Handy Andy tool set from 60s/70s - any good

[masraum]

I've seen these online. Anyone have any experience with them? The most popular model seems to be the 602, and it varied a bit over the years. I'm wondering about getting one or two for the grandkids for Christmas.
Looks like it was originally made/marketed by Skil-Craft

[herr_oberst]

I have a little nephew now, and I've also been thinking of tools for him.

Instead of something like the Handy Andy set, I have a plan to get a small Knipex plier, (a real one, not chinesium), one of those 6 in one Stanley screwdrivers, a small hammer that's got a head on it heavy enough to actually sink a nail, and maybe a leatherman or a swiss-army knife - his mom and dad can decide when he's ready for that - and one of those zippo-lighter size tape measures that have imperial and metric.

I'm going to get a large cigar box and some Kaizen foam and cut each tool into the foam neatly.

I want my nephew to appreciate what a decent tool can achieve; partly because my own dad always bought crap tools that would do nothing but frustrate me when I was trying to make or repair something.

Steve, having said that, those HA tool kits are certainly cool in a vintage way; I just don't see any kid actually using those cheap vintage tools to any great success.

This is one mans opinion.

[LWJ]

As parent to 4 children, I only have one who has any interest in tools/ DIY. And he is very limited.

DIY is almost a religion for me. 99.8% of the world doesn’t care.

I’m warning you. Sorry.

[Ayles]

I had something similar the tools look exactly like what I had but I didnt have the case.

For my son who is 9, I just started getting him real tools when he was about 6. He loves having a toolbox with stuff he can actually use.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by LWJ

As parent to 4 children, I only have one who has any interest in tools/ DIY. And he is very limited.

DIY is almost a religion for me. 99.8% of the world doesn’t care.

I’m warning you. Sorry.

Yep, completely understand. Our daughter who is in the medical field, is very handy, and does all sorts of stuff using power tools and hand tools around her house. Our son, not so much (more now than when he was younger). I did get a kit for kids to build a bird house and we (me and the oldest grandson) built it together. I don't think he's really old enough to do much on his own, but he might enjoy having the tools and we could do little projects together.

[cjh]

That looks cool!

[porsche930dude]

Man that brings back some memories! I was just a todler when I had that set. Well most were missing. My parents probably got it from a yard sale with half missing and my brother probably lost some. I remember using the saw alot. I also had the set that came in the metal box and i still have it somewhere. Also the C clamp and wood plane im pretty sure i still have.

[ramonesfreak]

Wow I had zero recollection of having that as a kid until I saw this. Love when that happens. Makes me wonder what else I’ve forgotten

[MBAtarga]

I had some sort of tool set similar - but I think mine was in a metal case rather than wood.

[fanaudical]

I had the very set shown in the first picture as a kid. I still have some of the tools and had converted the box to hold other tools. My grandfather showed me how to sharpen those chisels razor sharp and they held an edge with a little maintenance...

[Robert Coats]

My dad was a Chemical Engineer, so I got this:

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Robert Coats

My dad was a Chemical Engineer, so I got this:

I had something similar when I was about 11-12.

[JavaBrewer]

I have no experience/feedback on the Andy Handy stuff but similar to what others posted here I bought my son a portable tool box and a couple high quality basics to start with at age 12. Each Christmas I would add a couple more tools. He’s not interested in wrenching cars or home projects at now 27 years old, but he has tools just in case. I inherited multiple rolling tool boxes from my dad who was a machinist and also loved wrenching cars so my tool buying days are way behind me and my son now. Good luck!

[Scott Douglas]

I remember having a Howdy Doodie tool box but that was in the '50's.
I started my son out early, helping me wrench on my cars. He took to it like a fish to water.
He and friends of his built a wind tunnel for a school science project in high school. Worked great for demonstrating the angle at which a wing will stall when in flight.
He now has a garage to envy full of tools and hot cars as well as a hot rod pickup truck. His wife is an aeronautical engineer so understands his need as a mechanical engineer to have projects other than the house to work on.
I gave my daughter a tool box full of some of my tools, just so she'd have her own when she moved out. They've been to Japan and back and are now in Virginia. Not sure she's had time to use any of them what with four little kids to herd around.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by cjh

That looks cool!

It does. But I wonder how it would look through a child's eyes, children that grew up with computers, phones and e-games.

I think to want tools is preceded with needing tools. I don't actually remember how I learned to work on bikes like changing a tube. All I knew was that a crescent wrench wouldn't fit where a narrow one was needed.

So I needed a tool and I respected that tool because it was mine and had a purpose.

The Handy Andy set looks useless to me. I see a brace in 2 of the sets but no bits. On one it looks like a couple of driver bits are missing. What kid is gonna fool with a brace when he sees cordless driver drills everywhere?

No, I'd pass. You can't buy a 10 YO a wood lathe but you can do better than Handy Andy. That's for your memorabilia shelf. Like an Erector Set.

I guess Legos are the contemporary Erector Sets because you could actually get hurt building things with the ES. I think I got my finger in the gears of the motor once. Once was enough. But then I started abusing the thing like running paper through it just to see it wadded up.

I was a destructive little fk. I tore down everything I owned and by age 14 I was the sole mechanic on my McCulloch race kart. My dad didn't know JS about tools. He did buy me some tools — sockets, end wrenches and Allen keys, etc. I still have all of it except what got lost and that was rare.

I had more tools than most men by 16. In that day a corded drill motor was big time. None reversed and all used a chuck key. I bypassed the brace and bit.

[jyl]

Yeah, cool and all but best left to the nostalgia folks.

You didn’t say your grandkids’ ages or what they might be tinkering with, which will make a difference.

If it is more of a generic wish to introduce them to the joys of tinkering, maybe start with something to tinker on - a kit or model or project of some sort, fitting their interests and environs. And the tool(s) needed for it!

Or a nuts and bolts construction toy. Meccano is still around, I loved that stuff as a kid.

Of course, if you want to march them straight into DIY bootcamp style, you could ship each of your grandkids a toilet and a wax ring . . .

[varmint]

Originally Posted by masraum

I've seen these online. Anyone have any experience with them? The most popular model seems to be the 602, and it varied a bit over the years. I'm wondering about getting one or two for the grandkids for Christmas.
Looks like it was originally made/marketed by Skil-Craft

looks like the handy andy civil war doctor's kit.

[Scott Douglas]

We got these plastic building sets that have magnets to hold them together for the grandkids. I never really thought they'd use them as they were a little advanced for their ages.
Last time we visited though, our granddaughter was building with them.
She put this together all on her own.

I was glad to see she's getting the idea of how things work when playing with them.
It was tough keeping her brothers from knocking it over.

[Ayles]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

We got these plastic building sets that have magnets to hold them together for the grandkids. I never really thought they'd use them as they were a little advanced for their ages.
Last time we visited though, our granddaughter was building with them.
She put this together all on her own.

I was glad to see she's getting the idea of how things work when playing with them.
It was tough keeping her brothers from knocking it over.

Ahh magnetiles!! Next to legos these are the toys that have gotten the most usage over the years. My son still digs them out on occasion and he’s 9. Started with them at 2.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Zeke

It does. But I wonder how it would look through a child's eyes, children that grew up with computers, phones and e-games.

The Handy Andy set looks useless to me. I see a brace in 2 of the sets but no bits. On one it looks like a couple of driver bits are missing. What kid is gonna fool with a brace when he sees cordless driver drills everywhere?

No, I'd pass. You can't buy a 10 YO a wood lathe but you can do better than Handy Andy. That's for your memorabilia shelf. Like an Erector Set.

I guess Legos are the contemporary Erector Sets because you could actually get hurt building things with the ES. I think I got my finger in the gears of the motor once. Once was enough. But then I started abusing the thing like running paper through it just to see it wadded up.

I was a destructive little fk. I tore down everything I owned and by age 14 I was the sole mechanic on my McCulloch race kart. My dad didn't know JS about tools. He did buy me some tools — sockets, end wrenches and Allen keys, etc. I still have all of it except what got lost and that was rare.

I had more tools than most men by 16. In that day a corded drill motor was big time. None reversed and all used a chuck key. I bypassed the brace and bit.

My dad was a gear head, if he was going to do stuff, preferred it to be a vehicle, although he did DIY stuff around the home when needed. At 15 or 16, I got a set of tools for Christmas or birthday, and added to them over the years. I've still got them plus.

I have put together a bird house kit with the oldest who's 7. I figure introduce them to hand tools and building stuff when they are too young to think doing it with hand tools is dumb, and before they are old enough to understand the dangers of power tools. I figured I'd fix or add to anything that was missing. These kits are 50-60 years old, so I'm not expecting them to be perfect.

I think back when I was very young (<10) , I got a tool box with a brace and a couple of bits and a few other tools from my grandparents. My dad's dad, hated working on cars, but enjoyed wood working. Unfortunately, with dad being in the Navy, I never got a chance to learn from grandpa because we traveled the world.

Yep, the 7 year old is into legos. He's got an "Expert Creator" set of a haunted house that's over 3200 pieces. He put 2/3s of it together in 2 days when he was here 2 weeks ago. My guess is that he and his brother probably have 8k-12k legos.

Originally Posted by jyl

Yeah, cool and all but best left to the nostalgia folks.

You didn’t say your grandkids’ ages or what they might be tinkering with, which will make a difference.

If it is more of a generic wish to introduce them to the joys of tinkering, maybe start with something to tinker on - a kit or model or project of some sort, fitting their interests and environs. And the tool(s) needed for it!

Or a nuts and bolts construction toy. Meccano is still around, I loved that stuff as a kid.

Of course, if you want to march them straight into DIY bootcamp style, you could ship each of your grandkids a toilet and a wax ring . . .

7, 4, and 1. THe 7 is old enough to do small stuff. The 4 is a bit young, but wants to do everything that his brother does. The 7yo and I built a bird house from a kit a year-ish ago.

THe 7 year old has done a lot of lego stuff. Their dad didn't learn any stuff from his dad, cars or around the house. Our daughter, the 2 older grandsons mother, took to that sort of stuff and does all sorts of projects around the house.

Thanks for all of the thoughts folks.