Shop made tools

While preparing for the annual Old Tools gift exchange known as Galootaclaus, I was brainstorming of what to make for my chosen "victim".  It occurred to me that I've never really done a "shop made tools" post here, so I decided to rectify that.

Some of these have been seen on this space, others have not.

Visible in this photo are:.

- the case sides for my Fall Project. They are still a little rough, as I prefer to surface my stock in stages.

- my 30" maple jointer plane with silver and pink ivory (wood, not tusk) inlay. This was based on a 18th century plane in my collection, although I lack a proper round-topped iron to complete the look. Soon, hopefully...

- my heavy hard maple mallet that I call Mjolnir. White oak handle with walnut pegs to hold the head on. It surely is the Mallet of the Gods. Mortising chisels tremble at the mere mention of Mjolnir.

- Walnut and copper plow plane. You've seen this before.

- Beech low angle plane. You've also seen this one before.

- A pair of mahogany squares that are replicas of the small squares found in the famous Seaton Chest. I am also working on a full set of three (this size, a medium size, and a much larger full size) for myself.

- A pair of small dovetailed dovetail markers (thats like meta-dovetailing!). These were made with the offcuts of the try square blades.

- My own winding sticks. The curly maple sight on the back stick came from a plank of wood that my now-deceased father gave me. It is very precious to me and I only use it in small doses and for things I use a lot, like my winding sticks.

The color in these photos is quite washed out. The mahogany squares are a deep, dark red in real life; the walnut is a purple green (air dried walnut for the win!)

As you can tell, I really like making tools. So much so, that I am offering my services to make any of the tools you can see here for sale.

I can make the dovetail markers for $15, the small squares for $40 (pricing on the two larger squares in the Seaton set is TBD) and the winding sticks (probably with boxwood inlay, not my precious curly maple) also for $40. If you are interested, please let me know via email at zacharydillinger@gmail.com.

I am also willing to make the planes you see here, but the pricing would be pretty darn high, especially on the plow. You'd be better off just finding a vintage wooden plane or purchasing from Lie-Nielsen if you are of the metal plane persuasion, but I'd be more than happy to provide you with my services if you just can't live without.

Zach