Keeping old tools

[churchmouse]

Could hand them down to a young man and train him(or her) proper usage?

Morgan88

My son/SIL are about the only ones I am aware of that actually want to know/learn.

 

[HoughMade]

My Dad used to do piano tuning and repair as a hobby/part time business. He had a couple of large cases he made that held all his tools in perfectly fitted slots. I have no use for them, but a young man in my Mom's church is getting into piano tuning and even though my Dad's stuff is 35-40 years old, it is still useful, especially because of the number of old pianos out there.

My sons and I are taking Dad's woodworking tools. My oldest son is excited to get a nice hand plane.....excited​, but he's probably a better woodworker than I am. He also got a Shopsmith Mark V from his other grandpa.

My younger son is more of metal/mechanic type. He will get most of my tools because that's the direction I run. I have wrenches and socket sets that I've had since high school (late '80s). Most of my more specialized tools (engine rebuild stuff) is less than 20 years old.

 

[gregkl]

My son/SIL are about the only ones I am aware of that actually want to know/learn.

Same with my son/SIL. Son would take more of my tools but being in the Air Force and moving a lot, he doesn't want to have too much stuff.

 

[thunderchicken]

My step son has zero mechanical/carpentry/handyman skills and has no desire to learn. He keeps telling me he isn't worried about it because he plans to make enough money to pay people to do it for him. He is very out of touch with reality and unrealistic with his curewnt skill set. I do however have a nephew that wants to learn everything about fixing stuff.

 

[littletommy]

I have a bunch of old Penncraft sockets, ratchets, and wrenches that belonged to my dad, along with a few large pipe wrenches, a few planes, and really cool old draw knife that I remember seeing him use when I was a kid. I use the Penncraft stuff pretty regularly, but haven’t done a wood working project with any of the wood tools. I’ll never get rid of any of it, obviously, and hopefully when I’m gone, one of my sons will take the stuff and show it the respect I have.

I hoard tools and other items I might need around the house. Plumbing fittings, pex stuff, including the tubing, electrical crap, wire, junction boxes, breakers, building materials, 2x4s, 2x6s, plywood, nails, screws, shingles for the roof.....I have the stuff and the ability to do a pretty major repair if need be. Only thing I’ve ever hired anyone to do to the house is carpet (and I have the tools to do the job) and our HVAC system upgrade a couple years ago.

 

[gregkl]

My step son has zero mechanical/carpentry/handyman skills and has no desire to learn. He keeps telling me he isn't worried about it because he plans to make enough money to pay people to do it for him. He is very out of touch with reality and unrealistic with his curewnt skill set. I do however have a nephew that wants to learn everything about fixing stuff.

I don't know how old your stepson is by it is fairly common for Millennials to know what they studied and went to school for and very little outside of that. DIY is becoming a lost art. I think that is why the distressed, beat up, weathered stuff is so popular. Takes less craftsmanship to produce.

I mean watch some YouTube videos on how to do stuff. Sometimes I see more videos on how NOT to do something! I can't believe that people actually take the time to record their ineptitude and then post it online as a "how to"!

I guess I'm being too hard on the younger generation. After all, I have been working on my skills for over 40 years. I should cut them a break.

 

[churchmouse]

I don't know how old your stepson is by it is fairly common for Millennials to know what they studied and went to school for and very little outside of that. DIY is becoming a lost art. I think that is why the distressed, beat up, weathered stuff is so popular. Takes less craftsmanship to produce.

I mean watch some YouTube videos on how to do stuff. Sometimes I see more videos on how NOT to do something! I can't believe that people actually take the time to record their ineptitude and then post it online as a "how to"!

I guess I'm being too hard on the younger generation. After all, I have been working on my skills for over 40 years. I should cut them a break.

No....not really. They are pretty much disconnected from the business end of a screwdriver. Most have no desire to ever pick one up.

 

[gregkl]

On a side note, it is interesting to me how many of you have tools from your grandfathers. Neat. My grandfather was a WWI and WWII German vet. He lived in Germany all his life, I saw him once. I have no idea if he had tools(I suspect not) or what he did back in those days. I do know other than being a soldier, he was an artist. Would have been cool to get his artist tools.

My dad ran a restaurant and that pretty much consumed his life. When I was 4 we bought a brand new home so it didn't need much. He would do some landscaping type stuff, but that was about it.

I was a tinkerer from an early age. Still am. Automotive work, I learned by interest. Home repair I learned by necessity. Both have been a blessing and a curse.

 

[churchmouse]

On a side note, it is interesting to me how many of you have tools from your grandfathers. Neat. My grandfather was a WWI and WWII German vet. He lived in Germany all his life, I saw him once. I have no idea if he had tools(I suspect not) or what he did back in those days. I do know other than being a soldier, he was an artist. Would have been cool to get his artist tools.

My dad ran a restaurant and that pretty much consumed his life. When I was 4 we bought a brand new home so it didn't need much. He would do some landscaping type stuff, but that was about it.

I was a tinkerer from an early age. Still am. Automotive work, I learned by interest. Home repair I learned by necessity. Both have been a blessing and a curse.

My dad was consumed by work and personal interests.
He had some basic tools and I was constantly using them to make/repair/modify things. There was no internet, cell phones, gaming, cable etc. We had to entertain ourselves. That is where I learned my skills and advanced them at every turn.

 

[HoughMade]

My step son has zero mechanical/carpentry/handyman skills and has no desire to learn. He keeps telling me he isn't worried about it because he plans to make enough money to pay people to do it for him. He is very out of touch with reality and unrealistic with his curewnt skill set. I do however have a nephew that wants to learn everything about fixing stuff.

I'm not quite sure he knows how much money he will have to make that a reality. I do OK and I am very glad that I don't have to pay someone for every little thing. Besides, what am I going to do on evenings and weekends, watch TV and play video games?

 

[thunderchicken]

I'm not quite sure he knows how much money he will have to make that a reality. I do OK and I am very glad that I don't have to pay someone for every little thing. Besides, what am I going to do on evenings and weekends, watch TV and play video games?

He is 19 and has almost no motivation to do much of anything. Dropped out of high school a year ago and is now going to some school where he is able to finish his credits to "graduate"...in November. Says he plans to be a video game designer. I tried giving him a dose of reality but the "teachers" keep telling him to go for it. I keep telling him he needs to find a trade he can get into. But he tells me.."I don't want a crappy job like yours". I just hope when he graduates maybe the Army will take him

 

[churchmouse]

He is 19 and has almost no motivation to do much of anything. Dropped out of high school a year ago and is now going to some school where he is able to finish his credits to "graduate"...in November. Says he plans to be a video game designer. I tried giving him a dose of reality but the "teachers" keep telling him to go for it. I keep telling him he needs to find a trade he can get into. But he tells me.."I don't want a crappy job like yours". I just hope when he graduates maybe the Army will take him

Stop feeding/clothing him with your "Crappy" job money.

 

[Bennettjh]

I can't recall getting rid of tools. I started working at 16 and the Snap-on guy comes to our shop. If something breaks or wears out, they usually replace it with new.

I've been very fortunate to watch my Dad and some of his friends build/fix all kinds of things. Mainly cars/hot rods but some electrical and house stuff. I'm 26 and I'm surprised at some of the people my age that don't want to DIY. Just step back and watch the pro's and you'll learn something.

 

[thunderchicken]

Stop feeding/clothing him with your "Crappy" job money.

I would but momma won't take the same hard stand. She is much nicer about it than I am. I make the kid work every chance I get. She tries but she is to kind natured

 

[1DOWN4UP]

I would but momma won't take the same hard stand. She is much nicer about it than I am. I make the kid work every chance I get. She tries but she is to kind natured

I tell em all after I die,they will be living in the street in a month.

 

[churchmouse]

I tell em all after I die,they will be living in the street in a month.

My kids all seem to have realized that their mother and I made all this "Life/Living" thing look way to easy.

It is not.

 

[russc2542]

old tools go to a separate bin for eligibility to be made into custom tools. Once becoming a custom tool, they return to the main toolbox in the custom tool drawer.

My FIL is great at finishing and restoring (hobbyist level). He recently tried his hand at built from scratch, one of those Adirondack chairs. Holy hell. We expected better work out of the actors taking the requisite tech classes back when I was doing tech theatre in school. Almost 2" low on the one corner.

 

[gregkl]

My kids all seem to have realized that their mother and I made all this "Life/Living" thing look way to easy.

It is not.

Note my current signature line. There is some truth in it.

 

[churchmouse]

Note my current signature line. There is some truth in it.

Bingo.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

My oldest son is excited to get a nice hand plane.....excited​, but he's probably a better woodworker than I am.

My dad gave me the old Stanley Bench plane that he'd gotten from my grandfather, at first just to clean it up, sharpen and tune it. Then when I showed it to him, he told me to keep it. "I know where it is if I ever need it" he said.

I use it often and for me, it doesn't get much better than to run that plane over a board and see the whisper thin shaving gliding out the top.