that I continue to work towards stepping into the world of woodwork.