Never get rid of Grandpa's tools!

[GH85Carrera]

On July 19th, 1980 my dad's dad, my Pom Pom, or Grandfather died at age 80. My grandmother decided soon after to sell the house and move into an apartment. She wanted me to have all of grandpa's tools.

I went through his garage and instantly grabbed is metal clad home made wooden toolbox. It is put together with hand made nails. My dad talked about digging into the tools when he was a kid and it was an old box then. I believe it belonged to my Great grandfather. I had just bought my first house and I had a good spot for it. It had some nice wood working tools and I gave those all to my brother who is a wood worker and I am a total hack at woodworking.

The box of tools had some Ford branded tools that interesting enough are in metric. It had a bunch of old junk tools, but a few gems. Some are hung on the wall in my garage as display items.

One tool in there was a iron pipe threader. I have the die for 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch.

I already have specified my youngest nephew get the toolbox in my will. He is a professional carpenter.




No doubt it was made in the USA. I have no idea how old it is. I have had it since 1980 or 37 years. I used it for the first time today. I knew it would come in handy some day!

My wife wanted me to install a Blue Bird house and it has to be less than 5 feet off the ground. I drove a 3 foot piece of iron pipe into the ground. Put on a coupler screwed on the 53 inch piece of pipe and mounted the birdhouse to that as per Mrs. Carrera's instructions.

So never throw out or give away a tool, you might need it someday!

[cabmandone]

Those things are timeless. I can't say how old yours is but I bought one new back in the late 90's that looks almost identical. I could have bought a cheaper brand but Rigid is king and those dies last a lifetime... obviously.

[tabs]

I have my Grandfathers Mold Making tools that he used at Ford's Rouge from 1916 to 1959. That is besides the normal everyday tools he had in his shop in the basement.. I also have my Dad's Tool and Die tools..along with his Machinist Tool Chest.

[Seahawk]

I have all my father's and his father's tools. Amazing stuff, so well made compared to non vintage tools.

I have drills from the 50's (with the small oil cans) that run like new.

I have been parting out the collection of wood working stuff (son, nephew, a few Christmas Pelicans) since I will never need that stuff.

[Bill Douglas]

An interesting thing about old tools. They always seem to be very well made.

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

An interesting thing about old tools. They always seem to be very well made.

Or completely worn out.

[Scott Douglas]

My brother and I were given the task of re-plumbing the house one summer way back in the early '60's as we were still in grade school at the time. We used a set of wrenches just like that to thread all the galvanized pipe we put UNDER the house. We got pretty good at measuring/cutting/threading it all by hand. The hard part was dragging it under the house without getting dirt in it or on the threads.
My brother and I split up Dad's tools when it came time to do so. That's been some 30+ years ago now. Some of my most used and liked tools are his old Cresent wrenches that have his initials stamped into them. He marked a lot of his tools as he had to take them to work when Bell Labs flooded back in the early '50's. His needle nose pliers sit in the top drawer of my tool box.
Miss you Dad.

[fanaudical]

I have several of my grandfather's tools and use some of them frequently. They are some of the favorite things I own. I have amassed quite a few tools over the years. I wonder if anybody will get sentimental over the stuff in my toolbox in 50 years...

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Orders of magnitude better than the Chinese made, tinny junk sold today. Back then tools were made to last and do a job. Now they’re made to guarantee more future tool sales.

[GH85Carrera]

I am so happy to have my grandfathers tools. I think of him each time I use them. I used the pipe wrench I got in the tool box today as well. I used the vice in my garage from my mom’s father. He was a postal employee during the depression so he had the money to pay pros to fix most things.
I have some tools from my father in law.
Again I think of each of those men each time I use their tools. I let my brother take most of dad’s tools to give to his oldest son. Dad was an Air Force pilot and only had some yard and garden tools and a few hand tools. I do have some of dad’s yard equipment.

I treasure it all.

[wdfifteen]

I had some of grandfather’s tools and a lot of my dad’s. Jackass I had working for me stole most of them. My dad and two of my uncles worked together a lot. To keep from getting their tools mixed up the color coded them, red, green and yellow. I have a few of each left.

[Baz]

Same here.

One thing I found as a common denominator.......why is it you always end up with WAY MORE screwdrivers than you'd ever need!?!

[OldSpool87]

My wife’s grandfather was a machinists apprentice after his time in the Army Air corps. I am the current steward of his tools and various assortments of nuts, bolts, screws, etc. It’s pretty much every weekend I reach for one of his tools or avoid a trip to the hardware store thanks to Poppy.

[JackDidley]

Never met my grandfathers. I have a few tools from my dad that were very old when I was a kid and some of them get used quite often. I like that.

[T77911S]

first I got to say I don't think I would have ever told anyone I called my granddad pom pom.

my granddad built a 32ft boat or yacht in his back yard. I must have been 5 or 6 when it was launched so that had to be back in the very early 70's.

I missed out on his tools when he died. all those old wood clamps and other old tools he must of had.
I DID get his tablesaw. funny thing is the under side design is the same as my modern dewalt.
I was kind of pissed because he had a jointer that mounted to the tablesaw but my uncle let someone use it and never got it back. I rebuilt the old saw but I don't use it.

I also got his old tool box he use to carry around. also got his wood vise.

[wayne robson]

Glen , after reading your piece on the Ridge pipe threader, got me thinking,
my dad had alot of old tools , and i still have a few that i use, and one is this old 18'"
pipe wrench, he gave me years ago ,and he said his dad had it as well, so it must
be really old , its marked Walworth company,and it works fantastic, may be USA ?
Also the tool i use nearly every week is this old wooden handle phillips screw driver
its only about 60 years old,made in USA, i remember had Daytona on it , but it has worn off.
Its great because it is about 14 inch long, and can replace 4 inch tip any time.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by T77911S

first I got to say I don't think I would have ever told anyone I called my granddad pom pom.

.

I can blame that on my older brother. All I know is my brother addressed him as Pom Pom, and all the other grandparents and grand aunts and uncles had no special name.

[nota]

Originally Posted by wayne robson

Glen , after reading your piece on the Ridge pipe threader, got me thinking,
my dad had alot of old tools , and i still have a few that i use, and one is this old 18'"
pipe wrench, he gave me years ago ,and he said his dad had it as well, so it must
be really old , its marked Walworth company,and it works fantastic, may be USA ?
Also the tool i use nearly every week is this old wooden handle phillips screw driver
its only about 60 years old,made in USA, i remember had Daytona on it , but it has worn off.
Its great because it is about 14 inch long, and can replace 4 inch tip any time

funny I just got a identical wood handled driver this weekend at a yard sale
missing the tip but I have lots of other tips
still use several of my dads tools
and a lot of other oldies I have bought used

[T77911S]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I can blame that on my older brother. All I know is my brother addressed him as Pom Pom, and all the other grandparents and grand aunts and uncles had no special name.

hey, your out in the open now. you should start a grandma (dad) nickname thread.
I wonder who will bite.

mine was strictly grandmother. did not really know my granddad.
one time I called her granny, I liked the Beverly hillbillies, the look was enough I never did it again.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

So never throw out or give away a tool, you might need it someday!

Precisely why my basement is in it's current condition!