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They were spoilt in those days

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They were spoilt in those days

Postby RogerS » 28 Jun 2020, 17:57

Just look at the quality of this wood taken from a door frame - first installed in our place around 1978. Look at the tight spacing on those growth rings. Beautiful.

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Re: They were spoilt in those days

Postby Mike G » 28 Jun 2020, 18:16

Tools were better, wood was better..........
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Re: They were spoilt in those days

Postby Woodbloke » 28 Jun 2020, 18:37

Mike G wrote:Tools were better.........

I take issue with that Mike as far as Record planes were concerned. In the mid-70's the 'bean counters' had a grip on the company and the planes produced were the absolute pits :evil: - Rob
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Re: They were spoilt in those days

Postby Harv-53 » 28 Jun 2020, 19:15

I found very similar timber last year, I was doing a major refurb on a bungalow built in the mid 70s, I managed to reuse a lot of the door linings as they all had a rebate, which gave them a machined in door stop, absolutely solid timber, luckily they hadn’t been re painted at all since they were installed, gave them all a good sanding( wearing full mask to avoid any nasty 70s paint) coat of zinsser primer sealer and they were ready for the decorators
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Re: They were spoilt in those days

Postby Mike G » 28 Jun 2020, 19:43

Woodbloke wrote:
Mike G wrote:Tools were better.........

I take issue with that Mike as far as Record planes were concerned. In the mid-70's the 'bean counters' had a grip on the company and the planes produced were the absolute pits :evil: - Rob


True, but.......
walk into a builder's merchant now and buy a plane. Walk into a builders in the 70s and buy a plane for the same (equivalent) money. Which one is going to be better?
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Re: They were spoilt in those days

Postby MattS » 29 Jun 2020, 08:34

Doing some DIY year or so ago we took out some boxing between two rooms and found a load of big chunks of amazing pine. What they threw away is way better than what you can buy nowadays! It formed the legs for my MFT style table and I still have some left!
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Re: They were spoilt in those days

Postby Woodbloke » 29 Jun 2020, 10:06

Mike G wrote:True, but.......
walk into a builder's merchant now and buy a plane. Walk into a builders in the 70s and buy a plane for the same (equivalent) money. Which one is going to be better?

There were plenty of really good tool shops around in the 70's most of which have probably gone to the wall. I bought most of my early stuff from Messingers in Guildford and remember seeing Marples chisels and screwdrivers with proper, genuine boxwood handles (I still have my set of three cabinet screwdrivers). There was also a very good shop in Reading as I recollect as well as Buck & Hickman on Tottenham Court Rd. - Rob
Last edited by Woodbloke on 29 Jun 2020, 10:22, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: They were spoilt in those days

Postby Doug » 29 Jun 2020, 10:16

I don’t necessarily agree either wood or tools were better, with regard to timber there wasn’t the abundance of fast grown pine available years ago so anything made from pine was made of quality pine BUT you can still buy quality pine you just pay a premium for it.

To a point it’s the same with tools, there’s an awful lot of rubbish manufactured but there are plenty of manufacturers of quality tools that would rival any of the old manufacturers & with the advances in metallurgy blades of superior quality to those of yesteryear.
As for price, quality tools from which ever decade you choose have always been expensive compared to the average persons wage, though there is a far greater choice of poor quality tools to choose from these days but as with rubbish timber it’s just serving market demand. There in lies the real problem too many people follow the throw away society which drives down price & results in poorer quality merchandise.
Thankfully there are still those who appreciate quality tools & realise they come at a cost, though that cost is unimportant if the tool lasts a lifetime or more.
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Re: They were spoilt in those days

Postby RogerS » 29 Jun 2020, 10:21

MattS wrote:Doing some DIY year or so ago we took out some boxing between two rooms and found a load of big chunks of amazing pine. What they threw away is way better than what you can buy nowadays! It formed the legs for my MFT style table and I still have some left!


I'm never that lucky :(
If I find some nice stuff, chances are it's not wide enough.
And if it's wide enough then it won't be thick enough.
And if it's wide enough and thick enough then it won't be long enough.
And if it's wide enough and thick enough and long enough....why, I'll not have enough of them :lol:
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Re: They were spoilt in those days

Postby Woodbloke » 29 Jun 2020, 11:25

Doug wrote:I don’t necessarily agree either wood or tools were better, with regard to timber there wasn’t the abundance of fast grown pine available years ago so anything made from pine was made of quality pine BUT you can still buy quality pine you just pay a premium for it.

To a point it’s the same with tools, there’s an awful lot of rubbish manufactured but there are plenty of manufacturers of quality tools that would rival any of the old manufacturers & with the advances in metallurgy blades of superior quality to those of yesteryear.
As for price, quality tools from which ever decade you choose have always been expensive compared to the average persons wage, though there is a far greater choice of poor quality tools to choose from these days but as with rubbish timber it’s just serving market demand. There in lies the real problem too many people follow the throw away society which drives down price & results in poorer quality merchandise.
Thankfully there are still those who appreciate quality tools & realise they come at a cost, though that cost is unimportant if the tool lasts a lifetime or more.

I'd agree with you Doug; there are some really great tools being made but a vast amount of 'tat' which will be destined for the tip. I was bewailing the closure of decent tool shops; at one time you could almost guarantee that there would be one in each decent sized town but that's sadly no longer the case. We had one reasonable tool shop here in Salisbury but that closed a couple of years ago. On the bright side, t'interweb has made getting hold of stuff much easier - Rob
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Re: They were spoilt in those days

Postby RogerS » 29 Jun 2020, 11:31

Woodbloke wrote:... On the bright side, t'interweb has made getting hold of stuff much easier - Rob


The only trouble with that Rob is that one can't get hands-on' first before parting with the old spondoolicks.
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Re: They were spoilt in those days

Postby Doug » 29 Jun 2020, 12:43

RogerS wrote:
Woodbloke wrote:... On the bright side, t'interweb has made getting hold of stuff much easier - Rob


Te only trouble with that Rob is that one can't get hands-on' first before parting with the old spondoolicks.


This is why I try & purchase from companies that either host tool shows, FFX & D&M Tools etc or companies that stand at tools shows such as Classic Hand Tools, Rowland Tools etc that way I’m supporting businesses that make there merchandise available to try before you buy.
Whilst I understand the desire to get the cheapest price possible which is more often than not via the Internet & because there is no local outlet failure to support the companies that do the shows will see the shows go the same way as the high street stores which I think would be a real shame.
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Re: They were spoilt in those days

Postby Woodbloke » 29 Jun 2020, 15:48

Doug wrote:...companies that do the shows will see the shows go the same way as the high street stores which I think would be a real shame.

To see the shows go down the pan would be a real shame. Yandles is my local twice yearly outing which are dates I really look forward to. CHT are always there, usually aided and abetted by Philly Edwards so it's a good time to meet up with old mates and chew the cud...and buy tools....and buy wood :eusa-whistle:
I went to the big show at Cressing Temple a few years ago which was organised by CHT. I remember it as a brilliant event but a long haul from Salisbury, especially by train - Rob
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