Stanley Flea Finds 08-04-13

[Helleri]

Wanted to show some of what I got at the flea yesterday that I especially enjoyed acquiring...
 
From left to right:

Stanley -Defiance- [unsure of model No. atm] Smooth Plane. paid: $20.00
Stanley -Handyman- No.133H Yankee Screwdriver. paid: $2.00
Stanley -Handyman- N0. H1214 Geared Hand-Drill. paid: $1.00
Stanley No.150 Miter Box. paid: $15.00



I have only gotten around to cleaning up the Plane so far. The paint and lacquer is good on all of them. Exposed in a lot of places sure, but smooth and should be easy to touch up after a bit of light sanding. They are all in full working order, as well. Over all I was pretty happy with this. I also got a good amount of other things but none of them are either worth showing or belong on this specific board.

I think I paid a bit much for the plane. And, I know I could have got the miter box for $10.00 if I really pressed. But, I liked the guy selling it (also got the plane from him). Because, he knew everything he had there really well and I learned about a few tools I had not seen before from him. The screw driver and drill I got at 2 other spaces. And, I think I did well on those (enough to makeup for having not done so well on the plane and miter box).

[Branson]

Yeah, probably a bit much for the plane, 20 bucks for a good user is still worthwhile.  Defiance was Stanley's economy grade, but I have some Defiance tools and I'm satisfied with them, and a #4 Stanley in shape like this would cost more than what you paid.  10 bucks for the miter box was well spent.  Those come in handy from time to time -- for small quick jobs I find myself reaching for one of them frequently.

[Helleri]

Yeah, I do feel like the miter box was the best find for me this go around. Cast Iron with those Nickle-plated steel hardware(I think Nickle-Plated given that zinc coated look but with amber colored aging instead of that dusty grey). And that redwood table on it. It looked good even before I started cleaning it up. I'll be done cleaning it up today (later today as the paint needs to set). I'll post some pics of the results on that in this thread.

[oldtools]

does the miter take a special saw?

[Helleri]

Preferentially you want to use a miter saw, which have a folded lip of metal running down their spine. It is there to knock up against the plates. Ideally you wouldn't want to cut into the base board. You would cut 90-95% through on the piece your sawing, flip it over and finish the cut from the other side of the piece. The plates don't just keep the blade moving along a fixed path, they keep it (in conjunction with lateral adjustment of that U bar) from dropping low enough to cut up the base board (a little scratching and light teeth marks are fine, as you can smooth plane and sand that right out).

The [plates adjust to accept different widths of blades...So, you could use many styles of saw I suppose. But, you'd really want to use a miter saw with this in order to put the tool fully to its purpose and not mar it.

I didn't quite finish fixing it up today. I still have a little touch up work to do and to decide what I want to do with the lettering (I just smeared the orange and white I got on one side to get an idea of how it sits on there for the moment)..but here are some pics at its now mostly finished state.






(I should also mention that while some I have talked to call the saw required for proper use a miter saw, others call it a backing/back/backed saw. I have always been unclear on which is most correct but here is an image I found with google that shows you what the saw used should basically look like:

[Branson]

That's a beautiful little back saw!   Given the length of the blade, it looks specifically like a dovetail saw. 

Back saws come in various lengths and have different purposes.  The point of the back is to stiffen a thin kerf blade.   The proper saw for this miter box would be from 10 to 14 inches long -- otherwise you don't get enough cutting length to do the job.  I have a fairly recent Buck Brother's back saw specifically made for use in one of these boxes that has a 12 inch blade.

[scottg]

Hey that miter box is looking really good! Sweet
 Its a fine little box too, when many others this size........aren't.

 It wants a 12 or 14" backsaw.  This is the most common size ever made so you won't have any trouble finding one.
  Backsaw and miter saw are synonymous, btw. You can use either and be totally correct.
 Some of the big miterboxes use backsaws so big you really can't use them freehand, so miter saw is often used, but backsaw still works as well.
   
 The idea of the miterbox is to adjust for your specific saw, so the blade stops cutting just barely into the bottom board.
 This lets you cut all the way through without cutting your base board in 1/2. Yes the base plank gets scratched, but not too deep. 
    yours Scott 

[Helleri]

  The saw isn't mine, that's off google...it is pretty though, huh. If I find one out picking, Ideally I'd like to find a Stanley Handyman of the right size and type and age to piece appropriate. More likely though this will sell before that point. I have some cast iron legs from a white's treadle base, and some wood that matches up well...So i have been thinking about building a matching table for it.

  I like repainting cast iron. It's time intensive and methodically executed. But, I have gotten fairly decent at it. The tricks are to dab on not brush; And to keep dabbing it as it dries with second a dry brush (you stop when passes of pulling the paint up into peaks no longer shows a visible difference in sheen and texture, then let it set). It's really the only way I have found to get that tough, thin, highly specular enamel job on a piece that is so familiar in vintage and antique tools...Two brushes that you use more like chisels and time set aside.

I like to test my paint jobs. I lightly stab them dead on with a flat head screwdriver and at and angle. And also fire a few pennies, dimes, and nickles at it with a rubber band stretched between my thumb and first finger. If I can wipe any marks off with a tongue whetted thumb...good paint job.