Recognize any of this stuff George?

[Leigh Betsch]

Took a little motor bike ride from SD to VA then onto Nova Scotia. Visited Williamsburg along the way and found a couple of interesting things. I took a couple of pics of some tools made by George Willson:

[george wilson]

I am sure the 2 non stained planes are my make. Can't say about the stained one,as the cabinet shop made at least 1 of those before the toolmaker's shop issued planes later on. The stained one could be their own make.

That's one of our folding rules,looking well used!

The blacksmith shop made all the laminated irons.

[Leigh Betsch]

The rule and the stained plane had your name on them, along with a lot of other planes and tools. It's a great place to visit. These were in the carpenter shop. There was a lot of tools in the cabinet shop also but most of what was out to touch was examples of dovetails and joints. Not many tools with in reach. A lot of cools stuff in both shops. The museum was very good, lots of early colonial furniture. But I was just blown away by the blacksmith shop. I don't know why, not much different than what I expected but I do have a passion for working with metal. I'm going to take up the blacksmith sport as soon as I get a few other things cleared up. But I do have a question George, what are the things in this picture used for? Flattening the granite?

[george wilson]

I think those must be used for grinding pigments to make stains.

Perhaps the stained plane is one we made many years ago for a display of tools in the Wallace gallery. I have made so many things I can't remember what I have made.

[Leigh Betsch]

Did you have a hand in making this old gal? It's in the blacksmith shop but they said one of the cabinet makers or carpenters come to use it once in awhile.

[george wilson]

No,that piece of completely imaginary junk ought to be thrown out. It was made before my time by a cabinet maker in the 50's,or 60's,when authenticity wasn't very well researched.

We did make a very authentic lathe patterned after one in The Science Museum in London. Ours in in the gunsmith/foundry shop. The lathe you show started out in the cabinet shop,then was given to the Geddy Foundry,where it stayed for many years. I did make a nice faceplate and a pitch chuck,and several other things for it.

A pitch chuck is a short cylinder full of pitch,that screws onto the lathe spindle. You can hold impossible items in one. The pitch is first warmed until it is semi liquid. Then the odd shaped object,like the decorative base for a candlestick is pressed into the pitch. Then the chuck is screwed onto the lathe,and the lathe is slowly rotated while the candlestick base,or whatever,is nudged till it runs true. The pitch cools,and holds the piece quite firmly enough to allow a casting's crust to be turned away by cutting tools,and decorative mouldings to be turned,etc. Then,the piece is either popped out of the pitch,or put on a stove till the pitch gets soft enough to pry it out. Actually,a very handy chuck. I mean to make one for myself to use on a modern lathe.

[Leigh Betsch]

Can you tell me what this is (the iron part not the wooden brace)? And how it is used. I'm not much of a neanderthal, most here probably have a couple of these in thier tool box.
I also saw a big wooden lathe that was not set up in the cabinet shop. It would have ben fun to see it working.

[harry strasil]

might be a Twybil of some sort.

[george wilson]

I haven't seen one of those in years. I think Harry is right. It is used to clean up mortises,IIRC.

[Chuck Hamman]

George,
How did you like using that type of vise mounted on the shoulder of the bench with the granite blocks? I see what appears to be an anti-rack block in the one in Leigh's first photo with the hand planes. That seems to be a common vise at Williamsburg.

Leigh,
Great thread! Hope you have more photos.

-Chuck

[george wilson]

I never had that type of bench. That is an English style of bench that the Cabinet Shop started using about 1987. Before that,we used a German type bench with the tail vise,and the tall leg vise as seen leaning up against the wall.

I suppose that vise works fine,but of course all those wooden vises will be subject to racking. They make very fine furniture with those benches.

[Leigh Betsch]

A few more pics, pretty cool place to visit.

[george wilson]

If anyone noticed the 2 sawhorses that the musical instrument makers were using,I made those in 1970. Someone recently made drawings (plans) for them,which can be had at the Fine Woodworking site. You have to pay to join. I don't even belong,though they have a video of my shop making the throat of a wooden plane.

The sawhorses were a nice system. I made them so that they were the same height as my bench,when stood on edge. They would stand up on end at 90 degrees,and I could lay a long board on the bench,and support the end on the sawhorse,if it was a long plank.

These were not the sawhorse seen on the extreme right side of the photo above.

I also made the spindle and bearings,and fork center of the great wheel lathe that you can see in the back of photo #2.

Note how badly the vise in the foreground of photo #1 racks. In Furniture Conservation they had a very expensive German Ulmia bench. It had a wide wooden vise with 2 steel screws that were connected by chain drive. It racked some also. This was not the LV twin screw vise,but a German one.

[harry strasil]

that must have been where I got the idea for my apron dog hole spacing on my demo bench and my Nubench, when I was at williamsburg long ago.

[Leigh Betsch]

A close-up pic of one of the vises. This was the only type of vise I saw so I assumed that it was original to the period and being an English Colony at the time, an English vise.
And a pic of one of those Harps-a-fiddlypianos that Geroge has mentioned.