Do you use your vintage tools?

[uncwstudent]

I've really gotten into collecting vintage tools lately: particularly old Craftsman, Plomb, and Blackhawk. I think its pretty cool to buy and use tools that were made to last, that aren't Chinese junk, and that have seen decades of use and keep on wrenching. I'm prone to use whatever tools I have that are made after 1965. Anything earlier, I keep just for my private collection.

I was wondering, do any of you use your vintage tools to work on your cars, homes, or etc? And if so, why?

 

[McFarmer]

All my tools are vintage.

Here on the farm I use tools my grandfather used, my father used and tools I have aquired.

 

[Tucko]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on what tool it is. I have quite a few vintage sheet metal working tools that still get used, but most of the vintage woodworking tools are just for looks.

 

[WQ59B]

I do use quite a few vintage hand tools regularly.
• My 'go to' hammer is a Pexto auto body round head/square head piece that just has excellent balance/weight.
• Nippers/pullers are Wooth (IIRC); they have flared jaws that make pulling nails easier since you can come in on either side & pull longer nails. They got inadvertently left in the ceiling of a job and I drove the 1.5 hr round trip to get them back.
• I use a 48" steel rule that has to be at least 75 years old.
• Have a pair of Jamestown NY 4" Cresent wrenches that are handy in small spaces.
• Used a parallel jaw adjustable that I guarantee is at least 50 years old on my 1940 Ford the other day- the dually lugs for the inner wheels have square head lugs.

There's many more. I seem to acclimate to vintage hand tools easier than modern stuff. When I see some of you guys fawn over 'cushion grip' hand tools with their fat, plasticy handles... I don't get it.

 

[nine4gmc]

more often than I use my new tools.

 

[Sunset_Z28]

I've got an old Ford tractor and some other old equipment that have sae sizes on them. For those I generally use my older tools. On our newer cars and stuff I'm stuck using my newer metric stuff. Once in a while I'll use a really old tool on something just for shits but never on something that I think could break it.

 

[toolmutt]

Most of my vintage tools were inherited from my dad. I use them any chance I get just for the good memories.

 

[theoldwizard1]

All my tools are vintage.

If you consider 50 years old "vintage" than a lot of my tools are vintage and they get used when required.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Most of my vintage tools were inherited from my dad. I use them any chance I get just for the good memories.

Sigh. After my Dad past his wife said "take any of his tools you want". Dad was NOT a tool collector and had very few automotive tools even I was young. Neighbors had borrowed a wrench here, a socket there, a screwdriver, etc. so nothing was complete.

One of the few things I did take was an old push drill. No brand name, but the paint that was left was blue and the bits were stored under the top. I also have an old brace and some of the bits. I have never used either since the 14 years my day has been gone.

I gave a belt sander and a circular saw to his grandsons.

 

[Roberts210]

All the time. I only own vintage tools, except for a few new S-K's I've bought.

 

[larry_g]

All my tools are vintage.

Here on the farm I use tools my grandfather used, my father used and tools I have aquired.

X2 on this. I am now retired and have collected some old machine tools that I use. The new tools I bought are now probably vintage in your eyes. The latest tools I have are some metric tools I had to get to work on an excavator. My big drill press is from around 1918, and one of my precision drill presses is 1921. All is working condition and used on a regular basis.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Cahark]

Every single day. Most of my equipment is more than 30 years old, about half is more than 50. Old equipment is the way to go if you want beefy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Musicinabottle]

Almost exclusively.

 

[Provincial]

I really only acquire modern tools if there is a specific need. I've slowly built up a metric selection only because so much of today's stuff has metric fasteners.

My first set of tools was given to me for my 14th birthday. It was a collection of wrenches, sockets, pliers and screwdrivers that a family friend put together from second-hand stores and pawn shops. It was a mixture of Craftsman, Plomb, P&C, Crescent, SK, and other classic brands. I still use these tools regularly.

If not abused, these tools will last an amazingly long time.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Sometimes the vintage tool is the one designed to fit the job... I use them all the time, and without some of them I couldn't do the job.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Most of my tools weren't vintage when I bought them but they are now. Yes, I use them. The oldest one is probably a wood try square I got from my dad that dates to the late 1800s, it works just as well as a new one.

 

[Gittgo]

50/50 here. I'm vintage myself and much of my stuff is over 40 years. Roughly 1/2 of it.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

The 1/2" slide bar is the oldest thing in my work truck with a date code, and at 1929 its not even 90 years old. The 1000 ft lb impact gets used more of course.

 

[PelicanPines]

I am vintage... and often feel used... does that count?

 

[ddawg16]

It's like a vintage car.....if it works, drive it.

I have a Stanley #2 plane I use all the time. A few Plumb hammers. Not to mention my Blackhawk 1/4 set. My air compressor was built in the early 60's. My drill press is from the 60's. Radial arm saw not much younger.

With that said...I doubt I'd use any old electric hand tools....like a circular saw or sander....unless the motor could be replaced.

 

[d.mcfarland]

I enjoy collecting and using, and both have their place.

 

[crackit]

Yep, I use my vintage tools all the time. Why? Because I have them and they work well.

 

[Boilerhouse]

By the mid 80's, I had acquired most of the tools I currently own, so they are sort of vintage. If it will get the job done, I don't really care how old it is. I have two in particular that I like; some linesmen pliers that were my grandfathers. (He became an electrician around 1905 at the age of 15), and a Ridgid 14" offset pipe wrench, given to me by a neighbour, that was made in the 30's.

 

[safariknut]

I have a modest accumulation of "vintage" tools and they get used if they are needed for a job. My first tool set was bestowed upon me by a real good friend for whom I had pinstriped his Model T roadster. I had actually swapped the work for a dropped axle with hydraulic brakes and split wishbones that I needed for a car I was building. I didn't have a good set of tools and had to borrow stuff occasionally.He got a couple of his friends to donate some of their spares and he bought me a Craftsman box with sockets and wrenches.I was sixteen at the time and it was like manna from heaven!
Still have that box although the bottom is a bit rusted out. I re-lined it with a piece of sheet steel awhile back. Still have most of the original tools that came with it and they are priceless!
Got started in collecting vintage tools after buying a boxful of them just to get the box. They looked to be in decent shape albeit a bit rusty. After a good cleaning I find that I use them more than my regular tools.Mostly Indestro and a lot of unmarked stuff that looks to date to the 1930's or possibly earlier.
After that there was no turning back..........I was hooked!

 

[egnorant]

Kind of a mixed usage. A good example is 1/4" ratchets. My grab and go sets have Craftsman that work and I have a lot of spares. My bench has me using an old Easco or Silver Eagle that just feel good. I have an old Williams that I got as a full set for $5.00 but it is just too pristine and actually feels a bit clunky so it just sits.

I also have a lot of old SK 1/2" drive sockets that seem to have displaced my newer Craftsman as front line tools.

I use the one that works best! My old New Britain wobble head ratchet is sometimes the best tool for the job. The Stanley locking head is too much work, the Craftsman indexed head is clunky, but the free head of this vintage ratchet is just the ticket! That top bolt on the starter is real work without this ratchet!

Bruce

 

[davethorik]

Started to do rear brakes on my accord, broke my Proto 5250XL, but finished it up with my SK in a diamond roto. This is one of my favorite ratchets

 

[Stadger]

You betcha I use 'em.

 

[oldwino]

I'm with SMKS on the vintage ratchets. A couple of William's Super-ratchets are my go to and the newer Snappies happily reside in the box

Most of my stuff is "vintage" that I purchased new in the 60's

 

[timbitca]

Seeing as probably 75-90% of my tools are older than I am (31) I'd have to say yes.

 

[Jim C.]

All the time. I enjoy woodworking and frequently use vintage handplanes that were mostly manufactured between 1900 and 1950. I also really like tinkering with mid 1960s Corvettes and Delta machinery from the 1940s and 1950s. That got me going on collecting and using old tools from the same era. Over the years, I've accumulated enough vintage tools so that whenever I'm fooling around with an old car or machine, I can usually do the entire job with similar vintage tools. That being said, once an old tool significantly slows down a job, or adds an unnecessary level of frustration, etc., I'll switch to a more modern tool if that tool will eliminate/reduce the drawbacks of continuing on with the older tool....... Now that I think about it, I acquired most of my "more current/newer/modern" tools during the 1980s and early 1990s. Many of them are easily 30 or more years old. I guess "vintage" is a relative term.

Jim C.

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

About half of my small collection is part of my daily users. Mostly ratchets, some wrenches, a pile of punches, chisels, hammers, and a few screwdrivers and pliers mixed in. Have a a couple of sets of sockets that are at least partially vintage but I don't really use the matched sets. Trying to upgrade a few sets of sockets from older craftsman to "newer" Bonney, Snap On, and SK.

 

[bmwrd0]

It's about 60/40 vintage. Metric is newer, but most of what I needed in the field is SAE. Now I am out of the trades I just work on whatever I want to, mainly vintage French bicycles and woodworking machines from the '30's-40's.

 

[jd_1138]

Just today I went to clean out the rain gutters and I noticed a couple of missing bolts on the Werner A-frame ladder I bought for $20 at a yard sale. So I grabbed some bolts/washer/nuts out of the shed, and I busted out my Powr-Kraft 1/4 spinner handle with a Powr-Kraft 1/2" socket. My stepdad had an entire box of Powr-Kraft that he bought from the 70's until the 90's. I am proud to use them. They are made well.

 

[mkat1951]

I definitely use all my vintage tools!! The only one I'm hesitant about is my 1930's Delta DP220 drill press. I bought it from the original owners granddaughter and there's not a mark on it anywhere and I'd hate to be the first one to drill into the table or something.

 

[maxcarp709]

I use whatever fits the job best.I have one Bonney 9/16 wrench that I like to use.I wish I had the whole set.

 

[Duct Tape Man]

The overwhelming majority of the tools I have at work are newer tools, but for my own personal garage and workshop, pretty much all I use are 1940s through 1960s tools. One day I wanna complete my own hot rod-themed garage, and I want the tools to match what I feel is the golden age of hot rodding, same basic vintage.

 

[ddawg16]

For some of us, when you consider how old we are, our 'tool' is vintage....and we are lucky if we can use it.....

 

[Rileysan]

Mixed bag for me.

Almost all new screwdrivers and pliers, mostly truck brands, are newer but most of my wrench sets are vintage - with the exception of my metric S-K Super-Krome combo wrenches, metric S-K 1/2" drive deep sockets, and all my impact sockets, which are Snap-on or Proto. The older S-K and RHFT Craftsman ratchets are my favorites but I have some newer Proto & Snap-on sockets and long handle ratchets (of all drive sizes) simply because things wear out. As such, almost all my vintage sockets end up sorted and saved from further use.

What's interesting, now that I think about it, is that all of my 3/4" & 1" drive sockets & ratchets are vintage. They don't really wear out but rather break catastrophically.

Brian

 

[jd_1138]

I use whatever fits the job best.I have one Bonney 9/16 wrench that I like to use.I wish I had the whole set.

That sounds like a fun scavenger hunt. . Between the classified section on here and eBay, it shouldn't be too hard to amass a complete set.

 

[Gmonkee]

I built up a kit like a mechanic would have in the post WWII period but had to use modern tools because everything is metric now. It has been my kit at work for years now and works well.

The antiques are all too oddball or in standards like Whitworth or USS that barely apply now, it's even difficult to get SAE into use except as metric stand ins. The few early metrics I have are too worn to use anymore. Two go back about a century so bet they are a bit worn.

But my living archeology tool kit experiment is ongoing and no need to upgrade to combo wrenches or ratchet wrenches yet. The old way still applies to modern cars with a minor adjustment in how you attack the job.
Not recommended for flat rate guys, things go a bit slower.