My Grandfather And His Tools...

[Shadetree]

As a young boy I used my grandfather's tools on my projects and that's where I left them. He would say "Dammit youngun, I don't mind you using my tools just put'em back where you found them."

He treated his tools and equipment like they had feelings. He would mash his fingers with a pair pliers and if there was a hammer close by he would beat on them. Sometimes he would throw them away and when he cooled off he would give me a dime to go find them. My uncle said my grandfather owned an old Dodge touring in his younger days. The radiator was beaten on top with a crank so that it was `U' shaped where he would crank it for a while and then beat on it.

One of his favorite sayings when it came to tools: If he had problems with it, which he usually did, he would say "The SOB (he used the real words) that invented that shoulda died before he thought of it." I have heard that at least a hundred times.

Shadetree

[JeffG]

I love it.

[APDAVE]

My Dad always told me you treat your tools a lot better than you did mine! Dave

[~~Walts37~~]

I have an older brother that leaves tools scattered all over the yard, when his wife needs a tool she looks in the yard to find the tool then throws it back in the yard where she found it when she is finished with it (True Story) I treat tools like they are Gold & know where they are at all times ~~Walts237~~

[vince76]

My Dad used to call the back yard "the big tool box under the sky" Whenever he was missing a wrench (one that I had used) he would tell to go look there.

[Vic Piano]

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I try to take care of my tools, problem is, I can never find the one I need when I need it... I must have fifty half inch sockets but if I need one...

[Barry-ct]

Didn't you know that all tools have feet? THey run and hide when you need them. At least all mine do.....................

[BrianCT]

Originally Posted by Barry-ct

Didn't you know that all tools have feet? THey run and hide when you need them. At least all mine do.....................

Mine also hide on me. I think we need to train them better.

[Gumpy]

at about age five my dad bought me a tool box full of tools...none of my brothers ever got a tool box from him....nor are any mechanically inclined....got a message at any early age!....still turning a wrench and skinnin knuckles every now & then!!

[Bob G/Spanaway]

I visited my kid 2500 miles from here when he was about 35.
I had car trouble so he helped me fix it in his garage.
I got his tools greasy and just dropped them on the floor like he did as a teenager.
After while he caught on and said "I know what you're doing...you're paying me back!"
I said yup...paybacks are hell.
We get along a lot better now than when he was a teen.
Another thing he said was "It's amazing how much you learned from when I was 15 till I was thirty"

[Shadetree]

Bob G,
That is great. My son was always right there with me. But today his garage is always neat and clean, right now mine is a holy fright. I am a pack rat, hanging on to everything, in case I need it.

Shadetree

[Mr 42]

Of course tools have feeling's and needs to be punished sometimes :-)

My kids are 30 plus now and recently learned to put the tools back. :-)

My father and I,and my son's have some temper when wrenching.
and my father always said the Swedish version of SOB, only much longer. And ive tryed to conway it to my sons..... LOL

[amodel25]

I started using my dad's tools at an early age. I got the sermon about use them don't lose them and put them up when you are through. Even though I was pretty good about it, one day when I was about 10 years old, all of his screwdrivers came up missing. Guess who got blamed and punished for it? I was grounded from the tools, including the brand new set of screwdrivers. About a year later, one day my mother was digging in the front flower bed and started digging up rusty screwdrivers ........ my 4 year old brother had driven every one of them in the ground with a hammer......and never said a word.

[Bill Wright]

The tool phrase my Dad used was" Buy the best you can afford.Take care of them and they'll serve you well for a Good Long Time." My boy is 30 and still over here using my Dad's stuff from time to time.
The other phrase,though not specifically tool related was "Use it up,wear it out, make it do"
Makes me smile being able to tell about those phrases!

[Brendan]

i was using a 1/2 combo wrench today, i think i set it on ma workbench, now i cant find it! at least i pick the tools off the floor and put on the bench. also my Dad used to have a 51 Ford pickup. i used to keep it running for him. the runningbords are a great place for tools, he would come home from work about 120 mile drive and a 1/2 wrench or a screw driver would still be on there!

[Brendan]

my work bench looks like a bomb went off on it!

[59ab]

My tools seem to get lost more than they used to.

[Paul/Woodinville]

Now that my son is on his own I have no one to blame for lost tools. If I ask my wife if by chance she has used it she just gives me that "look".

[CJ Meyers]

I've got three girls and I still have problems with them walking away with my tools.

When I find a tool lying around outside its designated area I call it an "orphan" tool.

[Shadetree]

When I was a cable splicer for the telephone company I always had a pair of wire cutting snips (scissors) on my belt. It became second nature to reach for them on or off the job. I used them for everything, a screwdriver, a bottle opener and to cut just about anything.

Shadetree