Okay guys, I have seen some great looking restorations here lately and it got me to thinking.

 

What is your most prized find?   (Now we are talking Old Tools here)

 

And give us the before and after pictures of the restoration if you have them. If you don't have both, just give us the after. If you have problems posting pictures, let us know and we will help.

 

Now I know we have already seen some of them, but don't be bashful, post it again here for all of us to look at and gawk.

 

 

Dittos John! I am trying to dig up my pics of my old Delta Rockwell Scroll Saw that I refurbished, then I gave to my pops, he uses it quite often to this day.

I'll try to see what I can find.

John, I sure more guys and gals pop in here and show us something. I have to get some pictures today of some of my favorite things,then post them.

Another thing on the to do list.....

bob

Come one guys and gals, don't be bashful, I know I have seen some pictures so you take pictures of your equipment.

 

Please give us your most prized find or the one you think turned out the best. Let's see some equipment.

My planer and joiner. The planer is a 24" with a byrd head and the jointer is an old 12".

some of my molding planes.

 

The old Fay and Egan 472 mortiser.

Thanks Bob for breaking the ice. So what has been the best find you have come upon?

Those are some sweet machines ya posted Bob, thanks for sharing.

 

It's hard to narrow it down to one machine but I think my most prized find would be my Oliver 270. I love the saw and here's why (hopefully the video works).

 

 

Before restoration

 

After restoration

As much as I love the Oliver it may be replaced by the Newman 24 inch planer as my most prized machine.

 

How it looks now (restoration pics to be posted at a later date)

It's an ugly bugger but it purrs like a kitten.

 

My wood molding planes are just so fun to use. The mortiser is probably the most fun machine. I have bought and sold old planes for years. To me, it great to be able to take a piece of wood and make something nice. Using a 200 year old plane, that was made by a man who was in the American Revolution is awesome. bob

John Moody said:

Thanks Bob for breaking the ice. So what has been the best find you have come upon?

Shane, I love that saw. Man you did an outstanding job on the restoration. I also love the video and the coin test. Now that is smooth.

 

Thanks for sharing it and I look forward to seeing the planer when you get it.

Bob that is an awesome collection of planes. You are so correct, it is awesome to be using a 200 year old plane made by some one from the American Revolution period. Those are definitely special.

 

 

I'm a little late to the discussion here. I own a few hundred old woodworking machines, but by far the finest and most prized of the lot is this Baxter D. Whitney jointer:

This is a 16" direct drive machine. Based on the serial number and date stenciled on the machine, I put the manufacture date in the mid to late 1930's. It's an interesting machine for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it's one of only two Whitney jointers found in the wild. The first is a much older machine from the 1890's and is babbit bearing. This machine is direct drive, ball bearing. It has a four knife round cutterhead. When I initially saw this machine for sale I nearly wrote it off as a Newman jointer that had been rebadged after Newman and Whitney merged in the 1950's. Fortunately my friend Barry egged me on and upon close inspection I realized that the jointer was much older and was likely cast at the Whitney works in Winchendon, MA. There are still a lot of questions about the similarities between this three toed design and that of a the later Newman jointers. I can only guess that Newman and Whitney were sharing foundries and designs for a time before the merger. I haven't touched this machine since I brought it home earlier this year. For now, it's sitting in the garage where it's warm and dry.

 

Here are a few more pictures:

 

Now if I could just get my hands on a Whitney Scraping machine......

 

-Arthur

Somerset, New Jersey

http://www.owwm.net

 

---

No Ref

Just fascinating guys. Between Bob's old plane collection, Shane's video / coin test and Arthur's joiner. I'm starting to understand why you guys got bit by the bug.. Keep em coming guys ... Just love this stuff and the stories behind them.

 

---

Wayne Mahler
God bless and protect our troops that serve so we can be free.

It is really hard to say which is more prized for me. I really like them all and the fact that they are still in good condition shows the advantage to the old cast iron machines.

My first fav would have to be my late 20's Crescent 8" jointer. It is hard to put an actual born on date but due to the fact it is a ball bearing machine places it somewhere in the 1925-1928 range. It is powered by a 2hp repulsion motor and is really smooth. It is slated for a complete restoration very soon.

Next would have to be the Oliver 232. It was purchased from an auction for a rock bottom price. It is by far the most fun tool to use in the shop. I have noticed that Oliver had dust collection figured out in the early 50's.

Here it is before restoration

And now

 

---

My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist

They are all my favorites

 trying to load the video ?????????????

that didn't work either

is there way to load video on here

 

is there NO " Preview"  before posting

Hutch, I am not sure about the video linking. I think you use the third button on the top left. "media" I know it will take you tube stuff. No preview that I know of. Hope that helps. bob

 

---

Bob Kloes
www.bobkloes.com

  I restored that Defiance #4 handplane from an old pile of rust into something that I use all the time.   Same with that Stanley Liberty bell plane, the rear handle was long gone, and an old great neck smoother was going in the trash, so, I kept the rear handle .   An older Craftsman Tablesaw ( Emerson 113)  needed a new trunion, as the original one had split.   A new one from Sears was $80 ( shipped from Texas), but the Construction company I worked for at the time was scrapping out their Craftsman saw.    "How much ya want fer it?",   "$20",    "SOLD!"     I used that as a parts saw, and came up with a saw I called "The Frankensaw".

 

 A few hand tools were de-rusted, some sharpened back up, others I had were just too far gone to fix back up.  Anything I do restore will be a user, since I don't have collections of tools.    

 

---

'and may the road raise up to meet ye'