Wish I'd had more time with Dad !

[skyking]

Today I was in the shop and I grabbed a drill........the chuck was frozen and no key.WTF , where did this pos come from .Then I smilled and nearly started to cry .My dad passed 12 years ago at 68 .I received all his tools and moved mom near me. Nothing he had was worth having. He even had a large bucket of bent nails. This is a man that was far too frugal .He never made much on the job but was great at flipping real real estate.If I had known ,I would have gone to sears and spent a grand and tooled him up . He just needed a basic set. He left $700,000 ,he could have spent just a little more and lived so much better.

Don,t scrimp on the things that matter. You will probably all die with money.

PS . Love and miss you POP .

 

[atlinwi202]

It was a different generation. Thank you for sharing.

 

[mtwaterguy]

Sounds like my Dad. He'd rather leave it than spend it on himself.

 

[Rust]

Story of my life.
Funny how the miles seperate people, but their story is the same.

 

[kert]

Today I was in the shop and I grabbed a drill........the chuck was frozen and no key.WTF , where did this pos come from .Then I smilled and nearly started to cry .My dad passed 12 years ago at 68 .I received all his tools and moved mom near me. Nothing he had was worth having. He even had a large bucket of bent nails. This is a man that was far too frugal .He never made much on the job but was great at flipping real real estate.If I had known ,I would have gone to sears and spent a grand and tooled him up . He just needed a basic set. He left $700,000 ,he could have spent just a little more and lived so much better.

Don,t scrimp on the things that matter. You will probably all die with money.

PS . Love and miss you POP .

I remember being paid to straighten nails as a kid.

My dad was really upset with my grandmother (his mother) one year for buying him a top of the line DeWalt circular saw. He said she spent too much. My sister in law bought him a coffee maker for christmas last year and he was mad because he said "I already have 2 coffee makers and I think I can get one good one out of them."

I have certainly inherited some of his frugal tendencies; I once told my brother, who was helping me paint, that he was putting too much paint on the well.

My dad has rental property and is not doing as well at 75 as he was at 65. My brothers and I have tried hard to convince him to start winding down his business, but he just bought 6 more houses. I've come to realize that you can't stop him from trying to make money or save money. He has more money than he will ever spend. Hell, I think he could live his current lifestyle (excluding buying more houses) on Social Security.

 

[pop pop]

My dad has rental property and is not doing as well at 75 as he was at 65. My brothers and I have tried hard to convince him to start winding down his business, but he just bought 6 more houses. I've come to realize that you can't stop him from trying to make money or save money. He has more money than he will ever spend. Hell, I think he could live his current lifestyle (excluding buying more houses) on Social Security.

Let him operate as long as he feels he can. That is what keeps them in the game and going. My Dad is 89 and I'm now 67 and beginning the slow down process.

 

[crewchief888]

yea i wish i woulda spent more time wit my dad too.

he was the same way, never spent any money on himself, usually "made do or got by" with what he had.
the few times i remember him buying a tool, it was during a basement renovation, after burning up a couple cheap small 3/8"drills, he broke down and bought a 1/2" drill to drill the floor and walls for anchors.

in '78 after he passed, i took most of his hand tools,(thankfully) when i moved out.
mom remarried and gave her new husband the rest of dad's powertools.
never saw any of them again.

i'm pretty much the same as my dad, i have what i need to get the job done, and dont spend money on myself.
last few tool related purchases that were made, the wife or step daughter bought me something for x-mas or fathers day.

 

[toymn6366]

know what you mean my 73 year old dad called me sounding like kid buying a new bike,he had found a foreclosed C store building that he had made the bank a offer on.i told him that i thought you where slowing down some not buying he said hell with that its a good deal

 

[dandan111]

I keep my nova in my dads shop,he died of cancer 3 years ago. It's depressing to hang out there now.

 

[skyking]

By the time we are smart enough and financially able to do more for them .......they are gone.Moments before he passed I wispered to him , don't worry about mom ,I've got her from here. I have her living 3 miles from me and call or see her nearly every day.I take care of all her buisness and she wants for nothing. I know he would be proud of his son.

 

[bassman]

My Dad was frugal too, wish I had more time with him, he passed away a cple mo. ago. He repaired everything instead of buying new. I spent a lot of time with him though, lived with me 4.5 yrs, then had to put him in assisted living facility down the road. Saw him almost every day, and was with him in the hospital when he passed away. Can't say enough good things about him, wish I could be half the man he was, he was 85. Its good to have a father you can look up to. He was an auto mech and body man, his own shop with brathers, no wonder I'm a motor head garage freak!

 

[theoldwizard1]

Don't scrimp on the things that matter. You will probably all die with money.

It really hard to shift gears from saving money to spending money, but I am trying ! (I need to take some pics of new tool additions.)

Been retired 5 years. No big fancy vacations. The wife's car is 14 years old, mine is 6.

Biggest purchase for ourselves was a 42" LCD TV a couple of years ago. Just got digital cable a few months ago (hundreds of channels, only a handful worth watching)

I have started college funds for my grandkids (they are 3) and bought a few things for my kids homes.

Mom and Dad pinched pennies so hard that Lincoln squeaked. A few years after Mom passed, Dad got re-married and finally started enjoying life (cruises, winters in FL, etc).

 

[timbitca]

Sounds like a product of the great depression, just like my grandfather who left this world the 21st of July, 2011. Had a lot, but wouldn't spend a dime to save his own life. He left me with a great piece of property, a house my mother just put nearly 100k in renovations in it (not that it was in bad shape, it just needed updating but wouldn't do it for himself), some garages and a whole bunch of tools... no truck brand of anything or any higher end brands for that matter, but it all works and does the job. My grandfather was a self made man, never had any higher education than a 2nd grade in school but he was the smartest man I knew. He worked on the construction of the Dew-Line in the 50's and at a paper mill back home from 1942 until his retirement in 1986. He died last July having lived a wonderful 85 years and whenever questioned he would say he had been terribly lucky to have been able to live his life. As a kid of the great depression and having grown up on a farm, they were of the fortunate ones; they never had a lot of money but they had plenty of food. With that said they were told and learned to re-use everything possible and never throw away anything that might be useful, which has led him and his 10 brothers to become borderline hoarders. I've been cleaning his stuff and, I have to admit somewhat regretfully throwing away a lot of stuff since last July, but I'm almost seeing the light of the tunnel

With that said... anyone want a few buckets of straightened nails?

There's not an hour that goes by when I'm back home that I don't think of him, and when I'm out working on the land or in the garage, you can make that a minute. A lot of cherished memories from the last 26 years, and I hope I never forgot a single one of them.

 

[rsanter]

I have learned so much from my dad. one of the last of the jack of all trades
I inherited his do it yourself attitude.

ove the years I have tried to do more with him while he is still able
we go to sema together every year just for the fun of it

bob

 

[JWC07]

My dad just passed 2 weeks ago tomorrow. He left me all his tools but I just keep getting mine out. He was thrifty but never really had much, however he had decent tools. 'Course he left a ton of used mower parts and random stuff that he thought he might need some day. Like a 5 gallon bucket full of spark plugs.

 

[cj7365]

point well taken, I am in my late forties, and my friend and I have finally almost got what we wanted in tools, shop, and toys etc....we just talked about how our kids are gonna have it made when where gone

 

[goodspeed]

When I was a kid a wheel fell off one of my toy trucks. I, being 4 years old or so, started crying and wanted to go get another one. My dad shared with me the knowledge that, it's already broken. If we try and fix it and it doesn't work, then we'll go get a new one.

Well, he showed me how to fix it that first time, and the next time it happened, I was incredibly proud to have been able to fix it myself.

More recently, my mortgage broker kept telling me to find something that's move in ready, and couldn't understand why I enjoyed fixing things.

Thankfully, I haven't lost my father, yet, but being as that there is 39ish years between us, I do worry about it daily. I'm hoping to be able to restore one of his Studebakers with him before he's unable to.

 

[Daedalus]

I have finally heard of another person's father who keeps bent nails, so thank you. So far every time I've told that story all I got was disbelief. Both my parents grew up in the shadow of the great depression, in the 30s and 40s. One winter when my mother was little her father took all the family dogs "out back" and shot them so they would no longer have to starve. But now I have the opposite problem as some of you. My parents are keen to NOT make me have to sort through their stuff upon their passing, so now they're getting rid of a lot of things, and I'm too far away to have a say on whether any of the items are things I might want to keep.

 

[dodge610]

Dad passed away 12 yrs. ago think about him still when i repair it instead of replace it. there was nothing he could not fix or try too. His tools were all craftsman me my brother and brother in law split his tools evenly. I still use a lot of them today Dad was 84 when he passed had allteimers what a nasty disease. I miss him dearly he like the other dads left us a good chunk of change which put a good down payment on my house and hassent my son to college the last 4 yrs. Plus enabled my wife and me to set up 2 retirement plans for the near future he was a hell of a man if I could be even half the man he was I would be happy.

 

[skyking]

Good fathers make good men. Mine taught me to work hard ,be self sufficient,
and respect others.I still open doors and call young and old ,Mam and Sir.
I dont back down even if it means getting my *** whipped.I love and honor my wife.I forgive easy and dont hate anyone. I thank God for every day. I'm not rich or brilliant but I am damn Happy.

 

[dodge610]

Good fathers make good men. Mine taught me to work hard ,be self sufficient,
and respect others.I still open doors and call young and old ,Mam and Sir.
I dont back down even if it means getting my *** whipped.I love and honor my wife.I forgive easy and dont hate anyone. I thank God for every day. I'm not rich or brilliant but I am damn Happy.

Ditto; on that skyking.

 

[jr_mints]

Well said Skyking.

 

[Knuckle Buster]

Good fathers make good men. Mine taught me to work hard ,be self sufficient,
and respect others.I still open doors and call young and old ,Mam and Sir.
I dont back down even if it means getting my *** whipped.I love and honor my wife.I forgive easy and dont hate anyone. I thank God for every day. I'm not rich or brilliant but I am damn Happy.

What your father left behind is worth more than money or tools.

 

[vhol5]

good fathers make good men. Mine taught me to work hard ,be self sufficient,
and respect others.i still open doors and call young and old ,mam and sir.
I dont back down even if it means getting my *** whipped.i love and honor my wife.i forgive easy and dont hate anyone. I thank god for every day. I'm not rich or brilliant but i am damn happy.

that!

 

[rvr6000]

My parents have both been retired for a while now. Not wealthy by definition but they aren't hurting for anything either....mainly because they didn't make foolish decisions when they were young. I hope they spend every last dime they have on themselves. They both worked hard their entire lives and deserve all the toys now.

One of my grandpa's used to save nails to use later and had buckets upon buckets of flat-head screws. Could feel the screwdriver slicing into my index finger just looking at them. We finally just hauled them all to the scrap yard after Grandpa passed. As someone mentioned....it was a different time and you didn't waste anything.

 

[Steves32]

My father died in 1968 so I don't have any tool stories w/ him to share.

However- one of the jobs I'm working on (home remodel) involved alot of work in the garage.
He passed away 25 years ago & she (my customer) is a sharp 82 yrs old. Part of the job involved cleaning out the garage for framing & cabinets. Problem was- he was a pack-rat & she hadn't been out there since he died. She said he had some tools & I was welcome to all of them.
Most of the stuff was rusted & not much use to me. Lots of hand saws & hand drills.
However- there were some gems in there- 3 Coca Cola coolers, many wrenches & socket sets, USA made tap & die sets in 3 wood boxes all the way up to about 2".
He didn't have bent nails but OMG- he had coffee cans full of bent & stripped screws. I'm talking maybe 40 3 lb cans full! He also saved old doors, a broken shower door, old torn screens, you name it.
It was fastenating to go through is stuff- even found his Vietnam era Air Force flight suits, jackets, masks, uniforms, boots & foot lockers. 3 lockers full. Those we donated to the US Air Force Museum- a gesture that moved her to tears. That's probably the point she gave me all the tools. I've never met the man but I feel I'll always have a connection to him through his garage.

 

[fflintstone]

I miss my dad too, although he was not frugal, actually mom had to unload a lot of his toys. He paid his bills but anything extra went to a good time. I am kinda the same now. I did however get bent nails and coffee cans of bolts from grandpa.
My biggest regret is dad never getting to meet his grandson.

 

[Fig]

Hey guys. Took me a while to make a first post, but this thread felt like the right one. My Dad is still around. My shop is being built right now, and they are working on the driveway this morning. The guys who framed out the slab left nails laying on the ground, and my Dad was out there yesterday with me picking them up, and he said "put them in a coffee can and label it 'bent nails'". So when I saw this thread I had to chuckle.

It's obviously hereditary because my Grandpa was the same way. I still have a couple of his junk trays where he would drop in anything that he figured might be of use at some point in the future.

 

[Spottty]

Geez this topic is insperational and depressing!
My dad kinda *****. Everything was about him and his happiness. We now talk about once a year on average. He has seen my youngest 3 times, he is 1.5 years old. It's wierd that I have a better connection with my father in law than my own dad.

I did however have an amazing grandpa on my moms side. He was the farmer save or fix anything type and a heart of gold. I didn't appreciate him when he was around and its crappy I didn't learn more from him. I spent last weekend at the farm he built from nothing, and I mean nothing. He broke the ground with his brother in the 1940's. Got to talk about him with my uncle who farmed with him. Was pretty great. The things that man did to provide for is family were amazing.

 

[camarotoolman]

Spent 10 years in the depression and then 4 years fighten Germans, that might be the reason.

 

[camarotoolman]

Spend 10 years in the depression and then 4 years fighting Germans, that might be the reason. My parents used to rinse out ketchup bottles so they wouldn't waste any.

 

[ForceFed70]

My grandfather is still alive and kicking thankfully.

He grew up in the depression and in some ways is still living it. The stories of the destitude and what they did to survive are really eye-opening. He was part of a family that was poor before the depression happened, so you can imagine how poor they must have been during the actual depression.
Some highlights:
- at 11yo getting up at 4am for chores and to hopefully bag a phesant with his .22 before he went to school so that the family would have something to eat for dinner
- eating bacon with holes in it. I never did understand what this was all about until much later when I realized that the holes were from maggots eating through the meat.
- My great-grandfather worked 16hrs a day 6.5days a week (he got to go to church on Sunday) JUST for the privelige of his family staying in a ranch-house. They got some food from the ranch, but the wife and kids were responsible for raising money to fill the gaps (food, clothing, school books, etc)

As a result, my Grandfather simply cannot spend money. He's still sort of stuck with an over-inflated value of a dolar. They've got lots in the bank, but won't spend it because everything is crazy expensive in their minds... even if they can afford the crazy expensive prices. I've watched him work for 2 weeks straight just to save $200 over buying something new.

 

[fflintstone]

My dad kinda *****. Everything was about him and his happiness. We now talk about once a year on average. He has seen my youngest 3 times, he is 1.5 years old. It's wierd that I have a better connection with my father in law than my own dad.

My wife’s biological father has never seen his 6 year old grandson, never sent a gift or card.

 

[70Chevy]

My dad passed in 1992, he was 62....I was 24. My daughter was not quite 2 years old...I wish she could have spent time with him. He struggled the last 15 years of his life trying to own and run his tool and die company. He was a much better machinist than a business man.
What I find that I miss the most lately is his advice.... I don't think he was ever wrong.
I

 

[geezer48]

nice story skyking,i agree

 

[theoldwizard1]

I have finally heard of another person's father who keeps bent nails, ...

OMG !

I just remembered. There is a bag full of bent nails sitting in my son's garage next to a bag of lag screws and galvanized carriage bolts from various things we have torn down.

Yes, I put them there. But I have actually used some of them !!


BTW: Dad did not save old nail, but he had a huge number of jars of various nuts, bolts and screws.

 

[sr71]

...there is a reason I'm on here and it started with my Dad. Had a small shop at home and fixed everything for anyone that asked. He wasn't big on teaching or perhaps I was a poor listener or perhaps a little of both but somehow his enthusiasm rubbed off on me..... A few years ago he told me he wanted a change...wanted to convert his shop into a pool hall (bit of a shock) Make a long story short ....his shop is now part of my shop (complete with every bent nail, copper fitting, automotive electrical switch, lawnmower part etc. that he saved..... and he is getting back to something he really enjoyed when he was young - pool/snooker. He just tuned 80.

 

[dtep]

Threads like this are one of the reasons that I enjoy this Community so much. Real men who understand what's important in life.

I was driving south on I-71 from Cleveland a few months ago and stopped at Grandpa's Cheese Barn in Ashland, Ohio. In the gift shop, I saw a plaque that said "No matter how tall I get, I'll always look up to my Dad". I didn't buy it, but I've thought about it many times and after reading these stories, it'll be mine after my next trip up there.

I'm in the middle of a garage build and Dad (76 years old, retired carpenter) has been over a couple of times to check on progress. He's been volunteering ideas and wants to help me finish the inside. I've been hesitant because of his age, but this thread made me decide two things: 1) Let Dad help as much as he wants/can and 2) Hang that plaque in a prominent place in the garage.

 

[danroy323]

I'm also wishing my dad was still with us. Most of what I know in all kinds of manual work, construction, mechanics, etc and my interest for everything mechanical I owe it to him. I remember that I found it weird when I was 6-7 years old that my friends had no idea what a piston or a crankshaft were! I also inherited the thinking of doing everything myself instead of paying someone to do it and to try and repair things instead of throwing them away.

Dad passed away from cancer in december 2010. He had just turned 64, I was 32. Dad had a nice garage and lots of tools. Often people entering his garage asked him how he managed to get all of that. He would always answer "Well I don't drink or smoke and we don't spend a lot on vacation and entertaiment." When he took his vacation weeks it was always to work on some project on the house or in the garage. Each time he was on a real vacation with my mom he had the impression he was wasting his time.

As one of my brother is living in Europe and the other one is autist I inherited most of his tools. I spent last summer building my garage. I started sorting and moving his stuff to my place this summer. Although I knew his shop and tools well (I grew around the tools and built the shop with him when I was 14) I had not realized just how much he had accumulated. His way of cleaning the garage was to build new shelfs and closets and fill them with stuff. I found countless pills bottles filled with small screws, buckets of bent nails that he almost never reused and countless other things, some useful, some much less.

It's too bad that he didn't get to see my shop as it's really his shop and tools but with better organization and planning.

But more important than that he got to be a grandfather for a whole 9 months before passing away.

I'll stop here, I'm starting to cry!!

Je m'ennuie de toi papa!
(it means "I'm missing you dad", I'm french canadian...)

 

[classicharleyj]

Man.... this brings so many emotions and thoughts to my mind. Three years ago, I was going through a painful divorce during December and needed to get out of town for awhile.
I went to visit my Dad, the week between Christmas and New Years, and spent the whole week helping him put the motor,which he rebuilt, back in my sisters Protege. We got it back in and I left on Sunday happy I had taken that week to see him. My sister called me the following Tuesday and said she had found Dad, slumped over the steering wheel of his old Ford Tractor... dead of a massive heart attack... I can only be thankful for what he taught me, although I was not liking him at the time, while he was trying to teach me to be a man.
Jim