Building Your Tool Collection

Bob Broten Tools

A newcomer to woodworking and particularly wooden boat building must be bewildered visiting an established shop of any size and ask themselves, “where do I begin to find all these wonderful hand tools”.  When I prepared to attend the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, the course materials included a list of tools students should have on arrival at the school.  I remember looking at the list and thinking that I was in pretty decent shape as I had been woodworking for most of my adult life.  However, boatbuilding isn’t exactly woodworking and a number of the tools I owned at that time were of little value.

My experience has been to collect tools from a variety of sources.

  • Hand me downs
  • Early Acquisitions
  • Purposeful Purchases
  • Fill Ins

Hand me downs are the tools passed on to me from a parent, family member, or just friends and neighbors that thought you could make use of something they couldn’t.

I think of early acquisitions as being those tools you bought or collected early on that were based on having little experience and today may be sitting on a shelf or in your toolbox barely used because they were acquired for a specific hobby, task, or home improvement job.  More often than not, they will be of little value in boatbuilding unless one had the intended use in mind way back when.

Purposeful acquisitions are the tool purchases you may have made with the purpose of attending a workshop or school with knowledge of what you would be doing.  For me, that well thought out tool list prior to boat school armed me with the benefit of someone else’s knowledge and experience to make a number of purchases.

Lastly, there are the fill in purchases that are made based on a special need or process after one has a good deal of experience.  I would classify some of the purchases I have made recently in this category.  Often these tools find their way into the tool box with out a wife’s knowledge.

Sources

Here are some thoughts on sources of good quality tools.  Keep this in mind:  good tools do not come from a Big Box home improvement center, nor do they come from chain hardware stores, with a few exceptions.

  • Estate Sales/Garage Sales
  • Antique Shops
  • Online sources such such as Ebay and Craigs List
  • Online retailers and catalogs

Estate and Garage Sales are great sources as long as you know what you are looking for and you have a good knowledge the quality when you see a tool.  Do not expect the seller in these sales to know anything about what they are selling.  There may be some exceptions to this caveat, but generally you should really know something about what you are looking to buy.

Antique Shops and Antique “Malls”  This source is similar to the above but you may also find dealers who specialize in certain types of tools, or manufacturers, or trades; and you might find sellers who are very knowledgeable to help you determine quality and value.  I’m always on the lookout for various types of chisels at antique shops.  When I find one, it is rarely in condition to use, but with some grinding and restoration of the bevel, and honing, you can end up with some wonderful tools.  Some may need handles etc, but these are easy to make in most cases.

Online sources such such as Ebay and Craigs List  Once more, this is a “buyer beware” environment so know what you are looking for and shop around and compare.  If you know some established tool brands or product models this helps to narrow your search.  One of my best buys online is a Stanley #3 plane, Bailey pattern dating back to the mid-30s.  I believe i paid about $20 for it.  When I received it, I tuned it by lapping the sole perfectly flat and replaced the iron and chip breaker with Hock iron and chip breaker and now, this is my “Go To” plane for a great deal work requiring a smooth plane.

Online retailers and catalogs  Here is when the tool buying can get serious and expensive so know what you really need.  Without taking a stand on which is better than another, I will just say the sellers listed below are all sources of great hand tools.