Big Tools

Big Tools

To make big bowls, you need big tools. Usually I have to make my own.

1944 Orton 30-inch Planer

This is Orton. It used to be in the Universal Studios prop shop, then was bought from Universal by one of the managers of that shop. I traded a Jeep Scrambler (CJ-8) for it in 1988.

~1903 Crescent 32-inch Bandsaw

This is an old bandsaw which I restored in 2000. It is from about 1903, but not positive of the birth date. Crescent machine made the castings, and the saw looks exactly like the 32" saw in the 1903 Crescent catalog I found on the Old Woodworking Machines Website, but only the Silver Mfg Co plate was visible when I got it and the Crescent Machine letters were ground down and painted over. Don't know why they'd do that, unless they were repairing and reselling piece parts bought cheap to start their own line of saws, or maybe they just wanted all the machinery in their shop to say Silver. If you know any history of the Silver Mfg or Crescent Machine companies, let me know!

The motor and pulleys are additions I put on. It was originally used with a line shaft and 4 inch leather belt. There was no blade guard when I got it, and the old catalog seems to show that only the downward moving portion of the blade used to have one. I made a new guard out of oak. The base, tool/switch/light box and pulley mounts are also oak.

Steam Bending Wood

This is a steam box and boiler I made, cooking up some arms for a love seat, prior to bending them onto a form. This is in a campground in Big Bear Ranger District.

Tool Links:

Garret Wade and Lee Valley have the best tool catalogs I've seen. You usually can't buy this kind of quality in stores.

Japanwoodworker has some very nice Japanese woodworking tools.

Craft Supplies, USA and The Tool Post have nice selections of woodturning tools.

Fine Woodworking magazine reviews tools, and often reveals who is selling equipment by the same manufacturer.