This may be the most impressive woodworking feat I’ve ever seen. The photo above was made in the mid-1800s by a Mason named Henry O. Studley, a piano maker and carpenter. Materials include mahogany, rosewood, walnut, ebony, and mother-of-pearl, so finely crafted that each tool clicks snugly into place and remains when the wall-mounted box is vertical, even though there are no built-in locks. Two layers on one side and three on the other are enough to store around three hundred tools in 39″ x 20″ x 9″.

It takes a Toolmonger with a heart of stone to avoid falling in love with this remarkable chest. An expert craftsman with a lifetime’s experience in a demanding trade made this practical and fantastically beautiful box from scraps, and was probably the kind to use it every day. If this were your work, imagine the little twinge of satisfaction every time you reached for a tool. Mr. Studley’s work is a practical, gorgeous display of his incredible skill, and he’d undoubtedly be proud to see his work on display at its current home in the Smithsonian.

The H.O. Studley tool chest [Fine Woodworking]
Henry O. Studley [Wikipedia]

Pictured above is my very own “YANKEE” No. 41 (from North Bros. Mfg. Co. in Philadelphia, PA) that I got many (many) years ago from my dad. I have no idea how old it is. My dad may have gotten it from my grandfather, but I can no longer ask either one of them. Soon after I got it, I broke one of the bits, but was able to stop into my friendly local hardware store and pick up a set of replacements — those were the good ol’ days. It’s an oldie but a goodie that I still like to use. In fact, I recently broke — well, kind of bent it (see above picture) — a bit, and found that replacement bits are now somewhat harder to find and getting expensive as they’re often classified as antiques or collector’s items. Fortunately, a bit of web searching turned up a possible solution: a shank adapter complete with bits.

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Sometimes the answer to the famous “What is this thing?” shop question is as fruitful as it was for reader ghb624 who was cleaning out some old hand-me-down gear and came across this piece of tool history. As it turns out, some folks tracked it down for him.

This was among the items in a box of odds & ends which I inherited. It came to me along with an old Goodell Pratt lathe which had been in the family for 60-some years. I have no idea what it is used for, and am going to post a query on an appropriate discussion forum to see what I can find out.

I found a downloadable copy of the Goodell Pratt catalog for 1926, and here is the exact item:

All right: that is officially cool. Not only does he know what it is now, but it’s pretty clear that this is where it came from. For some reason seeing a direct link to the past like this always puts a smile on our faces.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

This anonymous British text from the 1860s was designed as “an instructive text on the importance, dignity, and techniques of labor.” It details the work of over thirty trades including millers, sugar refiners, and shoemakers, with over 700 illustrations — many of tools of the time period. If you’re into antique tools or the history of hand craftsmanship, this book is an inexpensive (street pricing runs around $11) and interesting guide to the kind of work your great-great-grandfather might have done.

Book of Old-Time Trades and Tools [Dover Publications]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Street Pricing [Google]

I’ve been cleaning up all the tools for the ShopSmith, and it’s an uphill battle — however, the process got a little more interesting when I got to the scroll saw and found out it’s the only attachment that’s not SS-branded.  It was obviously made to work with the ShopSmith since it sports the telltale driveshaft that hooks into the headstock, but this is the first time I’ve run across a Dunlop brand power tool.

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Last week we saw a sled that carries heavy objects — this week we’re stepping up to wheels.  It looks like you attach this rig’s hooks to one end of each log;  then we’re guessing you drag ‘em out of the forest by ox or horse team.

This style of wood removal was probably slow and tedious, not to mention a workout for the animals, but back in the day it was the best technology to be had:  one or two horsepower and a few wheels.  I’d love to watch the guys on Ax Men be handed this stuff and see if they could get enough timber off the mountain.

Thanks to reader Goblirschrolf for the sweet photo.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Ever since I began shaving I’ve used the big-brand cartridge razors, until recently I had a revelation:  I hate spending money on overpriced razor cartridges.  My local knife store turned me on to the old-school pleasure of wet-shaving with a double-edge safety razor.  Blades cost 25 cents apiece — and there’s something cool about shaving the way my grandfather used to shave.

There are many options in razors — I use a vintage 1950s Gillette — but one of the best razors that balances cost and quality is the Merkur 33C safety razor.  It runs about $26 without blades. If you’re interested, check out Badger and Blade where you can find anything and everything related to shaving.

Merkur 33C [West Coast Shaving]
Street Pricing [Google]

The thing about the world’s largest anything is that there can only be one.  Each of these things is in a class all by itself, and we tend to give them a healthy respect — especially when, as is the case with the Creusot steam hammer, it can flatten us like a pancake.

This huge-ass steam hammer was built in 1877 by Schneider and Co. in the French town of Le Creusot. Its big selling point was the unholy ability to deliver a blow with up to 100 tons of force. We’re guessing it made a little noise, too.

The funny part is that the forge work it was responsible for is now done in a different manner — so a steam-powered machine that was built over a hundred years ago is still king of all hammers.

World’s Largest Hammer [New York Times]

Our ability to use tools is one of humanity’s defining characteristics.  For as long as we’ve been around, tools have made our work easier and helped us accomplish tasks we never could’ve done without them.  Recently scientists in Malaysia discovered some very old tools indeed — 1.8 million years old, give or take a few.

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If I happen to run across Antiques Roadshow playing on PBS, I almost always see some kind of tool-related item being appraised in the show somewhere. This plane/ax combo owned by some lucky bastard in Tampa is a fine example of gear you just can’t have.

If you watch the video you can make out all the handwork and fine carving in the top and sides of the piece. It’s a work of art all by itself, but I’m more than a little curious to know what kinds of projects a plane like that builds.

The appraiser valued these at $3,000 to $4,000, but the owner said he’s not going to sell them. Of course it would benefit everyone else who wanted a crack at ‘em if he just ran home and slammed ‘em up on eBay — however we’re hoping that didn’t happen.

18th-Century Austrian Tools [Roadshow Archive]

It never ceases to amaze me how basic implements like a sharpened stone and bits of carefully formed sticks coupled with a little human brainwork can literally raise a mountain in the middle of the desert.  I’m reminded of this by a sweet article over at reshafim.org that talks about the composition and development of ancient Egyptian tools. These people did extraordinary things thousands of years ago with a few simple items — this idea flies completely in the face of those folks who can’t do anything without a shop full of the latest gear.

Just to be fair, the whole point of modern tools is that a few or one person can do the work of many, and faster. I bet if I had a workforce 10,000 strong I could whip up a few bookcases before lunch, but since I don’t I’ll just have to take my modern equipment and do it solo in a tenth the time it would’ve taken someone back then.

Composition and Development of Ancient Egyptian Tools [reshafim]

In 1902 sponge divers discovered 81 fragments of an ancient, unknown tool at the bottom of the sea near the Greek island of Antikythera. Dated around the first century B.C., this early “computer” was the most complex technology of its time - and for another thousand years. Originally thought to be an astrolabe, the mechanism tracked and predicted the cycles of the solar system and the movement of heavenly bodies.

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It’s good to be Norm.  Sometimes it seems like those New Englanders have all the fun, and I can’t say I blame ‘em — if I had a chance to go to the Brimfield Antique Show in Massachusetts and paw all over an eighty-year-old Rosewood level, I’d do it, too.

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The Archimedes drill predates the Yankee screwdriver by a few hundred years, but it works much the same way. When you drive the handle down in a linear motion, the small chuck at the right end of the threads spins the drill.

I found the picture above on an antique site — this particular Archimedes drill was designed for jewelers, to drill tiny holes in soft metal. I’m sure the torque is nothing to speak of, and the RPM is somewhere just above a plain old screwdriver, but this actually makes it perfect for a few applications.

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I’m cheating — the owner of this tool told me what it was, but I had to ask. He said it was frozen stationary, but he finally managed to loosen it up. The stone on the right-hand side now spins and moves back and forth in an arc when you crank the handle. He mentioned it’s about a hundred years old, but I don’t have any more detail than that.

Post your guesses here before you check out the notes I posted on my Flickr account with an additional picture.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

Before handheld can openers, getting to the food inside a tin can required a hammer and chisel — or, for many soldiers, bayonets, knives, or even rifle fire. The first claw-shape, lever-type openers were developed in Britain and America in the 1850s by cutler Robert Yates in Middlesex in 1855, and by Ezra J. Warner of Waterbury, CT, in 1858. The U.S. Army adopted Warner’s design for the Civil War and issued the bull’s head can opener (above) with its rations of canned “bully beef,” or shredded corned beef mixed with gravy. (British and Australian soldiers regularly consumed bully beef, too, usually with hard tack crackers and, on Christmas Day, whiskey.)

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This plumb bob level might look clunky next to a level with a bubble vial, but back in the day this may have been the only type of level you could make yourself, unless you had moderate glassblowing skills. Union Hill Antique Tools markets this particular level as “one of the great super-rare levels of the world. A Bradford Union Patented Cast Iron Inclinometer, Bradford PA. 18 inches long. Best one of 2 known.”

You can own this antique level for the price of a bulldozer, $15,000. Or, if you’re just looking for a good DIY project or a conversation piece, you could probably save a little money by making one yourself.

Bradford Level [Union Hill Antique Tools]