As part of this survey of the history of the quick-release woodworking vice, Richards Wilcox of Illinois deserves an honourable mention for their clever design.
Before Wilcox was purchased by Richards in 1910 they produced a continuous screw vice. The newly formed company created an improved version that featured a simple and elegant gravity-fed quick...
As part of this survey of the history of the quick-release woodworking vice, Richards Wilcox of Illinois deserves an honourable mention for their clever design....
vices
W C Toles & Co
W C Toles patented this improved rapid-acting woodworking vise in 1894. The original rapid-action ("quick release") vice invented by Parkinson used cast iron sliders, which were vulnerable to breakage and added friction to the quick release mechanism, problems that Toles aimed to solve with their vice.
Steel Nut...
W C Toles & Co
W C Toles patented this improved rapid-acting woodworking vise in 1894. The original rapid-action ("quick release") vice invented...
vices
Welcome to the first part of this potted history of the quick-release woodworking vice, a history that will culminate with the venerable and arguably never-bettered Record 52 1/2 vice.
We have much to thank a chap called Joseph Parkinson for. Parkinson did for vices what Leonard Bailey did for bench planes: he pioneered a...
Welcome to the first part of this potted history of the quick-release woodworking vice, a history that will culminate with the venerable and arguably never-bettered...
Record Tools Ltd
Millers Falls were one of several companies that launched a range of bench planes after Stanley’s patents on the immensely successful Bailey plane design expired in the late 1920s. Many makers attempted to improve the design to differentiate themselves from Stanley who were well established in the market. One of these improvements was the...
Millers Falls were one of several companies that launched a range of bench planes after Stanley’s patents on the immensely successful Bailey plane design...
bench planes
Leonard Bailey’s eponymous plane design was so good that bar a few minor tweaks by J A Traut in the early 1900s[1] it has remained pretty much unaltered since he invented it over 140 years ago. Needless to say this did not prevent various plane manufacturers, all of whom were producing basically identical...
Leonard Bailey’s eponymous plane design was so good that bar a few minor tweaks by J A Traut in the early 1900s[1] it...
bench planes
Following the previous articles about iron, steel and plane cutters it may be tempting to view laminated cutters as an historical curiosity from a forgotten era of wooden planes, wrought iron and crucible steel. However companies like Record and Stanley chose to use laminated irons in their metal planes right up until the 1950s.
What...
Following the previous articles about iron, steel and plane cutters it may be tempting to view laminated cutters as an historical curiosity from a forgotten...
bench planes
1⏎
at least in the 2nd half of the 19th century, see footnote below for some information about laminated irons made in the 20th
2⏎
pre decimalisation in the UK (1971), there were 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound
3⏎
this is a simplification, in practice, as suggested by the...
1⏎
at least in the 2nd half of the 19th century, see footnote below for some information about laminated irons made in the 20th
2⏎...
bench planes
Crucible steel was still in demand well into the twentieth century, despite competition from the spectacularly successful (and much cheaper) large-scale production processes introduced by Bessemer and Siemens.
Enduring qualities
This account from 1905 describes a processes essentially unchanged since its invention over 150 years earlier, and still reliant on Swedish bar iron that had...
Crucible steel was still in demand well into the twentieth century, despite competition from the spectacularly successful (and much cheaper) large-scale production processes introduced by...
iron & steel
cyclops work
By the 1850s the demand for high quality steel – driven by the rapidly expanding railway, armaments and ship building industries – was beginning to outpace steel production capabilities. Within a decade the newly invented Bessemer process would slash costs and massively increase production, changing the industrialised world forever.
At this time the UK was the largest...
By the 1850s the demand for high quality steel – driven by the rapidly expanding railway, armaments and ship building industries – was beginning to outpace steel...
iron & steel
The crucible steel made in Sheffield maintained a reputation as the best steel in the world for nearly two centuries. This success was built on a combination of skill, quality raw materials and the commercial brilliance of the UK’s manufacturing heartlands of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The principle ingredient of Crucible steel was...
The crucible steel made in Sheffield maintained a reputation as the best steel in the world for nearly two centuries. This success was built on...
iron & steel
Well known UK woodworkers like Paul Sellers and Richard Maguire do a great job of showing how to build a workbench with a minimal set of tools and without an existing bench. I was lucky to have a bench already, but Sellers and Maguire both go through their instructional videos using a couple of sawhorses...
Well known UK woodworkers like Paul Sellers and Richard Maguire do a great job of showing how to build a workbench with a minimal set...
English workbench
Bar-iron (also known as wrought iron) was the raw ingredient for creating a form of steel known commonly as blister steel, and blister steel was in turn the primary ingredient for the crucible steel used by Sheffield tool makers.
Steel is made by combining iron with small amounts of carbon. The puddling process used to...
Bar-iron (also known as wrought iron) was the raw ingredient for creating a form of steel known commonly as blister steel, and blister steel was...
iron & steel
As discussed in the previous post, plane blades from the 19th century were typically made of a wrought iron backing with a hard steel bit welded to the tip[1].
To better understand the history of these and other edge tools created in this era we can take a look at the processes used to...
As discussed in the previous post, plane blades from the 19th century were typically made of a wrought iron backing with a hard steel bit...
iron & steel
If you pick up a wooden bench plane from the the last century (there are lots of them about still!) the chances are it will have a ‘laminated’ cutting iron (we are going to touch on some basic metallurgy with many mentions of iron in this post, so I will refer to them as ‘blades’...
If you pick up a wooden bench plane from the the last century (there are lots of them about still!) the chances are it will...
bench planes
Makers of edge tools, including plane blades, need to be concerned about several different properties of steel.
Steel Properties
Toughness: This is the ability of the steel to deform without breaking, cracking or chipping. Materials that lack toughness are said to be brittle. Note that sharpening angles have an effect here – the narrower the angle...
Makers of edge tools, including plane blades, need to be concerned about several different properties of steel.
Steel Properties
Toughness: This is the ability of...
bench planes
The bench is finished! I am very pleased with the holdfasts, they were made by Simon James and I got mine from Classic Hand Tools, delivered next day at the very reasonable price of £49 for the pair including delivery.
Some people have trouble using holdfasts on thin tops, I experimented on the front apron...
The bench is finished! I am very pleased with the holdfasts, they were made by Simon James and I got mine from Classic Hand Tools,...
English workbench
