So, because I am now going to build/finish the Stuart Beam Engine, I needed some tooling. I popped along to my favourite local tool supplier this morning on the prowl and this is what I found:

Now, next up I am going to show you the contents but I just dare not tell you how much I paid, it wouldn't have bought a pint of beer in a restaurant.

Yes, these places still exist and this one is Paul's Tool Emporium in Stalybridge, Cheshire. You don't even need to drive to get to the place, go to Stalybridge Station, leave by the Main (only) exit and it is right across the road. And the bar at the end of the Station Platform is one of the top CAMRA pubs year in and year out.
Paul's place is always worth a visit as he is constantly clearing workshops out. Sometimes Hobbyists stuff and sometimes Engineering Works and he is not greedy and always willing to "combine purchases"

Okay, not new I will grant you but I bet you I could get a fiver for the tin and have the contents for free.Tin is not for sale by the way, I have a load of old and interesting tins in my workshop that I keep stuff in.

graham.

Well worth a visit, especially all the tool drawers with some of the older tools and reamers. Leave your cards at home though as you will be spending more than you planned! And new boxes of Dormer Drills for three pounds – ten drills to a box. I have LOTS of drills

graham.

I am not sure. Certainly BA taps and dies were available back then but whether or not the Welsh used them at that time is not known. History shows that although the Midlands were the centre of Industrial Thinking, sometimes the technology did not filter down to the provinces as quickly as we imagine.

graham.