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I've got tools from my grandfather and my great-grandfather.
My father still has his tools (and LOTS of them), and, thankfully, uses them every day, but a lot of my tools are ones he gave me.
I got into the habit early on of engraving the year on my tools, along with my initials (Dad has lots of identical tools, so initials prevented bloodshed), and now when I'm reaching for a socket and see "'81" I think, "Wow, has it been that long?"
I still use the two Army mechanic's tool bags I got in high school as my "go-to" tool containers, and still have my American ring / open-end wrenches held together by the same loop of wire I pulled from a BX cable. Whenever I slide those wrenches off that wire, I remember college security bringing me those wrenches and asking if they were mine (they knew me and recognized them), because they took them off a kid stealing batteries in the parking lot --- several weeks before, I had told a younger friend the story of how I had used to borrow batteries from certain cars that I knew were never driven, to power a car I was fixing up on a $0 budget; I'd take a battery, install it, drive somewhere, do my business, and return the battery, fully charged, to its rightful place. Dodo thought that was cool, but didn't have the sense to do it and not get caught. He'd borrowed my tools, then got in trouble, and Security thought he'd stolen them, too. I managed to talk him out of trouble, though I don't know if he ever really thanked me for it.
I can't count the number of things I've fixed with those wrenches.
My tool box tells a story although it started 7 years ago I can tell you pretty much when I bought every tool in my snap on box from which seller and which shop I was at. If there is one tool or set of tools I absolutely hold dear to me., Its my body hammers and dolly's. My first tool was a snap on pick hammer I bought for 60 bucks. I soon bought a box and it follows me everywhere I go acquiring stickers along the way and emblems from cars like an old map with stickers and matchbooks from places visited along the way. The most memorable incident was a family of mice live in it for a weekend and they ate my coworkers stash which he liked to hide in my box which he put in my paperwork drawer., then they ate my hot Cheetos then my tums and proceeded to crap all over my sockets.
Last edited by coppercutlass; August 10th, 2013 at 09:02 PM.
I just gave a bunch of my older Craftsman wrenches to a friend's 18 year old nephew a few weeks back. I picked up a set of Craftsman screwdrivers for him yesterday. He just started work disassembling cars in a wrecking yard and I have pretty much converted all my tools to Snap On and older specialty stuff. I am hoping he can make some good use of those old Craftsman tools and maybe move on to better automotive related jobs in the future. If he does become a little more focused I hope to turn him on to Snap On and other profesional grade tools. Here's hoping for the best for this young man.
I just gave a bunch of my older Craftsman wrenches to a friend's 18 year old nephew a few weeks back. I picked up a set of Craftsman screwdrivers for him yesterday. He just started work disassembling cars in a wrecking yard and I have pretty much converted all my tools to Snap On and older specialty stuff. I am hoping he can make some good use of those old Craftsman tools and maybe move on to better automotive related jobs in the future. If he does become a little more focused I hope to turn him on to Snap On and other profesional grade tools. Here's hoping for the best for this young man.
Way to pay it forward. Hopefully he will relate how he got these tools and how they helped him get started on page 259 of this same thread!
I just gave a bunch of my older Craftsman wrenches to a friend's 18 year old nephew a few weeks back. I picked up a set of Craftsman screwdrivers for him yesterday. He just started work disassembling cars in a wrecking yard and I have pretty much converted all my tools to Snap On and older specialty stuff. I am hoping he can make some good use of those old Craftsman tools and maybe move on to better automotive related jobs in the future. If he does become a little more focused I hope to turn him on to Snap On and other profesional grade tools. Here's hoping for the best for this young man.
I just keep them because they were a gift from Mom who "got it" that I was keen on tools. Dad never got it.
Nor mine. All he had were very basic hand tools and he couldn't understand why I wanted a good tool set with combo wrenches, ratchets/ sockets, tune-up equipment etc. He once told me that rather than getting tools to try to fix something myself I'd do better to take the car to someone who knew what they were doing. I never forgot him saying that, and after I became a decent enough wrench to make some side money doing it I would not work on any of his stuff.
Now, my Aunt Evelyn (his sister) OTOH- Evelyn was a tool junkie in her own right and handled them very well. She'd attempt a fix at almost anything around the house and usually succeeded. She got me my first set of Craftsman combo wrenches for my 15th birthday and I still have them.
The young hotrodder kids who became close to me usually got tools for birthdays and Christmas, and if they were especially close and had helped me a lot they'd get a big Craftsman set for high-school graduation. One of them has dragged that tool set all over the country with him.
Monkey Ward's tool line was Powr-Kraft. Evelyn had a lot of those as they lived in Baltimore for nearly 35 years and there were a couple of big M-W stores there. She'd get me Craftsman so in case something broke I could take it to the local Sears for replacement.
And, like most, I have tools that I have forgotten what they're for and have certainly used them for other than their intended use.
With me, I don't think that it's so much the tools themselves that I am sentimental about, it's the memories.
I inherited many of my tools from my father when he passed. When I was a kid, we spent hundreds of hours at my Dad's shop working on lots of different cars and trucks. Many of them have specific memories.
Even if they broke (and none have yet, they built for quality back then), I don't think that I could get rid of them.
I guess most of you already know this. I am usually the last to discover simple things. E Bay is a Great place to restock your broken or missing tools. I just replaced a 9/16x1/2 Snap on Combo wrench that had gone missing in action a couple years ago. Also restocked a 9/16" 3/8 deep Mac socket that was missing from my set. I don't get a chance to get on the tool trucks anymore.
I picked this up today. Its an Arbor Press and man is it big and heavy. I didn't realize just how big and heavy these things were until I showed up expecting to put it in the trunk of my Cutlass. Needless to say. It required a truck and two men to move.
What ticks me off the most is the gremlins that live in your box and hide stuff when you need it the most, usually they give it back after you don't need it anymore......Tedd
I have appreciated this thread, I like industrial tools that have been or will be serviceable for generations. I have wanted a Wilton "bullet" ever since I started in the work force. I located this one on the local C/L last week, brought it home and gave it a cleaning,lube and fresh coat. I am looking forward to many years of service for me and perhaps my kids should they become infected.:
I hate to admit it, but tool storage is a must I be been working out of a over loaded tool cart and a small snap on box a cabinet all over loaded, I always thought buy tools that's what makes you the money tool guys been trying to sell me a new box for years he got in a mint used box and gave me a great deal 2300 plus my old box much easyer to find tools now 34BABD95-CD25-4A1C-A657-2E3FEF22745A.jpg
[QUOTE=oldstata;683404]I hate to admit it, but tool storage is a must I be been working out of a over loaded tool cart and a small snap on box a cabinet all over loaded, I always thought buy tools that's what makes you the money tool guys been trying to sell me a new box for years he got in a mint used box and gave me a great deal 2300 plus my old box much easyer to find tools now
I have to agree. I now have three big tool boxes and they have made a huge impact on my ability not only to find my tools, but also organize the shop. I am more productive now.
I bought this box a while back to help me organize my tools of endearment. Found it at an auction. Sold off my other boxes to help finance the deal. Found out later that the auction was the estate of an Iraqi war veteran who committed suicide. Really sad.
I still have my grandfathers ax, my dad replaced the head and I replaced the shaft.....
I have a very mixed bag od tools, Snap On, Mac, Craftsman, James Niell, Britool, Facom and other good brands sit alongside some cheap stuff I have bought to get me out of trouble away from home. Some of the "junk" tools have held up remarkably well, I still use a 3/4 wrench that I got from a flea market that has stood up to undoing stubborn fasteners with a scaffold pole for leverage, several other cheapies have snapped like carrots as soon as they are required to perform like a quality wrench.
I don't buy many tools now, after 40+ years I have all I need, and a lot of my diagnostic work is done with a multimeter now.
I invested in quality torx wrenches a few years ago, hopefully when they are outdated I will be retired.....
My dad's uncle Max was a machinist at Rockwell International and when we would visit him, it was always in the "shop". One of the many tools I remembered was a very large anvil mounted to a block of wood, it was more than a tool, it was a representation of hard honest work and the raw skill it takes to use it effectively. I had wanted a heavy anvil for my shop for a very long time and several years ago I purchased a 162# Hay Budden over 110 years old. Now that we are moved into the new place and I have the space for a stand, I fabricated a stand to set the anvil on so that I can finally use it. The table top is 1/2 inch steel with strap steel sides and a 1.5" footprint cup to capture the anvil. The screws are all square head lags, and the wood is reclaimed oak pallet wood saturated in satin urethane. The D rings are for hanging hammers or tongs. Total weight is right around 310# with the base. Max died at 54 when he fell from the loft of a neighbor's barn helping storing hay, but the impression he left on me at such a young age still rings as loud as thing does when I drop the hammer. It is truly a "tool of endearment"
What a great story and a great tool. Your stand is a real work of art. It almost seems like it should be a show piece instead of a working tool. I wonder what percent of people know what an anvil is or how it is used.
Jerry
I love the anvil what a work of art. I do a lot of sheet metal work and have been looking for an anvil like that. I got a bunch of rail road ties and I beams but there is something about an old anvil that just oozes nostalgic mystery.
Isn't it a tool that the coyotie tries and kills the road runner with
Close, but not the same. It doesn't say "ACME" on it.
On another note, a few weeks ago I traded in a Craftsman 11 drawer top chest I bought in 78 and a small roll-cab for this Snap-On 56" roller. Those old Craftsmans fixed a lot of cars and bikes but I spent too much time looking for stuff. This definitely makes life and productivity much easier.
Love that Anvil, I am a tool guy, and after reading this thread from the beginning can appreciate all the tool stories, I have my Original Craftsman top and Bottom box I bought off the "Tool Guy" he was a Mac Dealer, I was perhaps 14-15, My boss vouched for up to 100 dollars for me, and I bought SK Wayne tools and some Mac, got Snap ons as gifts etc and Bought Craftsman later on.
I always added tools as money allows, and I always try to buy with the purpose in Mind, meaning if I am going to use a tool once I do not need a snap on etc if I use it all the time then I want the best I can afford.
I prefer older tools, some of my favourite tools are my old Martin and Fairmount body hammers and dollies, but I supplemented those with cheapo Harbor freight ones as sometimes you need to dress the crowns differently or cut off either the pick or the hammer part. I will say my pride and Joy is an old 1950 Craftsman hanging tool box I am slowly filling it with =v= Series Craftsman Sockets etc , I had a lot of them, but trying to get the proper ones for the box.
I also like tool history, the way Plomb tools became Proto, the various high end companies who used to also make the Craftsman Tools, I will ramble on for a long time, I also like my old Pin Stripping and lettering brushes, I am not really any good But I enjoy it LOL...
I found these on Craigslist recently. I have been wanting a set for quite sometime now. I was able to bring them home for $50.00 for the pair. One for each side of the car.
Crap, I've got a set of those stuffed somewhere or other. The exact same ones.
My grandfather had a bunch that he got new.
I've used them to catch spray dust and grease spatter. I had no idea that they're valuable.
Crap, I've got a set of those stuffed somewhere or other. The exact same ones.
My grandfather had a bunch that he got new.
I've used them to catch spray dust and grease spatter. I had no idea that they're valuable.
- Eric
Sold!
Eric, I will take them for 50.00 if you dig them out.
flare wrenches?
Agreed. Even if you only use it for one job... buy the snap-on
plan ahead, get a nice used one off epay if funds are tight. I have a fullish set and some extras. One of the faves is a 5/8 flare with open end opposite end, thick head, perfect for fuel lines.
I purchased this Arkansas made Excell engine stand at the Pate Swap Meet about seventeen years ago. I've always liked it and thought it was well built, but rolling a 455 over was a bit of a chore and could even be dangerous. I had acquired a Heavy duty Boston geared rotisserie some years back and finally decided to upgrade my stand. I still need to repaint it, but was rather pleased with the first mock up. Positioning the engine can be done with an index finger now.
I'm a retired airline mechanic and I have tool boxes full of specialty tools that I'll never use again, but they are my treasures and memories. Long live Vulcan,Snap On,Mac,Craftsman,Chicago Pneumatic,Rockwell,Bonney and the ones I've forgotten over the decades.
Dennis
When I was in 6th grade my big brother, 9 years older than me used to come get me and take me the the garage where he kept his 57 Bel Air and a buddy of his kept his 63 split window and they would let me help them work on their cars. That Christmas my brother gave me my first socket set and tool box that I still have and use to this day. It was because of this time I spent with my big brother and his friends that I am the car guy I am today! I thank my brother for this gift often!
I love my tools also, still have my first Craftsman set i got for Christmas when i was 18. Used it to build my first motor which was a 67 Olds 442 E block 400. Theres always a good reason to buy new tools. Most of my tools are good quality but i have a few HF tools that work ok for a while, but its no big loss when they crap out. I have found numerous nice tools layin in the street, ratchets, breaker bars, wrenches. I have a swivel head ratchet i found in the street probably 25 years ago, and it just recently started slipping, but i got good service out of that freebie.
August 10th, 2013 | 08:13 PM
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