Does Refurbishing Old Tools Hurt Value?

Re: Does Refurbishing Old Tools Hurt Value?

Kevin French

>A book shut tight is but a block of paper. -Confusious

A tool that doesn't do work is scrap metal, (or wood). -KF

I've been hurting the value of my tools for years. I look at tools on the 'bay' and think to myself 'Boy, I could really screw up the value of that tool'

Let your offspring worry about the 'value' of your tools. That another one by KF

Re: Does Refurbishing Old Tools Hurt Value?

Clint Jones

>A No.8 really isnt considered a collectable plane unless it is a type 1-4. I would say go ahead and repaint it, lap the sides, and make it slide accross wood smoooothly. Even if you repaint it and such the nuts on ebay will still pay a ridiculous price for it.

Refurb issues

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>Most tools have to be in mint condition for a refurb to hurt their value. There are exceptions, but fewer than you might think. I happen to like the old scarred up tools and generally do just cleaning and oiling. Exceptions are heavily rusted and pitted planes as their value can only go up. Those get a stiff wire brush, sanding, and painting with Rustoleum. Some use auto engine block paint. As for your #7, go for it. The real collectors here are the Bedrocks.

Do it, but...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond, CA

>You might want to consider re-japaning it, not painting it. Your realy not distroying the value of it so to speak. Think of it as refirbshing it. I've done this to a lot of planes, Bedrocks included. Not totaly "new" looking, just bringing them back to life and away from the rust monsters.

Paint alone, will take away from the value. A type 7 isin't all that rare of a plane anyway. Good luck, it'll take a lot more to flatten that No. 8 than it would to redo the japaning. In less than you planing to use it as a shooting board plane, don't bother with the sides of it.

Re: Does Refurbishing Old Tools Hurt Value?

markfromsacramento

>OK, thanks everybody. Can anybody point me to a primer on Japaning or Japanning or whatever? (I've searched the forum and can't find much). You're right about the sole flattening--it's taken me a couple of days of hard work to get it to less than a thou but fortunately it was relatively flat to begin with. The good stuff from Hock are on the way so it should work well.

Re: Does Refurbishing Old Tools Hurt Value?

Todd Hughes

>If a tool needs a total rehab [re jappaning or painting etc.] it probably doesn't hurt the vaule and maybe might even help it. The problim is that many that don't need it gets it anyway. Don't know how many planes that I have seen that looked like they had about 90-95% of thier original jappaning and were spray painted over by an owner that wanted a "new" looking plane I guess. I wouldn't think a plane should be done unless it has less then 50% of it's original finish. Again we are just talking cosmetics here and it is your plane to do with as you want but I think most experanced and knowlegable tool people would rather see a plane that still has some of it's original finish,then one that has been painted.

...Of course many planes that get "Refurbed" like this end up looking nothing like they ever did befor with a painted, buffed, polished shiny metal finish leaving thier owner with a fantasy item that reflects more on what they like then on what the plane should look like to be correct.

Same with cleaning tools, I think ANY tool that needs it if properly cleaned will go up in vaule while if improperly cleaned it will go down. You can better believe those expensive...and clean...planes you see at shows and that dealers are selling have been cleaned ....Todd

Re: Does Refurbishing Old Tools Hurt Value?

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>Saying that a tool that does not do work is scrap wood or scrap metal in my opinion is exactly the same thing as saying that art has no value. My opinion is so drastically different from that view that I just had to point it out. Clark & Williams make wood planes that in my opinion are works of art. There are a number of other people who do the same. I might someday buy a C&W plane just because I like the way it looks. I might just put it on a shelf somewhere to look at it; would this mean that it is in fact scrap wood and should just be disposed of? My opinion is that a society without art is a dying society; art has a very large value. I don't really mean for anyone to take my opinions personally, and am not trying to force the viewpoint; I am simply stating my view.

Re: Does Refurbishing Old Tools Hurt Value? *LINK*

Jack Guzman from Maine

>Try this. Also google"japanning" you'll get more.

There are users and collectors. If you were a collector the answers may be different,but if you intend to use this tool,get it to where it works for you.Let collectors worry about condition and value.

---Jack


japanning article

Re: Does Refurbishing Old Tools Hurt Value?

Kevin French

>Yes, there are flaws in any statememt. A C&W is a work of art but I'm not going to buy one just to put on the wall.

The " P " word ! Arrrrgggg ! . . .

s.mackay@worldnet.att.net

>Ever since " The Twins " uttered it on Antiques Roads Show it has been the buzz word for collectors and dealers. EVERYTHING has "PATINA". If its on anything beyond 1900 (probably 1800 )its just "gunk". Clean, clean, scrub, scrub. All parts present. Just 'cause its a user does'nt mean it won't be happier ( and much more fun to use ) if its good look'n !If the % of missing japaning gets on your nerves hunt down a can of the real asphaltum material. Its fun to do and you learn WAY to much about your plane. This stuff out shines ANY paint wether you distresse it or not. If you sell it latter you describe it as "authentic" japaning and it'll add to the value ! Chipped tote ? re-shape and sand it down and its still "origanal" parts. Again, worth more than replaced. This begs another question . . . has anyone met these knuckle heads who are buying up the old planes at fantastic prices? I watched a # 5 Dunlap finaly leave an antique shop for $80.00 and Man, was iit a mess ! Do you figure there are folks with bookshelves or cases filled with planes as an investment ? No offense - just pondering another cosmic question.

Re: Does Refurbishing Old Tools Hurt Value?

Dan Moening in balmy Sacramento

>Mark,

There are many ways to recreate the black "look". Some folks have used high-solids engine paint, a MRO (?) Rustoleum paint, and the real deal baked on asphaltum.

You can get asphaltum from Liberty on the Hudson here:

http://www.libertyonthehudson.com/pontypool.html

Johnny Kelso has a few links on his site as well:

https://home.comcast.net/~rexmill/planes101/japanning/japanning.htm

Cian Perez has a link or two as well I'm sure:

http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/Wood_How_To/INDEX_How_To.htm

Good Luck!

~Dan.

IM not so HO: longish

Ron Bauman

>I always thought that if a craftsman/woman spends a great deal of their professional life learning and choosing woods to build from, many just for their decorative function, who am I not to enjoy the beauty intrinsic in the wood. Why not just paint those fabulous library matches flat black and be done with it? The twins are mistaken, I think. There was a time when finishers made trips about the countryside and stopped at various homes to repair/recoat/renew the furniture therein required. Those woods were meant to be enjoyed not covered up with opaque/patinated finishes. No one has any problem with taking a rusted, dented, windowless, 1934 Plymouth coupe (my personal favorite)and hammering, spraying, and glazing it back into a joy to behold. I should mention restraint before I close. On hand tools there is a smoothness inherent from use, the constant rubbing of (here it comes) hands. I feel that look is to be cherished not wire brushed out. So I guess there are lines not to be crossed, but they are personal. When I was a restorer and after I had gotten the check, several of my customers added what I considered a priceless bonus when they said,"I just want to sit and look at it."

Re: Does Refurbishing Old Tools Hurt Value?

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Yes, hard to think of a more beautiful plane than the C&W jack; however, there's a big difference between art and a collectible. Not all collectibles are art.

Pam

Re: Does Refurbishing Old Tools Hurt Value?

Dan Donaldson

>Clark & Williams planes are definitely works of art, but you don't want to put them on the shelf to look at. They work very well also ;-)

My recent experience

Bill Houghton, rainin' here this evenin'

>As we close out my parents' house (counteroffer accepted - at list price! - now we just have to see if there's any haggling after the inspection reports come back), I had an experience that might be useful here: I dutifully trudged around with some china that was thought to have value, only to find that, unless it's (a) absolutely pristine, never been used enough to develop even a tiny chip, or (b) more than 200 years old, it's got NO collector value. I just about paid for my gasoline with the money received. Tools are a little different, in that there are rarities that have value even rusty, and so on. But if what you've got is a more or less garden variety plane, like a No. 8, in sufficiently grubby condition that you're even asking the question, making it into a really good user is definitely jes' fine.

Re: Does Refurbishing Old Tools Hurt Value?

paul womack

>The short answer it "it depends".

The details of the long answer are beyond me.

BugBear