I thought I would start a blog series on tales from the Tool Shop I work at. We come across weird tools and stuff that we can’t even identify on a daily basis. I thought the Lumberjocks might like to hear about it. This will be my place for chatting about the oddities of our small used tool store.
So those of you who know me, have heard me blog about the tool shop before. But in case you haven’t, welcome to “Drew's Used Tools.” If you click on the link it will take you to a photo tour of the shop as well as a description of what we do.
Todays tale: I came across this on one of the shelves today and just thought it was worth taking a picture of. It’s a Craftsman router bit sharpening jig in its faded but original box.
I opened it up and it was all there, looking like it had never been used. The sharpening stone and other components were still sealed in plastic.
I just thought it was so interesting because I have seen so many bizarre contraptions made by Craftsman over the years, and so many of them appear to be unused. Craftsman seems to have a history of inventing great ideas which promise to save time and make things easier but in fact only complicate a maneuver.
I guess I am a little bitter about this topic ever since I fell for Craftsman’s Biscuit Jointer router attachment, which was a total ($75 ha ha) joke… but I digress. I may be bitter, but I am still fascinated by the hundreds of strange attatchments, doodads, thingamajigies, whatsits, and woosles made by Craftsman over the years. If you spend any time at all shopping at flee markets or yardsales, you would recognize that there are a lot of them out there.
I’ll let you know if it goes anywhere with it’s $19.99 price tag. There are definitely a certain crowd of people that come in to our store that are really stoked on this sort of thing. And who am I to judge? It sure is interesting. And maybe it works really well. Maybe the joke is on me for not snatching it up with my discount. I’m sure somebody will get a lot of really good use out of this thing… just like its original owner. But I can’t help chuckling at this little oddity.
One thing is for sure: As long as I work here I will continuously see a constant supply of new (old) gadgets made by Craftsman to make your life in the shop easier.
Hope you enjoyed this post, feel free to comment and let me know if you have ever come across and/or used one of these.
-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com
6 comments so far
Karson
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13585 posts in 937 days
posted 305 days ago
I’ve seen that advertised before. But I wasn’t into using routers at the time I guess.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
rikkor
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8558 posts in 411 days
posted 304 days ago
Is there anything that dates it? The packaging looks a bit retro.
-- Maplewood, MN
Mario
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731 posts in 588 days
posted 304 days ago
I can’t imagine using something like that, do they expect you turn the router on and use the moter to sharpen the bit? no way, they can’t, right.
I can just see things flying everywhere.
-- Hope Never fails
MsDebbieP
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12282 posts in 697 days
posted 304 days ago
looks like it would be a great collector’s item.
Just imagine having some gadget that was invented and didn’t meet the purpose intended.. or it’s still in its packaging.
Yah.. definitely a collector’s item.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Tony
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624 posts in 567 days
posted 304 days ago
Hi Blake – Looks kind of dangerous for todays use, but as a collectors item, especially with the box, a definite collectors item – maybe it wall pay for the college tuition in 20 years or so!
-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)
Daren Nelson
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368 posts in 442 days
posted 304 days ago
“In theory” I can see that thing actually working. I have seen them on ebay before. You would need diamond wheels to sharpen carbide, but they are cheap. (a buck each again on ebay)
I have never used one like that, but I do sharpen router bits in my shop (with a Foley Belsaw machine, that unfortunately cost alot more than $19.99) . The mechanics are the same a spinning wheel and the bit is moved onto it on the proper axis/angle. A router is adjustable speed, so that is a plus. You would have to fashion some sort of way to hold the router firmly in the upright position so you have both hands and both eyes on the piece being sharpened.
On a side note, the manual shows another odd Craftsman tool the “router crafter”. My wife found one of those at a yard sale still in the box for $10. I have used it a couple times, works pretty good.
-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/