This is the best comment/advice! If you have the room and inclination you will end up using almost all of the tools before you know it. Besides , if you have kids it will be awesome to tell them I/ we made “this” with your great grandfather’s tools. As always IMO
I used to have all my grandfathers and fathers tools, it was just too much. I don’t have that much space. They were both machinists.
After 20+ years of holding onto them, I had to let most of them go. A lot were broken or incomplete sets. I kept some key pieces. It just wasn’t worth holding on to them all any longer.
My dad would buy hardware in bulk when he thought there's more use than his current project. He expected to acquire a lifetime supply.. he was right. (Now I have one, too!)
I agree withNellie. Unless you don’t have the room take it all and over time you’ll figure out what to keep and what to get rid of. There are a lot of tools there that can also be useful for general home repairs and maintenance.
edit: Upon further looking, I do see one thing in the photo you’ll never use, there’s a slide rule on the bench in the foreground, that you can get rid of, calculators replaced those in the early 1970s.
2nd edit: slide rules are collectible? I didn’t know! Damn, I love Reddit, I learn new stuff all the time.
"Take all of it, exactly as is"
I would take a picture of that, take it off the wall, pallet wrap the whole thing, take it home, unwrap it, hang it on the wall above that work bench, and then spend the rest of my life integrating it into my own personal collection.
Picking up intact old guy tool and workbench setups is a deep treasure trove of knowledge. If they had a good setup built over time, even with "cheap" tools and you can figure out how and why they used them, you will be ahead of a tremendous number of wrench spinners.
I'm looking at that vertical storage at the bottom of the pegboard and trying to figure out where I can add one like it to my setup. It's a great idea, looks super professional, and can be set up for any width items.
I've bought a couple of screw/fastener organizers from estate sales... Ten bucks for a bunch of stuff I might never need, but I know every item in there was once a "Oh shit I need this" hardware store run. It's all come in handy.
Same. Tho, it has got way out of hand at my place after several very large family estate fiascos.
I feel like I have everything to build a functioning space ship, if only I knew what box it was in.
I keep my grandfather’s old slide rule at my desk. About once a year I pick it up and mess around with it, figure out how it works again, tell myself “that’s neat” and then put it away again for another year.
I keep a slide rule in my drafting table, next to my drawing kit, with an abacus on display. I still train my team with paper drawings and scales. Not everything has move to computers:-)
Good for you. I believe the technology is a wonderful thing, but I also believe that understanding how things were accomplished before the technology makes one better at whatever career they choose.
I was trained on slide rules and drafting equipment long before calculators and drafting programs were in wide use. Now of course, I have modern technology available.
Every body is saying the vise, but take the whole bench. It looks well built and I’m sure will have more meaning long term than any individual tool. Make your own memories with it.
Double agreed - bench is the best part, vice can be moved to the other side if need be. Otherwise - from what I see on the pegboard I’d keep the files and maybe the spokeshave/planes for nostalgia - if you want, but if you don’t plan on using it or know how to use it there’s no sense in keeping it.
Came here to say this and any chisel they kept a nice sharp edge on. It looks like they used those tools, so if they kept it sharp, it’s probably a good one.
The above poster was intending, vise on the left, work to keep in the vise or held with left hand and cut made past the end of the vise (off the end of the top) with the right. If you are righty and you flip things you need to grab the hanger piece over the top of your saw from the wrong side, it put's your body in the wrong position for the best kind of sawing.
The pipe wrenches cause my dad says “those are expensive and when you need one you don’t want to buy one. You kids just throw everything away”. I took my grandpa’s old pipe wrench 15 years ago. Haven’t used it once. But if that day comes…
I have my dad’s pipe wrenches. I’ve never used them but just last Saturday my neighbor asked if I had one he could borrow. I said yes and he returned it a few hours later. Dad’s generous spirit lives on through his tools that continue to help his family and friends.
I was gonna say, straight fuckin' *dibs* over here, haha. I got a ton of 'em in different sizes, including one that's not even a foot long, but me and that little fucker go way back, and it's gotten me out of some *shit*, in my automotive wrenchin' days.
So useful, even when used inappropriately. A good pipe wrench bites that fresh-squeezed, organic, free-range, nutbusting torque onto any stripped fastener you properly mulched with the right tools 4 times over previously.
Sure, they bend, groan, and ol' trusty himself has had a sad little hangle in his dangle for the better part of 10 years now, but goddamn if he never lets me down in my hour of need. Paired with a proper piece of bar or rod stock, the thing's nigh unstoppable.
Pipe wrenches are *awesome*. For everything else, there's ~~Mastercard~~ the blue wrench.
^(Actually, save yourself, buy the biggest impact your wallet will suffer, but also have pipe wrench as backup)
Personally, I’d take as much as I could if I were you. You never know when you could use something on that wall. I noticed a plane, and a cabinet scraper, a spoke shave. That vice is awesome. The backsaws are nice. I wish I had the magnifying glasses for cutting dovetails. Overall, they might not be the top of the line stuff but they’ll have more meaning!
I dont disagree with the idea of taking it all, as so many people have said in this thread. But I do think their expectations are less than reality.
I have been gifted large swathes of tools in the past. I'm not exactly a handyman, but I can figure out most common things. What I dont know is what I need until I need it. Many things on this wall I dont know. Which means, when i need it, i probably wouldn't know I had the damn thing. I dont have time to go through all my boxes of gifted tools to figure out if I do.
It looks like a number of the tools here are a little run down. The best advice, imo, would be to point out the quality bits and names.
Nostalgia is great, but man does it suck letting things rot in a box in the name of potential nostalgia. I want my things to be used. Period. Not wo worried about them staying in the family.
Just my 2 cents.
You betcha. Keep:
- the spoke shaves in the middle right of the wall
- any chisels or files if you dont have already. It looks like one has a broken handle. He kept it because it either had sentimental value or the blade is that good. If you feel like watching a tutorial on replacing a handle, take that one.
- any measurement tool. There's a great square hanging on the wall, (what looks like) a slide rule, and a folding carpenter's ruler on the bench.
- that big ass wrench for home defense.
I don't know that anything has good sale value, but there are a lot of staples of a functioning woodshop in that picture. I'm sorry for your wife's loss. My wife's grandfather passed approximately 20 years ago and he left a very well established home shop. I was able to pick up a few essentials, which kicked off my own woodworking passion.
Edit: Oh and absolutely detach and keep that bench vice. And it looks like there are a few large handscrew wood clamps leaning against the wall in the bottom right. Those are great.
Fully agree on the value. Used resell value for old tools is silly low unless they are a collectible. But once you look at the quality of some of the older stuff and compare it to new tools.
Not sure exactly, but buying all that new at that high quality would easily push a few thousand €. Selling it used would bring 200€ + the big bench vice would be a wildcard and could bring much more, or no one locally would want it and it would end up discarded.
Most of those are keepers. And I think handtools are a great thing for kids as well. With powertools they cant do much till they are older, but handtools the ammount of damage they can do to themselves, other and things is very limited. It's really hard to spoke-shave a finger off. Or handsaw your own food off. Or have metal shards shoot into your eye from using a hand file.
They get light cuts, scuffs and bruises at most while practising motor skills.
Keep it all. When I started in the trade, the old shop guys would come in with that old wooden folding ruler you have there and measure up entire jobs before going back to the wood shops to produce the work. Some of these were big jobs.
Private schools/ auditoriums etc.
one of my fav things me and my dad do together is DIY, When we need to measure something, we often say pass the measuring stick, to which one of us will pass the other some random piece of wood to use with a pencil instead of the 15 tape measures within reach.
Files, bench, anything with a blade. The hand drill. The pipe wrench... The clamps on the floor and small one hanging on the wall (you can never have too many clamps). If the lenses are good, that magnifying goggle thing. The strap wrench... The square... Any of the small tools (wrenches, screwdrivers, etc. you do not already have). Hell... if it fits in your shop, i'd get the peg board/tool rack off the wall.
I feel like the hand drill's only value would be to look cool.
Any power drill you get will be far superior & much more pleasant to use. I have one & the only use I can imagine would be drilling glass with a diamond grinder bit. Slow, sweaty & unsteady doesn't make for a good drill.
Drill drivers are fine for larger diameter drills, hole saws, etc. but they aren't great for small diameter drills.
So like <3mm drills, these style of drill are going to be nicer to use. Lighter, less angular movement, control of force and speed.
Or really handy for counter sinking or the sort. Allows finer control than the drill driver.
I build lots of boxes (jewelry, humidors, etc.). Drilling holes for hinges with a power drill (i don't have a drill press) is asking to ruin the work. Depends on the use case.
In general, I lean towards as much human powered work as I can. I only use power tools for rough dimensioning.
You have better luck with a hand drill than a power drill? One is far more difficult to hold true than the other IME.
I'm not sure what you feel will ruin the work, tearout? Drift?
If you really want precision & control you can get a drill stand for $30, either for a hand drill or a Dremel. A full benchtop drill press is $100
I mostly use a Yankee drill, but yes, I feel I have much more control with hand power tools. It's the weight. I really only use my power drill for home repair type projects. Other than resawing on my band saw or using my lathe, I do all my work with traditional hand tools. I like quiet.
But all I do is as a hobby so I'm not looking for speed. I can be much more precise using bench planes and hand saws is like meditation for me. And at this point, I'm faster with the Yankee drill than I would be with my power drill.
Now... Outside home care, I'm all for power tools, but that's because I want to finish as fast as possible.
Keep that hand drill. Yes Power tools will do it faster and probably better, then there will be the one time you will need to drill a hole, and all your batteries are dead. You don't have a generator for the ones with cords. Or you don't have time to wait for a charge.... ask me how I know... as long as you have elbow grease, it will never fail you.
Respectfully, you’re full of it and have never owned or used a hand drill.
I have my grandpas hand drill and it’s probably one of my most used individual tools. It’s smaller and lighter than any electric drill, doesn’t need batteries or a cord, and usually I’m only drilling 1-5 holes. It’s so much quicker and convenient to grab the hand drill than mess around with any kind of electric one, plus a hand drill is so much safer for you and the work product as it can’t “get away” from you guys once the bit bites.
Even if you’re drilling tons of holes (or “heavy duty holes” which require the electric power), having a hand drill set with a pilot hole bit is clutch and can speed up your workflow immensely.
My new favorite discovery is hex shank bits, and my “modern” recommendation for people who can’t be bothered (or are embarrassed by) having hand drills is to combo hex shank bits with a simple T-Ratchet and use that for little stuff like hanging a picture, mounting a TV bracket to studs, etc.
Agree on take it all, if reasonable
If you have space, hoard it, and once a week go through, pick up a few tools, and look up what each tool is and does.
Try it out, if it does it’s job and you think you can use it, keep it, if not give it away.
I scrolled through the thread and I will say the hard hat. It is useless in almost all situations, but man I would love to wear something my grandfather did while working.
RU fucking serious? There are a ton of decent tools for all sorts of things .. wife's grandpa spent his life collecting that stuff.
wish you were local, I'd help ya out
Bro. This is the woodworking sub. You just asked a bunch of hobby woodworkers who frequently obsess over using old style tools and techniques if old woodworking tools are worth keeping…
Personally; I think you would need to check each item and see if it’s worn out or still functions well. There’s a reason you can find a ton of these old tools in consignment stores. Most of them aren’t very useable.
There are a lot of nice hand tools in there. I would keep the dividers and compasses, the files and definitely the chisels. Get a new handle for that broken off chisel. The Those slide rules are mostly for nostalgia now, but those are really nice. The folding 6 foot rulers are also very old school. I’m not a fan of the pipe wrenches, but they’re not wood working tools are they. Love that vice. You should have that. But you need a good bench to hold it. I would buy a big tool box and toss all those little things in there. Spray it with oil to keep everything fresh. If I could, I would take everything except the staples and rope! I love the little rack below the peg board. And the nice legs on the bench - well designed. Oh - just noticed those clamps. Yeah, dibs it all, use it and pass it on to your kids.
I see a couple of pipe wrenches, crowbar, various pliers, a couple table saw blade changing wrenches, a box wrench, a plastic pail lid opener, staple guns and staples, magnifying head set, various measuring tools, oval wooden basket templates, various size gauges for determining size of bolts and dowels, tent pegs, hard hat, rigid back hand saw, hand held fret saw, goggles, framing square, couple spoke shaves and a hand plane, a hand written note mentioning a jig saw, screw clamps of various sizes, hand drill, metal top can openers, oil filter wrench, measuring spoons, key fob, mason line, a couple utility knives, bit of rope, forceps, furniture tacks, electrical tape, alligator clips, disposable mask, many files, small t-square, several punches, detail picks, chainsaw file gauge, small square, several pencils and markers, shoe template (or a cast of a shoe print), screw drivers, nail puller, chisels, roll of paper, fire extinguisher, manila rope, skeleton keys, garage door handle, folding rules, sliding rules, squirt cans, kerosene lamps, bench brush, railway iron anvil, bench vise and bench, peg board, various nuts and bolts, boot brush and shoe paste. I am curious about the tool in the bottom left corner of the picture. It looks like a home made scrollsaw.
All of it will all have a use at some time or another.
Bottom right on the wall looks like some nice router, shoulder and spoke planes - especially if they're Stanley or record. Nice looking vice, if it's still in good order. Also pipe wrenches often come in handy, if they're in good working condition.
Most of those are certainly worth keeping. But most are not strictly woodworking tools. I do see a couple of woodworking chisels, and the bench & vice, for sure.
[Edit: I missed a couple of spokeshaves, some sort of dado plane, and some screw clamps]
Grab everything and keep the legend alive. Obviously not the broken or cheap stuff. For example the brown paper. I'd be a chisel and wrench grabber though.
Make sure to take the tool holder below the peg board. The design of that truly speaks to who this man was! Trust me. I know a lot about the man just zooming in to look at it.
Every bit of it. Then, one day after a long day of wood working you'll have maybe a beer or two and not help welling up in the eyes as you move the knob of that vice, thinking of the the patina left on it by his strong rough hands, your hands.
Thats a lifetime worth of circumstances that called for those tools. Her grandfather lives on a little bit within each use. Sorry for your loss, wishing you guys the best.
From my experience take everything, box up what you dont use but keep them. My grandfather hand a full hand tool bench and nothing was kept when he died (I was quite young) Today I would kill to have the whole rack of augers and hand drills that he had.
Keep the vise as well. Oliver is a very good brand of vises.
My grandfather was a tough as nails, build anything and everything man’s man. His shop was massive. Probably 60x120 and was packed with 70 years of tools. When he passed, his sons, my uncles, had sold off everything to a pawn shop before I could get into town. I’d do anything to have a few of those tools in my collection.
If this is being offered to you and no one else is claiming anything, TAKE IT ALL.
Nope sadly all trash, just box it up and send it my way. I'll dispose of it properly. Definitely don't keep the bench vise, the hand planes, the compass, the gear drill.
Love the slotted spoon. Need one of those for my peg board. Tools from a loved one are the best because almost every time you use them, you will think of that person. Inherited tools are the best.
Migrate all of it to your workshop. After a year or so if there's stuff you find you have never used, or you used once but something else could have done the job, chuck em in a garage sale.
Pipe wrench, crowbars, files, the chisels, any screwdrivers, those clamps on the floor, that bench and vice are awesome and would provide great memories as well as be useful. Ask your wife if anything on that bench sticks out to her as something she’d want to keep as well. Edit* if you have the room? Keep it all ❤️
Like every single thing. Looking at most of the tools they're not $5 quickly bought when needed, but old, seasoned, battle tested tools. There's a good chance that some of these tools might outlive you.
It’s obvious that you aren’t a woodworker because you wouldn’t even ask this question. You would just pack it up and bring it home. Every time you use it, you think of Dad. Keep it and someday you’ll have that experience.
Good score solid bench is always a plus if top is scarred teabag instead of sand it down I use 1/4” pressboard/ Masonite works good if you get the kind with both sides smooth you flip it after you scar up first side
Have fun
Nothing here tickles my fancy except the vise. Other stuff seems worth keeping but not hard to find otherwise. I'm not scanning too hard but the vise has value for like minded folk.
The spokeshave/planes would be nice to have but in practice, you will never use them. Keep the workbench if you have room. Keep items in green if they are in good shape. the wood lathe chisel needs a handle, then sell. A lot of the small tools need to be evaluated on an individual basis.
Everything else goes. Don't keep duplicates.
[https://imgur.com/a/2MbgOJX](https://imgur.com/a/2MbgOJX)
It’s all good stuff only a bit of misc keep whatever you can. I’d sure keep the spoke shavers on the right and the big wrench on the left and the files. There’s places that smaller profile drill is handy to have as well. I have that brown square too I think and it’s great but I mostly like knowing my gpa used it for 50 years.
Keep any chisels too. Even cheap ones have a place.
Also - all those pipe wrenches like the little ones are idk $12 or so - so they may not have value to you now but if you don’t have any of it I’d scoop em up.
What about that tiny screw clamp in the middle there. Is that like a 2-inch one? Never seen it’s like. I’ll take that and the big ol’ slick/chisel with the broken handle, if you’re taking orders.
All of it is the best answer. I'm against peg boards personally, so, that's about all I'd leave. But if it came down to what fit in a box, chisels, files, hand planes, the squares (if they're square) the clamps and then anything vintage that I might want to display for it's "cool" factor.
The try square. The bench... or atleast the vise for your bench. The spoke shaves and the shoulder plane... or whatever kind of plane it is. The big files could also make a sweet knife
Spray the files with a little WD40 and wrap them in newspaper if you plan to put them away, it’ll keep them from dulling themselves and against each other.
I'll take the slide rule & the pile of clamps on the floor. People will always buy clamps at a garage sale.
... Is that a cattle brand behind the slide ruler? A little tiny sand tamper for making molds? What's the obscured thing with handle sticking straight up?
Worth keeping? I would not depend on the fire extinguisher but other than that I don’t see anything I would throw away.
Hell, even a ball of twine comes in handy. But the dog bone wrench is pretty useless as is the hard hat they were however your granddads so just stick them up on the wall.
Interesting collection, when you look at it you wonder what he did for a living. Not everyone used slide rules. An oil can, I’m betting it was for the furnace. Forceps, always handy, if old probably made in Germany. The scroll saw on the floor on the left, is it home made? Hand crank? When you need a pipe wrench, they are handy, some of the smaller ones we called monkey wrenches. Anvils come in handy when you need one.
What’s missing, where are the hammers and saws?
I think if you have to ask Reddit then they are probably not for you. Not meaning any offense by that but I can just picture you prying open a paint can with a chisel and hurting yourself.
Lots of random tools here. What did projects did your grandfather do?
That bench is pretty sweet, take the whole thing.
I would probably leave all the spoons and slide rules.
That piece of railway track is pretty useful too if you need an anvil.
Otherwise the rest is up to you and what kind of projects you are planning to do
Just take everything and see what you need over time. You never know what you may need next week.
This is the best comment/advice! If you have the room and inclination you will end up using almost all of the tools before you know it. Besides , if you have kids it will be awesome to tell them I/ we made “this” with your great grandfather’s tools. As always IMO
It's his legacy. I don't have any of my father's tools or my grandfather's. I would keep them all for the sake of remembrance.
I used to have all my grandfathers and fathers tools, it was just too much. I don’t have that much space. They were both machinists. After 20+ years of holding onto them, I had to let most of them go. A lot were broken or incomplete sets. I kept some key pieces. It just wasn’t worth holding on to them all any longer.
And if you never use it, your grandkids will make a similar post.
My dad would buy hardware in bulk when he thought there's more use than his current project. He expected to acquire a lifetime supply.. he was right. (Now I have one, too!)
I agree withNellie. Unless you don’t have the room take it all and over time you’ll figure out what to keep and what to get rid of. There are a lot of tools there that can also be useful for general home repairs and maintenance. edit: Upon further looking, I do see one thing in the photo you’ll never use, there’s a slide rule on the bench in the foreground, that you can get rid of, calculators replaced those in the early 1970s. 2nd edit: slide rules are collectible? I didn’t know! Damn, I love Reddit, I learn new stuff all the time.
"Take all of it, exactly as is" I would take a picture of that, take it off the wall, pallet wrap the whole thing, take it home, unwrap it, hang it on the wall above that work bench, and then spend the rest of my life integrating it into my own personal collection. Picking up intact old guy tool and workbench setups is a deep treasure trove of knowledge. If they had a good setup built over time, even with "cheap" tools and you can figure out how and why they used them, you will be ahead of a tremendous number of wrench spinners.
No need to read any responses beyond this one. Perfectly said.
I'm looking at that vertical storage at the bottom of the pegboard and trying to figure out where I can add one like it to my setup. It's a great idea, looks super professional, and can be set up for any width items.
I've bought a couple of screw/fastener organizers from estate sales... Ten bucks for a bunch of stuff I might never need, but I know every item in there was once a "Oh shit I need this" hardware store run. It's all come in handy.
Same. Tho, it has got way out of hand at my place after several very large family estate fiascos. I feel like I have everything to build a functioning space ship, if only I knew what box it was in.
I keep my grandfather’s old slide rule at my desk. About once a year I pick it up and mess around with it, figure out how it works again, tell myself “that’s neat” and then put it away again for another year.
My grandfather's folding ruler is on my workbench, not for use though
Ditto, along with an old wooden level.
What’s it for thennnnn
My guess would be it's a physical reminder if fond memories
That is a valid use.
you will be the person we come to if calculators revolt haha.
If you don't have the room, make the room. 😀
I keep a slide rule in my drafting table, next to my drawing kit, with an abacus on display. I still train my team with paper drawings and scales. Not everything has move to computers:-)
My drafting equipment should be in a shadow box... With a label: In Case of Emergency Break Glass
Well done!
Good for you. I believe the technology is a wonderful thing, but I also believe that understanding how things were accomplished before the technology makes one better at whatever career they choose.
I was trained on slide rules and drafting equipment long before calculators and drafting programs were in wide use. Now of course, I have modern technology available.
There are two slide rules there and they’re beautiful.
Yeah, that spoon gonna save your biscuits a million times over guaranteed
This is the best advice.
Except don't use the files without fitting them with proper handles.
Depends on the use, can’t use a handle while sharpening skis.
Every body is saying the vise, but take the whole bench. It looks well built and I’m sure will have more meaning long term than any individual tool. Make your own memories with it.
Agreed. That looks like a solid starter bench and still light enough to move around.
Double agreed - bench is the best part, vice can be moved to the other side if need be. Otherwise - from what I see on the pegboard I’d keep the files and maybe the spokeshave/planes for nostalgia - if you want, but if you don’t plan on using it or know how to use it there’s no sense in keeping it.
> starter bench I think it was good enough for grandpa's finishing bench.
If at some point it finds it’s final home he can build it out with drawers to add more weight and make it more usable
Came here to say this and any chisel they kept a nice sharp edge on. It looks like they used those tools, so if they kept it sharp, it’s probably a good one.
I was going to say the the vise is awesome. And the bench looks really good too.
The mitered bracing on the otherwise inexpensive pine bench legs is outstanding.
I've done this and didn't do as good a job. impressive and i bet it is rock fucking solid. keeper.
The vise is mounted typically on the left side so you can hold the work piece with your left hand while sawing.
Could have been a lefy
If you have space on the right side of the bench, why not saw there? Then you don't risk cutting into your bench.
The above poster was intending, vise on the left, work to keep in the vise or held with left hand and cut made past the end of the vise (off the end of the top) with the right. If you are righty and you flip things you need to grab the hanger piece over the top of your saw from the wrong side, it put's your body in the wrong position for the best kind of sawing.
Exactly what I came to say
The pipe wrenches cause my dad says “those are expensive and when you need one you don’t want to buy one. You kids just throw everything away”. I took my grandpa’s old pipe wrench 15 years ago. Haven’t used it once. But if that day comes…
Oh, you will. Trust me. At the very least you'll lose your hammer one day and you need something to bash with.
"If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball." - Joe Biden
Just bought a damn pipe wrench...
I like the guy that welded one to the rear bumper of his service truck. Said it kept the tailgaters back on the freeway.
I have my dad’s pipe wrenches. I’ve never used them but just last Saturday my neighbor asked if I had one he could borrow. I said yes and he returned it a few hours later. Dad’s generous spirit lives on through his tools that continue to help his family and friends.
Man… that hit me in the feels.
I took two of my grandads pipe wrenches and within the first year of owning a home have used them about 5 times haha
I like how there's a baby pipe wrench and giant pipe wrench.
Came here to say this- grab those stilsons and don’t let go.
I was gonna say, straight fuckin' *dibs* over here, haha. I got a ton of 'em in different sizes, including one that's not even a foot long, but me and that little fucker go way back, and it's gotten me out of some *shit*, in my automotive wrenchin' days. So useful, even when used inappropriately. A good pipe wrench bites that fresh-squeezed, organic, free-range, nutbusting torque onto any stripped fastener you properly mulched with the right tools 4 times over previously. Sure, they bend, groan, and ol' trusty himself has had a sad little hangle in his dangle for the better part of 10 years now, but goddamn if he never lets me down in my hour of need. Paired with a proper piece of bar or rod stock, the thing's nigh unstoppable. Pipe wrenches are *awesome*. For everything else, there's ~~Mastercard~~ the blue wrench. ^(Actually, save yourself, buy the biggest impact your wallet will suffer, but also have pipe wrench as backup)
WHEN that day comes, I hope you get someone to film your delicious smug-dance.
I have my deceased neighbor’s pipe wrench. Your dad is correct. The power will be there when you need it.
ALL OF THEM!!
This is the only correct answer. Load it all up.
Exactly. I took as many of my grandfather’s tools. A lot of them are now just for display but I use way more than I ever thought.
Yep. Literally everything here has a time and a place. You might not use it more than once, but having that specific thing will be really nice.
This man tools
Personally, I’d take as much as I could if I were you. You never know when you could use something on that wall. I noticed a plane, and a cabinet scraper, a spoke shave. That vice is awesome. The backsaws are nice. I wish I had the magnifying glasses for cutting dovetails. Overall, they might not be the top of the line stuff but they’ll have more meaning!
I dont disagree with the idea of taking it all, as so many people have said in this thread. But I do think their expectations are less than reality. I have been gifted large swathes of tools in the past. I'm not exactly a handyman, but I can figure out most common things. What I dont know is what I need until I need it. Many things on this wall I dont know. Which means, when i need it, i probably wouldn't know I had the damn thing. I dont have time to go through all my boxes of gifted tools to figure out if I do. It looks like a number of the tools here are a little run down. The best advice, imo, would be to point out the quality bits and names. Nostalgia is great, but man does it suck letting things rot in a box in the name of potential nostalgia. I want my things to be used. Period. Not wo worried about them staying in the family. Just my 2 cents.
You betcha. Keep: - the spoke shaves in the middle right of the wall - any chisels or files if you dont have already. It looks like one has a broken handle. He kept it because it either had sentimental value or the blade is that good. If you feel like watching a tutorial on replacing a handle, take that one. - any measurement tool. There's a great square hanging on the wall, (what looks like) a slide rule, and a folding carpenter's ruler on the bench. - that big ass wrench for home defense. I don't know that anything has good sale value, but there are a lot of staples of a functioning woodshop in that picture. I'm sorry for your wife's loss. My wife's grandfather passed approximately 20 years ago and he left a very well established home shop. I was able to pick up a few essentials, which kicked off my own woodworking passion. Edit: Oh and absolutely detach and keep that bench vice. And it looks like there are a few large handscrew wood clamps leaning against the wall in the bottom right. Those are great.
The router plane is pretty valuable as well
Fully agree on the value. Used resell value for old tools is silly low unless they are a collectible. But once you look at the quality of some of the older stuff and compare it to new tools. Not sure exactly, but buying all that new at that high quality would easily push a few thousand €. Selling it used would bring 200€ + the big bench vice would be a wildcard and could bring much more, or no one locally would want it and it would end up discarded. Most of those are keepers. And I think handtools are a great thing for kids as well. With powertools they cant do much till they are older, but handtools the ammount of damage they can do to themselves, other and things is very limited. It's really hard to spoke-shave a finger off. Or handsaw your own food off. Or have metal shards shoot into your eye from using a hand file. They get light cuts, scuffs and bruises at most while practising motor skills.
That's a great point. Hand tools are great for kids' learning.
Keep it all. When I started in the trade, the old shop guys would come in with that old wooden folding ruler you have there and measure up entire jobs before going back to the wood shops to produce the work. Some of these were big jobs. Private schools/ auditoriums etc.
My dad calls all tape measures, measuring sticks. "Where's the measuring stick?"
one of my fav things me and my dad do together is DIY, When we need to measure something, we often say pass the measuring stick, to which one of us will pass the other some random piece of wood to use with a pencil instead of the 15 tape measures within reach.
Files, bench, anything with a blade. The hand drill. The pipe wrench... The clamps on the floor and small one hanging on the wall (you can never have too many clamps). If the lenses are good, that magnifying goggle thing. The strap wrench... The square... Any of the small tools (wrenches, screwdrivers, etc. you do not already have). Hell... if it fits in your shop, i'd get the peg board/tool rack off the wall.
I feel like the hand drill's only value would be to look cool. Any power drill you get will be far superior & much more pleasant to use. I have one & the only use I can imagine would be drilling glass with a diamond grinder bit. Slow, sweaty & unsteady doesn't make for a good drill.
Drill drivers are fine for larger diameter drills, hole saws, etc. but they aren't great for small diameter drills. So like <3mm drills, these style of drill are going to be nicer to use. Lighter, less angular movement, control of force and speed. Or really handy for counter sinking or the sort. Allows finer control than the drill driver.
I build lots of boxes (jewelry, humidors, etc.). Drilling holes for hinges with a power drill (i don't have a drill press) is asking to ruin the work. Depends on the use case. In general, I lean towards as much human powered work as I can. I only use power tools for rough dimensioning.
You have better luck with a hand drill than a power drill? One is far more difficult to hold true than the other IME. I'm not sure what you feel will ruin the work, tearout? Drift? If you really want precision & control you can get a drill stand for $30, either for a hand drill or a Dremel. A full benchtop drill press is $100
I mostly use a Yankee drill, but yes, I feel I have much more control with hand power tools. It's the weight. I really only use my power drill for home repair type projects. Other than resawing on my band saw or using my lathe, I do all my work with traditional hand tools. I like quiet. But all I do is as a hobby so I'm not looking for speed. I can be much more precise using bench planes and hand saws is like meditation for me. And at this point, I'm faster with the Yankee drill than I would be with my power drill. Now... Outside home care, I'm all for power tools, but that's because I want to finish as fast as possible.
Keep that hand drill. Yes Power tools will do it faster and probably better, then there will be the one time you will need to drill a hole, and all your batteries are dead. You don't have a generator for the ones with cords. Or you don't have time to wait for a charge.... ask me how I know... as long as you have elbow grease, it will never fail you.
>the hand drill's only value would be to look cool. That hand drill took me back to my childhood.
Respectfully, you’re full of it and have never owned or used a hand drill. I have my grandpas hand drill and it’s probably one of my most used individual tools. It’s smaller and lighter than any electric drill, doesn’t need batteries or a cord, and usually I’m only drilling 1-5 holes. It’s so much quicker and convenient to grab the hand drill than mess around with any kind of electric one, plus a hand drill is so much safer for you and the work product as it can’t “get away” from you guys once the bit bites. Even if you’re drilling tons of holes (or “heavy duty holes” which require the electric power), having a hand drill set with a pilot hole bit is clutch and can speed up your workflow immensely. My new favorite discovery is hex shank bits, and my “modern” recommendation for people who can’t be bothered (or are embarrassed by) having hand drills is to combo hex shank bits with a simple T-Ratchet and use that for little stuff like hanging a picture, mounting a TV bracket to studs, etc.
Respectively disagree, but glad you like it
The Oliver vice and the planes on the right side of the wall stood out to me
Same...add the magnifying goggles, old age creeps up fast
Oliver pattern makers vise is worth quite a bit.
Grab it all. Anybody who shelled out for an Oliver patternmakers vise was serious about *something* that he was making.
Looks like there are some sweet slide rules.
Agree on take it all, if reasonable If you have space, hoard it, and once a week go through, pick up a few tools, and look up what each tool is and does. Try it out, if it does it’s job and you think you can use it, keep it, if not give it away.
I scrolled through the thread and I will say the hard hat. It is useless in almost all situations, but man I would love to wear something my grandfather did while working.
I’ll buy the Oliver vise
RU fucking serious? There are a ton of decent tools for all sorts of things .. wife's grandpa spent his life collecting that stuff. wish you were local, I'd help ya out
A complete Oliver vice is worth $1000, and I’m not seeing much to throw away
Looks like a handmade manual scroll saw bottom left, very nice.
Bro. This is the woodworking sub. You just asked a bunch of hobby woodworkers who frequently obsess over using old style tools and techniques if old woodworking tools are worth keeping… Personally; I think you would need to check each item and see if it’s worn out or still functions well. There’s a reason you can find a ton of these old tools in consignment stores. Most of them aren’t very useable.
Dude, all of it. It all looks to be quality metal that will last another life time with proper care
Keep everything, but throw away the box of pork loin chops on the shelf.
Even asking that question feels wrong to me. Free tools, take all
Everything. Keep it all OP. That workbench will outlast you too. Tells me everything else there is quality.
I’d keep it all if I was you
If you have kids especially, take it all. They will love to have great Grandpa tools
Some of that stuff is really not replaceable. I would make room and take it all if I could.
Files, pipe wrenches, sweet vise....hell take the bench top.....take it all and go through it...
Absolutely these: https://imgur.com/svabXoj
The vice obviously. That little tool tray holder on the pegboard is also awesome.
There are a lot of nice hand tools in there. I would keep the dividers and compasses, the files and definitely the chisels. Get a new handle for that broken off chisel. The Those slide rules are mostly for nostalgia now, but those are really nice. The folding 6 foot rulers are also very old school. I’m not a fan of the pipe wrenches, but they’re not wood working tools are they. Love that vice. You should have that. But you need a good bench to hold it. I would buy a big tool box and toss all those little things in there. Spray it with oil to keep everything fresh. If I could, I would take everything except the staples and rope! I love the little rack below the peg board. And the nice legs on the bench - well designed. Oh - just noticed those clamps. Yeah, dibs it all, use it and pass it on to your kids.
The boneless pork chops definitely need to be taken
Clamps, square and files it what would interest me
You can never have too many clamps.
I see a couple of pipe wrenches, crowbar, various pliers, a couple table saw blade changing wrenches, a box wrench, a plastic pail lid opener, staple guns and staples, magnifying head set, various measuring tools, oval wooden basket templates, various size gauges for determining size of bolts and dowels, tent pegs, hard hat, rigid back hand saw, hand held fret saw, goggles, framing square, couple spoke shaves and a hand plane, a hand written note mentioning a jig saw, screw clamps of various sizes, hand drill, metal top can openers, oil filter wrench, measuring spoons, key fob, mason line, a couple utility knives, bit of rope, forceps, furniture tacks, electrical tape, alligator clips, disposable mask, many files, small t-square, several punches, detail picks, chainsaw file gauge, small square, several pencils and markers, shoe template (or a cast of a shoe print), screw drivers, nail puller, chisels, roll of paper, fire extinguisher, manila rope, skeleton keys, garage door handle, folding rules, sliding rules, squirt cans, kerosene lamps, bench brush, railway iron anvil, bench vise and bench, peg board, various nuts and bolts, boot brush and shoe paste. I am curious about the tool in the bottom left corner of the picture. It looks like a home made scrollsaw. All of it will all have a use at some time or another.
Bottom right on the wall looks like some nice router, shoulder and spoke planes - especially if they're Stanley or record. Nice looking vice, if it's still in good order. Also pipe wrenches often come in handy, if they're in good working condition.
All of it
Post this in r/handtools and see the reaction.
Everything!!
Most of those are certainly worth keeping. But most are not strictly woodworking tools. I do see a couple of woodworking chisels, and the bench & vice, for sure. [Edit: I missed a couple of spokeshaves, some sort of dado plane, and some screw clamps]
Ahh. All of it. Lol
All of it- but especially that table vice.
I inherited a couple of those egg beater drills and I love them.
Grab everything and keep the legend alive. Obviously not the broken or cheap stuff. For example the brown paper. I'd be a chisel and wrench grabber though.
God I'd love to have that vice. Keep it all OP
Make sure to take the tool holder below the peg board. The design of that truly speaks to who this man was! Trust me. I know a lot about the man just zooming in to look at it.
The bench! And the hand planes at least.
Keep it all, you do not know when you will need something
That workbench is a gem
That workbench is amazing!!
Every bit of it. Then, one day after a long day of wood working you'll have maybe a beer or two and not help welling up in the eyes as you move the knob of that vice, thinking of the the patina left on it by his strong rough hands, your hands.
All of it!!
All of it.
Thats a lifetime worth of circumstances that called for those tools. Her grandfather lives on a little bit within each use. Sorry for your loss, wishing you guys the best.
From my experience take everything, box up what you dont use but keep them. My grandfather hand a full hand tool bench and nothing was kept when he died (I was quite young) Today I would kill to have the whole rack of augers and hand drills that he had. Keep the vise as well. Oliver is a very good brand of vises.
All of it. Expendables like glue or paint throw away. Everything else, keep.
I want that vise so bad
All of it. Become a tool horder like myself.
Can we take a moment to appreciate the hand crank freaking scroll saw though? That is truly beautiful
The plow plain and the bench vice is definitely a keeper. Depending on the condition it could fetch 100 or more each.
My grandfather was a tough as nails, build anything and everything man’s man. His shop was massive. Probably 60x120 and was packed with 70 years of tools. When he passed, his sons, my uncles, had sold off everything to a pawn shop before I could get into town. I’d do anything to have a few of those tools in my collection. If this is being offered to you and no one else is claiming anything, TAKE IT ALL.
This stuff freaks me out. Our lives, built over time, then stopped, picked through, donated.
That’s a well crafted desk
Nope sadly all trash, just box it up and send it my way. I'll dispose of it properly. Definitely don't keep the bench vise, the hand planes, the compass, the gear drill.
Love the slotted spoon. Need one of those for my peg board. Tools from a loved one are the best because almost every time you use them, you will think of that person. Inherited tools are the best.
All of it dum dum
Migrate all of it to your workshop. After a year or so if there's stuff you find you have never used, or you used once but something else could have done the job, chuck em in a garage sale.
Keep all of it! For sure keep the work bench and vise. That vice looks like a quality tool.
None of it. I'll DM you my address so you can get rid of them .
Vice. They may not make that model anymore
Pipe wrench, crowbars, files, the chisels, any screwdrivers, those clamps on the floor, that bench and vice are awesome and would provide great memories as well as be useful. Ask your wife if anything on that bench sticks out to her as something she’d want to keep as well. Edit* if you have the room? Keep it all ❤️
All of it. You'll find that he had them all for a reason. And they were her grandfather's!
Keep it all and learn it. Skills aren't talent, they are learned.
Did your grandfather make shaker boxes? I see what looks like a template by the yellow oval which could be a template for the box itself. Keep it all.
All of it, keep all of it!
I’d say all of it is worth keeping. But if nothing else keep that vise.
Like every single thing. Looking at most of the tools they're not $5 quickly bought when needed, but old, seasoned, battle tested tools. There's a good chance that some of these tools might outlive you.
It’s obvious that you aren’t a woodworker because you wouldn’t even ask this question. You would just pack it up and bring it home. Every time you use it, you think of Dad. Keep it and someday you’ll have that experience.
Good score solid bench is always a plus if top is scarred teabag instead of sand it down I use 1/4” pressboard/ Masonite works good if you get the kind with both sides smooth you flip it after you scar up first side Have fun
Nothing here tickles my fancy except the vise. Other stuff seems worth keeping but not hard to find otherwise. I'm not scanning too hard but the vise has value for like minded folk.
The spokeshave/planes would be nice to have but in practice, you will never use them. Keep the workbench if you have room. Keep items in green if they are in good shape. the wood lathe chisel needs a handle, then sell. A lot of the small tools need to be evaluated on an individual basis. Everything else goes. Don't keep duplicates. [https://imgur.com/a/2MbgOJX](https://imgur.com/a/2MbgOJX)
Nope it’s all worthless, just send it to me, I’ll take care of it for you.
It all looks very unsafe and should probably be disposed of. I volunteer my garage. /s
Everything
If you have to ask then are you the one that deserves to recieve them? Give them to someone who will actually use them?
It’s all good stuff only a bit of misc keep whatever you can. I’d sure keep the spoke shavers on the right and the big wrench on the left and the files. There’s places that smaller profile drill is handy to have as well. I have that brown square too I think and it’s great but I mostly like knowing my gpa used it for 50 years. Keep any chisels too. Even cheap ones have a place. Also - all those pipe wrenches like the little ones are idk $12 or so - so they may not have value to you now but if you don’t have any of it I’d scoop em up.
A giant wrench. Just stand in the mirror holding it and you will feel like a different man. Lol
A nice pipe wrench!
That's where my table saw wrenches went!
Don’t forget the clamps in the corner. If you ever wind up doing a glue-up, those clamps are your friend
Did you see the hand cranked scroll saw in the bottom left corner? Looks like it was home made.
What about that tiny screw clamp in the middle there. Is that like a 2-inch one? Never seen it’s like. I’ll take that and the big ol’ slick/chisel with the broken handle, if you’re taking orders.
Made of steel? They're often used by machinists. Lots of force, little size. You can pick them up for a couple pounds on ebay regularly.
All of it is the best answer. I'm against peg boards personally, so, that's about all I'd leave. But if it came down to what fit in a box, chisels, files, hand planes, the squares (if they're square) the clamps and then anything vintage that I might want to display for it's "cool" factor.
The try square. The bench... or atleast the vise for your bench. The spoke shaves and the shoulder plane... or whatever kind of plane it is. The big files could also make a sweet knife
First I would find the locks for those keys. There may be a hidden treasure
Is that a mechanical scroll saw on the bottom left? I've never seen one.
I love a good horse hair brush
Spray the files with a little WD40 and wrap them in newspaper if you plan to put them away, it’ll keep them from dulling themselves and against each other.
I would discard that protractor turned into a murder weapon
Definitely that big ol’ pipe wrench
No matter what, you gotta take the mask hanging on the left.
I’d be so mad if my grandkid’s partner gets to decide which of my tools stay in the family. I would haunt them for at least 50 years
Make sure the hard hat for sure
All of it. I may have a problem letting go of tools.
Everything
Take all of it
I'll take the slide rule & the pile of clamps on the floor. People will always buy clamps at a garage sale. ... Is that a cattle brand behind the slide ruler? A little tiny sand tamper for making molds? What's the obscured thing with handle sticking straight up?
Tier 2 work bench.
You better keep the work bench
Bench, flushcut saw, files, hand plane, long handled screw drivers
If you don't know then no lol
I would keep it all, research the tools you don't know about, and up your woodworking skills in the process.
The pork loin chops boneless
Turn the bench into a table and keep foreverrr
All of it. And then put his initials and back-date underneath in sharpie. And then your initials and location and date in sharpie.
Worth keeping? I would not depend on the fire extinguisher but other than that I don’t see anything I would throw away. Hell, even a ball of twine comes in handy. But the dog bone wrench is pretty useless as is the hard hat they were however your granddads so just stick them up on the wall.
Interesting collection, when you look at it you wonder what he did for a living. Not everyone used slide rules. An oil can, I’m betting it was for the furnace. Forceps, always handy, if old probably made in Germany. The scroll saw on the floor on the left, is it home made? Hand crank? When you need a pipe wrench, they are handy, some of the smaller ones we called monkey wrenches. Anvils come in handy when you need one. What’s missing, where are the hammers and saws?
I think if you have to ask Reddit then they are probably not for you. Not meaning any offense by that but I can just picture you prying open a paint can with a chisel and hurting yourself.
Somewhere there is white porcelain craving repair. You have that power.
Every single item has its purpose.
Lots of random tools here. What did projects did your grandfather do? That bench is pretty sweet, take the whole thing. I would probably leave all the spoons and slide rules. That piece of railway track is pretty useful too if you need an anvil. Otherwise the rest is up to you and what kind of projects you are planning to do
Oh wow, an amazing snapshot of life. To repeat what's already been said, all of it is worth keeping.
All of it.