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Wiktor has been requesting shop tours for Old Tools Shop so I figured I'd throw my hat in the ring and help out what I think is an incredibly valuable resource for us Galoots.

My shop space is whatever space I can manage to make in our single car garage in our town home.  Now this garage barely qualifies as single car in width.  In a compact vehicle you must let your passenger out before pulling in to allow for comfortable exiting of the vehicle.  I say what space I can make because it is also pretty well stocked with stuff.  This is a two bedroom townhome for four of us (me, SWMBO, and GITs of 2 years and 2 months age).  Now I am not complaining in the least bit.  The LOML has let me take over this space as my own and only occassionally gives me grief about wanting to be able to park a car in there and I appreciate her for that.

Given that intro here is a counter clockwise tour of my shop space and the small but growing collection of old tools it houses.  Click on any of the smaller images for a larger image.

In this first image we are looking out into the shop from the door from the house.  On the left we see the tool pegboard that has just a few of my new home owner tools hanging on it.  On the right up above on the shelf I keep the few finishing products I have, glue, and sandpaper.  Everything else in this image will be seen in more detail in the coming images.


This next picture is the wall on the right hand side of the above image, closest to us (and consequently the door inside).  Working clockwise from the top left we have the white board for making lists to not do, my c-clamp rack with practice dovetails, f-clamp rack, and book shelf.  The small parts bin is electronics parts.  The ATM journal sitting on top of the shelf is one of my other hobbies, amateur telescope making.


Moving left we come to the fold up workbench that I originally constructed when I moved in.  Its now mostly a catch-all (flat surface where stuff gets placed and left until you clean next time) since we don't park in there anymore.  Hanging on the wall is a small collection of most of my late Grandfathers old tools.  Working clockwise from upper left we have a Lakeside brace, Disston coping saw, miscellaneous chisels old (Grandpa's) and new (crap from the big box store), Yankee 31A (with lone flat bit from Walt Q),  and an unmarked egg beater.  There isn't much of interest on the workbench as its serving its catch-all duties on this end.


Moving down the bench we find the concentration of old tools increasing.  Moving generally from right to left we have Grandpa's old horse hair brush for dusting stuff off, Grandpa's Stanley #18 in need of cleaning up, Grandpa's Shelton in need of... (display because its not a particularly useful plane?), a pair of $1.50 bench planes (#4 Defiance, and an unmarked franken), saw handles for the blades haning on the wall (one D-23 in need of sharpening, one really warped crosscut possibly destined for cutting up into scrapers), last weeks garage sale find of a number of Russel Jennings brace bits, cruddy MF 100 push drill, and scummy chisels, Grandpa's Stanley sweetheart bevel gauge, a pile of files, a dovetailed pine box containing a few old tools (and a tailed thing sitting on it), my trusty cobbled Stanley #5, my cheapo Shopfox marking gauge, my fan/heater, screws and nails, and some project parts (Mom's water jug stand, and GIT #1 block box).  Whew.  If I missed something, drop me a line and I'll update the page.


Continuing on around to the other side of the gar... er shop, we see my lumber rack.  Really intended for skis and yard tools I've taken two of the racks to store some scrap oak plywood and a number of narrow 4/4 cherry boards.  On the recycling can in the foreground is my newly acquired Miller Falls miter box.  Behind that you will see the rolling red toolbox containing the various screw drivers, pliers, drill bits, tailed tools, etc.


Continuing on left we find my $12 new Stanely miterbox and saw.  The saw has turned out to be rather handy and works reasonably well.  I wonder what a real saw would be like?  Also hanging there is my galoot made frame saw.  Below that is some larger scrap plywood, laminate flooring, and countertop laminate.  To the left is my small collection of pipe clamps.


And finally we have a little more scrap lumber and a few saws.  From left to right we have my Disston rip saw from Grandpa, Grandpa's slightly rusty improperly sharpened Warranted Superior backsaw, and the extremely dull saw for the miter box seen above.


Thus ends my shop tour.  Thanks for joining me.