New here - thought I would start by sharing my collection

[Zuye Zheng]

Started woodworking around 8 months back with building my workbench out of 2x4s and some plywood. At that time I started down the power tools route and was still trying to figure out how to shave tenon shoulders to fit the top or even that they were tenon shoulders and could be shaved.

Then I found myself at a big box store looking at some buck bros hand planes and wondering if I could find them cheaper online. Well... I kinda went head first into the deep end and I would like to admit now that I might have a problem... So here is my setup and my collection, hope this is the right place.

My sanctuary:

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Started with a LN low angle jack and a Bailey #3 from eBay and kinda spiraled from there:
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Saw wise, started with a LN dovetail saw and ended up cleaning up many a Disston:
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[ken hatch]

Welcome Zuye,

You have had a busy 8 months or so. Nice shop furniture and collection.

ken

[Malcolm Schweizer]

What a way to make an entrance! Welcome aboard.

[David M Anderson]

Nice, very nice.
A warm welcome here..

[Don Slaughter]

Zuye, you landed in the right place....and yes....you may have a problem but, I see that you have the tools to mitigate many problems! WELCOME!! I think we may be seeing more of you around here. These forums (there are many very good ones) are a source for solutions that you will be grateful for. I started my shop about 13 years ago and have learned to rely on the cumulative wisdom of the many woodworkers that frequent these cyber waves daily. Your pictures will grab the attention of everyone here and you will get many responses, I'm sure.
So tell us what your interests are.....furniture for family?....heirlooms to pass on?.... and we can respond with encouragement and praise. Those tools have the ability to bring you gratification you have never dreamed of..... There is, also, the danger of falling into the 'tool collection dilemma' which can interfere with your skill development if left unchecked. Early on I had to make a rule for myself to refrain from buying a tool until I had the need for it on a project. That rule keeps me drumming up ideas for new projects!

good luck,

Don

[Barry Dima]

Eight months, you say? Tremendous—and I don't mean assembling the collection. Seeing what you come up with in the next three quarters of a year will be great. Thanks for sharing, and I hope you keep on doing so.

[Brian Holcombe]

Welcome aboard! Happy to have you join us.

[Mike Wilkins]

Feel free to dip your toes in the water and welcome.
That is a real nice tool chest; and with dovetails. Looking good for only 8 months.

[Jim Koepke]

Zuye,

Welcome to the Creek. My home used to be across the bay from you in San Pablo.

You may want to change your 'collection' to your 'accumulation'. Collections are for tools to look at in a display. An accumulation is to help in conquering any woodworking problem one can encounter. SWMBO (she who must be obeyed) allows me to accumulate tools for my work. She has never been too happy about me collecting things, be it coins, bottles, baseball cards or tools.

Then I found myself at a big box store looking at some buck bros hand planes and wondering if I could find them cheaper online.

You were wise in your line of thought. The Buck Brothers hand planes in the big box stores are no where near the quality of an old Stanley/Bailey. It looks like the tools in your chest are a notch above the old standards.

My own preference is for the old Stanley/Bailey planes from before the 1930s. It is only a preference and not a gospel to be followed. My plane accumulation dates from approximately the 1870s to the late 1920s with a few outliers here and there.

Your work looks great so far. Hope to see more in the future.

jtk

[Archie England]

Great start up! I'm awed by how well you've done--and how much--in only 8 months. I wish that I had your discretion, wisdom, and intuitive talent for getting started. Very well done!

[Zuye Zheng]

Thanks guys!

I vowed not to be a collector when I first started, but the beauty and history of the old and new tools really suckered me into building an "accumulation", but I try to use them all even though I could have done with just a few.

And wise words Don! Currently I just love the idea of building and building something physical (my other job is building the virtual) and kinda brings me back to when I was a kid with legos. My biggest project to date has been at the behest of my SWMBO and furniture for the house, hopefully they stand the test of time and can be used for a long time. It is a joined butcher block table mostly by hand tools (I did some dimensioning by table saw):

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As for restoring the old, I have restored a couple Baileys from the 1950-60s along with some block planes, spokeshaves, and saws. But I really started getting into older tools after learning some family history after gifting my dad a restored #4 for christmas. He had just returned from China and as my grandfather is reaching the final stretches, my dad was given several of my grandfathers tools he had used and built as a carpenter, a career he start at age 16 during Japanese occupation in WWII. It is history like this that I always wonder about when using an old Stanley or Disston.

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I look forward to learning and sharing here!

[george wilson]

Your work area will be a LOT brighter if you will paint that plywood behind your bench white. It really will make a very great difference in light. I know this from actual experience. A lot more light will be reflected off of it if it is white.

[Stew Denton]

Hi Zuye,

You are doing some really nice work there! Welcome to the Creek from me also!

Like Jim, I like some of the Stanley planes from the late 1890s to about 1910, and all of them from about 1910 to the 1930s. The Stanley's from that era are pretty good, AND you can find parts for them. I do think that other brands of planes may be just fine, but I went with Stanley primarily because of the parts availability and the high quality of those old planes. Some here at the Creek particularly also like Millers Falls.

I do have a few other planes, but like you the other ones are primarily inherited, although some that aren't as good as the old Stanley planes, and as such there is a family history attachment to them. Most of my handsaws are old Disston saws, as are yours.

At any rate it looks like you are on the way.

Again, welcome aboard.

Stew

[Dave Cav]

Welcome to the forum. Nice work for just eight months. I can also see you have made Rob Lee a happy man.

[Matt Lau]

Dang!

Nice start and nice work