Tag Archives: tools

My New Old Tools

Posted on by
Comment

They just don’t make them like this anymore.

I finally get it. I understand why tools are a big seller at estate sales.

As I wrote earlier this month, my godfather, Jackie, passed away in late October. Although personal business in Washington made it impossible for me to see him before he died, I was able to join my mother and cousin a few days afterward, to help them go through the things he left behind in his house. I came home with the monkey lamp I’d always admired and a never-used Proctor-Silex toaster dating from about 1965 that I now use regularly.

I also came away with some tools. I didn’t expect to, but when I first laid eye on the marvelously shiny, new-looking nail clipper made in Italy, I just couldn’t let it go to Goodwill. You simply can’t buy something like that anymore — hell, everything in this country seems to be cheap crap made in China.

A while later, we stumbled into a drawer filled with more tools. Woodworking tools, garden tools, pipe wrenches, awls, and a manual drill. Every one of these tools were well used but still in great shape. Best of all, they were heavy duty, made in USA, proudly stamped with patent numbers or manufacture locations or both. The kinds of tools you simply can’t find anymore.

Although I was flying home on an airliner and didn’t know quite how I’d get the tools home, I chose a few I knew I’d be able to use — tools that would complement those I already had in my toolbox. (Even though I’m a girl, I have a remarkably complete toolbox that can help me get most jobs done.) I bundled them up in bubble wrap and eventually loaded them into my checked luggage (with the toaster and lamp base). I admit I was amazed when that bag weighed in at 48.5 pounds. (Another pound and a half and I would have paid a premium to get it on the plane.)

My New Old Tools
The tools I brought back from Jackie’s house.

I’ve already used some of the tools to get work done around my place. I like the way they feel in my hands — sturdy and stronger than me. I don’t think any of them will break — unlike numerous made-in-China tools I’ve destroyed in the past. In a way, I wish I’d dug deeper into his collection — perhaps in the garage — to find more old tools I could use. It would have been worth the extra baggage handling fee to get them home.

Now all I need is one of those big red toolboxes…

Shelf Constuction Time-Lapse

Posted on by
2

Shelves in my shed.

Way back in 2008, when I lived in Arizona, I bought a bunch of Ikea shelves to organize the garage. In February of that year, my wasband and I, supervised by our neighbor’s kids, built the shelves on one side of the garage. It took nearly the whole day to get that job done and when it was over, we were exhausted. The idea was to do the other side of the garage on a future weekend.

But like so many things I planned with my wasband, it never happened. The extra shelves sat languishing against one wall for more than five years. Finally, when I realized that I was going to be spending the entire winter of 2012/2013 in my house and had nothing better to do than pack, I packed up those loose shelves, leaving the built ones behind. The packed shelves were moved up to my storage space in Washington in September 2013 with the rest of my belongings.

Last week, I lucked upon an excellent deal for a 6 x 8 shed. I realized that I’d be able to store a lot more in the shed a lot more neatly with shelves. I measured those Ikea shelves and I measured the shed’s inside wall. Would you believe the shelves were just 1/4 inch narrower than the wall? They’d fit perfectly.

I built them today. Rather than use the relatively short vertical posts I already had, however, I bought some new 1 x 4s, 6 feet in length, so the shelves would be higher. So part of construction meant drilling new holes. I had all the tools I needed to make the job a snap — I’m really building quite a collection of power tools! And the difference in the shed is amazing; you can see for yourself in the time-lapse video I created.

The project took just over 2 hours from beginning to end. I’m very happy with the way it turned out!