A year back, my FIL passed, and a couple months ago we moved my MiL out of their home to an apartment nearby. My MIL wanted everything donated, but said if there was anything we wanted, we were welcome to it…. Well, my FIL was a machinist for 30 years and had tons of tools. I didn’t take all the tools, but did take some of what looked like the nicer items.
All in all, it was a massive tool haul…. Lots of vintage stuff, from Snap-on, to S-K, and old Craftsmen. Lots of old vintage and desirable tools.. probably 12 of everything. It was crazy.
I really don’t need the tools, since I have several massive sets of tools already…. My goal was to create a couple of nice sets of tools for my two kids. Something to start them off right as they venture out on their own. They could have a nice setup of grandpa’s tools.
Most of the tools and numerous toolboxes were in the basement and were a tad musty. I spent an evening cleaning up everything with vinegar and soapy water. Over the coming weeks I sorted through many of the tools, separated the good from the bad, and the keepers and junk. I found approx a dozen of each kind of tool, and tons of specialty tools, from tap and dies, to weird things I couldn’t begin to identify. I actually started to find some really nice and vintage tools that sparked my interest.
After some cleaning of the nicer tools, I used plastic dip to create new rubberized handles for a number of the tools I wanted to make ‘users” out of…. I did both red and blue, and it turned out really nice.
I figured after I crafted a couple sets of tools for the kids, I’d keep a few of the nicer vintage/collectible items, and everything else (U.S.made) I’d relegate to taking to my shop/garage up at my cabin, or the garbage if not. Here are some of the cool SK sockets, before I removed the rust and cleaned them up…
So I start scouring Fb marketplace for a new tool chest, to better organize the extra tools. That brings me to today’s find. A new Craftsman tool chest. Nothing crazy fancy, but the seller wanted $95, so I couldn’t pass it up. It matched my existing tool chests, so it’s a win! Well, when I get to the sellers house, she explains the tool chest was full of tools, and they were included. I was shocked at the amount of tools. Nothing crazy valuable, but some Vintage Craftsman stuff, and vintage quality brand hand tools. tons of them…. Easily a few hundred dollars in tools, on top of the toolchest, which was a steal at $95.
Here’s most of the tools from the above toolchest
I organized the wrenches and sockets. Pretty complete set. There were a few unknown ratchets, sockets and wrenches, etc… I only sorted through the vintage Craftsman sockets (all sockets had EE date code, and =v= coded wrenches).
I had always prided myself on having a couple sets of quality tools, but this deep dive into collectible vintage stuff, gave me a new appreciation and education of various older brands that are still sought after today. They really don’t build them like they used to….
All in all, it was a massive tool haul…. Lots of vintage stuff, from Snap-on, to S-K, and old Craftsmen. Lots of old vintage and desirable tools.. probably 12 of everything. It was crazy.
I really don’t need the tools, since I have several massive sets of tools already…. My goal was to create a couple of nice sets of tools for my two kids. Something to start them off right as they venture out on their own. They could have a nice setup of grandpa’s tools.
Most of the tools and numerous toolboxes were in the basement and were a tad musty. I spent an evening cleaning up everything with vinegar and soapy water. Over the coming weeks I sorted through many of the tools, separated the good from the bad, and the keepers and junk. I found approx a dozen of each kind of tool, and tons of specialty tools, from tap and dies, to weird things I couldn’t begin to identify. I actually started to find some really nice and vintage tools that sparked my interest.
After some cleaning of the nicer tools, I used plastic dip to create new rubberized handles for a number of the tools I wanted to make ‘users” out of…. I did both red and blue, and it turned out really nice.
I figured after I crafted a couple sets of tools for the kids, I’d keep a few of the nicer vintage/collectible items, and everything else (U.S.made) I’d relegate to taking to my shop/garage up at my cabin, or the garbage if not. Here are some of the cool SK sockets, before I removed the rust and cleaned them up…
So I start scouring Fb marketplace for a new tool chest, to better organize the extra tools. That brings me to today’s find. A new Craftsman tool chest. Nothing crazy fancy, but the seller wanted $95, so I couldn’t pass it up. It matched my existing tool chests, so it’s a win! Well, when I get to the sellers house, she explains the tool chest was full of tools, and they were included. I was shocked at the amount of tools. Nothing crazy valuable, but some Vintage Craftsman stuff, and vintage quality brand hand tools. tons of them…. Easily a few hundred dollars in tools, on top of the toolchest, which was a steal at $95.
Here’s most of the tools from the above toolchest
I organized the wrenches and sockets. Pretty complete set. There were a few unknown ratchets, sockets and wrenches, etc… I only sorted through the vintage Craftsman sockets (all sockets had EE date code, and =v= coded wrenches).
I had always prided myself on having a couple sets of quality tools, but this deep dive into collectible vintage stuff, gave me a new appreciation and education of various older brands that are still sought after today. They really don’t build them like they used to….
