Replies

1. 
   BG | Apr 13, 2006 12:49pm | #1

   Splinty,

   This guy has a nice on-line catalogue with pics...altough the prices are not that specific.  http://www.mjdtools.com/   

    

2. 
   pzgren | Apr 13, 2006 05:18pm | #2

   Colleen,

   Try John Walters' little blue book on Stanley tools; the prices there are roughly reflected on the (in)famous auction site.

   Also try these:

   http://www.jonzimmersantiquetools.com/index.html

   http://www.thebestthings.com/vintools.htm

   http://www.workingtools.biz/

   http://www.patented-antiques.com/default.htm

   http://www.oldtools.com/wooden.html

   http://www.rosewoodandbrass.com/pageForSale.htm

   http://www.antique-used-tools.com/

   http://www.vintagesaws.com/

   http://www.tooltimer.com/index.html

   http://www.trindersfinetools.co.uk/index.shtml

   http://www.toolsrules.com/

   http://webhome.idirect.com/~love1/

   http://www.toolbazaar.co.uk/index.htm

   http://www.antiquetools.co.uk/

   James

1. 
   splintergroupie | Apr 13, 2006 07:00pm | #3

   BG, thanks. That's yet another site i hadn't seen in an earlier quick google. James...awesome! A quick flip through the links reminded me i don't need to keep four backsaws, either, or more than one brace 'n' bit, etc. I found the largest slide rule i've ever seen in the stuff Ian shipped over from England a year ago, plus a bone-handled carving set...and we were vegetarians! EIGHT cut-throat razors...he used one of them to shave, but EIGHT? How strange..the stuff a person decides is indispensible...Merci, merci. Now i have to get to work, take some photographs.Colleen

1. 
   cowtown | Apr 14, 2006 09:44am | #6

   if the whole world never bought anything that was Indespensible, walmart would cease to exist.He obviously just like tools. Eric

1. 
   splintergroupie | Apr 14, 2006 10:46am | #7

   Yep, Ian was emotionally invested enough that most of his tools had traveled with him from England to Australia, back to England, and finally to Montana. The powered tools ran on 220V used in those countries and were duplicates of tools i already had, so i shipped those off to my favorite Kiwi. Gad, they've racked up more air miles than i have!

3. 
   JohnWW | Apr 14, 2006 12:44am | #4

   If you are thinking about using Ebay you should use their research function, it will show you what similar items have actually sold for in the past.  Books and the like are usually limited in what market they cover, rapidly go out of date, and can be far off from what somebody will, in reality, pay for the tools you have.

   John W.

1. 
   splintergroupie | Apr 14, 2006 06:15am | #5

   I've bought, but never sold anything yet on eBay, so thanks for telling me about the research function, though eBay prices can be all over the place, too. I would rather just price it conservatively for other woodworkers to benefit, but i think some of the stuff, like the old wooden molding planes, are probably meant for a collector instead of an actual woodworker and therefore will need auctioning. Then again, i may be all wet. In any case, once i get these things ball-park priced (for a reasonable reserve), i have an eBay veteran who is willing to walk me through the process if it comes to that. I only recently googled the price of one of his Brit-made planes, a rarish, hugish Record No. 08. I found a price range from $86 for a similar one to £122 (about $230-40) for one in the UK - and that was only after refining and sorting through a lot of useless hits on my search criteria. That's when i realized i needed tool-specific sources that might not show up readily on a Google search.

1. 
   forestgirl | Apr 14, 2006 08:00pm | #8

   Good luck with the project, Splintie.  I'm glad you have someone close who can help you with eBay (keeps me from volunteering, ROFL).  If s/he has a track record, and you can sell under that name, you'll get better/more bids. 

   Before I got into woodworking, Nick picked up a big, big set of molding planes, in a custom-made box, at an auction or something (don't remember).  We had them in the store for several months, and then during the summer a couple of cabinetmaker guys from out-of-state were browsing the shop and bought the whole thing, shipped it to themselves.  They were very happy campers.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   splintergroupie | Apr 15, 2006 07:08am | #9

   You're not off the hook yet. People seem to always run out of answers before i run out of questions, so i will keep you in 'reserve'. <groan>

2. 
   splintergroupie | Apr 15, 2006 07:43am | #10

   Well, big surprise, this isn't nearly as simple as it ought to be.I looked at the competed listings on eBay (not accessible with Mozilla, i might add, so had to use IE...i think i'm just going to throw in the Firefox towel pretty soon). I have a Stanley #271 and a #71, nearly new, in boxes- Ian called this style "Old Woman's Tooth" - which sold on eBay for av. $45 and $30 respectively. In one auction, however both sold together for $148. Does anyone know if this is merely a fluke, or do 'sets' of tools fetch a premium price?Also, the antique tool sites i've been searching have hugely higher prices for many of the planes i'm presently researching compared to the auction sites. Why would anyone buy from the antique tool sites - and they show "sold" tools on their listings - when eBay appears to be so much cheaper?Here's my starter list of research topics, if anyone has any suggestions how i might best approach pricing them...or hell, make me an offer! (Excuse me in advance if i'm breaking any taboos here...i'm a foreigner to this folder.) Metal planes:
   Record # 010-1/2
   Record #2506S, MIB
   Record #044 w/8 cutters
   Stanley #71 and #271
   Stanley/Bailey #4-1/2
   Stanley/Bailey #4Spokeshaves:
   Stanely 64
   Record 0151
   Stanley 151And, for the door prize, what in the heck is this vise-looking thing, a Record #153? A Google didn't help. (I found it sitting next to my Ramset, which provides an apt illustration of the difference between Ian's toys and mine.)

   
1. 
   SgianDubh | Apr 16, 2006 01:30pm | #11

   You tighten up floorboards with it splintie prior to whacking in a few nails. Hook it over the joist, tighten up, and belt away. Ah-- wood lovingly crafted. Slainte.

   Richard Jones Furniture

   Edited 4/16/2006 8:31 am by SgianDubh

1. 
   splintergroupie | Apr 16, 2006 06:21pm | #12

   Well, i can see it NOW... <G> Thanks, Richard. I kept seeing it was a tool for holding another tool, à la his handsaw sharpening vises. I now remember a conversation Ian and i had where he told me that it was common practice to install hardwood floors right on floor joists, no intervening sheathing or subfloor. I thought this was bizarre, like 2x3 rafters and other Britticisms to save on wood. What timing! I volunteered to help a galpal finish her deck today after her contractor bailed out. (She's now learned not to pay the entire bill before the job is done.) This tool is going for a ride today!I was in Oxford the first of this month, a stopover on the way back from spreading Ian's ashes in Bedford. Being there spaded up some nice memories of the gracious tour you gave us of the college.

1. 
   SgianDubh | Apr 16, 2006 07:08pm | #13

   Well, what's my door prize then splintie? Don't go getting me all excited and then drop me like a piece of ten day old wet haddock. Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture

2. 
   splintergroupie | Apr 16, 2006 07:46pm | #14

   If there are any band-aids left over after today, they are all yer'n.

2. 
   pzgren | Apr 17, 2006 08:39pm | #15

   Colleen,

     My experience with eBay is that the prices can vary widely; a lot depends on the time of the year, what people are looking for, and what else is out there.

   <<....or do 'sets' of tools fetch a premium price?>>

     Sets will sometimes go for an outrageous price; at other times, there seems to be zero interest....Go figure.

   <<....if anyone has any suggestions how i might best approach pricing them....>>

     One method to take a look at is to start at $1 with no reserve. Most of the time, people will jump on it in the hopes of getting a real bargain...then more and more try....before you know it, the price has jumped, sometimes/often substantially. Good pictures of the parts of interest -- sole, mouth, iron & chip breaker, wood, etc., -- also help a lot.

   <<Also, the antique tool sites i've been searching have hugely higher prices for many of the planes i'm presently researching compared to the auction sites. Why would anyone buy from the antique tool sites - and they show "sold" tools on their listings - when eBay appears to be so much cheaper?>>

     I suspect that people buy from the antique dealers because it is a sure bet at a fixed price. No guarantees on getting the item on eBay and decidedly not a fixed price....

     Hope this helps a little

   James

1. 
   splintergroupie | Apr 17, 2006 09:41pm | #16

   I talked to a buddy who buys and sells vintage cameras on eBay and he confirmed that biddng is not a logical process in the least. My procedure so far has been to average completed listing prices from eBay for the same tool of similar quality, then average that with 1/2 the price of listings at vintage tool dealers, assuming the tool dealers 'keystone'. (2X wholesale$ = retail$). Tool-dealer security at eBay prices...but it certainly has taken a chunk of time to research.

4. 
   alanplanesaw | Apr 18, 2006 12:33am | #17

   Buying and selling old handtools on ebay and from antique shops, flea markets, etc., finds that there is no book that can give you an answer that always works.

   For typical Stanley planes, ebay is not good, unless you are buying.

   If you are selling stuff new and with the original box, ebay can be great for selling.

   Maybe you can find a good tool auction with lots of customers.  That may be the best option.

   Alan - planesaw