John Lloyd Student Tool Shop

When you come to us to take a course, everything that you need will be provided. By the time you have finished your course you will be fired up with enthusiasm to practice what you have learnt and make lovely things from wood. So, at some point, you’re likely to need your own tools.

Our students have always been eligible for a bit of discount from our shop whilst on, or at any time after, a course.

Tools can, of course, be bought individually, but we thought it might be useful to offer some tool ‘Bundles’ which might make choosing appropriate sets of tools a little easier .

If you like a bit of consistency in your life, look at bundles from a single manufacturer and if you want to keep your spending under control whilst still maintaining good quality, have a look at the Dictum Bundle, these are the tools that we use week in, week out, in our workshops. To take care of marking out and measuring things, there’s a Marking and Measuring Bundle, and there is of course a Sharpening Bundle.

The Student Starter Bundle is pretty much the tool kit that you find on your bench when you come here on a course. With this Bundle you would be able to carry on at home where you left off with tools that are very familiar to you.

LIE-NIELSEN BUNDLE – Known for producing ‘Heirloom Quality’ tools, with a heady mixture of Bronze and malleable iron, Lie-Nielsen tools are well made, pretty tools that are made in relatively low volume in Maine, USA

Bench Plane – available in all the sizes from No.1 to No.8 I would go with a No. 5, 5 ½ or 6 . A good selling point is that these planes are available with 3 frog options – ‘Common’; ‘York’ and Middle Pitch.
Low Angle Block Plane No.60½
Small Shoulder Plane No.041
Bevel Edge Chisel Set -with 10 sizes to choose from (1/8” to 1”) and nice small increments at the smaller end of the sizes, these are nicely balanced, socketed, chisels with removable handles that allow them to be turned into ‘Paring’ chisels. These are my chisels of choice.
Tapered Dovetail Saw (10”; 14 tpi; 0.015” thick blade) – with its fine, tapered blade, brass back and English style Maple handle, this is a lovely, elegant saw.

VERITAS BUNDLE – Whilst I realise that beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, I think it’s fair to say that Veritas tools, which are well thought out, beautifully engineered and easy to set up, with their ‘Norris- style’ adjusters, are not the most glamorous tools on the market. Veritas are the only manufacturer to give the option of blades in the snappily named ‘PMV-11’ steel, as an alternative to the usual O1 and A2.

My pick of the tools from this Canadian manufacturer would be:

Low Angle Jack (O1 blade) – with a couple of replacement blades that could be sharpened at different bevel angles this becomes a really versatile bench plane. If you’re convinced by the idea of having a Low Angle Jack, this is probably the best one to go for.
Low Angle Block Plane – Slightly wider than many other block planes, this has the option of adding bigger handles to turn it into a nice little ‘Smoother’. Again, add at least one extra blade for more versatility.
Small Shoulder Plane – This is a lovely, nimble little plane that will let you get into those tight corners.
Dovetail Saw (9”; 14 tpi) – For the price, this saw is really hard to beat. The rather odd looking handle and back are not to everyone’s taste, but this is a great little saw.

DICTUM BUNDLE – Many of the tools from this German company are made in China, but the quality is still good and the prices are very competitive. Many of these Dictum tools are included in our student tool kits. Some Dictum planes are now offered with an excellent Japanese blade option.

Bench Plane the No.5 Bench Plane with Japanese Blade, or the No.6, if you want something with a bit more heft to it. These are both ‘Bedrock’ planes.
Low Angle Block Plane with Japanese Blade – the same size as the Lie-Nielsen 60 1/2
Short Pattern Chisel Set (6) in leather roll – nicely made and balanced set of chisels, could do with a few more sizes though

ENGLISH BUNDLE

Clifton No. 5 ½ ‘Jack’ Plane
Clifton Low Angle Block Plane (Adjustable Mouth)
Clifton No. 410 Shoulder Plane
Ashley Iles Bevel Edged Chisels 1/8; ¼; 3/8; ½; 5/8; ¾”
Pax 1776 Dovetail Saw (10”; 20 tpi)

MARKING & MEASURING BUNDLE

Veritas Micro Adjust Wheel Marking Gauge (metric)
Adjustable Square (100mm)
Japanese Mitre Square (metric)
Steel Rule 150mm (0.5)
Steel Rule 300mm (1.0)
Steel Rule 600mm (1.0)
Stanley Folding Knife
Veritas Straight Edge 36”
Veritas Saddle Dovetail Markers 1:6 & 1:8

SHARPENING BUNDLE – For some time now, my bench stones of choice have been Japanese Waterstones. The Toishi Ohishi is a modern take on the traditional waterstone, and the Shapton is a ceramic waterstone, b

Bench Stones – 1000 x 8000 Toishi Ohishi Combination Japanese Waterstone
Shapton Japanese Ceramic 3 stone set with holder 500 x 2000 x 8000
DMT Lapping Plate
Tormek T8