DIYbanter - View Single Post - Musing about the disposal of tools 'beyond the grave'.

In article ,
(Arch) wrote:

Snip
Thus, a problem often arises re fair play not only
to the seller, but also to the buyer. Designated gifts are notoriously
unfair to all inheritors.
Snip
I don't know if the 'insured replacement' value
is the same as the 'estate value', but the 'reasonable & fair value' of
the equipment in even a modest shop is surprisingly significant in most
every estate. Do you know the value of yours?

Arch, this whole subject is a constant nag to me.
I am about to retire with no male next of kin, end of the family line. I
am a woodworker of more than 45 years and so have accumulated a
collection of purely user grade tools, including lathes and turning
tools.
When I was an apprentice in London there used to be a tool store in
Clapham that bought tool boxes from carpenter/joiner widows for a set
price of ?5 and would then part out the tools and offer them at a very
large profit to apprentices and craftsmen. It meant that someone
beginning a trade could afford good quality tools at less than new
prices. Sometimes a real gem like a Norris smoothing plane or shoulder
plane could be snapped up by a craftsman looking to improve his kit.
Now there was a huge profit in this for the store that was located very
close to a huge woodworking company Hamptons who employed hundreds of
top notch carpenters and joiners. Maybe it provided a very necessary
service to the trades and could be something that would work now.
I have to get my head around the fact that woodworking has now become a
multi million $ hobby industry and has very little to do with skill
disciplines and learning a trade. Sure there are people looking to learn
more than the "Norm" way of working with wood and all I can do is hope
that at my estate sale there will be someone looking for some user tools
and will not nail them to the rec. room wall!
Thanks for the musing

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