» Listings for 2020

1. Small boy - Large axe!!

   Posted on 3:20pm Friday 31st Jul 2020

   Many friends and customers pass through my 'Emporium', known as Old Tool Mart.

   Great to see you all.

   One visit that stood out was from friend and customer, Ian Varley, who trades as Rustic Village Carpenter at Barrow on Soar.

   Accompanied this particular day,  by his 4 year old apprentice, they were looking for an axe.

   Of course, as every budding green woodworker knows, if you ever get a choice, always pick the big one!!!!

   

   I think the photo says it all.

   If there are any more 'young' men (or ladies), looking for an axe, big or little, I always have an assortment of them for sale.Also drawknives, spoon gouges, saws, billhooks and adzes.

    

2. The David and Goliath of woodworking planes

   Posted on 5:20pm Wednesday 15th Jul 2020

   Many people ask 'what's the smallest and largest woodworking planes' that I have in stock.

   Normally, Bullnose planes such as the Stanley and Record no 75's are the smallest, and Stanley or record no 8's are the largest.

   Anything outside of those sizes are much more specialist, and by that categorization, only made for very specific purposes and/or infrequently used, thereby making them relatively rare to encounter.

   As it happened for this blog, I dug out a very large (and very, very heavy), example of a cast iron, Cooper's plane complete with support legs.

   

   It is 69 inches long x 5 inches wide. The singlecutting iron is 3 inches wide and made in Sheffield by J D Fearns. The screw cap is made of bronze or brass.

   The plane was manufactured in Burton on Trent, which is one of England's most famous Brewery towns, by a firm called Briggs.

   The price is £150 ex my shop, but please do not ask for shipping as the weight precludes wrapping and handling it easiliy. It's got to be COLLECTION ONLY !!

   The smallest plane in the shop, is minute, made of  Brass, just over 1/4 inch wide x 3/4 inch long with flat sole.

   

   It is a Luthier or Violin makers plane, made by Herdim in Germany.

   I show it in one of the photos sitting on top of the Cooper's plane, for comparison.

   

   Have a look at the photographs and make your own judgement!