OK, not technically my girl, but my
girl in real life.
Serena practically grew up in my
house. My dear friend's daughter. I have known her
since she was 5 at the outside. Known her through most
every good and bad time, a fine young woman now.
Well today she weds.
Naturally, we are not entirely sure her chosen man is quite good
enough for her (has this ever in history happened?? :-),
but she's willing and wants to marry and I want what she wants.
So, in casual conversation, quietly
searching for what might make a difference in her life... tools
were mentioned. Well actually a vintage tablecloth in a
soft and elegant pattern, a sewing machine and tools all were
ferreted out.
The sewing machine is here, a
vintage Singer freshly rebuilt and polished, will be
given/installed later. A vintage Singer sewing stitches so
fine you can barely see them! Looks like you draped a
piece of thread across. Kitty hunted down a lovely 1940's
flower pattern tablecloth with a soft pallet. Not glaring, not
super over girly (Seenie is no Daisy, she's no Daisy at all),
but lovely and sturdy for everyday, just the same. Tools
were, of course, my department.
It comes up now and then what a
bare minimum starter kit might have in it for someone just
starting out. Here is what I picked for her. (The
common ordinary modern stuff available anywhere I didn't try to
do. Tape measure, pry-bar, utility knife, like that....)
There is a small bench hook not
shown in this pic but visible installed in the tote, shown
later. A bench hook is first priority in my experience. It
is the plain difference between being able to work and not being
able to work at all. Vises, dogs and holdowns are
intrinsic to fine work of all kinds, but a bench hook opens the
first door to being able to work at all.
Couple of good straight
screwdrivers she can depend on when needs arises. Phillips
she can buy in town. 1/2" chisel, probably the most used
size in my own arsenal. She'll need a mallet. Something
for her to make herself. A 10 oz finish hammer. This one
in fiberglass and rubber. I expect her and Mike both will
be trying to pull 16 penny nails before they figure out its more
important to maintain a trim hammer, and a wood handle on a
small finish hammer might only last 10 minutes. This one
maybe 28 minutes before they break it??
Carpenters pencils are nearly
extinct. It gives a person confidence to wield a real
pencil. They can be sharpened to any configuration on the
fly and simply indispensable, to me.
A decent square. She doesn't need
it, since steel combo squares are everywhere, but a person needs
at least some special things, even to begin. A well broken
in, yet trued wood bodied try square is, at a basic level,
something unmistakably genuinely real that nearly everyone can
relate to.
A coping saw. Everyone has to have
a coping saw. Its the first possibility of working curves a
person learns. The world is going to steer her toward straight
lines as hard as the power tool manufacturing community can
push. Big work, straight lines. This is the only mindset
offered most places. But nobody starts out wanting to make
square boxes all their life. Nobody. Curves are an
assumption in the child's mind, until you begin to see curves
are not automatic and in the modern world they are even more
challenging because of all the straight line producing tools
offered.
A small handsaw for trim and
cabinet work. 14" blade. This one is freshly cleaned and
sharpened and cuts like soft butter. This style guard is
the best I know of for a toolbox saw. Easy to make and
secure. slips on and off with ease. I expect it to cut
trim and small work with aplomb, and joint work substituting for
a backsaw, coupled with the bench hook.
A block plane. Ordinary crude
indestructible block for roughish work. A more complicated
plane would have been more versatile. But also more fragile. You
don't send someone out in a Maserati for a first car, even if it
does handle better. Better a sturdy Chevy to make your
mistakes with.
And a jack plane. I picked a
Defiance jack because it is the size of a junior jack but even
lighter in the hands. I had no experience with the
Defiance line. It was made as a cheap alternative, and it
is. But surprisingly capable once fettled and tuned.
I sharpened it jack/light scrub radius edge and was peeling
curls with the greatest of ease trying it out. For a first
plane, especially for an 89 pound girl with fierce
determination, I couldn't imagine better.
It all needed to be compact and
portable. Its her first real home and space is at a very
dear premium.
No one can know if a person will
develop appreciation for better work. We all start
out in a 2X4 construction world. Most never progress past
that. You can't push, but you can sure as hell kick the
door wide open and invite... as long as you do it stealthy :-)
