Tools of the Trade sale

I just got back from the Tools of the Trade sale (TOTT) in Pickering, Ontario. I think I did alright.

This was The TOTT of the Auger for me. I wanted a set of auger bits.

Right away I stumbled upon the two sets in ratty, smelly old fabric pouches, plus the brace shown, all for $20. I didn't try to haggle at that price. There are three bits with spurs missing, but there are enough duplicates that I've got at least one of everything.
The brace turned out to be a sweet user, and is now my second-best brace.

However, as is often the case I didn't stop there. I found a boxed set of 13 Irwin bits that cover more ground than the sets I already had in hand, so I bought them. That set included another expansion bit. All in excellent condition. Then I started wondering if I'd rather have Russel Jennings pattern augers, so when I saw a boxed set of 13 of them I bought them as well. All in excellent condition, though the smallest one is actually an Irwin, not a Jennings. All told I spent less for these 46 auger bits than I would have for one set of 7 new Russel Jennings pattern augers from "Traditional Woodworker". Nice. I can use some of the beaters to make augers for end-grain applications where you don't want spurs.

Finally I looked at my list to remind me of what else I had planned to get, and soon found a lovely Mathieson adjustable panel-raising plane, which I have wanted quite badly, and a downright devious match plane, which I have wanted even more. I'd never seen such a thing as this match plane, though they are apparently not as unusual as it seemed to me. The fence rotates on an eccentric mount to allow the same cutter to be used for both the groove and half the tongue, with another cutter mounted for the other half of the tongue. Bizarre, but effective. It was about twice the cost of a regular Stanley match plane, but it was too cool to resist. I've already tried it, and even with the nasty dull cutters in it it works a treat. Lastly I've got a big old Sorby in-cannel gouge, which I might convert to out-cannel... not sure yet... and a very nice saw set. Oh, one thing that I missed adding to the picture was a tiny little pair of fey-pattern dividers that I got for $5. Very nice, indeed.