Vintage Tools For the Collector User
Below are some websites with information about old tools and their makers. Some sell tools, some don't. If you've got a site that talks about or sells vintage tools, let me know and I'll add it here. Clicking a link will take you from my site so if you want to come back, bookmark first! And if a link is broke - please send me an email so I can fix or remove it.
Galoot-Central is hard to describe. It's like an online community for posting pics/descriptions, asking about whatzits, showing off gloats etc.
Brass City
Records is run by Walt, the ONLY dealer in the world selling both vintage
vinyl LPs and vintage tools. And he's based out of
Here's Jim Boyett's big list of anything and everything to do with woodworking and old tools
And here's Mr. Pearce’s site with a ton of great links
Galootapalooza is an annual get together of toolies, toolists, and tool hangerons. 2009 has passed, plan now for 2010.
Backsaw.net
is run by Ray Gardiner down under. His focus is, of course, backsaws and
their makers.
If you've got a Foley saw sharpener, then like me you're
probably searching for instructions and such. Here's a good place to start.
Mark
Harrell sharpens handsaws. www.technoprimitives.com
Sandy Moss sells some very nice tools. And he’s got a HUGE brace collection.http://www.sydnassloot.com
The Disstonian Institute – The Go-To site for info on Disston and all its different types of saws.
If Disston is too common for you, how about Simonds Saws?
If you've got saws, you need sawsets. This guy doesn't sell them on his site, but he collects them and has what must be the largest collection in the world pictured at the Sawset Collectors Resource.
In Georges Basement you’ll find information on braces, scraper planes, screw lathes, a tutorial on tote fixing, some tools for sale, and links of everyone else I’ve missed.
John Black has a nice site called My Creative Side where he shows off his projects and tools and he's got a few items for sale too.
The Directory of American Tool & Machinery Patents (DATAMP) – Find out what that mysterious number or date on the side of your old tool means.
Wrenches are tools too. Frank has a very informative site for collectors of Snap On and Blue Point tools. It’s called, appropriately enough, Collecting Snap-On.
He’s got pics, catalogs, dates and more. Did you know you could date them by the number stamp???
Papawswrench covers all brands and has some wrenches for sale.And if you don’t know who made it, check out the logos at The Wrenching News
And yet another good wrench site is Alloy Artifacts.
Emmert Vises are supposed to be the ultimate patternmakers vise, if you can find one.
Patrick Leach’s Blood & Gore is
still the standard for describing every model of plane made by
Mr. Leach also sells tools, old and reproduction.
A type study of Bedrock Planes is here. And if you climb up the URL a bit you’ll find its hosted by Bob Kaune, seller of some very fine tools.
There can only be one
If you collect Yankee drills and screwdrivers, the MWTCA has compiled a nice checklist.
Rose Antique Tools – Sells tools, but also has a large group of old catalogs grouped by maker.
If my site is the "garage-sale" of old tools, then
Martin Donnelly would have to be
http://www.galoot-tools.com/ makes plane blades of the highest quality.
If
you're on a smaller budget or need a wider selection of cutters, Hock Irons have a great
reputation.
Read about Witherby chisels and drawknives here at Brian Welch’s page.
The Old Toole Shop has had a nice assortment of catalogs and pamphlets scanned. Then someone told me the link was broke. I think I found it - it appears to have merged with or moved to here.
And that's not to be confused with the English version I found when looking to fix the above link: The Old Tool Shop sells tools.
And as long as we're doing variations of Old Tool - I've moved Tony Seo's link up here:
Tony Seo runs Olde River Hard Goods at http://www.oldetoolshop.com
Rex Mill Hand Plane site – learn to clean it, fix it, tune it up, refinish it etc.
Peter Robinson has a page on spokeshaves, very extensive - http://peterrobinson.galootcentral.com/spokeshaves/
Gary Roberts runs Toolemera: http://shop.toolemera.com and its
accompanying blog
Japan woodworker sells woodworking tools.
Scott
Grandstaff – The living legend out of Happy Camp California. This guy’s a
master of miniature and his specialty, if you had to choose just one, would be
taking a normal tool and making it into something different and spectacular. http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/
And from southern CA you get Mr. Thompson. AKA the old Millrat, here’s some pics of his latest work.
Derek Cohen’s shop page: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/
Paul Morin’s site - http://cranialstorage.com/wood/japanning.html
Roy Rigs site - www.shavingsandsawdust.com
George Wallace at Rocky Mountain Fine Furniture: www.rockymountainfinefurniture.com
Gary Weeks makes some fine furniture himself at http://www.garyweeks.com/
Matthew Groves has www.RationalArtisan.com where he shows off his lifetime supply of wood.
Wiktor in
Phil Koontz blog: http://pdknz.livejournal.com/
Tony Seo runs Olde River Hard Goods at http://www.oldetoolshop.com
The Meeker's are a husband-wife antique-dealing team. They sell tools at all price-levels and grades. I've bought from them a few times and have always been satisfied.
Jon Zimmers
sells tools. Good Tools. Lots of tools. Visit him, even if its just to
window-shop.
If you like new versions of old tools, Philly
Planes is a
For Australians (actually they sell to anyone anywhere) here is Down Under's biggest site for
vintage, antique, user, collectible, any other sort of old tool.
Here's another
Joe selling tools on the net, but his are cleaner and he's got replacement
parts.
They may be making crap now, but luckily they still have a few replacement
parts for their good stuff. If you need a part for a
For the Brits - here's a
site with some nice old tools for sale.
Jeff Gorman in West Yorkshire, UK
provides a list of