Hometools

[scottg]

   The 101 series. These are standard Stanley 101 type planes that I vandalized into other tools. I always liked 101's.
   Here is the first of all. Made about 1980. As far as I know I was the first to do this.
 

  Its a Kunz body (uck) stuffed with "Texas ebony" a gift from my mom one time (the UPS guys pulled in and said "Here is your piece of firewood") .  And it was. It was a round of firewood with a tag stapled on. Bug eaten outside and some bad cracks, but it was ancient growth mesquite, near pitch black in the heart and of a large size, just the same.  Probably weighed 40 pounds.  I still have part of that piece of wood. Kind of precious to me.
  Kitty did the gold leaf for me.
  First ever was a closed tote, high angle, semi-infill.
     

    I once found another guy doing 101's too.  Years later.  I didn't know him, he'd never heard of me, and yet was making 101 alterations of his own, totally independent. Pretty cool I thought. He only made rabbit planes, and only a few of those.
 
My rabbit plane


Handled


Adjustable chariot shaped scraper



Full infill  This is stuffed with purpleheart. I designed the bun on the front for ease of grip and lifting the plane for the return stroke.
 Sadly I took these pictures with a poor camera. Reduced them for web sharing on a dial-up modem,  lost the best examples of even those pictures, and the plane is gone now.
 Here are the best pix I have. (sniff)
  Notice the fresh polishing compound on my nails. The plane was done on this day, just up from the basement.

 



Bullnose rabbit
  yours Scott

PS this last pic are tools my friend Jack Burky owns. He has collected 101's for years himself and these were the best of the patternmaker shop recasts he'd found over the years. Only problem was, none of them were ever finished. So one time he sent them to me and I worked the rough castings (and I mean rough sand cast, you have no idea how rough) into tools.
  I made a couple lever caps and blades for all and put them together for him. I should have taken pictures before I sent them home to him, but I forgot. Here they are on display at the Oregon tool show. These are really outstanding stylish castings. Whoever cast them really knew what a good tool should look and be like, and left me cleanup meatl to boot, so they were able to be finished.  Getting a great pic out of Jack is never easy though.

[scottg]

I am definitely not going to have 6 of each here. There are not 6 of any of these. These are the only ones ever made!
  I don't copy, not even myself.  I won't plow old ground.   Mass production is not my style at all.

  Little saws. The two larger are really high grade rosewood. But the littlest one? Not even the highest grade rosewood will hold up at this size. I had to go to boxwood. Boxwood has almost no grain.

 

 Two tiny scraper planes. These are actually models of Paul Hamler's scraper plane designs. He made both these patterns to add to a standard bench plane and convert them to scraping planes. But of all the miniatures he ever made, he never made these.
  So a small group of pranksters conspired to make these come to life. Russ Allen, Rob Brophy, Peter McBride, John Maki, Jack Burky, and me. John was recovering from a bad illness and Jack was bereaved, so only offered advise. Russ cast the bodies and Rob made some parts and Peter did some design work.
 It then landed to me.
   I made most of the parts and fitted and assembled them both. 


 The attached pic at the bottom is how I met them.

  Here is my miniature workbench for making miniatures on. I realize its larger than 4" but the vise certainly isn't and the work its made to do isn't either. 
  It has a thick post to clamp in a larger vise and bring it to nose level, and also flat wings you put under your legs for holding the bench when working in a chair.  Its my own design and the handmade vise is especially versatile.

 When he was writing the Workbench Book, Scott Landis was at my place taking pictures of the sawhorse/portable workbenches and spotted it. That's why it was in the book too. 
This is years ago. Must have been in the 80's.

   

    yours Scott

[scottg]

How's about a big 'ol plumb bob?
 

Fudging the size, this is 4 1/4". Live with it. 
 

Perfect handle stubby 3/8" ratchet. Holly wood handle slips.
 
 yours Scott

[scottg]

OK, 6 and under here we go!!

 Here is the world's only Stanley #9 7/8, rabetting block plane.
   
 


And besides the body cutting (not that easy to do) this is why it works.
  If you don't think this blade was nearly a nightmare to design...................
 
 

5 1/4" smooth plane. Ipe stuffed infill, Stanley #1 sized.  My buddy Rob Brophy made this body for me.
 
 

The lever cap logo stamp was a gift from my friend PJ McBride, he carved the stamp by hand. My little canary Chester being the model.



Rabetting finger plane. For musical instrument, edge banding work

 

 Local Ca. no. coast abalone, plus a ring of apple wood (from a rotten old apple tree stump), inset into Indian rosewood. 

 

  The little piece of shell in the lever cap screw came from the lip of same shell! Totally different color.

 

  Small hammer with carved octagon handle. I didn't cast this head, but it was a rough cast child's toy.
  It was a barely recognizable steel lump when I met it, that happened to be hardened steel!   

 

 Yes, its small 8^)



  Serious business paint scraper in a small size. Don't let the size fool you, this will dig 8 layers of old paint out of a corner without delay!

 






 Every job has a proper tool



 yours Scott

[scottg]

Here are 2 of the marking stamps I carved myself.
 
 

Custom letter opener for a client, made from a piece of koa wood that was retrieved from a Hawaiian honeymoon 28 years before I met it.



 Desk paperweight "tsunami" sheath.



Ebony low angle plane made from a blank intended to be a piano key.

 



Rosewood adjustable spokeshave, small

 



 Brace knob. Rosewood and inlaid holly wood. 1890's whiskey token as the inlaid medallion. Got to love Green River Whiskey!



Kitchen tool. Sugar one side and salt the other

 



G'night All
  yours Scott

[john k]

Scott, i had seen some pics of your tools, but,,,,,,, darn.   From ideas to finish items, very darn impressive.  Plus you make them to work for you, not a pretty shelf item, kinda humbling. 

[benjy]

just superb

[Wrenchmensch]

Scott:

Your tools certainly qualify as objets de vertu. Thanks for giving us the pleasure of seeing them!

[scottg]

Couple more, can't forget the Perfect Handle babies!
The largest whole driver in the picture is 6"





yours Scott