In another thread, jeff buck speaks of losing then finding ‘grandpa’s knife’, and then deciding to retire it to a place of honour.
This reminds me of a few tools that grandpa gave me, and which I still use. Simple things like a “Union” brand nail set. Or the Stanley pushdrill with double-fluted bits under the bakelite cap (retired).
Let’s find out how many of us still take dad or grandpa to the job with us….through the use of their time-worn tools.
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All of them, Grandpa meant for his tools to be used.
However, GGG grandpas anvil (800#, brought from Germany) is on a park display in Venedy IL, maybe I should go 'liberate' it someday to use again?
Actually though, have never even used the universal joint/gear brace attachment to drill right angle holes. One 1800s toolbox is also just sitting in the basement. Broadax, adzes, slicks, etc have seen lots of use.
"...GGG grandpas anvil (800#, brought from Germany) is on a park display in Venedy IL..."
Where's it at? I'd like to see that sometime...
At My Age You Don't Buy Green Bananas.
Venedy is about 70 mi straight south of you, 30 mi east of StL.
The small town has a big park right in the middle of town with a stone monumnet with the anvil attached, cant miss it once you get to Venedy. GGG grandpa built/started the mill and coal mine there also .
Edit: Oops, meant this for junkhound.
Boss, your gg's 800# German anvil reminds me of a local oldtimer - 87 yo friend of mine - who emigrated from Italy with his forester's tools.
Neat axes, including a couple different sized broad-axes for squaring timbers, some adzes, a couple odd looking sledges, and some sweet garden hoes. All are worn by a lifetime's use. Pietro is very proud of his tools; he scrapes the dirt off them after use, so they're barely rusted. He's got the gnarled hands of a man who worked his azz off to raise three kids. Guy is a licensed electrician, gasfitter, and a good carpenter.
I look after the house next to his, and can usually count on Pietro to 'superintend' anything I do. It takes patience sometimes. ;) But the friendship is genuine. So are the Italian delicacies and wine his 20yr younger wife serves up at lunch...
costofwar.com/
Edited 10/13/2005 7:43 pm ET by Pierre1
I've got g-granpa's tool box, but few of his tools survived - there's a wooden body plane in dad's house along with a mallet or two - nobody knows what happened to the rest -
I also have g-uncle Joe's tool box (my wife's family) - it came with an eclectic mix of odd tools - some gold leaf items, a Stanley 45 that I use occasionally, half a dozen odd wooden bodied molding planes, set of small carving tools, brace and bits, and more that I can't think of off hand -
I have collected hand tools (and power tools!) over the years and can now dive into one box or the other (or a cabinet) and find the tool that is needed to accomplish most woodworking tasks -
"I also have g-uncle Joe's tool box (my wife's family)"
That's cool. I've retired a neat little wooden torpedo level that my ex's grandpa used. Given to my by the ex FIL. costofwar.com/
The main one I still use regularly is a pre-WWII Unisaw. There's a combination square I was using, but I bought a new one to protect the old. The old one was hard to keep rust-free and still use. I use the old brace and bits when I need them, and some planes. There's a box of other stuff that I don't use. Unfortunately it got wet when it was stored in my mom's garage.
-- J.S.
My great grandpa made this tool box. I wonder where it is know.
Henry Studley III ;)
New Yankee Workshop showed that box in a museum somewhere, don't remember where.
Unless there are more than 1, the H.O. Studley box in this picture by Eric Long is in the Smithsonian. James Lee has a similar box.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Venedy is right between me and you. I am going to oakdale this weekend and will go through venedy and take pic if you want me too.An inch to short. That's the story of my life !
bstcrpntr --- I hope to grow into this name.
" I am going to oakdale this weekend and will go through venedy and take pic if you want me too."
I'd like that, if you have time.
Down With Negativity
That's a beautiful box. It would be cool if it were at the Smithsonian.
I'm sure Mr. Leonard Lee, founder of Lee Valley Tools, would love to add it to his extensive collection. costofwar.com/
I'm pretty sure that Studley box is in a private collection. Saw it on a Bob Vila show.
Those of you with back issues can get the details of that box, it was on the back cover of FHB sometime in the 80s I recall.
Its in the Smithsonian, If I remember correctly. Fine Woodworking or Fine Homebuilding had an article about it. I would like to see a complete list of tools in it and a set of plans for the the toolbox. It is a work of ART.
Jim H
Now see, I'm amazed Studley had any progeny. I have a framed poster of the Studley toolbox in my office. Almost everybody who admires it comes to the conclusion that "this guy must not have had any kids; everything's still in there."
Have you thought about building a display for a few of your own tools? Something to show off a few of what you've worked a lot with and appreciate. Say that Blue Grass hammer your proud of or that low angle block plane you use so much.The purpose is to have the display frame or display box around so that at your passing you might instruct someone to place the tool in the display and give it to someone you designate. Maybe show a picture of something special you did with that tool.
A kind of from the grave gift. Odd?
"Maybe show a picture of something special you did with that tool. A kind of from the grave gift. Odd?"
Odd? Not at all. Using or displaying objects from cherished friends or relatives are a great way to honour them, and to remember them. Triggers all sorts of memories.
My grandpa was a gentleman tinkerer who operated out of a 4'x8' 'shop' in an old appartment building. There, he would cut, sand, polish, paint. I would stand on a stool and watch - and learn I guess. He was a natural and patient teacher. BTW, I 'shot' my first grouse in that appartment.
When I was 5 yo, my dad made a beautiful panelized credenza, from old growth pine, with a Stanley '45' that he still owns. Later on, fixing up my old house, I borrowed it and made a couple sash windows with it.
Old tools are wonderful time-travel machines.costofwar.com/
"Old tools are wonderful time-travel machines."Funny you should mention that. I helped my mom go and close up her parents summer home this year. Unfortunatley, Grandpa has been dead for almost 10 years, and Grandma has Alzheimer's too bad to be left alone anymore. But I went and helped clean up my Grandpa shed. Amazing how after all this time, it still smelled like I remember it. I managed to find a lot of the hand tools that I would sit and watch him use. Something special about it. I'm really looking at building a nice toolbox strictly for his tools using only his tools, sort of my way of learning and remembering him.Jeremy
"Amazing how after all this time, it still smelled like I remember it."
Ahhh, smells.
Life's gift that keeps on giving.
Some women giveth thus. :-)costofwar.com/
My grandfather died this summer - his big barn (1 of 2) is 50x90 3 stories - crammed full of his tinkerings. No one else in the family was interested in even looking. Most of them left the farm for the city. I spent summers there, so I combed the place over.
Everything was worn out!
I guess living through the depression, he saw to it that everything was used well. I took the truck up and filled it with some rough sawn clear pine, a few hand tools, and his big Troy-Bilt tiller. I think I need to build something in his memory.
Before he died he gave me a few extra 10"x15"x39' yellow pine beams ! that I used in my last house. Although he lived in Avon, CT, the beams were stamped Boston, from a mill on Kilby Street that was open in the 1870's! I had to cut each into thirds to get them to MD.
Now the barn (all beams this big and some bigger) was sold with the farm to a developer for a song - million dollar houses everywhere.
Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!
When Grandpa died in'86, he was 97. He was a tradesman of one sort or another all his life and he had a big shop and barn. I was like a kid in candy shop when all my uncles told me to just take what I wanted.
I have many many tools of his, some that I use on a semi regular basis. There are a few Dissiton saws that are real prizes one of which is a rip. Many of his odd headed hammers I pick up to use for just that certain job. The one that I have used the most over the last (almost 20 ) years is the old fast action wood vise that I have mounted on my bench. It has a double slot for wide dogs which I made, so I seldom have to use a holdfast because of the clamping power.
One little beauty of a crosscut saw that was his, toolbox size, was stolen from me. It was a wonderful little saw and I was stupid to have brought it to this big union job I was working at the time. I'd give quite a bit to have that back.
Some of the handplanes he left are quite valuable.
"One little beauty of a crosscut saw that was his, toolbox size, was stolen from me. It was a wonderful little saw and I was stupid to have brought it to this big union job I was working at the time."
Always good to have a crosscut on hand. I keep a sharp late '70s Disston in the van. Wiped with a slightly oiled rag, it awaits the invevitable - in these parts anyhow - power failure.
I picked up a nice unbranded moulding plane somewheres in the back hollows of West Virginia, one of my most favorite places on Earth. Though I don't know the story of it's owner(s), I fantasize it was wielded by a tough resourceful man who had an eye for detail. Just like so many of our grandfathers....
costofwar.com/
Edited 10/14/2005 12:31 am ET by Pierre1
Some of these are from my grandfather; the rest were from my dad except for the electrician's pouch which was Uncle Henry's. All get used on a regular basis except the pouch which I honourably retired after fifteen years, and the mystery TS blade. Okay, I don't use the claw hammer much anymore either but it's not officially retired....
Not shown in the photo is my father's 1951 Delta-Rockwell Table Saw, which I use on a daily basis as it is the TS in the shop (very similar to the one in Calvin's garage).
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From left to right and top to bottom: Grandpa's transition plane; Dad's drill-motor; Grandpa's claw hammer and 16oz ball-peen; Dad's mystery 8-tooth TS blade; Grandpa's brace; Uncle Henry's electrician's pouch (Klein Tools c. 195?); Dad's ¼" drill index (Cleveland Drill, 1961)
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
Grandpa had a ball-peen like that, a bit smaller though. Now its nice warm oily hickory handle awaits my touch in the automotive toolbox. Alongside the dowel-handled valve lapping tool a neighbour's widow gave me 10 years after her husband Al passed away.
Last I'd seen this lapper, Al was showing this 15yo. how to repair the head of a Briggs&Stratton mower engine. Seeing it again brought tears to my eyes...Al was a kindly patient man.
His widow Jean let me loose in his tool crib. Now Al often comes along on my plumbing calls...through his pipe wrenches anyhow.costofwar.com/
His widow Jean let me loose in his tool crib.
Four houses down the road used to live one of the tidiest men I've ever known. Every piece of gravel in his driveway was brushed clean and aligned...at least that's what we used to say to tease him, LOL.
Sadly, he passed away a few years ago, and after six months, his widow decided she wanted to move back to town to be in an apartment near her daughter. She held a garage sale just before moving, and Ryan and I went over. In addition to a lot of her cooking utensils, all her husband's old tools were there; many reminded me of those my father had owned. I picked out a large box of all sorts of drill bits, an enameled Maslin pan and a checkerboard-cake set. Ryan bought a big styrofoam 'boogie board' for the lake and a screwdriver.
When I got the box of bits home, I spread them out on my workbench and discovered he had hand-filed the shanks of most of the 3/8" or larger jobber bits to a truncated pyramid so they would fit in a brace jaw.
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
Grandpa's Bailey No. 8
Two feet long, serrated sole, and dead flat. Enough heft that once you get it going down the edge of a door, you can practically let go and it'll finish by itself.Bruce
Between the mountains and the desert ...
A sweet looking plane.
They make such a nice sound when they're sharp.http://www.costofwar.com/
> Dad's mystery 8-tooth TS blade
I have a carbide one like that from the mid 1950's. I think it was an economic thing. Carbide was new and expensive, so they made those 8 tooth blades to use less of it.
-- J.S.
This one has no carbide on the teeth; it was stamped with a maker's mark but it's so faint by now I can't quite read it. I don't think I remember Dad ever using that blade, but I'm not even sure of that. What I remembered most about that saw was the sound it made, especially when it he shut off the power. It would slow down for a few seconds, and then there would be a 'thra-bummmm' sound and the motor and blade would coast to a stop several more seconds after that. I never did (and still haven't) figured out what exactly made that sound.
When I picked up that saw at my mother's house a couple of years after my father's death, I hadn't seen it in use in close to 25 years. I took it apart into units small enough to fit into my car, and brought it home. Once here, I set it up and plugged it in, and turned it on.
It made the same sounds. I got kinda misty for a few minutes there....
I've been using that saw all week, building a divided-lite storm sash while Dan Morrison shot photos. Looks like Dad's old saw is gonna be in the magazine....
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
Rudyard Kipling has something to say about working with these tools: (scroll down)
If you can keep your head when all about youare losing theirs, and blaming it on you,If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,Yet make allowances for their doubting too;If you can wait and not grow tired of waitingOr being lied about, don't deal in lies,Or being hated don't give way to hatingAnd yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;If you can dream -- and not make dreams your masterIf you can think -- and not make thoughts your aimIf you can meet with triumph and disaster,And treat those two imposters just the same;If you can bear to hear the truth you've spokenTwisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,And stoop to build 'em up with worn-out tools;If you can make one heap of all your winnings,And risk it on one throw of ptich and toss,And lose, and start again at your beginnings,And never breathe a word about your loss;If you can force your heart and soul and sinewTo serve your turn long after they are gone,And so hold on when there is nothing in youExcept the will which says to them: "hold on!"If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,Or walk with kings -- nor lose the common touchIf neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,If all men count with you, but none too much;If you can fill the unforgiving minuteWith sixty seconds worht of distance runYours is the Earth, and everything that's in it,And -- which is more -- you'll be a man, my son!
(its been said the West was settled with fewer tools than the average homeowner has in his or her garage) - and I've worn very few tools out like my Grandpa did.
Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!
Thank you for posting that Kipling ballad; it's one I had not seen before. It has a lot to say to all of us; not just about tools, but perhaps about why we use them....
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
>>>Looks like Dad's old saw is gonna be in the magazine....COOL !!!=0)
But it's amazing how we've reached the point where we will go to war over anything that bothers us. I think we all have the right to walk away from things that bother us. If it happens in our homes, then we have the right to send the offending person away. Anywhere else, we take a walk. But when did it become okay to think that we have the right to fight with people who annoy us? And when did a little consideration of others become so unfashionable that we can't do it? A little bit of cooperation and consideration would make all of this a whole lot easier. Rules at the job are always appropriate. But we have become so used to imposing rules on how others chose to live their lives that we are ready to beat them for failing to adhere to them. -SHG
Well, it is my main TS; I've also got a 10" portable for site work, but my shop is only 15x20; I just don't have room in there for a Unisaw or a General. I keep Dad's saw on a dolly so I can move it about the shop as necessary, depending on what I'm doing.
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It's still running both the original motor and power cord--which is still flexible after 50+ years!!--in fact, the only things that have been replaced on that saw in all that time are the drive belt, the arbour pulley, and the on/off switch.
I was mistaken about the brand name earlier when I called it a Delta-Rockwell; this saw is a 1952 model, I believe, and the nameplate on it reads DELTA-MILWAUKEE. It was a birthday gift to Dad from my mother, the year I turned 1, so he could finish the upstairs in the new house they'd just bought.
Dad built that wooden saw stand it's on; he told me it was the first thing he built with it, so he could use it properly. And he used that saw for everything. He never did buy a circular saw. If a cut was too long for him to want to do with a handsaw, it got done on the tablesaw. But I remember him doing most of the crosscutting for studs and the like with the handsaw. It's how he learned (and how he taught me), and it was easier to carry the handsaw upstairs to where he was working than to climb two flights of stairs with a 2x4 twice. I kinda wish I had his crosscut saw, too, but my BIL got that one along with the hand drill and the planes.
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
a reverse "Dad's saw" story ...
coupla months ago ... I'm wasting time walking thru the big "Used Tool Warehouse" about an hour away ... not looking for anything in particular ... just in the area.
then ... I spot a nice clean version of Dad's old little circular saw. A 4.5 inch(I think) green plastic deal .. Craftsman. That was my Dad's favorite little panel saw .. which he used for everything ... when I was growing up and helping him.
First circular saw I ever used as a matter a fact!
The crazy old guy that lived down the alley from my folks snapped a coupla years ... became a street person .. and would break "back into" his very own house from time to time ... at this point condemed and boarded up. He also was coming back into town and breaking into neighborhood garages and stealing what ever was laying around. One break in ... he got my Dad's old cheap saw.
No big deal .. Dad said it was buring out anyways ... just was sitting there inside the door.
So ... coupla years later ... this past year ... I see it's replacement. Plug it in ... and this one runs like brand new! Twenty bucks later ... it's riding home with me.
Told Dad one day ... U'll never believe what I found ...
He's a hard old guy to please ... and he was stunned!
He asked why'd U waste your money on this old piece of crap ... still thinking I bought it for myself ... told him because he still had to teach Corey how to use a circular saw just like he taught me!
then ... I kicked him hard in the shin so I could see a tear in his eye ...
word on the street has it he's been using that little saw ever since.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Sweet tale, you crotchety young codger. Especially the part about how ya brought tears to his eyes....
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
Good one Jeff.
Kicking your dad in the shin is a nice touch - allowed him to save face as I'd bet the tears were already there.costofwar.com/
Someone gave me that same saw when they were cleaning out their fathers garage. I have had it for a few years it needs a plug and a fence. One of these days I need to pull it out and see if it works.
Replacing the fence may be tricky, as it's geared to the near-side rail so you'll probably need to find an original somewhere. There's a crap tool company called King (King Canada up here) that has made a practice of ripping off and copying the design of old tools which are out of patent. They then have the tools manufactured on the cheap in China. They did a complete copy of that saw a few years ago; maybe if you can't find an original Delta fence you could get one of the copies? I think they used the same geared rail and fence design....
The rest of that saw is bulletproof and uses standard, still-available machine parts. If the motor is dead you can bolt on a new one. The pulleys and belt and shaft-keys are available off-the-rack from any decent hardware store, as is the arbour bearing. The arbour itself is so solid I can't imagine it failing although it could be interesting finding a nut to fit its thread if you lose it. The worm-drive gears for the arbour raise and tilt mechanisms are husky enough, too. I'd be surprised if they gave you trouble.
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
Thanks. The guy that gave it to me inherited his fathers old house, but he was apprehensive about using any of the old power tools. I originally stopped because I saw an old delta scroll saw at the curb for the trash pick up. I asked him if I could have it, and he offered me the tablesaw also, which was still in the garage.
He said he threw a lot of stuff away. I wonder what I missed by not driving by sooner ?
Have a Craftsman table saw and drillpress that he got for Christmas from his son in 1954(the year I was born).Both still have the original electric motors and work great.
Have many hand tools,but what I love the most is the set of SK sockets and ratchets.
What I believe to be the best thing is that Grandpa and I were very close and he taught me how to use the tools.
when the other kids were playing ball I was helping Grandpa build ...somthing or hammering a bucket of bent nails straight.
He has been gone now some 25yrs and I still miss him.
God bless DT Gullion
He said he threw a lot of stuff away. I wonder what I missed by not driving by sooner ?
Oh, yeah, I hear that.
Up here they only collect 'big' trash twice a year; people start putting stuff out at the road sometimes weeks before the date appears in the local weekly paper. One of the nice things about driving a truck is if you spot something, you just grab it and toss it in the back.
I picked up a Sailfish 16 this fall, complete with sails, rudder, tiller, centerboard, mast, and boom. All it needs is a clean up and a new gel-coat to seal the bottom.
Dinosaur
A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...
But it is not this day.
If it's a Delta, you can get a Biesemeyer fence for it. An old Delta is well worth the new fence. Phone Biesemeyer, they sell "blemished" units for a good discount. They have a web site, but some of the best "blemished" deals sell before they get on the web. That's how I got mine.
-- J.S.
Thanks, one of these days i will get serious about makink that saw work. I have a PM66 in the shop but it would be nice to have that little one working. My list of 1000 things to do never gets shorter.
Well, I don't take dad to the job since the jobsite is my house. But I do feel a great sense of pride when I see my dad's eyes light up with pride at the work I've done. I'm just basically a DIY'er but I do try to take it to the next level. For example, in my master bedroom, I hated the small dual closets. I decided to tear them out and reframe..considering I had never even installed a door jamb at that point, it was a huge undertaking. In my living room, I installed all new trim/jambs, recessed panel wainscoting, crown, and recessed lights. Dad really liked that alot. He's gone back to general contracting work since taking early retirement from his company. We've discussed on several occassions me joining him...unfortunately the finances just don't work out.
So what about his tools...well, he doesn't really take good care of his tools and doesn't have a "signature" tool that you always see him favor. However, I do have an old hammer of his that he gave me when I bought my house. It's well worn and I use it more than the "backup" hammer I also bought. I do look at it with fondness and noticed that I do refer to it as dad's old hammer. I guess, when that day comes and dad passes on, I'll retire the hammer to my office and look back on what it symbolizes...the life that dad built for me. :-)
Thanks. :-)costofwar.com/
My grandfather was a tool and die man for Ford in the 1930's. I've got a few of his measuring tools in my shop with his initials on them. His pocket watch too. I try to initial my better hand tools now so that hopefully another generation can use them and remember. It might be good if I engraved the year too, come to think of it.
I'm hoping that the same love of old tools will get passed on to my children or nieces or nephews. It seems to skip a generation or one side or other of the extended family.
still Dusty and Lefty
I still use many of my father's and great-grandfather's tools, as well as an uncle's who was a boatbuilder here in South Portland, Maine. Saws, chisels, squares, plumb bobs, chalk lines - most of better quality than a lot of what you can buy. now. Bulletproof.
My Grandfather was a carpet layer, and unfortunatley I didnt know him as well as Id have liked. But my grandmother gave me an old armstrong brand linoleum knife (the kind with the really narrow hook blade) that was his. I don't use it, but only because the blades have been discontinued, but it has a special place in my workshop. I always like to think of him whenever I do any flooring work. His brother is as close to a grandfather as Ive had on my dads side since I can remember, and he was a floorlayer too, I have some of his old stuff.