Old tools

[Cowbaby]

Ok Rookies. Master one of these and get back to me. Just kidding, they have a learning curve but once you get the hang of it they are super handy.
I still use a brace and bit sometimes when building fence or something and if I need to cut just a board? I can whip one in half with a Disston handsaw faster than you can run a cord. I still enjoy working with hand tools sometimes. WAY less noise and way less dust.

 

[TwoForFlinching]

My grandpa used to chase us out of his shed all the time when we were kids. Always told us he kept snakes in there. After he passed, over the years, grandma has asked my cousin and I to go through it and get what we wanted, as if we wanted snakes.

Turns out, we all knew he was an antique store type guy, but in the 50's and 60's he used to stop at hardware stores in every town they'd go and bribe the owners to let him rummage through their attic and storage spaces. That shed was packed full of brand new tools from the turn of the 20th century up through the 30's. Brace drills, ratchets, sockets, files, wrenches, all sorts of hand tools still wrapped in wax paper and twine, stamped with maker marks like Stanley USA, SK, first year Snap-On, Deere, Ford. After clearing a bunch out, getting about three feet in, we looked up and discovered a bunch of two-man saws, still paper wrapped and sharp as they could be. Not a hint of rust on any of it. Needless to say. A lot of it ended up in our rollaways, and even more has ended up on the mancave walls of the cousins we know wouldn't sell it all off. There's still about 500 cubic feet of treasure to find in that shed. The amount of work is intimidating.

Old tools rule.

 

[dennishoddy]

View attachment 207102 Ok Rookies. Master one of these and get back to me. Just kidding, they have a learning curve but once you get the hang of it they are super handy.
I still use a brace and bit sometimes when building fence or something and if I need to cut just a board? I can whip one in half with a Disston handsaw faster than you can run a cord. I still enjoy working with hand tools sometimes. WAY less noise and way less dust.

Draw knife. Used one many times to strip bark from a tree so it could cure evenly. I like to piddle around with a Delta wood lathe made in the early 50's. The electric motor has oil pots vs sealed bearings.
Put some elmers glue on the ends of the stave so the moisture comes out down the sides and let it cure for 6 months or longer.

 

[Cowbaby]

I watched my Grandfather in his early 80s work to grown men to a puddle with string trimmers with one of those old long 2 handed sickle sythes like you see on people with grim reaper tattoos. The long handle was double curved and It had two smaller handles mounted on the long one at funny angles to hold it with your hands facing up. They were clearing about an acre garden spot for his old buddy friends and they broke out their weed wackers.

He had a long oval stone that he sharpened that bad boy up with and went to cutting head high hog weeds in a 15 foot freakin swath as he walked. He cut about 3/4ths of it for them and then sat under a tree drinking cold water laughing at them piddlin and chiseling. I will never forget that and I wanted that dang thing, I don't know whatever happened to it.

 

[AKmoose]

View attachment 207102 Ok Rookies. Master one of these and get back to me. Just kidding, they have a learning curve but once you get the hang of it they are super handy.
I still use a brace and bit sometimes when building fence or something and if I need to cut just a board? I can whip one in half with a Disston handsaw faster than you can run a cord. I still enjoy working with hand tools sometimes. WAY less noise and way less dust.

My uncle used those and a spoke shave to make his own arrows, so straight you'd swear a machine made them.

 

[Cowbaby]

My uncle used those and a spoke shave to make his own arrows, so straight you'd swear a machine made them.

Yes Sir. There are many a man can make you a fine bow. But show me the guy who can make a fine arrow and you will see the real master craftsman.

I can rough you out something like an axe handle but I dang sure am not an arrow maker. That is a lost art.

 

[Snattlerake]

https://www.okshooters.com/threads/fs-ft-antique-brace-and-wood-bit-set-complete.312910/

 

[TerryMiller]

When we were on the farm/ranch, my father-in-law had a hand powered drill press. One would turn one handle to operate the drill, and a second nut-shaped "control" on top would increase the depth of the cut.

Sadly, I can't even find a picture of it on Google Images.

 

[Okie4570]

View attachment 207102 Ok Rookies. Master one of these and get back to me. Just kidding, they have a learning curve but once you get the hang of it they are super handy.
I still use a brace and bit sometimes when building fence or something and if I need to cut just a board? I can whip one in half with a Disston handsaw faster than you can run a cord. I still enjoy working with hand tools sometimes. WAY less noise and way less dust.

Made lots of self bows with the two I've got, lots of hours spent dropping shavings at my feet. I need to pick up that hobby again.

 

[RickN]

For those interested and on FB, there are several vintage tool groups on there. I am hoping some move to MeWe soon.