Reply To: I need a vise
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I agree with both Matt and roofusson, starting out isn’t easy we’ve all started at some point in our lives and we were all confused just like you are but only can you learn from your mistakes is by making mistakes. Cheap tools is never the answer, they are frustrating to use, inaccurate and sometimes dangerous and I say this to you as I’ve said to many people in the past. If you want to save money don’t get into a hobby, the fact that one can work with a minimal amount of tools is a true statement, all roads lead to Rome but what journey you take to get there is up to you. Let me clarify this statement, every tool has a purpose an intended function. A chisel with patience and Lord knows how many hours can plane a board but a dedicated hand plane will do a better job in a fraction of the time. A knife, square and a chisel can crosscut and rip a board but a handsaw will obviously be a better choice. Unless you go through the mechanics of woodworking and experience the pro’s and cons of it you can ask all the questions in the world on what is a better choice and even though you may get the right answer the thing is everyone has an opinion and they may all differ according to their own experiences and levels of knowledge, but you will never make an informed decision unless you try them all.
So my take to you is this; you would be much better off making your own wooden vice, look at what the craftsman of 200 years ago had and replicate that. 1770 was the pinnacle height of woodworking, it was the era of high levels of craftsmanship, 30 years later it all went down hill from there. You will only learn by doing and believe me when I tell you knowledge does not come free.
Just to finalise my statement and clarify one very important point, tool makers and God bless them are an important part of our craft, without them we would be at the mercy of antique dealers. Many of these antique tools are sold on eBay and flea markets by people who have zero knowledge on hand tools and they ask premium prices because uneducated people in the craft starting out pay them. Many tools on the market are junk and many moulding planes you see selling for upto $700 for a set are either damaged, warped have missing irons or what’s more common the wrong iron in it. A rabbet plane on eBay and antique dealers websites will sell for more than a brand new one from Lie Nielsen. A newly built correctly made moulding plane by either James Celeb or Larry Williams or any reputable tool maker is better in every sense of the word than an antique. Please don’t get me wrong a bargain happens, good antique tools are out there but unless you know what to look out for you can get stung and in the end it’s not much different to buying a cheap junk hand plane from a homecentre. We are not tool collectors we are users, most of us romanticise with the past and there’s nothing wrong with that but go into this craft with open eyes, don’t be a catalog man and don’t bag them either. Make sure you do all your research before hand and if you stuff up learn from it and be grateful you gained that knowledge.
I hope I haven’t offended you that wasn’t my intention