God makes work for idle hands...

My favourite tool manufacturer is Lie Nielson basically because those few tools I have purchased so far have been amazing both in quality, initial set up and overall performance.

A stark contrast to the new Stanley Planes (a no#6 & no#4), I bought only a few months ago back in August. I wish I had realised that Stanley was no longer a quality name in tools - Oh well, lesson learnt.

So ... Looking forward to tools I may buy in the future, the shopping bill rises very quickly after only a small number of tools. I decided to compare the cost of Lie Nielsen tools in the USA to here in the UK.

Exchange rates were calculated using XE Prices were obtained from the Lie Nielsen website and the Axminster Tools (Lie Nielsen UK distributor) website.

Product	USA Lie Nielsen	UK Axminster
Dowel Plate	$50.00	£43.50
5pc Chisel Set (O1 steel)	$340.00	£239.00
2 x Mortise Chisels (1/4, 1/2)	$130.00	£113.00
Lie Nielsen no#5 Plane	$325.00	£282.95
High Angle Frog for no#5	$75.00	£65.00
Spare Plane Blade for no#5	$40.00	£34.80
Lie Nielsen no#7 Plane	$425.00	£369.95
Totals	$1385.00 (£887.93)	£1148.20 ($1790.73)

1 GBP = 1.55960 USD

1 USD = 0.641189 GBP @ 02.12.2011

Holy Cow! ... In the UK we pay £260.27 or $405.97 more than our American friends. Thats a huge difference for a small handful of tools!

Basically in the US, the no#7 (almost) becomes a 2for1 deal!

Anyone coming to the UK from the US anytime soon?....

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After much research and deliberation I have finally got myself a shiny new and very large Tenon Saw. 

For ages I have felt like I have needed something bigger than my Lie Nielson Carcass & Dovetail Saws, but I couldnt decide on the size or whether it should be sharpened Crosscut or Rip. 

As far as size goes, it seems the wood working superstars recommend something at least 14" and preferably larger.

Most of my cutting is to length and therefore requires a Crosscut sharpened saw but larger tenons require a Rip sharpened saw and my Dovetail saw blade is only 1-5/8" (4.12cm) deep. I certainly didnt want to buy another two saws, so which saw would provide the best coverage and compliment my existing joinery saws? 

I came to the conclusion that I should get a Rip sharpened saw which could also be used across the grain if required and decided on the Lie Nielson 16" (400mm) 11ppi Tenon saw (reviewed here). 

As I found previously, I had to spend a while learning to use the new saw as it initially jumped about in the kerf. This is a large saw and a lot heavier than what Im currently used to. The weight, combined with the extra height of your hand above the cut (blade depth) and the angle of the (dangle) handle meant I had to saw very slowly and steadily not applying any downward pressure at all other than the natural weight of the saw while my body became familiar with the movement. After quite a few rip cuts in some scrap Pine I finally got the hang of it,  and found the saw to cut fast and track straight as an arrow. No doubt I will further improve the more I use the saw. 

I was also pleasantly surprised at how smooth cutting the saw was when cutting across the grain, I will certainly be able to cut wider and thicker boards to length on the bench hook when my Carcass saw is struggling. Anything that is to big for this new 16" beast can then be handled with my panel saws.

So ... all in all I feel it has been a good purchase and my Trinity of Joinery saws should encompass all my needs, probably for the rest of my life! In fact I would say that my nest of saws is now complete.

I would be very interested in other peoples opinions on my purchase and what saws other people use.

An afternoon of boredom led me to find a use for some kitchen surface chip board and some old reclaimed pieces of Pine to make a quick and dirty bench side saw stand. Its not pretty but it did get my freshly sharpened saws off the floor and out of harms choice.

Other new additions to the tool collection, once again courtesy of my girlfriends mum. These include two Marples chisels 1" & 1.5", the larger of which is very rusty. I will probably use these for jobs such as cleaning off dried glue etc. saving my Stanley chisels for best. Id love some Lie Nielson chisels one day they look gorgeous!

A fret saw (needs de-rusting) and pad saw (no blade) and a small mallet. The mallet head is actually made of a roll of wood and will make a good assembly hammer.

Anychoice thats enough for now... time to build something soon!

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