The Traditional Tools Group Inc.

I received this touching and personal letter from Terry Butcher, a valued long time-member and past President of TTTG; Terry is now retired from work however he is never idle. The sentiment expressed in this letter needs to be shared for the integrity and passion that a craftsman has for his tools and an over view of intrinsic value that’s lacking in our emerging throw-away society.

Driving down Old Hawksbury Road at Vineyard (out from Windsor, NSW) one doesn’t expect to see a factory in full production manufacturing and distributing bandsaw and circular saw blades, maintenance and other activities such as research into blade efficiency especially associated with the timber industry. Brad Henry is the owner and Managing Director of such a business, Henry Bros. Saws.

What is it about collecting or, more to the point, what is it about objects that attract our attention and in turn lead us to accumulate similar objects? It’s been said that a single item is just that, two items similar are a couple however three or more related items is well on the way to becoming a collection and the collector is on a slippery slide of becoming space challenged.

Do you ever wonder why some things end up in your shed taking up valuable space, or bluntly, just cluttering up the place, why? Impulse buys, “things that you may use one day”, “haven’t seen one of those before” or maybe can’t resist a bargain; well, whatever the reason, all collectors can relate to this at one time or another.

Adding to the shed clutter? In this case I think not. I swapped a few bits and pieces for this rusted relic of a German type in-shave at the TTTG Tool Swap and Social Day at Brush Farm House. The tool was rusted with the handles well past their use-by date, however the tool showed potential as the rust was only on the surface (no pitting) and the tangs, one miss-shaped, were still full length.

An interesting mechanical contraption was sitting on a shelf in a coastal shed, it had been sitting there for many years; the relic was a crimping machine, caked with rust, spider webs and the usual cock-roach eggs. See figure 1. At first glance this small hand operated device appeared beyond restoring however, after a critical glance I could see that it had no obvious damage, appeared complete, consequently my resolve not to take any more rusty stuff back to my shed went out the window.

Transitions planes, that is wood bottom planes, first introduced in the late 1870’s were a compromise to satisfy a need to simplify the setting of the plane blade while maintaining the benefit of the lesser friction of the wooden sole of the old planes that the artisans were accustomed to. The transition from the old wooden planes was completed in 1943 when STANLEY ceased production of the wood-bottom planes and moved solely to the full metal planes.

At times when collecting, it’s not unusual to bring a tool home, put it on a shelf and forget why one brought it home in the first place as it becomes just a part of a display and loses its Identity.

The plane, a PRESTON No.1369 costing 7/6 (seven shillings and sixpence) back in May 1909 obviously was a prized possession and having it misplaced or stolen must have been a concern. “TIM” was obviously a discerning buyer when he purchased the Rolls Royce of Side Rebate Planes, the Preston’s Patent Adjustable Side Rabbet Plane (Nickel Plated), was comparatively expensive back in the early 1900’s, however he must have been a skilled artisan requiring such a plane for quality cabinet work or joinery.

How often have we walked past a plastic handled saw, maybe ignored one in a garage sale, or maybe treated them as throw-away saws and not worthy of a place in the company of respectable tools in that special tool box; well maybe some of these saws are worthy of a second glance as I’ve realised since recovering from my plastic phobia.