Very handy bits of kit. I first saw one some 30 years ago, lying unloved in a dust covered box of things in an Antique shop. Bloke said I could have it for 2 bucks. Still use it to this day, the tiny saw attachment has been invaluable and the 2mm wide chisel has cut more inlay grooves in Guitar builds than I care to think of.
A lot of those tools were made in the Connecticut river valley from Windsor, VT, Greenfield and Miller's Falls, MA and south to New Briton, CT. Those factories are gone, but there are still lots of active machine shops in the areas.
I find that the old tools are simply beautiful works of art. Restoring and tuning up the old tools is an art and a skill in itself. I find as much enjoyment in restoring them as I do using them. Thanks for your channel James! Always interesting and fresh ideas.
My dad worked in the shipyards during the war. I have 2 of his tool boxes he used. He had a couple of crosscut saws a couple of rip saws a BIG miter saw, Stanly 4,5, and seven planes, a stanley 45 combo plane etc, etc. I still use those today although I bout a number of these tools for my own use and now mostly kepp his tools in the tool boxes he made to pass on to my son - whether he wants them or not.
Hey James, I really like this type of video. I'm not sure how well it does for you in terms of views, but like Rex's Furniture Forensics, it delves into really interesting parts of woodworking/tools that most channels don't talk much about. I would gladly watch more in the future, Thanks for sharing and take care!!
Great bit of history there. Thanks for sharing. I love it when the best tool available is an old hand tool, be it saw, drill, drawshave or plane. You said something once on one of your videos about it giving you more time with the wood. That statement is something I often share with others who are too impatient to understand the joy of making something using primitive methods.
Great grandpa was a finish carpenter on the Spruce Goose (the only fully wooden airplane, made by Howard Hughes.) Alas, his tools were sold at an estate sale for ten cents on the dollar. I didn't know I should have asked for them. :(
Australia had a soldier settlement scheme after WW1. Ex-soldiers were given subsidised land for farming in remote locations. If you couldn't do it it probably wasn't going to get done. There are some amazing tool collections gathering dust.
James, thanks for the video. I have three Stanley "push" screwdrivers and if memory serves at least one of them has storage in the handle for screwdriver and drill tips. Craftsman also has a push screwdriver. The storage handle is clear plastic and houses drill bits and driver bits. I inherited it from my dad and he purchased it around the 60's or 70's.
That winged handle set off a firework in the back of my head as soon as l saw the thumbnail. Decades ago, in my grandparents basement, I first encountered one of those fitted with a mangled gouge that was almost as sharp as a toenail. My grandpa gave me a chunk of scrapwood to chew at with it, and that was the first time l ever tried carving something. I inherited that tool, and brought every bit within it to a razor edge, just on principle or maybe as a marker of the passage of time
I'm from Georgia, a former Soviet state and I too have a tool like that, except it's made out of plastic and only includes several screwdriver heads. Good handtools for woodworking are quite rare here as well
I have a sweet little tool like this; I leave the awl bit in it for general use. Now I have a newfound appreciation for the wonder of this little multi-tool!
Love it, I have one similar to those somewhere in the workshop... once I finish the horse trailer I'll be organizing inside the shop because I have to make room for my new forge and CNC machine.... can't have fun until my work is done though, horse trailer comes first.
This felt more like an episode of Connections. I especially loved the enthusiasm when talking about Europe during world war 1. I dare you to lean into this type of thing.
Thank you, as always a good combination of facts and humor. I am from Sweden. This summer I bought and old wood working bench for my son, turned out it also included a box full of old chisels and wooden planes, probably from around the late 19th century. I would love to restore them but don’t know how to start.
I’m so glad you made this video! As I went to a State Field a while ago and bought one of these not knowing what it was. And then I realize I kind of forgot about it as I got it for like five bucks. Thank you for sparking my memory on it and help me figure out what to do with the thing properly.
Great presentation! I’d never really thought about the unique conditions of history that one country to make tools differently from another, and how the wave of the Industrial Revolution hit different in different places.
Yeah, I love old tools, and some new tools. And now I have a Stanley 46 plane just to find that no one makes blades for them. Really wish more of the tool companies recreating tools would also make the bits and pieces needed to use the old stuff as well.
Thank you for the history lesson. I love those multi tools. I have 4 or 5 of them, and can usually find them pretty cheap around me occasionally (I'm in central Massachusetts). As always, thank you for sharing.
Great video as always Jim! If you don't mind a suggestion. How about a small project like a small box for random screws or other nik-naks? Only using one of these multi tools of course. Thanks again for the history lesson.
Fascinating stuff indeed! Thanks, James! 😃 But you know, I have a small drill chunk I bought to use with my dremel tool, but it didn't fit... And it has a small shaft, let's say... So perhaps I should try to make something like that... 🤔 Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
This was great! We definitely take for granted the idea of interchangeable parts. Especially screws and standardized threads. After all a huge reason Stanley planes use that goofy thread pitch is because standards weren't established yet!
That first "original multi tool" you showed is very rare today, with all of its tools. I actually have one and that Stanley Yankee Drill. It' nice to ee these tools shown and explained. ;-)
Very interesting explanation and immediatly I've though of handles and chisels and the possibility of changing the handles of the chisels between them and so on. Thank you.
That’s a great summary of how industrialization wasn’t uniform. A little nuance sprinkled in with some great examples. I’m in the south and am jealous of midwesterners, etc. Our hand tools are mostly from that gap between WWII and folks having electricity and I rarely find planes, etc. Auto working tools are everywhere, though. There are a ton of 70s handsaws that I’ve replaced handles on, and better: a ton of lightly used saw files. You can never have too many of those… or clamps.
Thank you for expalining why I have to pay 30/40€ for a brace, a handsaw etc in Poland, when I see everywhere on US youtube, "eee, you can by this for 5$ on a garage sale".
Interesting, I picked the same combo tool you showed, and recognized what it was, similar condition to yours. I thought it was the forerunner to modern combo,screwdriver, but found the chisels and other bits inside. Nice to have in a field kit, but not my first tool to pick,when I need a chisel or drill. Cheers
I have received only 2 modern combo tools in my lifetime and there are 2 commonalities with respect to the giving parties: 1.) The giver didn’t want to spend a lot of money on my gift and 2.) the givers didn’t know Jack about tools or their usage. It’s now nice to finally see your vintage combo handle tools which actually were used rather than immediately donated to a thrift store! 🤣😆😂
I hit the jackpot when my bride’s uncle left a whole house full of hand tools for me to use. I have a lot of saws to sharpen & handles to recondition or remake. I still miss my late pop’s cabinet makers plane, but I still have his spoke shave that I’ve redone the iron on.
Verrry interesting. And not stupid. (Remember Arte Johnson as the n&zi soldier behind the bushes in Laugh In?) Thanks for this, and more, for your great “how to” videos!!!!
Hi as a backwards nation citizen I’m smiling at your video. We had the first mass production lines and a skilled workforce. Running alongside each other and it is still true today. One tool workers are not skilled they are operators. Matthew Boulton in Soho in Birmingham in the 1700’s built factories mass producing items, this factory had one tool operators and a skilled workforce to support its operations long live Henry Ford Philip
Adam Smith already wrote about the great output advantage of the division of labour. Took us quite a while to widely adopt it in all the areas where it's beneficial.
To find a complete multi tool is quite rare. They could do many jobs but none extremely well. The pieces are easy to lose or break and hard to replace.
My grandpa just recently gave me one of those and it's a tool I use every now and then and every time I use it it puts a smile on my face
...and the space race led to Stanley's crowning achievement, the Aluminium bodied bench planes.
Very handy bits of kit. I first saw one some 30 years ago, lying unloved in a dust covered box of things in an Antique shop. Bloke said I could have it for 2 bucks. Still use it to this day, the tiny saw attachment has been invaluable and the 2mm wide chisel has cut more inlay grooves in Guitar builds than I care to think of.
A lot of those tools were made in the Connecticut river valley from Windsor, VT, Greenfield and Miller's Falls, MA and south to New Briton, CT. Those factories are gone, but there are still lots of active machine shops in the areas.
I find that the old tools are simply beautiful works of art. Restoring and tuning up the old tools is an art and a skill in itself. I find as much enjoyment in restoring them as I do using them. Thanks for your channel James! Always interesting and fresh ideas.
My dad worked in the shipyards during the war. I have 2 of his tool boxes he used. He had a couple of crosscut saws a couple of rip saws a BIG miter saw, Stanly 4,5, and seven planes, a stanley 45 combo plane etc, etc. I still use those today although I bout a number of these tools for my own use and now mostly kepp his tools in the tool boxes he made to pass on to my son - whether he wants them or not.
Hey James, I really like this type of video. I'm not sure how well it does for you in terms of views, but like Rex's Furniture Forensics, it delves into really interesting parts of woodworking/tools that most channels don't talk much about. I would gladly watch more in the future, Thanks for sharing and take care!!
I completely agree with this. Great video and I hope to see many more like this one!
Great bit of history there. Thanks for sharing. I love it when the best tool available is an old hand tool, be it saw, drill, drawshave or plane. You said something once on one of your videos about it giving you more time with the wood. That statement is something I often share with others who are too impatient to understand the joy of making something using primitive methods.
Great grandpa was a finish carpenter on the Spruce Goose (the only fully wooden airplane, made by Howard Hughes.) Alas, his tools were sold at an estate sale for ten cents on the dollar. I didn't know I should have asked for them. :(
Oh those would have been great to have. A really cool history. I've been out there a couple times to see that plane.
Thank you! As a European hobbyist handtool woodworker, this really connected some dots for me.
Australia had a soldier settlement scheme after WW1. Ex-soldiers were given subsidised land for farming in remote locations. If you couldn't do it it probably wasn't going to get done. There are some amazing tool collections gathering dust.
James, thanks for the video. I have three Stanley "push" screwdrivers and if memory serves at least one of them has storage in the handle for screwdriver and drill tips. Craftsman also has a push screwdriver. The storage handle is clear plastic and houses drill bits and driver bits. I inherited it from my dad and he purchased it around the 60's or 70's.
That winged handle set off a firework in the back of my head as soon as l saw the thumbnail.
Decades ago, in my grandparents basement, I first encountered one of those fitted with a mangled gouge that was almost as sharp as a toenail. My grandpa gave me a chunk of scrapwood to chew at with it, and that was the first time l ever tried carving something.
I inherited that tool, and brought every bit within it to a razor edge, just on principle or maybe as a marker of the passage of time
I'm from Georgia, a former Soviet state and I too have a tool like that, except it's made out of plastic and only includes several screwdriver heads. Good handtools for woodworking are quite rare here as well
Awesome educational segment. The history of the tools is as much fun as using them!
I have a sweet little tool like this; I leave the awl bit in it for general use. Now I have a newfound appreciation for the wonder of this little multi-tool!
Love it, I have one similar to those somewhere in the workshop... once I finish the horse trailer I'll be organizing inside the shop because I have to make room for my new forge and CNC machine.... can't have fun until my work is done though, horse trailer comes first.
Thanks James. Take care & stay safe.
This felt more like an episode of Connections. I especially loved the enthusiasm when talking about Europe during world war 1. I dare you to lean into this type of thing.
Thanks James. I love the way history and old tools intersect. You are a good story teller.
The way of the time line. I learned a lot today from you, thank you ..... OORAH!!
James, This was absolutely spectacular. Wonderful Job, Great Delivery !! Thank You
Thank you, as always a good combination of facts and humor.
I am from Sweden. This summer I bought and old wood working bench for my son, turned out it also included a box full of old chisels and wooden planes, probably from around the late 19th century. I would love to restore them but don’t know how to start.
Oh that sounds like fun!
I’m so glad you made this video! As I went to a State Field a while ago and bought one of these not knowing what it was. And then I realize I kind of forgot about it as I got it for like five bucks. Thank you for sparking my memory on it and help me figure out what to do with the thing properly.
I cant wait to come visit you with my new multi tool handle that will again change the world!
Great presentation! I’d never really thought about the unique conditions of history that one country to make tools differently from another, and how the wave of the Industrial Revolution hit different in different places.
Brilliant James ! Well done!
This is one of your best videos excellent context excellent history. Love this video.
Love it. I could listen to these stories all day!
Interesting lesson!
I like the push drill on the bench. I have one of those from my Dad.
I was going to mention that one in here as it was kind of the next progression of the tool. But I already have a video on that one all by itself.
Just a wonderful presentation. Thank you!
I'm a huge fan of this tool history content!
Yeah, I love old tools, and some new tools. And now I have a Stanley 46 plane just to find that no one makes blades for them. Really wish more of the tool companies recreating tools would also make the bits and pieces needed to use the old stuff as well.
Veritas use to make those. But not enough people bought them . It is sad. I too have a 46 without cutters
Thanks for breaking this topic down bit by bit.
Thank you for the history lesson. I love those multi tools. I have 4 or 5 of them, and can usually find them pretty cheap around me occasionally (I'm in central Massachusetts). As always, thank you for sharing.
Great video as always Jim! If you don't mind a suggestion. How about a small project like a small box for random screws or other nik-naks? Only using one of these multi tools of course. Thanks again for the history lesson.
thanks for the history lesson. I've never pulled the trigger on one, but probably will the next time I see one.
Interesting thoughts. It speaks well of the long history of American DIYism! Hundreds of years now of buying, selling, and making stuff.
dude- your presentations are interesting and enjoyable to watch and i ALWAYS learn something- thx much
Thank you , i have a few of these and never knew the history behind them. Very cool
Fascinating stuff indeed! Thanks, James! 😃
But you know, I have a small drill chunk I bought to use with my dremel tool, but it didn't fit... And it has a small shaft, let's say... So perhaps I should try to make something like that... 🤔
Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Great video! I really enjoyed the history lesson. Thank you.
That video was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the history lesson. Thank you
This was great! We definitely take for granted the idea of interchangeable parts. Especially screws and standardized threads. After all a huge reason Stanley planes use that goofy thread pitch is because standards weren't established yet!
Very interesting lesson. Thank you.
Interesting evolution of tool design and usage. Thank you for telling the story. Have a great day and stay safe.🙂🙂
Thank you for this. This kind of history is always so interesting.
Thanks professor, great subject, great piece.
Wonderful! Thank you!!
I really do enjoy the history lessons and learning the background of how these things came to be. Great video!
That first "original multi tool" you showed is very rare today, with all of its tools. I actually have one and that Stanley Yankee Drill. It' nice to ee these tools shown and explained. ;-)
Hardly enough I saw a couple dozen of them this weekend.
Very interesting explanation and immediatly I've though of handles and chisels and the possibility of changing the handles of the chisels between them and so on. Thank you.
That’s a great summary of how industrialization wasn’t uniform. A little nuance sprinkled in with some great examples.
I’m in the south and am jealous of midwesterners, etc. Our hand tools are mostly from that gap between WWII and folks having electricity and I rarely find planes, etc. Auto working tools are everywhere, though. There are a ton of 70s handsaws that I’ve replaced handles on, and better: a ton of lightly used saw files. You can never have too many of those… or clamps.
Well done.
Fantastic bit of history
My how times have changed 😮 nice history lesson!!!
Great informational video. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing.
I have a Hale type handle for my piano work. There are still a ton of tools made to fit those handles.
I have one of those combination handle tools. They are pretty cool.
Thanks for sharing that!
I really enjoyed this video. Excellent job!
Great lesson!!!
Great video, fun and interesting. Really enjoy the history, especially the nooks that you feature. Thank you!
These videos with the history lessons are my favorite
Huh! Now I’m going to give those another look!
Very interesting history lesson! Thanks, James!
Fascinating! Thanks!
Whew, now I’ve got a handle on this.
Thank you for expalining why I have to pay 30/40€ for a brace, a handsaw etc in Poland, when I see everywhere on US youtube, "eee, you can by this for 5$ on a garage sale".
This. Beyond good!
A leather / canvas sewing awl stores needles and thread in its handle . I enjoy the history lesson .
Woodworking and History in one video. TH-cam has reached its Zenith. Excellent.
I love these history overviews. Currently I'm in the middle of a quest about medieval carpentry and joinery.
Interesting, I picked the same combo tool you showed, and recognized what it was, similar condition to yours. I thought it was the forerunner to modern combo,screwdriver, but found the chisels and other bits inside. Nice to have in a field kit, but not my first tool to pick,when I need a chisel or drill.
Cheers
I have received only 2 modern combo tools in my lifetime and there are 2 commonalities with respect to the giving parties: 1.) The giver didn’t want to spend a lot of money on my gift and 2.) the givers didn’t know Jack about tools or their usage. It’s now nice to finally see your vintage combo handle tools which actually were used rather than immediately donated to a thrift store! 🤣😆😂
Very interesting! Thank you.
Wonderful history.
My dad had a multi-tool like that when I was a kid. I could use any (non-electric) tool in his toolbox... but that one.
May the algorithm bless and keep you
Once again, interesting. Even thought-provoking. Thanks for sharing.
I hit the jackpot when my bride’s uncle left a whole house full of hand tools for me to use.
I have a lot of saws to sharpen & handles to recondition or remake.
I still miss my late pop’s cabinet makers plane, but I still have his spoke shave that I’ve redone the iron on.
Electric tools break - case in point, the Milwaukee hammer drill with an impossible stuck chuck that I can’t remove to save my life.
@@jjeckerm06if you buy another Milwaukee hammer drill, you can use it to remove the chuck on the broken one.
😂
Thanks!
Wonderful video, well done. More please.
Thanks James. I love a good History lesson. It's interesting how war is the catalyst for innovation in technology
excellent video, thanks!
Good job on the history lesson.
Enjoyed the history of this. More of these would be great!
Verrry interesting. And not stupid. (Remember Arte Johnson as the n&zi soldier behind the bushes in Laugh In?) Thanks for this, and more, for your great “how to” videos!!!!
That was great thanks
Hi as a backwards nation citizen I’m smiling at your video. We had the first mass production lines and a skilled workforce. Running alongside each other and it is still true today. One tool workers are not skilled they are operators. Matthew Boulton in Soho in Birmingham in the 1700’s built factories mass producing items, this factory had one tool operators and a skilled workforce to support its operations long live Henry Ford
Philip
Adam Smith already wrote about the great output advantage of the division of labour. Took us quite a while to widely adopt it in all the areas where it's beneficial.
Yup. It popped up here and there over the years.
I saw one of them at an antique store once.
What a great video! I'd love to see some more videos like this, it's very interesting.
Very interesting, thanks!
Interesting history!
alas, I am in the mountain west and those lovely old tools are difficult to find.
Great video!
Nice, love some tool history
To find a complete multi tool is quite rare. They could do many jobs but none extremely well. The pieces are easy to lose or break and hard to replace.