Spreading the Wealth of Tools

[StephanB]

I recently had an idea that i would like to share.

I noticed that Cody receives tools from people who would like to find homes for tools. A while back I thought, What is going to happen when Cody receives all tools he needs but people still have extra tools that they would like to find homes.
This dilemma stewed in my head for quite a while until I was at a swap meet myself and picked up a beautiful 1970s Stanley #4 and a Stanley block plane. I bought both for $15 a piece. Now did I need these tools? No, but i could not just leave these beautiful tools where they were. They were not appreciated for what they were and were just going to rust into oblivion. Now what does this mean for me? It means I have more tools then I need. I now have 3 #4 planes. 2 of which i would like to keep 1 of which is not the greatest quality but functional. I would have no qualms giving this plane and a #5 I have to someone who is trying to start a collection. Now I have have tools I would like to find. I love old wooden planes that I would either like to restore use or keep as decoration if they are no longer serviceable. I would like to have some chisels that are longer that I can fix up. I would love to have a old dovetail saw for myself to sharpen and cherish.

As a community we have the opportunity to save these tools and find homes for them even we ourselves no longer have a need for them. I know I am going to go to that swap meet again and will find tools that I no longer need but I know someone else will. and that goes for there other thousands of people in this community.

Let us save tools and find homes for them with not a profit based mentality but a pay it forward mentality or even just break even. For isn't that the basis of Community? Sharing and helping those when you have more then you need?

I would love to figure out a way of doing this and would love your input.

Thank you

Stephan Bennett

[Modern homesteader]

I think it is a fantastic idea. Many of us have a surplus of tools or perhaps tools that we have replaced. I would love to see some sort of section on here for bartering or trading. I know plenty of boards have swap/sell forums and it works wonderfully. I am not sure but I think phpbb has some sort of itrader rating system to keep everyone honest. Some boards require a certain amount of posts before allowing one to barter.

Maybe just an idea for down the road but I don't know of anywhere else with a community geared towards heirloom quality or restored American made tools as I am guessing this community is geared towards. I think it would be great to have a place just for tools like that.

[MrSam]

I agree, that's a great idea! I was recently surprised by my wife with an old Stanley bailey #4 plane--my first true plane (I've only been able to afford Harbor Freight and Lowe's Block Planes to this point)! She picked it up from an antique store for <$19 tax and all. Such a deal in my book. I have plans of doing a little video on my YouTube channel in honor of Cody's restoration videos and to help share the love of a good tool and my "restoration" process.

Maybe a separate forum section dedicated to "Pay It Toolward" items? To have threads for individual tool posts to offer and let the OP choose? I'm not very familiar with member ratings, but it sounds like a great idea. It'd be nice to separate the free/pay-forward tools from any others that may be on here in a "for sale"/"wanted" tool section or post.

[Chris Homesteader]

@Stephen I just bought a wooden plane yesterday at the antique mall. It's not one I would use often if at all but like you I couldn't let it just sit there. I don't have a #4 or #5 plane. If you would like to see the plane check out my YouTube channel Chris Homesteader. I'll be posting the video about my finds. I'd be interested in a trade.

[BrutusBuckeye]

Awesome idea...if we all pick up the tools we see, invariably we as a community will end up with extras of some, but missing other pieces we need...one things we might do is start a "wish list" of tools, you post one or two tools you would like, and it can either be a gifting type thing, where someone sends you the requested tool, or even an exchange, though if we were able to cultivate the right community personality, gifting would be more fun and potentially less angering than trying to trade, since someone is eventually going to feel gypped by trying to come up with "even trades"...

[L'isle]

I do hvac and have a number of motors of various sizes that have plenty of life left in them. They're great for various applications let me know what your looking for and maybe we can strike up a good deal.

[admin]

Adding a for sale/trade/wanted category is certainly something I will think about. I can see how that could be useful.