Dad's Toolbox

[lavron]

Today I went out in the shed and decided to go through one of the toolboxes of my dad's that I got after he passed away, even though it has been several years now a lot of the things I moved over are still just sitting in the garage, I have been using an angle grinder out of this box so I decided to see what else was in it.



This is the odd assortment of tools that were in this box plus some screws and nails etc.



A couple of interesting things that were in there is this, what I believe is a steel paint stick, I thought it was a rusty ruler at first but it has stamped wording that says "DU PONT - LUCITE - CENTARI - DULUX"



Also there was this big monkey wrench, I guess that is what it is? I don't know if it once had a wooden handle or was meant to work with a cheater bar, it looks like a cheater was used on it and bent the handle.



I put them both in molasses to de-rust them, because it is sitting there and I figure why not

The last thing that is slightly interesting is this big piece of brass that looks like he used as a big drift punch.



I am not sure what it originally was but it is about 1" in diameter and about 6 or 7" long.

I kinda wish the wrench for the angle grinder would have been in there so I could change the wheel on it, the wrench for mine doesn't fit it.

Anyway I thought it was interesting, I have a few totes I dumped his tools into when we sold his house that I haven't unpacked yet but need to sometime, I figure the best honor/remembrance I can give to my dad is to use his tools like they were intended to be.

See Ya,
Mike

[fryedaddy]

i love old tools,i have my grandpas tool box,it had a hand drill,old planers,wrenches,etc. i dont know if there is a demand for them or not but i have a set of wrenches stamped FORD on them,that are in his box,they must have came with an old model A or something

[popscomet]

My dad gathered up a tool box and gave to me when I was about 15 or 16 yrso to carry in my old ford,,I still have most of those tools,and when he passed away I had to split with my brother all his stuff,after his death my mother called me and said ..come get his tools and his car,he had a 1962 chevy station wagon,283 standard shift ,a great wagon,he was a ford man but he got such a buy on the chevy wagon and he wanted one so bad that he bought it,even at a young age I gave him hell,,but he was my dad so everything was cool !! I loaded that wagon down with tool boxes and sheet metal working tools and came home and called my brother and told him ,he came up to the house and I told him we are not going to split them up ,I told him to take what ever he wanted,if he wanted them all,then take them,so he got some and said for me to keep the rest and if he needed some he knew where they were.,,,,and some time later he called me and ask what was I gonna do with the wagon?I told him to come and get it,he traded it for a ford PU,,,,my dad passed 4-30-74 and to this very day ,,me my son and his son still use those sheet metal tools while building these race car bodies,,,includeing a 1/4 inch electric drill,,,how long does a 'lectric drill last ?? Sometimes when grd son picks up one of dad's tools,,I say to him,,BE CAREFUL WITH THAT ,,THAT WAS MY DADS'........POP

[CALIFORNIA CALIENTE]

POP;Great Story!My sister got some of Dads tools and my Fathers lady friends son took some! I got all the BIG impact sockets,already had my own sets of tools!!When my Grandfather died,my Father and I went down and I got a lot of wood working tools,he had a TON,left A LOT for my three cousins too,still have most of the ones I took!!!! ROY.

[popscomet]

they don't make tools like they used to,,I have a half inch dr ratchet that has a spring loaded ball in the end,so's you can add a drop of oil...and I know for a fact that my dad brought it with him in 1960 from GERMANY when we moved back to the USA....still works like a clock ,,I keep it put away ,don't use it much,,,it may grow wings and fly the coop......or get lost ...........thanks POP

[lavron]

My Dad's (pretty much like my own) are an assortment of higher end tools and cheap stuff; Craftsman, Buffalo, Snap-On, Harbor Freight and unknown stuff etc. The one thing I have a lot of that he didn't is Stanley, a few years ago on payday every two weeks I would stop at Walmart and buy a tool, I thought the Stanley stuff seemed well made for the price and I have had it now for several years without issue.

When I was in High School I bought a bunch of Buffalo tools; wrenches, sockets, wooden handled screw drivers etc. from one of those tool sale things that set up in an old building (or mall, we didn't have one of those), actually it was the old Chevy dealership after it closed up (we only had a Ford dealership in town, still do but now they sell Jeep-Chrysler as well) I have used and abused those tools for well over 30 years, I have broke a few of the wooden handles off the screwdrivers using them as chisels and I don't think I have any of the ratchets left, still have a few of the sockets but they tended to split, overall they held up really well for a poor guy that loved to work on cars

My brother always had to have Craftsman, when he decided to switch from American cars to imports he gave me all his SAE stuff, I bet he wished he hadn't done that because he is back to American cars now, but he doesn't work on them, I am sure he had a new set of Craftsman now, too bad he doesn't live closer so I could get his cast off stuff. BTW - I am the cool son, he drove a '72 Pinto in High School/College, I had my Comet (Actually the Pinto was a good little car and it was totaled when an old lady pulled out in front of him when he was coming home for the summer his freshmen year of college, we spent the summer hunting around JY until we actually found some Pintos that had been hit in the rear without exploding and put a new clip on the front, with the extra money from insurance, he got a set of ET Mags/Radial TAs and put on it, pulled the seat covers and carpet out because he had ordered new ones from JC Whitney but didn't like them when he got them so he sent them back and that car never had them the rest of it's life, and a red car with a light blue fender and hood )

Well I took that off subject

See Ya,
Mike

[Rocket989]

I've got a few of Dad's tools (twin brother got most of 'em). Also a few of the things Mom used to keep for general around the house stuff. A lot of the hand tools I have, I bought about 30-years ago...saved/ spent all my money on tools for about 2-years. Didn't buy a single car part during that time!! Still have and use the same air compressor too!!

To put it in perspective...when one of my tools breaks (rarely) I pretty much just replace it. My folks stuff is different! I still have the first cordless drill displayed in the workshop. Also, a few years back I was doing something (?) with the tailgate on the truck. I was in a hurry since I was slated to fly out in a couple hours for the job. Well, I left one of Mom's screwdrivers and a pair of Dad's pliers on the bumper!! Didn't think about it until well down the Interstate!!

I turned the truck around and retraced the whole route from home...you can always catch a later flight! But no luck, despite plenty of folks honking at me for going the minimum MPH!! STILL mad at myself when I think about it!!!

[Jims65cyclone]

I inherited my dad's tools when he passed away. Like Mike's dad, my dad had some weird stuff in his tool cabinets. He was the Macgyver of tools. If he had a special task that he didn't have a wrench he could get into the position with, he'd cut up a cheap wrench, weld some steel rod between the ends, then heat and bend it to just the right shape to do the job. I'm still going through his tools little by little. It's a poignant task. I'll open a drawer and there'll be test leads coiled up with the ends clipped together so they wouldn't get tangled, and be ready for the next time he needed them. Another drawer will have miscellaneous clips, screws, washers, fittings, etc. that he was saving just in case he could use them on a future project. (He was a product of the Great Depression, and NEVER threw away something that MIGHT have a future use.) The one that really got to me was the can of axle grease that still had the tracks of his fingers in it from the last wheel bearing he packed. I just put the lid back on it, put it on the shelf and bought a new can to use.
Jim

[Rocket989]

Man, some fine stories in here...!! Not bad for a tool thread!

[lavron]

The one that really got to me was the can of axle grease that still had the tracks of his fingers in it from the last wheel bearing he packed. I just put the lid back on it, put it on the shelf and bought a new can to use.

That is awesome, and yes axle grease is cheap, memories are not.

He was the Macgyver of tools

I remember when we were putting the police interceptor in my old '62 F100, the AOD took some kind of special wrench (I think it was a 10mm) mostly it had to be short to fit, as I recall, dad went and dug out an old 10MM box end and cut it to length and even ground the cut end smooth like a factory made handle, I think I still have that wrench.

My dad kept everything too and when I was cleaning out his shed I ended up leaving a bunch of stuff simply because I had no place to put them and I was running out of time to get them out, that is why I dumped every tool I could find into the totes. I hated leaving all that stuff.

See Ya,
Mike

[popscomet]

Man, some fine stories in here...!! Not bad for a tool thread!

the stories that appear from a random post,is what helps make this place such a enjoyable place to be apart of....pop

[lavron]

So as I have been getting back into the swing of things I drug my old toolbox out, I bought this box probably when I was 15 or 16 (my first toolbox) I am going to guess that it is a Buffalo toolbox and was probably cheap but I have had it for almost 40 years, it has been to many a junkyard and, in fact, I refilled it with tools and it went to JY with me last time. I made room in my truck toolbox for it too fit so I could just pull it out when I needed too.



I really have too much stuff in it and it weighs a ton but you know all that stuff is needed, just in case

I have a big toolbox on wheels that is actually and old steel cabinet they were getting rid of at the newspaper when I worked there, it was made to hold newspaper sized negatives, so it has about 8 drawers 2 or so inches deep with the bottom one about 3" or 4" deep, the bottom was a little rusty so I cut two pieces of plywood the same size as the bottom and sandwiched the steel between them and added caster wheels too it, I am sure it will outlast me. It needs reorganized something fierce

I have decided one can not have too many toolboxes, today my wife said I needed to sell some tools because I am a hoarder and had too many, truth be told I am a looser, in I loose a lot of stuff so I need multiples

See Ya,
Mike

[poboyjo65]

A man can't get too many tools, but his shop can get too small.

[Jims65cyclone]

The small tool box that I got for Christmas in my early teens is my JY tool box now. It's the smaller curved top Craftsman box, and my dad had filled it with the basics: ball peen hammer, screwdrivers, pliers, sockets, ratchet, combination wrenches, etc. It served me well.
Jim

[CALIFORNIA CALIENTE]

John;YOU NAILED IT!!! I did not realize how many tools I had until I moved!!!!!!!! ROY.