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How are you fixed ? I have been building up old tools over the past three years ...these vary on several trades...mainly carpenters tools.....leather working....and gardening ....spades , folks ,pick, shovels,sledge,splitters hand cranked grinding stone, scythes ...big and small , i have picked up some good solid English made tools from car boot sales....i am in the throws of making tool boxes (the old fashioned way) to house all carpentry tools , all sharp oiled and ready to use, every tool has been cleaned oiled....even gardening tools... new shafts fitted ...sharpening stones, files, oils, saw set, everything for their maintenance and well being is covered....wheel barrow spares.....tyres , wheels , grease,nuts,bolts,screws,drill bits and all need a place to live ....I mean a dedicated shed just for all these (OLD TOOLS ) laying in wait ready for use, based on old values that in the past stood for something.
SS, you're spot on as usual, you can pick up these old tools for peanuts. I've been collecting quality tools for years, as well as machine tools including a Royal metal shaper, Boxford lathe and Gorton milling machine.

You can also buy quality engineering items very cheaply, I recently bought 8 large, top quality taper roller wheel bearings for 99p off eBay - these are really useful for making trailers/trolleys/agri stuff.

Keep your eyes open, grab a bargain, these old tools are better than you can buy new unless you spend a lot of money. Recent case - some old wood chisels, covered in putty and paint, but with a 'Made in Sheffield' stamp, they sharpened up like razors and hold an edge well. With cutting tools it's a lottery - if a numpty has overheated the blade when sharpening it, it will be soft and useless, but if it has been used and battered but never sharpened then a bit of TLC will produce a great tool.

Tools - a very, very useful addition to your preps.
I must confess I much prefer using modern power tools if & where I can.

However the very best gardening tool I own is an Azada (known as a digging hoe, african hoe or a chillington hoe). Cost me about £12 & can clear any patch of land a lot quicker than a spade or fork. It digs in using it's own weight & you simply lift the handle to dig the soil. I turned my untouched (for about 3 years) raised beds over in about 5 minutes per bed.

Here's an amazon link, but I got mine direct from an online tool supplier.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B000LFXV...ct_details
I too have a bit of a collection of old hand tools, wood working, metal working and blacksmithing, though I have recently splashed the cash on a new 3 foot cross cut saw as an alternative to the chain saws.
I'm also like Geordie and make as much use of power tools where I can and with that in mind I've been tinkering around with converting old battery powered tools to run off a 12v solar system, dreams of an off grid solar powered workshop I think. Smile
T-oddity. Maplin do a 100w solar off grid setup with charge controller, inverter etc.. for £1000 giving off-grid mains power. I'm fairly certain you could assemble your own kit for 1/2 the price using panels & parts direct from china.

I'm looking at this set up once I get my new 8ftx16ft shed built at my allotment. I want this to be a home away from home as much as possible due to the ever increasing amounts of time I'm spending there so having a mains power source will be very helpful.
£1K is pretty step for a 100w setup.

Try this instead:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Photonic-Univers...olar+panel

Quality Bosch products, no cheap Chinese imports.

Add an inverter for anywhere between £25-£150.00

And that's everything you need other than the 12v car/leisure battery.
I was pricing them up & located everything for about £500 including 2 batteries but didn't want to fill the post with links. It's handy looking at maplin website though to see everything you'll need. That way you can be sure you get all the parts you need. Photonic universe was the amazon supplier I'd saved into my favourites.
Thanks for the links, I already have a small set up and battery bank, but looking to expand things to be able to power more tools, most of the modern battery powered tools run anywhere between 14 and 18 volts and with replacement batteries going for anywhere from £50 up I'm seeing more of these battery powered tools with knackered batteries at car boots.
As I look towards my log cabin construction project, the more I look at it, the more unprepared I feel! Which is awesome! It's forcing me to step up and gear up for the build. Really glad I didn't expect to start construction any time soon. I have a whole load of tools to source.

At the moment I'm mostly using Amazon, but I'm also checking out local suppliers and places like toolfixdirect. Building a full wood working system isn't the cheapest.

What items does everyone recommend?

For the cabin, I'm going 100% rustic construction, so no power tools. But I am happy to use things like nails and screws. I'm even going for the good old brace and auger system. Although the majority of the work can be carried out using a 30" bow saw and a good quality axe. However, I am looking at getting a nice big draw knife and the earlier mentioned drilling system.

My previous woodworking has been really basic, so a few power tools has covered off the job, coupled with a hammer and nails. But with this being a bigger task, it'll be more fun to go old school tech with it. Plus it'll be good to be adept with the tools if there is a power down problem.

So go on then, what tools do you recommend?
a good general purpose saw, I think a bow saw would be a bit rough, teeth are a bit on the big side, a bit and brace drill, some wood augers, you'll probably need some decent chisels, at least one big one and one smaller one, hammers are okay for the nails but for wood (and the chisels) you'll probably need a decent size wooden mallet.

a lot of this you can get online, either Ebay or a specific tool site, but don't discount markets or car boot sales(I bought a lot of tools in car boots and no rubbish either), if your down this way on a Tuesday we'll take you to our weekly market.
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