FeralVermonter's Home for Battered, Homeless, Elderly Tools has beds available!

My woodworking journey, thus far, has been characterized by trying to take a bunch of seriously battered old tools and getting them back into fighting trim. And I found, after a while, that there’s something that I really love about the restoration process, not least that it’s an invaluable education in how to use the tools in question, how they wear, and how to get the best performance out of them. There’s something special about bringing an old soldier back into service.

What I’m looking for is a new project. And I know that they’re out there, hundreds of them, probably thousands, just moldering away in the back of shops and in basements and in barns, all over New England. I used to work an auction, so I know this, I’ve seen the nooks and crannies of a lot of homes. It was practically a given, back in those days, that if we had to clean out a house we’d find some great old rusted monster, and we’d usually sell it for scrap (if I knew then what I know now… sigh).

So I’m looking for those old forgotten monsters. I don’t have money. But then, I’m not exactly looking to keep the tools, either. I just want to keep restoring, and keep learning. So if you’ve got a nice piece you never get around to restoring, maybe you’d consider letting me take a crack at it (you pay for the supplies, but not my time). Or maybe we could find a school to donate to (in which case, you supply the tool, I supply the supplies). Or maybe, since I am still working on equipping a very under-equipped shop, maybe you’d just like to see a beautiful old tool go to a good home (and I could part with my weekly tool budget in this case, if need be). I promise that I would never re-sell any such tool: if I were to part with it, down the line, I’d make sure it went to another good home.

I figure this is a long shot, but heck, can’t hurt to put it out there. Thanks for reading!