Granddad's Toolchest

[Footballjoe]

I had an interesting afternoon. My grandfather (on my dads side) died over 50 years ago. I was very young and really don't remember him but do remember his body being at my grandmothers for viewing (thats the way it was done back then) and I remember being at the gravesite when he was buried. He was a carpenter by trade. Last week I got his old wooden tool chest from my mothers house. My dad got all his dads tools when granddad died. My dad died in 1976 so my brothers and I have been have inherited all his tools and have divided them up and been using them over the years. The tool chest was kinda left behind. It is a simple chest but in pretty good condition. The outside was painted grey and the interior had been varinshed. I sanded down the exterior removing most of the old paint and gave the interior a good cleaning. I will repaint the exterior (not sure what color) and leave the interior as is. I had a good feeling today working on Pops toolchest. I will fill it with his tools and make a special place for it in my garage. I still have his DeWalt radial arm saw, handsaws, hand drill and bits, framing square, chisels and a few other things.

[slambo]

Non-human tools are cool, especially inherited ones.

[Chief Dick]

I've been carrying around my grandfathers tool chest for probably 20 years. He was an immigrant that used his tools to make extra money around his neighborhood.

[Perchoutofwater]

I've got a couple of old surveying levels from my grandfather. One dates back to the early 40's the other to the late 50's. The one from the 40's is just like this, but the leather strap on the case needs replaced.

[Scooby's Hubby]

I have kept my Grandad's tools, too. They are from the depression. I have the folding measuring sticks, hand drills, planers, oiler with slinky spout, and old levels.

 

What was really cool was keeping his old tackle box. It still has his old pipe he used to smoke out of. I also have his fly reels. Aw man, now you got me all teary eyed thinking of this stuff. He sure was a good man.

[SteelBunz]

Nice, FBJ! The chest will be a nice piece to have around simply for the memories.

 

I had the pleasure 2 yrs ago of helping my father-in-law (in his 80s) sort, clean out and reorganize his workshop before selling his house. He was an installer and electrician for Sears for 40some years and a passionate woodworker as a hobby. It was hard to overlook the sadness of him losing his workspace as their new apartment wouldn't have too much room for any of his major tools.

 

So we sort of played 'stump the carpenter' all afternoon.....lol. I think he had a good time going through everything with someone who could appreciate his collection. It's a memory I'll treasure always.

[Perchoutofwater]

I've got a hammer, a masons scale (probably what Scooby's Hubby is calling folding measuring sticks), a hand plane, a plumb bob, a fine cut finish saw, a square, and a level that belonged to my great-grandfather.

[matt770]

My grandfather had all those old-timey tools too, the folding ruler/tape measure thing, the hand drill, etc. Kept everything neatly hung on pegboard with the outlines traced so he knew right where to replace them. He also had about 10 mason jars with their lids nailed to the bottom of a shelf, filled with nuts, blots, screws, washers, etc, all sorted by size and type. Whenever he worked on a project and had something left over, he'd put it in one of these jars, and when he needed one for a new project, he'd check a jar and always find what he needed. Might take 10 minutes with everything scattered all over the workbench, but he'd find it. I do the same, except I have one of those plastic cases with a bunch of compartments. Always think of him when I go searching.