As I made mention of in one of my Tales, I was so enthused at becoming a Boat Builder Apprentice that I spent uncounted hours pouring over the Stanley Tool catalogue. Latecomers note, at that time the only mail order supply houses were Sears and Boston based Woodcraft Supply.

I found a traditional hardware store just on the borders of Berkely, CA., close by to where we were living and damn near paupered SWIMPAL and me!

All this before I had even spent one day on the job at my new employer, Andersen and Christofani.

The clear cold light of reality set in shortly after I began my employment at A&C.

My tools were bench tools! Ayup, the kind of tools that one would use in a shop working at a bench, sigh.

Fortunately I had by this time been taken under the wing of my first mentor, Alec Davidson. The resident chief shipwright at A&C.

He very diplomatically, instructed me as to what type of tool would be appropriate for working out on the shipyard ways.

Poor SWIMPAL, one paycheck per week, the kind that an apprentice gets, how to juggle our living expenses along with my new tool purchases?

As luck would have it, Alec exposed me to the wonderful world of...Swap Meets!

In short order I had a nice set of tools that could take the abuse I would be giving them out on the ways doing repair work.

Stout Stanley Everlasting chisels, Non-Bedrock Stanley planes, Disston D-7 and D-8 handsaws, Irwin auger bits, open rachet bit braces, these filled my outside tool tote.

As time went by and, I began to show some little improvement in my abilities, I was given bench work!

There my initial tool purchases were put to use. And, didn't I make SWIMPAL aware of that.

Here it is and, I have reached my majority I can look critically back at my amassed tools and hopefully make an assessment of what I believe a beginner should be looking for in the way of a decent tool kit.

STOP STOP, put away those juicy tool catalogs before you fall down the long slippery slope of spending your hard earned money on things you do not need as a beginner.

Used tool stores are your friend as are Swap Meets, Garage Sales and word of mouth in your neighborhood.

I got my first EMMERT Vise by commenting to a neighbor that I was looking for one.

Good names to look for are White, Barton, Whitherby, Swan, older Buck, Millers Falls, Goodel Pratt, Keen Kutter, Stilletto ( a brand name of long gone Baker Hamilton, wholesalers on the West Coast).

Keep in mind that you are probably going to have to spend some little time tuning up these second/third hand tools.

That is good practice for you! Flattening the plane soles, the chisel backs, finding a good saw sharpener who uses a good saw filer machine rather than a high speed grinder, learning to sharpen auger bits, making to make tool handles.

These tasks, a true labour of love, all contribute to your knowledge of the craft.

Home

Back