We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations.
I collect all sorts of old tools. I figure that come the day when I need an unusual tool, I’ll have it, even if I only use it once. I’m still looking for the right opportunity to use my latest find, though.
While walking through an outdoor flea market the other day, I was stopped cold by one item: a plane with a swiveling head and a long, broken handle. I had no idea what it was for, and neither did the person selling it. I just had to have it.
I took my prize back to the shop and tried it out. It didn’t work nearly as well as a standard plane. What gives? I’m a retired police detective, so I started to investigate. I found a friend who had John Walter’s “Antique and Collectible Stanley Tools” (now out of print, unfortunately), and there, on page 408, was my plane–at least, a tool just like it: a Stanley No. 70 Box Scraper.
A box scraper is a specialized tool. It was made for removing labels and stencils on boxes, such as orange crates, so the boxes could be re-used. A recycling tool ahead of its time! No one re-uses orange crates anymore, and I’m not likely to get any in my shop, so I may never get a chance to use my box scraper. Oh well, I still like to collect pieces of history. –Dave Kaiser
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
