Family heirloom tools

[IMCA38]

This summer/fall, my parents gave in to nagging health concerns and decided to move from a small town in southwest Nebraska to Lincoln, about 240 miles. Benefits of the move are better access to medical care, and I’m 20 minutes away instead of five hours. The down side was clearing out a 30+ year residence and parting with things like a full wood shop in the basement and two outbuildings full of stuff. Presently, an on-line auction is going on, and I will try to make another separate post about preparing for that.
Anyway, Dad said I could take anything I wanted prior to the sale. Problem is, I probably have as much stuff as he does, if not more!!
However, there were a few items that came my way just for sentimental purposes. My paternal grandfather passed away 8 years before I was born. Dad had a Craftsman tap and die set in a wood box, and a small anvil that belonged to him. I agreed that I would like to have these as a connection to both of them. Also, Dad had two pairs of pliers that belonged to my maternal grandfather that were passed to him when Grandpa passed. Grandpa worked for many years as an electrician and appliance repairman and I would assume that he carried them in his tool belt for some of his working years. Both of them have his initials stamped on them (RT). He was notorious for putting his name or initials on almost everything. He even had a big RT over the door of their garage! I think it is interesting that the needle noses appear to have some arc damage near the pivot. I’d love to know what the story was with that!
Lastly, my aunt and uncle (Dad’s brother) also downsized about the same time as my parents. My uncle had a couple of items that were my grandfather’s that he wanted me to have. First was a Columbia vise. It has multiple coats of thick paint, and some welding slag on the top, but I think I will try to clean it up and make it pretty again. Secondly was an old belt driven grinder with motor. Not sure what I’ll do with that. In its present state, it appears to be equally able to harvest fingers with no guards, or curl hair with the homespun wiring!! Regardless, I appreciate the history and knowing that these tools have served multiple generations.

 

[Roberts210]

Keep as much as you can. I wish I had more of my Pop's tools--he passed away a week after I turned 16.

 

[AreBeeBee]

I have only a few tools from the family. A couple of 9-inch auto wrenches (one marked "Ford") and a Peck, Stow, & Wilcox 10-inch sweep bit brace. The brace belonged to my mother's father, who worked as a handyman in boatyards along the coast north of Boston. I think the brace came to him second-hand because the model (#102) was put on the market (late 1880s) about the time he was born.

The link below gives more details and shows that PSW soon changed the ratchet selector from two pins to the now-common collar design (which is easier and faster for switching ratchet directions one-handed).

http://www.sydnassloot.com/Brace/PSW.htm

At one point I bought a second model 102 (ebay) because it was available and I like the design. Also having more than one brace is practical. In building trellises for the house, I chucked a countersink bit in one brace and a Phillips head driver in the other. Having both ready to use saved swapping the bits in and out.

The brace from my grandfather is, I think, the oldest tool I own. Despite being 130+ years old, it works perfectly. Collecting old tools for the sake of oldness doesn't interest me much, but when they can be used to meet a need in the shop, I'm delighted to work with them.

In the photo, the legacy brace is on the left, the ebay item is on the right, with various screwdriver bits below.

 

[joel_400]

I'm far too sentimental myself...my uncle who passed away in 2007 took me under his wing in the garage when I was 13. He didn't have many really good tools, but there's certain ones that he really liked. I have a few of them that I've hung onto since then that mostly are here just because I saved them. He had an old snap on quarter drive ratchet he used all the time and always had a skip in a certain point...for years he said he'd like to have it fixed, but never did. I have it now and tore it down and cleaned it out...it works as good as new! Everytime I pick it up it reminds me of how even though he didn't spend alot on tools he got some amazing stuff done with that and many other tools he had that may not have been perfect! Sometimes makes me wonder why he never fixed it himself! Haha But the memories in that garage with his tools will always be with me!
Joel

 

[WisJim]

I was lucky enough to have my paternal grandfather give me the remnants of the tool chest that he and his father used when working in Pennsylvania coal mines (early 1900s) and later in Illinois and Wisconsin as carpenters. Grandpa's shed had been broken into and some tools stolen, but I did get things like a Stanley 45 plane and full box of cutters, some saws, chisels, a couple of wooden molding planes, two sets of large long augers and handles, block planes, etc. Later my dad gave me some Yankee drills and screwdrivers, a carpenter's hatchet, and more planes from my grandfather's tools. I use some of these often and others are just on display, but I have tagged them so others would know more about their history if I'm not around. The odd thing found in great-grandpa's tools were a couple of oyster (clam?) shucking knives.
I was also given a modest tool chest with tools by a close family friend, that belonged to her uncle who was a carpenter in the early 20th century. Our friend got the responsibility of cleaning out the aunt's house after she passed, years after the uncle's passing, and decided that I deserved the chest of tools. I have kept them together as they are duplicates of tools that I use.

 

[matthew]

I have my grandfather’s socket set, which he acquired somewhere around 1938. I don’t really use it much, but I am one of the few people that likes to use a speeder, partly because it reminds me of him and of changing grandma’s tires with my dad.