I can hear the planes now...

I live in a farm house that my...great great grandfather built, if I have that right.  That was 120 years ago.  He was a carriage maker and wheelwright; the workshop was in the house next door, powered by steam.  Whatever happened to those old behemoth machines is anyone's guess.

Anyway, the barn is what was built first and what was used to build the rest.  Gramps (that is, my great grandfather) had his workshop in the barn, off to the left.  When we had to rebuild the barn's rear wall and foundation because it was sliding off, the interior got an overhaul, and ever since my father and I have been working to get it all into a coherent workshop.  That was a long while ago, and its had three layouts or more since then, but this time I think it is a keeper.

Now, not every person can claim to live in a house built a century ago by family and filled with the detritus of all that time.  Save the large machines, some unknown number of planes from GGGF's tool chest, and anything that went with the blacksmith shop*, I have located all the tools and I am currently in the middle of returning them to working order.

This has been hard; three generations have been in possession of these things with little to no knowledge of how to take care of them, let alone use them.  The "hand tool revival" has been a great help as the information is now out there for anyone to access, but rust, moisture, and insects are fierce adversaries.  I seriously doubt that today's tools could have survived so long under these conditions.

I suppose I am obligated to put some pictures up of this fabled workshop, but that will have to wait a little while longer.  Still a mess in there what with the crates of tools awaiting a long bath in Evaporust**.

*The blacksmith shop was donated to a local museum, tools and all.  The paperwork got fouled up, but when it got moved upon the closing of that museum to a new location and rebuilt, we stepped in and my mother got to help dedicate it.  Cool stuff, and I hear that in the summer there is a real blacksmith there to educate people.

**Just Google it.  Evaporust is a fantastic product that dissolves rust without harsh chemicals and easy disposal.  The process etches the surface very slightly if you leave the steel or iron in for a long time, say overnight, which some tools need.  The matte grey and black finish this leaves can be easily removed with a wire brush and some metal polish.  A side effect of the etching is that sharp edges and points get sharper.  I have yet to test it on a clean, dull file, but it seems to sharpen files as well.  Citric Acid is another solution that works a little slower, though I have not tried it myself.