I love tools....

[cpaharley2008]

I remember when my dad got his first electric drill in the 1950's ( I still have it and it still works) so I guess my love of tools is inherited..... Notice it is Craftsman model #1 electric drill......also a recent tool acquisition....

[Ron in BC]

I think that people that have had parents that had tools at home and did things with them have a bit of a foot up in having a "can do" attitude. Don't think that it's inherited but more a process of osmosis.

I have so many tools from that era from my Dad and an uncle. These 1/2" drills can be wrist breakers without that second hand hold. Even then if they jam in something solid and fixed they want to turn you into a whirly gig before they stop.

Ron

[cpaharley2008]

I call those tools, "wrist breakers" in that one has to be careful the using them, their torque can twist the tool right out of your hands....

[Rockhead]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

I think that people that have had parents that had tools at home and did things with them have a bit of a foot up in having a "can do" attitude. Don't think that it's inherited but more a process of osmosis.

I have so many tools from that era from my Dad and an uncle. These 1/2" drills can be wrist breakers without that second hand hold. Even then if they jam in something solid and fixed they want to turn you into a whirly gig before they stop.

Ron

The special cabinet in my trailer barn has those and other tools of my dads and ones my grandfather had n used. So many wonderful memories

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I call those tools, "wrist breakers" in that one has to be careful the using them, their torque can twist the tool right out of your hands....

If your brain screams to your hands "let go" fast enough. I've had a few bruises over the years.

I use one of them with an extended shaft auger bit as a crude post hole helper when my post hole digger hits rocks etc. It loosens the obstacle and keeps on going. Built of all metal and meant to be long lasting unlike some of the almost disposable tools made today.

Ron

[Centex]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

I think that people that have had parents that had tools at home and did things with them have a bit of a foot up in having a "can do" attitude. Don't think that it's inherited but more a process of osmosis.

We're all products of our environment and some of us are lucky to have had parents who were inclined to DIY in the workshop (or were professionals in the trades).

Some of my still oft-used tools are human-powered, passed from my grandfather to my father then me. They're a joy to use not only for their wonderfully timeless functionality but for the memories they refresh.

There's something particularly satisfying about the pace of work and tactile feedback from the wood when using a 3-generation brace-and-bit rather than rushing to grab the latest cordless drill off the bench

[Mike G]

I like tools (and fortunately so does my wife), but I don't love 'em. Rarely do I buy another tool these days; I put together a reasonably good collection in the 1980s when I worked on Harvestore silo unloaders.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

I think that people that have had parents that had tools at home and did things with them have a bit of a foot up in having a "can do" attitude. Don't think that it's inherited but more a process of osmosis.

I have so many tools from that era from my Dad and an uncle. These 1/2" drills can be wrist breakers without that second hand hold. Even then if they jam in something solid and fixed they want to turn you into a whirly gig before they stop.

Ron

Very much so with getting the influence from parents. Both my parents came from farming families. My dad unfortunately lost his right arm at 19, tried farming but had to let it go. He still did all the work around the house, both handyman and building stuff. As the oldest of three boys I quickly became his righthand man. Working and using tools is second nature for me and I love that. Something I definitely learned from my dad and grandfathers.

I used one of those 1/2" drills a bunch working many years ago. I think it was a Black and Decker, and for sure if you got a bit jammed your wrists were in danger. We often put a snipe in the D handle with someone else holding it, just in case.....

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Very much so with getting the influence from parents. Both my parents came from farming families. My dad unfortunately lost his right arm at 19, tried farming but had to let it go. He still did all the work around the house, both handyman and building stuff. As the oldest of three boys I quickly became his righthand man. Working and using tools is second nature for me and I love that. Something I definitely learned from my dad and grandfathers.

I used one of those 1/2" drills a bunch working many years ago. I think it was a Black and Decker, and for sure if you got a bit jammed your wrists were in danger. We often put a snipe in the D handle with someone else holding it, just in case.....

Wait a minute, you just said (I became his right hand man) that’s great.

My grandpa lost his to a horse.

[Selkirk]

My Dad has always been a hobbyist woodworker. Growing up in his shop hard-wired me to collect tools of my own. Of course a new trailer requires a tool set to accompany it! I've spent the last few months piecing together a kit that should be capable of disassembling the entire trailer in the field.....if need be.

I've also received a few of Dad's hand-me-down power tools over the years. Most are 70's vintage , when brands like Skil or Black & Decker were still well-regarded. I'm currently on the hunt for a new power switch for a vintage Skil jig saw (same model as shown in the photo), so I can put this beauty back into service.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by Mike G

I like tools (and fortunately so does my wife), but I don't love 'em. Rarely do I buy another tool these days; I put together a reasonably good collection in the 1980s when I worked on Harvestore silo unloaders.

I remember going to the Iowa State fair where they had a large Havestore display. They had free bumper stickers that said “Smile when you call it a silo.”
There’s a few around where we live but the derecho took some out.
Iowa Dave

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

I remember going to the Iowa State fair where they had a large Havestore display. They had free bumper stickers that said “Smile when you call it a silo.”
There’s a few around where we live but the derecho took some out.
Iowa Dave

When I was younger, I believed Harvestores with their bolted sheets of glassed steel were almost indestructible. (I've seen differently since then.) Those big blues have been a big part of my life, and I still feel a little thrill whenever I see one.
My dad grew up on a little Michigan farm that his parents homesteaded. He wanted to farm also but didn't have much success. He landed in the Chrysler tank plant during WWII where they made him a foreman. After the war he sold photo packages door to door, then windows. Then he got the bright idea to build windows in his garage and sell his own. He built up the window business to where he eventually sold it and moved back to the old farm where he intended to semi-retire and be a 'gentleman farmer'.
But the owner of the Harvestore franchise in our state sought Dad out and convinced him to sell Harvestores. He wound up selling more cubic feet of storage than any other salesman in the country, staying at it for 22 years before a heart problem forced him to really retire.
I tried my hand at it for a couple years but it was a tough time for the dairy farmers, milk prices having fallen. Dad suggested the repair end of the business, since the dealerships had no other competition. I located a couple of parts suppliers, drove the roads to meet farmers, started a newsletter, and built myself a little business for a handful of years. Then the suppliers had quality control problems, and word got around. Plus I came to realize that no amount of money was worth the risk I was taking, climbing under a hundred tons of silage (the unloader forms a sort of dome in the center) where there's no oxygen, holding in my teeth a dryer vent hose duct-taped to a leaf blower, to disassemble broke-down 3000 lb. unloaders so they could be yanked out piecemeal with a winch.

So I left it mostly behind me (and we moved out of the state). But I still have a couple of loyal customers who order parts from me and do their own repairs. And of course I didn't leave the tools behind!


Getting back to tools... way back then, I toured one of the plants (in Kankakee IIRC) where they made the steel sheets. They had a 500 ton press that stamped the edges and holes and also formed the curve in the 4'x8'x1/4" sheet, all in one swipe. Then the sheets were conveyed into a furnace where glass 'frit' was fired onto the surface and somewhat embedded by means of aluminum oxide balls pelted at the hot sheet. While standing around the press, the guide explained how the press malfunctioned one time and took a worker's hand. You see, it was designed so that the operator had to press two switch buttons, one with each hand, but this guy pressed the first button while his hand was under the press... ker-thunk!

Well, the maker of the press sent an expert to examine it. This expert swore that it couldn't have been the fault of their machine, and that the plant workers were at fault: someone must have pressed both buttons while the victim was not clear of the press. To prove his point that it was impossible for the press to work without pushing both buttons simultaneously (requiring both hands to be clear), he stuck his right hand inside and pushed the left-hand switch. Ker-thunk!

[Iowa Dave]

Thanks for your post. The story was fascinating to me. I’m somewhat amazed when I hear the
accounts of the chances many people took throughout their careers to make a living, support their families and just lived a life where they either thought no harm would come to them or that they could “take the blow and do it my way.”
All the best from Iowa and
Iowa Dave

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

Thanks for your post. The story was fascinating to me. I’m somewhat amazed when I hear the
accounts of the chances many people took throughout their careers to make a living, support their families and just lived a life where they either thought no harm would come to them or that they could “take the blow and do it my way.”
All the best from Iowa and
Iowa Dave

Hi: Iowa Dave... My father always told me "Son... never buy anything with a handle on it as it means WORK". That's why I never got a handle on doing anything!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Iowa Dave]

When I was coming up and we’d be going somewhere we would sometimes spot a shovel or a rake that had fallen out of a pickup and we’d stop and pick it up. My Dad would say “That will be your shovel so you won’t have to share.” He really meant “so you don’t get a break when your brother uses the shovel.”
One day we saw a pick axe along the road. He didn’t stop. Asked why, he said “nobody wants to run one of those. It’s the only tool you can leave overnight on a job and it will still be there in the morning.”
Over the years I learned he was right.

Yesterday I a used a pitchfork to put a load of leaves and grass on the utility trailer and then tarped the load down. Nice and easy, not like the real work I used to do. No clock no supervisor.

I now have three grain scoops. One in each garage for shoveling snow. Saves me remembering where I left one last that I might need to clean up the apron after a snow. Almost decadent if it didn’t involve work. Wish they were smaller though them #12s get heavy.
Iowa Dave

[emers382]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: Iowa Dave... My father always told me "Son... never buy anything with a handle on it as it means WORK". That's why I never got a handle on doing anything!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

Hi Alf, good thing that buses have steering wheels rather than handles

I was the only boy in our family, my dad was pretty skilful with tools and I watched him a lot, but unfortunately he never let me try to do things so that's why to this day I am not skilled in repairing or building stuff.

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

I now have three grain scoops. One in each garage for shoveling snow. Saves me remembering where I left one last that I might need to clean up the apron after a snow. Almost decadent if it didn’t involve work. Wish they were smaller though them #12s get heavy.
Iowa Dave

I hereby declare that you are entitled to buy another tool, namely a gas-powered snow blower. Really, you should! Shoveling snow manually can be hazardous to your health.

[tractors1]

The metal box with my dads Craftsman circular saw in it still has the Sears repair tag in it from 1956; it made a knocking sound. All metal and weight s LOT! Still works fine.......


Also have my grandpas brace with the bit I used to drill a hole in the floor of his porch about 1960.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Ooshkaboo

Wait a minute, you just said (I became his right hand man) that’s great.

My grandpa lost his to a horse.

My dad lost his due to a horse. To be a short story, it happened while hooking the team up to a hay wagon. He had set his shotgun against the wagon. A slight jerk by a horse knocked the gun over and it fired. His arm was removed right at the shoulder joint.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by Mike G

I hereby declare that you are entitled to buy another tool, namely a gas-powered snow blower. Really, you should! Shoveling snow manually can be hazardous to your health.

Sorry I wasn’t more specific on snow removal. I have three overhead doors one each on three buildings. I use the shovel to clean close to the door gasket and catch the snow on the corners and in front of the service doors.
Then when I open the doors the snow does not tumble into the building and later melt and stick the door down.

I do have a very good snow blower 8 Hp by 28 inch width. Electric start with steering clutches. If it’s a light snow I use the blower to clear my driveway ( 300 feet) and the paths to the buildings and the bird feeding setup.

When the snow is deeper or drifted I use the TC 40 D New Holland tractor loader
So all in all I don’t work too hard at snow, mowing, turning the garden, etc. I’ve done snow removal for 60 years now for several jobs I’ve had. Most exciting was plowing and planing pond ice on speed skating. pleasure skating and hockey rinks.

Uber mittens. Wool Balaclava and LaCross iceman boots heavy pants and a Carhartt coat and I’m ready to go
Thanks for your concern, I sincerely appreciate it.
Iowa Dave