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BOEHM punch set

I had a reply from Lee Valley regarding the punch set that they sell that looks a lot like the BOEHM punch set.Unfortunately if the name of the manufacturer is not on the merchandise they will not disclose the manufacturer as to protect their suppliers.I think it looks very similar ,but I will leave that to each one of you on that.I have bought many,many items from Lee Valley over the years and they stand behind their products.If your not happy in I think it's three months time, they will take the item back and refund your money but don't quote me on that!By the way I think BOEHM is a French company.you can find the punch set in Lee Valley's online catalog.
Lawrence
 
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I have a small hole punch set like the smaller Boehm set but I prefer to use forstner wood working bits to make gaskets. To stop the forstner bits tearing the gasket material I sandwich the gasket material between two pieces of MDF. I use them on a drill press at quite slow speeds ~200 RPM. I have a set of 16 bits ranging from 1/4" to 2" and they only cost about US$40

Forstner bits will drill holes in rubber (sandwiched between wood), cork, plastic and even ally if plenty of lube is used. I do use the punches for making washers from leather/plastic/rubber etc
 
I have a small hole punch set like the smaller Boehm set but I prefer to use forstner wood working bits to make gaskets. To stop the forstner bits tearing the gasket material I sandwich the gasket material between two pieces of MDF. I use them on a drill press at quite slow speeds ~200 RPM. I have a set of 16 bits ranging from 1/4" to 2" and they only cost about US$40

Forstner bits will drill holes in rubber (sandwiched between wood), cork, plastic and even ally if plenty of lube is used. I do use the punches for making washers from leather/plastic/rubber etc

That`s a very accurate method of gasket making, when I worked as an engine fitter in the marine repair trade the old hands showed us young fellas how to make a template for things like headgaskets and clamp them between slabs of plywood then drill them out one hole at a time. We mostly used hole saws for the 3-5" cylinder holes and forstners for holes under 2". I made a head gasket for my 1921 Fordson in the same fashion, engine still running fine.
Pioneerguy600
 
Starrett 6" Ruler

I had already posted this one in the "new forum" thread, but Lawrence asked me if I'd link it over here as well. I won't go through the whole thing again but I found this one all corroded and rusted in a scrap steel bin:

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Most accurate ruler I have now, I think. I've never had one with 1/64" grads before. It's very well made, and who knows how old. They still make them under the same name and model number but this one just has that "antique feel" about it. If nothing else, the typeface just screams early to mid 1900s to me.

PS - I'd have never thought about drilling a gasket like that, but now that you mention it a good Forstner would do a good job of that. I would imagine a continuous-rim bit would be preferable over a sawtooth-rim one?
 
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Old Tap & Die Collection

So a couple years ago I paid an old-timer $20 at a yard sale for a minor upgrade to my tap & die tooling:

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There are five die holders plus one that needs handles, and a big pipe threader that's old as the hills. As you can see I haven't bothered de-rusting that one yet. There are also two tap holders, albeit small ones that can't handle any of the taps in the box, and a small one-handed tap chuck. At the top right on the box lid, under a bunch of two-piece dies, are three lathe chuck jaws. I dug all the one-piece dies out of the box for the picture but there are still a bunch of two-piece parts down amongst the taps. I can't remember the exact number now, but I counted the taps back when I got the whole works and it was something like 76 total. Almost all of them are over 7/16" diameter, up to 1", and include some different ones like the 8" long taper-threaded one horizontal in the box in the photo.

Everything in the box is very very old. All of the taps have a foundry mark stamped into them, many from various tool operations in Galt, Ontario or steel towns in PA and OH. The one in the box is marked "Ridge Tool Co. Elyria Ohio", AKA today's Ridgid. Eventually I plan on cleaning, de-rusting, and cataloging the whole works because I'm sure some could be worth a fair bit - I got them off an old rancher in an area with mining, ranching, and sawmilling history back to the very early 1860s, so who knows how old these are. Even still, large taps like the 1" ones aren't at all cheap anyway, antique or not. They're all in really good shape other than relatively minor corrosion and look perfectly usable. Only problem is that most of the dies don't fit any of the holders, and there isn't a tap wrench big enough to drive most of the taps! So I can't use much in the box right now anyway. I think I did all right for $20 though!
 
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Good idea re making gaskets in the workshop, although whenever I've needed to it's always been in the field and usually the pressure was on to get equipment back operational.

Think open drive refrigeration compressors (yep, they still exist in the bush) and either a head gasket, service valve gaskets or crank nose housing gasket after a seal change.
Or all three. :D
 
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My Handplanes

Here's a shot of my handplane collection so far:

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Right to Left: Stanley no. 80 Scraper, two no. 9-1/2 block planes, and then nos. 3, 4-1/2, 5, and finally the big no. 6 at the end with a spare iron in my honing jig in front. The 5 is a knockoff, not a true Stanley, but is usable enough. I got the no. 80 scraper paintless from an antique shop for $10 and repainted it with low-gloss Black enamel paint, and it's holding up well enough. It's not as good as the original Japanning finish, but it looks fine to me. I got the first 9-1/2 from an antique shop in pretty rough shape for $10. I turned a new brass adjusting knob on a mandrel on the wood lathe, which went pretty well actually. Not having a left-hand-thread tap for it though, I had to make a new threaded post from a 5/16" bolt for it to travel on, so the adjustment direction is now reversed. I can live with it though. It's also missing the quick-release lever on the cap; it's still usable without it, but the blade (which I can't find ATM) has to be set tight with the main screw instead. The other 9-1/2 was a gift and is complete and works really well. I got the no. 3 off eBay for something like $12 because the blade was badly damaged and the obvious lack of paint (which I plan on fixing). The no. 4-1/2 came from an antique shop, with a fair bit of surface rust but otherwise in good condition; the finish is still really good on the handles. The no. 5 was a freebie from a friend who was going to throw it out, and the no. 6 was only something like $60 used at a big tool store, though it's in immaculate shape.

A shot of the 4-1/2 in use in the field a couple years ago:

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That table is actually the first thing I really built out of lumber I milled with the Alaskan. Took me quite a while to get the top and seats planed down smooth with that 4-1/2! The no. 6 would've been handy but I didn't have it back then. The table is on a point out on Quesnel Lake where we go camping and fishing a fair amount. Still hasn't floated away or been burned by idiot partiers yet, three summers later. I'm not worried about anyone picking it up and taking it though! It's pretty heavy at nearly 8' long. The boards are milled from a big Douglas Fir log that was down on the beach nearby, and the base logs are from a couple smaller Cedars which were drilled and doweled together along with the cross-bracing in the middle. Boy did I get a lot of attention from people passing by in boats that afternoon! Sound carries over water fairly well and my 395 isn't exactly quiet, and it's a BIG, busy lake.
 
Rust Removal From Tools!

Great idea with posting Titles with your posts.That doesn't sound right but you guy's know what I mean.I will have to look back and see who suggested that again!It will make for some great searching when trying to find things.

The suggestions for rust removal from Brad's tools,do those really work.?
I mean when you pick them out of the stuff, is the surface rust completely gone?
Thanks
Lawrence
 
Great idea with posting Titles with your posts.That doesn't sound right but you guy's know what I mean.I will have to look back and see who suggested that again!It will make for some great searching when trying to find things.

The suggestions for rust removal from Brad's tools,do those really work.?
I mean when you pick them out of the stuff, is the surface rust completely gone?
Thanks
Lawrence
ATF cut with mineral spirits or Varsol etc. works really well as a general penetrating oil and solvent on rusty parts. I'm not sure how well it would dissolve and remove all the rust. It takes quite a while with the molasses though, probably a week or more to really get it good from what I've read. I was also considering electrolysis but that might be a bit harder to rig up properly with a bunch of small parts like this, unless I do just one or two at a time. Faster, though.
 
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Brad Morgan's planes,tap's and dies

Brad, Thanks for taking the time to post those pictures up!Those look like really good old tools.I will have to post some up myself.I especially like using tools that were handed down to me,you feel as if the person you got it from was guiding you while using them.
Lawrence
 
So a couple years ago I paid an old-timer $20 at a yard sale for a minor upgrade to my tap & die tooling:

I'd definitely call that a score. :clap:

As for driving those big taps, do you see the home made looking little tap holder on the right hand side. These are relatively easy to make so when the time comes this design (just larger) is one way to go.

I have one of those square die pipe threaders. It comes from FIL's tool kit and I believe he got it from his father so it is likely to be about 100 years old.
 
I'd definitely call that a score. :clap:

As for driving those big taps, do you see the home made looking little tap holder on the right hand side. These are relatively easy to make so when the time comes this design (just larger) is one way to go.

I have one of those square die pipe threaders. It comes from FIL's tool kit and I believe he got it from his father so it is likely to be about 100 years old.

Yeah I suppose it wouldn't be all that hard to fab something like that up. I'd just need some good hard steel for the jaw section, but that shouldn't be too hard to find. I guarantee that little one in the pic isn't homemade though!

It's actually a two-piece die in that pipe threader, though it might be able to accomodate a square one as well for all I know. Hard to tell with all the rust! This one is old enough to have square heads on all the adjustment and securing bolts though.
 
Molasses for rust removal

Molasses works brilliant for removing rust.
Take a very rusty piece out of your molasses solution after a week and you have nothing but shiny metal.
It is common here for car restorers to use it.
 
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Rust Never Sleeps . . .

There was a rust thread (rusty thread?) here a while back:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=110719&highlight=rust

I am reposting one of my replies below regarding 'electrolysis' or 'electrolytic rust removal'. Pretty simple and effective if you don't want to destroy the original finish. Would be good for something like the taps and dies pictured.

There were also a number of people promoting a product: Evapo Rust.
http://www.evapo-rust.com/

Philbert

Originally Posted by stinkbait You should do a search on electrolysis.

I have been doing this quite a bit lately with a used battery charger from a garage sale. Lots of info and detail available on the Internet ('Electrolytic Rust Removal').

A few key points:

The black/negative, ‘cathode’ clamp goes on the part where you want to ‘lose' rust (-)

The red/positive, ‘anode’ goes on the sacrificial part that you want to draw/'add' the rust to (+)

I use an additional, ‘sacrificial clamp’ (spring clamp on a short piece of wire) on the anode side to keep my good, battery charger clamp out of the solution, or it WILL also get destroyed.

THIS USES LIVE ELECTRICAL CURRENT IN AN OPEN WATER BATH!!!! Hook everything up BEFORE you plug things in, and resist all temptation to move or adjust the parts until you UNPLUG FIRST. Keep kids, spouses, dogs, etc. away from this while it is running.

Philbert
 
The Alaskan is a great tool too!!!

Here's a shot of my handplane collection so far:

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Right to Left: Stanley no. 80 Scraper, two no. 9-1/2 block planes, and then nos. 3, 4-1/2, 5, and finally the big no. 6 at the end with a spare iron in my honing jig in front. The 5 is a knockoff, not a true Stanley, but is usable enough. I got the no. 80 scraper paintless from an antique shop for $10 and repainted it with low-gloss Black enamel paint, and it's holding up well enough. It's not as good as the original Japanning finish, but it looks fine to me. I got the first 9-1/2 from an antique shop in pretty rough shape for $10. I turned a new brass adjusting knob on a mandrel on the wood lathe, which went pretty well actually. Not having a left-hand-thread tap for it though, I had to make a new threaded post from a 5/16" bolt for it to travel on, so the adjustment direction is now reversed. I can live with it though. It's also missing the quick-release lever on the cap; it's still usable without it, but the blade (which I can't find ATM) has to be set tight with the main screw instead. The other 9-1/2 was a gift and is complete and works really well. I got the no. 3 off eBay for something like $12 because the blade was badly damaged and the obvious lack of paint (which I plan on fixing). The no. 4-1/2 came from an antique shop, with a fair bit of surface rust but otherwise in good condition; the finish is still really good on the handles. The no. 5 was a freebie from a friend who was going to throw it out, and the no. 6 was only something like $60 used at a big tool store, though it's in immaculate shape.

A shot of the 4-1/2 in use in the field a couple years ago:

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That table is actually the first thing I really built out of lumber I milled with the Alaskan. Took me quite a while to get the top and seats planed down smooth with that 4-1/2! The no. 6 would've been handy but I didn't have it back then. The table is on a point out on Quesnel Lake where we go camping and fishing a fair amount. Still hasn't floated away or been burned by idiot partiers yet, three summers later. I'm not worried about anyone picking it up and taking it though! It's pretty heavy at nearly 8' long. The boards are milled from a big Douglas Fir log that was down on the beach nearby, and the base logs are from a couple smaller Cedars which were drilled and doweled together along with the cross-bracing in the middle. Boy did I get a lot of attention from people passing by in boats that afternoon! Sound carries over water fairly well and my 395 isn't exactly quiet, and it's a BIG, busy lake.

First tree I ever milled was a sycamore...I always loved the beauty of wood,,and with milling it's like you dont know till you open it up whats your gonna find inside....It's funny how you will always remember the first tree,,and what the first thing you make of it............

First one ....

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And it became to this.....And more.......

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