Official Luthiers Forum!

Quite a bit of buzz in the shop this past weekend on the upcoming March 12th PATINA tool show and auction in Damascus, MD, just up Route 27 from the shop. The boys are treating this as something akin to Christmas, prom, and Sweet Sixteen party rolled into one event, and I'm not entirely certain whether this is an elaborate practical joke at my eventual expense or unfeigned excitement at the prospect of pawing through buckets of rusty tools.

Is/has anyone here planning to/attended PATINA? Will I have a reasonable chance of picking up some good measuring/marking tools and chisels? I particularly wish to find some 6" Starrett rules in 10/50/100ths of an inch graduations, a 6 inch rule with end markings, a few sizes of the Berg chisels with the blue diamond-shaped labels, and some older German-made Klemmsia cam clamps. Are these tools typically available from vendors there?

Any replies are welcomed.

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A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower

If you go, you'll, likely, see Todd and Filippo there. Todd always tried to get up a group to attend. He touted it highly as a great place to pick up excellent buys out of the trunks of cars.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I wish there was something like that close by, I'd go for sure.

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

I've bumped into those gentlemen, Mr. Thompson. They do seem like the sort that would patronize merchants that do business out of the trunks of their automobiles, yes?

While a guest/indentured servant/uncompensated barista in this shop, I've grown fond of some of the tools I've been using. After a cursory check of catalog prices, I find no reason for optimism concerning my ability to fund even a modest tool kit if buying new. Just one tool - the main woodworking bench - would set me back close to $4,000, assuming I could find a similar example for sale. If I can find a few of the most commonly used tools, such as the 6" rules I favor, a few chisels, and perhaps a nice Stanley #5-1/4 junior jack plane at PATINA, that would go a long way towards making the drive worth while.

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A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower

For those interested in old hand tools in the Southeast, the Peach Meet will be Feb 4-6 in Madison Ga (~1.5 hrs east of Atlanta on I-20). Not sure how this compares to the Patina but it draws from a wide area.
The Midwest Tool Collectors Assoc. has regional/state areas throughout the US and other countries (yeah they need to change their name ) and each meeting has a tool swap/sale before and after a presentation. If you're into old tools this is a good place to build a collection without getting ripped off on Ebay. Membership is $30/year and a small amount for each meeting. Nonmembers can get in free for one meeting but need to have a sponsor. Here's a partial list of meets scheduled for 2016: http://www.mwtca.org/tool-meets.html