Three drawer tool box with lid well.
Most of the tools featured on this page I have painstakingly sought out and purchased from various sources in an attempt to re-create (as best I can) a typical hand tool kit that I used when I was an apprentice Truck Cab and Body builder at the firm of Oswald Tiilotson, Burnley, Lancashire (northern England) in the late 1940s. The tools depicted here are the type and vintage I used during my apprenticeship -- and in the same general condition -- well used but also well cared for. I derive great satisfaction from using tools that still function well after so many years of constant use. For me its really all about nostalgia and affection.
My tool kits evolved during my apprenticeship from a few used old tools (mostly pre-WWII 1930s vintage) when I started, to a mix of used and newly bought tools by 1950. The kit depicted here is representative of one toward the end of my apprenticeship.
Some of my Stanley tools were of US manufacture while others (post 1938) were produced at their British (Sheffield) plant. I personally preferred Stanley metal bodied planes - some craftsmen and apprentices preferred British made Record (and other make) metal bodied planes. I also mostly used Stanley bench (butt and paring) chisels, but generally preferred British made (mostly Wm. Marples & Sons, Sorby and Butcher) firmer, sash mortise and heavy duty mortise chisels. I eventually exclusively used North Bros. (Phildelphia manufacture) ratchet mechanism tools: rapid return spiral screwdrivers, hand drills and bit braces.
Tool Kit
Lid well:
- Smoothing Plane - Stanley Bailey No. 4.
- Bit Brace - North Bros. "YANKEE" No. 2100 (12" sweep).
- Hand Drill - North Bros. "YANKEE" No. 1530A.
- Low Angle Block Plane - Stanley No. 60½.
- Finishing Block Plane - Stanley No. 203.
Top Drawer (chisels)
- Stanley No. 750 Butt Chisels
- William Marples & Sons 'Shamrock Brand' No. 317 Firmer Chisel
- Stanley No. 1750 Butt Chisel
- Stanley No. 161 Paring Chisel
- Robert Sorby "Kangaroo Brand" Sash Mortise Chisel
- William Marples & Sons 'Shamrock Brand' No. 737 Sash Mortise Chisel
- William Marples & Sons 'Shamrock Brand' No. 317 Firmer Chisel
- Stanley No. 720 Firmer Chisel
Middle Drawer (Hammers & Screwdrivers (etc.)
- Bench Sweeping Brush
- Stanley No. 51½ (16 oz) Claw Nail Hammer
- Stanley No. 11 Nail Set
- Screw Wax (or home made tallow box)
- Stanley No. 53 (7 oz) Claw Nail Hammer
- William Marples & Sons 'Shamrock Brand' No. 1984 Boxwood Handle Turnscrew
- North Bros. "YANKEE" No. 131A Spiral Ratchet Quick Return Screw Driver
Bottom Drawer (Measuring & Layout Tools)
- Stanley No. 2 (8") Try Square
- William Marples & Sons 'Shamrock Brand' 6" Miter Bevel
- Norton boxed Oilstone
- Stanley No. 25 (6") Bevel
- Stanley No. 61 (24") Boxwood Folding Rule
- William Marples & Sons 'Shamrock Brand' No. 2154 rosewood mortise Marking Gauge
- Stanley beech wood No. 61 Marking Gauge
Hand Saws not in my Tool Box but part of my kit. (hanging on adjacent wall).
- Cross-cut Hand Saw - Disston D-8 (8 tpi)
- Tenon/Dovetail Saw - Disston No. 4 (18 tpi)
Tote for storing additional tools and for carrying specific tools to job sites. (kept on bench next to tool box).
- Oil Can
- Light Weight "C" Cramps (clamps)
- Sand Paper Block
- Rasps and Brushes
- Countersink Drill Bits
- Pencil
- 16 oz. Mallet
- William Marples & Sons 'Shamrock Brand' heavy duty mortise chisel
- Miscellaneous small tools/accessories as needed such as spokeshaves, rasps, gouges, brad awls, wrenches, screwdriver bits, drill bits, marking knife, etc.
Chisels carried to job sites in a canvas chisel roll.
ADDENDA
Specialized Tools
As a general rule, apprentices didn't own specialized tools such as Rabbet, Dado, Router and Scraper Planes or Breast Drills, etc. - instead, they borrowed them when needed from the older craftsmen who were always forthcoming.
Other tools such as Gouges, Spokeshaves, Keyhole Saws, etc. of various makes were obtained whenever the opportunity presented itself, in the meantime being borrowed from older craftsmen as the occasion for their use arose.
Here are three tools often borrowed -- I eventually bought my own much later:
- Ratchet Breast Drill - North Bros. "YANKEE" No. 1555.
- Router Plane - Stanley open throat No. 71.
- Duplex Rabbet Plane - Stanley No. 78.
Tool Maintenance and Sharpening
Apprentices were well trained in the proper care and use of tools by senior craftsmen.
Apprentices were taught how to sharpen their edged tools (chisels and plane irons) under the tutelage of the older craftsmen and thereafter were supposed to properly maintain them. A communal foot pedal operated water trough grindstone was used for major bevel profiling. The simple high carbon steel used in woodworking cutting tools in those days precluded using power driven carborundum wheels which could destroy the steel hardness due to the friction heat generated. Major bevel profiling was slow, for sure, but preserving the integrity of the steel was paramount.
Oil stones -- with one side "medium" and the other side "fine" -- were used for sharpening. The medium side of the stone was used to maintain the 35° bevel and the fine side to produce the 25° cutting edge. All sharpening was free-hand. Light machine oil was used to lubricate the stone -- with frequent wiping off and re-applications during sharpening. The burr or "wire edge" formed during sharpening was removed by resting the back of the chisel/plane iron flat on the oil stone and rubbing a few times to turn the burr back -- this procedure was repeated until the burr was satisfactorily removed and the edge felt suitably sharp to the touch. The final step was to strop the edge on leather. The oil stone was wiped clean and stored dry after each use.
The test of sharpness adequacy was if the edge would cut tough oak easily and cleanly. The whole procedure was quick and simple. That is the way I still sharpen and maintain my edged tools.
Foot treadle operated water trough
grindstone
Photo used by permission of eBay
member kernowlincoln: owner
Similarly, apprentices were taught how to sharpen and set their Hand Saws under the tutelage of senior craftsmen.
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