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Gotta get ’em all…

Woodworker Series Evans Publishing
I collect these little books. They were published by Evans Brothers in the 50’s and 60’s. A great set of books, edited by Hayward and others. The Woodworker Handbooks series covers a lot of ground.
Thing is, I’m missing a few, so thought I may as well put the word out and see if anyone has the last ones languishing in their cupboards as I would like to complete the set.
Before you get too excited, these are pretty common, (so don’t book a holiday just yet). I have paid 8UKP for one or two, but in general pay around 5UKP. (I’ve bagged a few on eBay for 99p).
If you have any of the below, please let me know and I can put this current obsession to bed.
Thanks.

Missing ones are:
Timbers for Woodwork
Practical Upholstery
Garden Woodwork
Practical Woodwork
English Period Furniture

*They all need to be in the same series style of the ones shown, ie, the black-banded covers. Good condition please. Wear is ok, tears aren’t.

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R.Groves &Sons Saws

R.Groves & Sons

R.Groves & Sons Tenon Saw 1
Established in 1770 I believe, Richard Groves & Sons was a thoroughbred Sheffield steel refiner and producer of edge tools. (I mainly hunt for their wonderful saws, one of which is pictured above).

Steadfast to their old localities in Snow hill are Richard Groves & Sons, perhaps the oldest saw manufacturers in the town. Mr. Groves, the grandfather of the present firm, always had an open Bible before him on his work-board.
(Reminiscences of Old Sheffield, Its Streets and Its People” Robert Eadon Leader – 1875)

William White, White's General & Commercial Directory of Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Chesterfield and Worksop.  (Sheffield: William White, 1879).
William White, White’s General & Commercial Directory of Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Chesterfield and Worksop.
(Sheffield: William White, 1879).

I have seen saws marked as Sheffield, obviously, but also marked with ‘London’. It would seem there is some agreement that the London mark was to convey more of a prestigious quality once R.Groves started exporting. Some people disagree and think the London mark is more to denote quality, where the ‘London Spring’ is purely to denote the use of the best quality spring steel.

(Note: The word “spring” is a pretty common descriptor on saws. Spring steel was different for the higher carbon (about 1%-1.5%) content and other elements and compounds in the alloy. It could be tempered to a good hardness for tools while having a quality of elasticity (as opposed to brittleness). This grade of steel was good for carriage springs, hence the name, and top-grade handsaws).The saw I have recently purchased has the Sheffield mark with ‘silver steel’.

R.Groves & Sons Tenon Saw 3
R.Groves & Sons Tenon Saw 4

The ‘& Sons’ is thought to be in use at least after 1822, with Groves starting to use label screws (medallions) around then. Groves saws carry the ‘USE’ medallion from around 1825. The advertisements for Richard Groves and Sons show the “USE” as their corporate mark. The corporate mark was granted by the Cutlers’ Company and Registered In England and Germany.
R.Groves & Sons Tenon Saw 2

William White, White's General & Commercial Directory of Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Chesterfield and Worksop.  (Sheffield: William White, 1879).
William White, White’s General & Commercial Directory of Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Chesterfield and Worksop.
(Sheffield: William White, 1879).

R.Groves obviously did very well in their business, with exporting making up a good percentage of their trade.

A Day in the New York Cristal Palace - Popular Companion to the "Official Catalog"... by William C. Richards, A.M, 1853. In the clipping below we can see that Richard Groves was exhibiting in good company.  The companies like Howarth, Jackson and Marsh Bros. were one of the most prominent and well recognized Sheffield industrial leaders.  Richard Groves & Sons was among them.
A Day in the New York Cristal Palace – Popular Companion to the “Official Catalog”… by William C. Richards, A.M, 1853.
In the clipping below we can see that Richard Groves was exhibiting in good company. The companies like Howarth, Jackson and Marsh Bros. were one of the most prominent and well recognized Sheffield industrial leaders. Richard Groves & Sons was among them.
A Day in the New York Cristal Palace - Popular Companion to the "Official Catalog"... by William C. Richards, A.M, 1853. In the clipping above we can see that Richard Groves was exhibiting in good company.  The companies like Howarth, Jackson and Marsh Bros. were one of the most prominent and well recognized Sheffield industrial leaders.  Richard Groves & Sons was among them.
A Day in the New York Cristal Palace – Popular Companion to the “Official Catalog”… by William C. Richards, A.M, 1853.
In the clipping above we can see that Richard Groves was exhibiting in good company. The companies like Howarth, Jackson and Marsh Bros. were one of the most prominent and well recognized Sheffield industrial leaders. Richard Groves & Sons was among them.

R.Groves & Sons Tenon Saw 5
R.Groves & Sons Tenon Saw 6

I buy good quality tools from well-known 19thc makers. If you have any R.Groves saws in good condition, get in touch.

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Hackney Practical techniques

D.i.y Dad

floor
Ok, half-term has arrived, and so instead of building nice storage cabinets for some of my tools, I’m getting on with my kitchen renovation. Apologies for lack of blog posts over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been sorting plumbers and electricians and have myself been starting on the floor.
I plan to put down parquet blocks, so have been stripping off the old lino and the thin, flaky chipboard underneath. To replace it, I’ve been advised a good base for parquet is 9mm ply. I’ve been screwing that down with 6″ centres over the whole kitchen.
Nearly finished now, but if I ever see another 4x25mm brass wood screw, it will be too soon. I was feeling very smug when I got a good deal on the ply and the smile has gradually disappeared from my face as I’ve realised how much I’ve spent on decent screws.
The parquet will be reclaimed from an old 1930’s school in Broadstairs and will be a nice long 12″ by 3″ Columbian Pine block. Quite excited to see how this is going to turn out.
I might blog a few pics as I move through the project, but the kitchen has made me realise how much I could have done myself, if only I had the gear and space to work. Apart from the fact I could have made new cabinets all round, I could have custom-fitted everything, instead of relying on the slightly wacky sizes from Ikea and such.
Oh well. Anything should be an improvement. The kitchen was in need of a revamp when we moved in, and now I realise that was seven years ago!
One tool I would very much like to have is a Festool TS55, for cutting the border of the parquet back and general tomfoolery with trying to make units for the walls. Wish they weren’t so expensive though.

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Quality saws for sale

IMG_7459
Check out the Tools For Sale page for some great saws and a few more on my eBay listings.

Thanks