Grandpa's Toolboxes

[bj383ss]

Hello All. Been lurking in here for a bit. I spend most of my time in the garage gallery. What a rabbit hole this forum has become for me.

Thought I would share the 3 toolboxes I have that were my grandpas.

The two on the right my dad just gave me. The third to the far left I have had since my grandpa passed away in 1997. Two of the bottoms are Proto. The middle bottom is a Duplex 1216. Which I looked online and it appears to be made by the parent company of Proto?

The 2 top right boxes are also Proto 9963 and 9962. The two boxes on the left that my dad just gave me are fully loaded with tools. The third top is a Craftsman top I bought in 2002.

My grandpa ran a Auto garage from 1968 til the late 70's when he switched over to a full Machine shop until he sold the business and retired in 1992. I worked there from age 6 until 16 when he sold it. I used many of the tools and retrieved them for him so they have significant sentimental value to me.

Anyways here they are.

Grandpa's Toolboxes by bjohnson388, on Flickr

I have slowly been going through each drawer and thoroughly cleaning all the tools and the drawers. Most of the drawers have metal chips in them as they were straight across the shop from his big 24" lathe.

If you look really hard 2 of the boxes are on the upper left. The third is on the front right with a Kennedy top on it I think. It was sold with all of the machinist tools unfortunately. This picture is 1975ish. That is my dad welding.

image0014 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Here are some of the drawers. Every thing smells like old gasoline because that's what my grandpa cleaned everything with. Ah the good ol' days.

Grandpa's Mechanic Toolboxes with tools. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Grandpa's Mechanic Toolboxes with tools. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

You can see in this drawer all the metal chips. Just about every drawer was like this.

Grandpa's Mechanic Toolboxes with tools. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Same drawer after cleaning.

Socket drawer Cleaned and Organized by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Another before/after.

Grandpa's Mechanic Toolboxes with tools. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

20190310_191257 by bjohnson388, on Flickr


If you guys are interested I have plenty more pics.

Bret

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Wow. What great pieces of family history! And great that you're taking care of them. Always breaks my heart a bit when I'm buying a box or tool from a family member that couldn't care less about them. Your Grandpa had great taste and yes, please do post more pics!

 

[raiderhillbilly]

Nice! I love seeing tools passed down for generations. I have tools from both Grandfathers.

 

[WNYflyer]

Thanks for sharing, very nice to see the family history behind all those boxes and tools. I am another one with a bunch of tools from my maternal grandfather who worked in the tool room at the local GM Plant which entailed machining new parts for worn or broken down machinery.

Had to laugh at the statement about your grandfather cleaning with gasoline, with my grandfather it was kerosene. Still remember as a kid him always saying a little kerosene will take care of that ! as he then walked away to retrieve his can of kerosene.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Tools are interesting, but the stories that go with them are more interesting.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Great collection and pics of your dad at work!

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Bret, I'm glad you have the boxes and actual tools your dad used. I have a lot of tools, but the ones that mean the most are the ones from my late father.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Nice collection. I have some of my Grandfather’s tools of which some are pretty ancient. You are being a good custodian your Grandfather would be impressed.

 

[thehorse13]

I have a Duplex and Proto roller too. The only difference between them is the name on the badge. Duplex indeed was part of the Proto family. You likely saw something about Pendleton tool/Proto/Duplex when you were sniffing around the Internet.

Great stuff you have there. I wish I was able to retain that much stuff from my grandparent. Enjoy it!

 

[bj383ss]

Wow. What great pieces of family history! And great that you're taking care of them. Always breaks my heart a bit when I'm buying a box or tool from a family member that couldn't care less about them. Your Grandpa had great taste and yes, please do post more pics!

Thank You. I am hoping to pass the boxes and tools down to my sons.

Nice! I love seeing tools passed down for generations. I have tools from both Grandfathers.

Thank You.

Thanks for sharing, very nice to see the family history behind all those boxes and tools. I am another one with a bunch of tools from my maternal grandfather who worked in the tool room at the local GM Plant which entailed machining new parts for worn or broken down machinery.

Had to laugh at the statement about your grandfather cleaning with gasoline, with my grandfather it was kerosene. Still remember as a kid him always saying a little kerosene will take care of that ! as he then walked away to retrieve his can of kerosene.

Very Cool. Yes I am pretty sure when I was 6 and painted his chain link fence around the property I was using lead paint. He used Kerosene for alot of things too. When I would stay at his house on the weekends he would give me a coffee can full of gas and we would go hunting snails. They sizzled when you dropped them in the gas.

Tools are interesting, but the stories that go with them are more interesting.

Thank You. I have a ton of pictures of my grandpas machine shop if interested.

Great collection and pics of your dad at work!

Thank You.

Bret, I'm glad you have the boxes and actual tools your dad used. I have a lot of tools, but the ones that mean the most are the ones from my late father.

Indeed. I think my favorite are they plastic and wood handle Proto screwdrivers, and the 3/8' Proto ratchet. I remember fetching those for him all the time. Never thought I would own them one day.

Nice college collection. I have some of my Grandfather’s tools of which some are pretty ancient. You are being a good custodian your Grandfather would be impressed.

Thank you. And you are so right. Just taking care of them until they move to my sons.

I have a Duplex and Proto roller too. The only difference between them is the name on the badge. Duplex indeed was part of the Proto family. You likely saw something about Pendleton tool/Proto/Duplex when you were sniffing around the Internet.

Great stuff you have there. I wish I was able to retain that much stuff from my grandparent. Enjoy it!

That makes me feel better. I always assumed it was a Proto until I went and looked at the tag last night.


Bret

 

[Sunset_Z28]

Nice! I was in the same boat several years ago. I have a garage full of tools that belonged to my great grandpa, grandpa, and dad. All are gone now but it’s nice to be able to use something if there’s and it bring back an old memory. Cherish them!

 

[vavet]

Awesome! Sentimental value is the best. I don’t think I have any tools from my grandfather. I do have a Japanese ww2 rifle my great uncle brought home. It’s not in great shape as he tried to polyurethane it, but he loved it and I see it as my mission to keep it and take care of it.

 

[406Rich]

That is so cool, never had any tools handed down, I was the only automotive person in the family that worked on the parents cars, I guess mine will go to my son and daughter...

 

[bj383ss]

Nice! I was in the same boat several years ago. I have a garage full of tools that belonged to my great grandpa, grandpa, and dad. All are gone now but it’s nice to be able to use something if there’s and it bring back an old memory. Cherish them!

Thank You.

Awesome! Sentimental value is the best. I don’t think I have any tools from my grandfather. I do have a Japanese ww2 rifle my great uncle brought home. It’s not in great shape as he tried to polyurethane it, but he loved it and I see it as my mission to keep it and take care of it.

That is cool.

That is so cool, never had any tools handed down, I was the only automotive person in the family that worked on the parents cars, I guess mine will go to my son and daughter...

Thank You. What year is you 60-66 truck?

Bret

 

[406Rich]

Thank You.



That is cool.



Thank You. What year is you 60-66 truck?

Bret

`64, just sold it six months ago, drove it for 24 years, feeling kinda sad about it now but, did really good on the price, the kid kept coming back making offers on it. It was my parts chaser.

 

[bj383ss]

Ok so everyone liked the backstory here is some more.

My Grandpa on the far right, then my dad, then my uncle Ray, the last guy can't remember his name. My dad knows it. He worked a few months. You can see he doesn't have his name sewn on his shirt. My uncles is wearing a welding jacket so his is covered up. This is Cargo Machine it was located on South Grand street in Amarillo.

image0001 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

One of my favorite pictures. You can see the backside of his shopmade engine stands. I still have this one.

image0006 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

My dad still has this bench. My grandparents retired in the Texas Hill Country. My grandpa built a 30 x 40 Mueller building and brought most of his stuff from the machine shop minus the big machines.

20141228_093641 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

This is also a really good pic.

image0008 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

I didn't realize it til now but the safety glasses he is wearing were in one of the toolboxes.

Grandpa's Mechanic Toolboxes with tools. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

thanks for stopping in,

Bret

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Cool pics. Keep em coming!

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Good pics.
Do you still have that vise in the second pic?
There are a lot of vice guys on GJ. I like the horizontal lines and squat look.
Bet they would like some up close pics of that chunk of steel.

 

[DD T/A]

I love vintage pics, fantastic story.

 

[Billythekid1]

Post a bunch of pics so one day when your kids kids r arguing if that screwdriver was great great grandpas they can look on the internet can come across the pics

 

[B17E1943]

Great photos and story - thanks!

I barely have anything from either of my grandfathers.

Nice that someone had the foresight to take photos of the shop and people.

Was your Gramps a WWII veteran?

And what's the story on that TWA tug?

 

[bj383ss]

Cool pics. Keep em coming!

As long as you guys are still interested I will keep going.

Good pics.
Do you still have that vise in the second pic?
There are a lot of vice guys on GJ. I like the horizontal lines and squat look.
Bet they would like some up close pics of that chunk of steel.

Yes it is still mounted on that bench. The next time I am at my parents house I will snap some pics.

I love vintage pics, fantastic story.

Thank You. I enjoy the vintage pics as well. I have quite a few albums of my grandparents.

Post a bunch of pics so one day when your kids kids r arguing if that screwdriver was great great grandpas they can look on the internet can come across the pics

Haha

Great photos and story - thanks!

I barely have anything from either of my grandfathers.

Nice that someone had the foresight to take photos of the shop and people.

Was your Gramps a WWII veteran?

And what's the story on that TWA tug?

My grandpa was in the Korean War. He was Military Police and got stationed in El Paso.

My grandmother was the photographer.

My Grandpa did a lot of contract work. He worked on several pieces from TWA. I have more pics.

Bret

 

[bj383ss]

This weekend I went through and cleaned all the hand wrenches and then combined mine with them and organized them. Everything is SAE except for the 2 rows on the far right.

Hand Wrench Collection by bjohnson388, on Flickr

This evening I rearranged some drawers and got all the wrenches put into their new homes.

These top 5 drawers are my most used wrenches.

20190723_185143 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

My favorites are the DBE wrenches.

20190723_185231 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

This 2nd drawer in the bottom cabinet is Metric. Most of these are mine except for the Challengers

20190723_185201 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Larger sizes. 3/4" and up.

20190723_185218 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Some other unique tools. What is the Wick Wire Rope for?

20190723_185826 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

This evening I started cleaning up the Impact sockets.

20190723_190415 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

The little side tray cleaned up nice.

20190723_193413 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Couple of shots of the Machine shop.

image0001a by bjohnson388, on Flickr

My dad still has the 72' GMC.

image0030 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

thanks for stopping in,

Bret

 

[LOW1]

Nice memories. Nice stuff.
Interesting that he didn't seem to have the **** retentive organization obsession that more people have today than yesterday. Probably didn't spend a whole lot of time polishing his tools but just worked instead?

 

[bj383ss]

Nice memories. Nice stuff.
Interesting that he didn't seem to have the **** retentive organization obsession that more people have today than yesterday. Probably didn't spend a whole lot of time polishing his tools but just worked instead?

Thank You. He was definitely a perfectionist but you hit the nail on the head. He had a business to run and his tool earned their keep. Not to say he didn't take good care of them.

Bret

 

[bj383ss]

Screwdriver drawer out on the bench for cleaning.

Grandpa's screwdrivers. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

These Protos are my favorite. They have had good use but still in good shape.

Grandpa's screwdrivers. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

I also really like the wood handle ones. I just cleaned them today but I want to put a couple of coats of shellac on them in the future.

Grandpa's screwdrivers. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

This drawer honestly wasn't all the dirty. And thanks to this forum I figured out how to remove toolbox drawers. I pulled this one and cleaned and relubed the slides.

Grandpa's screwdrivers drawer before cleaning. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

And I added some cork at had laying around.

Grandpa's screwdrivers drawer after cleaning and cork added. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

And after.

Grandpa's screwdrivers. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

I mounted up a buffing wheel mandrel I made for my lathe and I think that just opened up another rabbit hole.

Buffing wheel setup on the lathe for cheap. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Now I know why ScoutCrafter polishes all his tools.

Oh the rabbit whole the buffing wheel has created. by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Bret

 

[bj383ss]

My first tool restores.

20190728_102119 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Wire brushed.

20190728_110915 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Clean, brushed, polished, and ready for paint.

20190728_155315 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

I will mask it differently next time. The tape didn't seal well against the rough casting. I needed to move the tape further up on the smooth part where it will not allow the paint to run under.

20190730_185102 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Crescent Adjustable Wrench Before_After 002 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Crescent Adjustable Wrench Before_After by bjohnson388, on Flickr

This old claw hammer was my grandpa's I have had it for a long time. It's a Stanley and the handle was real loose.

I drove some Popsicle sticks in with some wood glue to tighten up the handle. Followed by daily dose of Boiled Linseed oil for a week.

20190728_160139 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

20190728_160926 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Not sure if the Green paint was original. I was able to get most of it off so I put 2 coats of Gunstock stain followed by 5 coats of Shellac on.

20190730_184948 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

This old hammer is not even recognizable and much more enjoyable to hold and use now.

20190801_105536 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

20190801_105625 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

20190801_105630 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Back in its home.

20190801_105817 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Hammer Before_After 002 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

Hammer Before_After 001 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

It is a lot of fun polishing out this old metal. Very addictive. I understand now why Don Long polishes all his stuff.

20190801_105614 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Great job on that hammer!

 

[Jack84]

Nice jobs on the restorations.