when I was younger I worked in a store that sold building materiel. this old bricklayer would come in every once in awhile and buy steel beams. all he ever used was a wooden folding ruler and tell me he wanted a beam 6' 22'', always made me laugh.
hand powered tools & accessories.
- Thread starter Chubbo
- Start date
Ivan the Butcher
Member
I have 4 kids, but let me talk (brag) about my daughter! She is a "Stay at home mom" of triplet boys. (now 10 years old) She and her husband own 8 to 10 rental units as well as their home. When repairs need done her husband is not at home. So she started doing the maintenance. Since I had done maintenance for 4 decades, I really thought she would call me a lot!
The only serious job she called me on was the repair of a large Samsung front load dryer that the high limit kept shutting down! She had watched some YouTube videos, them fixed the dryer, but it still didn't work. She called and wanted some advise. I ask a few questions and found out that the dryer vent had been clogged with lint. I said she had to pull the dryer from the wall, disconnect the flexible hose and remove all the lint, INCLUDING INSIDE THE DRYER! An hour later se called and said it still didn't work. I ask how far did she clean out the inside of the dryer? And found out she just reached in and got everything she could see. I explained that she still had a little less than 2 feet more of vent after the turn and would have to remove the back and take the internal ductwork out and clean it. She called back and hour later and said it worked. It never occurred to her that he dad might know more than a YouTube Video! (It never occurred to me that there were free videos on how to fix everything!)
So she and her husband buy a 1920's 2 story shack two doors down the street from her home, as a project. They are in a Federally Protected Historic area and the shack is grandfathered in. All Renovations must be up to current code and she must stay within the footprint of the original structure. She decides the front view is too plane and need a dormer! She watches 3 videos and takes measurements and goes and buys lumber, lays it out, and makes all the saw cuts at once. When Saturday comes, her husband and her are on the roof, The triplets hand up the pieces and they assemble it. Not one piece needed to be replaced or recut. I AM IMPRESSED!
She not only has beauty and brains, but skill too! She owns tools & knows how to use them!
Ivan
The only serious job she called me on was the repair of a large Samsung front load dryer that the high limit kept shutting down! She had watched some YouTube videos, them fixed the dryer, but it still didn't work. She called and wanted some advise. I ask a few questions and found out that the dryer vent had been clogged with lint. I said she had to pull the dryer from the wall, disconnect the flexible hose and remove all the lint, INCLUDING INSIDE THE DRYER! An hour later se called and said it still didn't work. I ask how far did she clean out the inside of the dryer? And found out she just reached in and got everything she could see. I explained that she still had a little less than 2 feet more of vent after the turn and would have to remove the back and take the internal ductwork out and clean it. She called back and hour later and said it worked. It never occurred to her that he dad might know more than a YouTube Video! (It never occurred to me that there were free videos on how to fix everything!)
So she and her husband buy a 1920's 2 story shack two doors down the street from her home, as a project. They are in a Federally Protected Historic area and the shack is grandfathered in. All Renovations must be up to current code and she must stay within the footprint of the original structure. She decides the front view is too plane and need a dormer! She watches 3 videos and takes measurements and goes and buys lumber, lays it out, and makes all the saw cuts at once. When Saturday comes, her husband and her are on the roof, The triplets hand up the pieces and they assemble it. Not one piece needed to be replaced or recut. I AM IMPRESSED!
She not only has beauty and brains, but skill too! She owns tools & knows how to use them!
Ivan
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I consider myself Tool Obsessed BUT, I actually use my tools almost every single day and have a rather large and well stocked Work Shop. Many of my tools belonged to my Grandfather and my dad who were much the same as I am. I've got Braces & Bits, at least a half dozen Hand Drills (egg beater style), Wooden Rulers that fold out, Planes, Mic's and all sorts of Machinists tools that are older than I am, and the list goes on and on and on of vintage tools. Once again, I do not have them as show or conversation pieces, I actually use them on a regular basis and enjoy every minute of that!
I've also got a slew of modern tools and about 12 years ago I sold ALL of my Cordless Tools and replaced them with corded ones. Replacing the batteries drove me crazy and the older they got the shorter their battery life was on the job. I went out of my way and made it a quest, but found most of the corded tools I wanted as new old stock - made in USA. I did pay a premium for that but to me it was worth it! Most are Milwaukee but there are also a Porter Cable and a few DeWalts thrown in for good measure. Other than 2 tools they were all USA made but I simply cold not find the model Hammer Drill and Scroll Saw that I wanted made in USA so I settled for them being made in The Czech Republic if memory serves.
I have outlets all over my home including outside and don't mind running an extension cord. I have full power all the time and never concern myself with batteries any more.
I'm into Fountain Pens, Antique Fans, Player Piano's, Mechanical hand cranked Victrola's, Vintage Phones, blah blah blah.... the older the better as far as I am concerned. My Wife says I was born an old man - LOL!!
BTW I also have a fully restored and fully functional Vendo 81 Coca-cola vending machine (circa 1951-52) that is just absolutely pristine! It was fully restored by the Company that does it for the Coca-cola Company and they did an outstanding job! I might be selling it if we wind up moving one day.
When my son got married and bought his own home I assembled a few tool boxes worth of tools for him - he's actually learning to use them slowly but surely. My Daughter just recently got her own apartment (with her fiance') and I am now in the process of assembling a tool set for them as well. I won't be around forever!
I've also got a slew of modern tools and about 12 years ago I sold ALL of my Cordless Tools and replaced them with corded ones. Replacing the batteries drove me crazy and the older they got the shorter their battery life was on the job. I went out of my way and made it a quest, but found most of the corded tools I wanted as new old stock - made in USA. I did pay a premium for that but to me it was worth it! Most are Milwaukee but there are also a Porter Cable and a few DeWalts thrown in for good measure. Other than 2 tools they were all USA made but I simply cold not find the model Hammer Drill and Scroll Saw that I wanted made in USA so I settled for them being made in The Czech Republic if memory serves.
I have outlets all over my home including outside and don't mind running an extension cord. I have full power all the time and never concern myself with batteries any more.
I'm into Fountain Pens, Antique Fans, Player Piano's, Mechanical hand cranked Victrola's, Vintage Phones, blah blah blah.... the older the better as far as I am concerned. My Wife says I was born an old man - LOL!!
BTW I also have a fully restored and fully functional Vendo 81 Coca-cola vending machine (circa 1951-52) that is just absolutely pristine! It was fully restored by the Company that does it for the Coca-cola Company and they did an outstanding job! I might be selling it if we wind up moving one day.
When my son got married and bought his own home I assembled a few tool boxes worth of tools for him - he's actually learning to use them slowly but surely. My Daughter just recently got her own apartment (with her fiance') and I am now in the process of assembling a tool set for them as well. I won't be around forever!
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BigBoy99s comments about engineering students shows nothing much has changed. 54 years ago I was an engineering student and we had a brand new engineering building, complete fitting out was still in progress. One day I got borrowed from class and taken to the mechanical lab where they were designing the frame for the gasoline engine dynamometer (Ford had gifted us an assortment of new engines).
I was there because I'd a reputation for being able to work on cars. The cream of the graduating engineering class (all of whom had jobs waiting for them) running the project couldn't figure out where the engine mount locations on the engines were. When I pointed out the proper sets of bolt holes, one of the geniuses said: "That's where the oil filter goes!" I then showed them what an oil filter looked like and left. I later had a brief discussion with the mechanical engineering prof who, after realizing I wasn't kidding, put his head in his hands. No doubt thinking of the hit his reputation might be about to take in industry.
I was there because I'd a reputation for being able to work on cars. The cream of the graduating engineering class (all of whom had jobs waiting for them) running the project couldn't figure out where the engine mount locations on the engines were. When I pointed out the proper sets of bolt holes, one of the geniuses said: "That's where the oil filter goes!" I then showed them what an oil filter looked like and left. I later had a brief discussion with the mechanical engineering prof who, after realizing I wasn't kidding, put his head in his hands. No doubt thinking of the hit his reputation might be about to take in industry.
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Still use those?
Old Arkansawyer
Member
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How about a froe to make wooden shake shingles?
Wrench for buggy/wagon wheel nuts.
Ok the froe is not that old, I made it about 30 years ago. I bought the
wrench at an estate/farm auction just because some blacksmith had
forge welded the handle, it cost a whole dollar. I'm assuming it is at
least a 100 years old.
Wrench for buggy/wagon wheel nuts.
Ok the froe is not that old, I made it about 30 years ago. I bought the
wrench at an estate/farm auction just because some blacksmith had
forge welded the handle, it cost a whole dollar. I'm assuming it is at
least a 100 years old.
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Corn Cutting Stuff
Corn knives. A favored brand was 'Cut Sweet'. I had, and used, my grandad's, 'Cutsweet', but it was lost in life's shuffle.
A wood handled corn shocking rope. I used 'em, but don't know the proper name for 'em. It was a 10ft., or so length of 1/2", hemp rope with a 3/4 "x 1ft. Length, piece of wood attached, to one end. This rope was used with one hand, to throw around bundles of hand cut corn bundles held in the other hand. Binder twine was then fastened to the board, and pulled back around the bundles of corn stocks, so they could be tied together, into a corn shock, later to be husked.
Husking peg. A steel hook, fastened to a steel plate, that was worn over your gloved hand, to tear the ear of corn out of its husk.
Bumper board. The buckboard in the corn wagon that deflected the ears of corn into the bed of the corn wagon.
Huskers Lotion, and Bag Balm, used to treat, cramps, dried skin, cracks cuts & abrasions, fatigue etc.
Drain tiling spades. The short handled long-bladed shovels used digging ditches that open-ended, clay tiles were buried in, to provide drainage to farm land. It was backbreaking, monotonous, work. My grandad, was said to be able to spade backwards, faster than most folks could walk forward.
I doubt that many of you will be able to understand my crude description of these s old implements. They were used by most farmers of that era.
Corn knives. A favored brand was 'Cut Sweet'. I had, and used, my grandad's, 'Cutsweet', but it was lost in life's shuffle.
A wood handled corn shocking rope. I used 'em, but don't know the proper name for 'em. It was a 10ft., or so length of 1/2", hemp rope with a 3/4 "x 1ft. Length, piece of wood attached, to one end. This rope was used with one hand, to throw around bundles of hand cut corn bundles held in the other hand. Binder twine was then fastened to the board, and pulled back around the bundles of corn stocks, so they could be tied together, into a corn shock, later to be husked.
Husking peg. A steel hook, fastened to a steel plate, that was worn over your gloved hand, to tear the ear of corn out of its husk.
Bumper board. The buckboard in the corn wagon that deflected the ears of corn into the bed of the corn wagon.
Huskers Lotion, and Bag Balm, used to treat, cramps, dried skin, cracks cuts & abrasions, fatigue etc.
Drain tiling spades. The short handled long-bladed shovels used digging ditches that open-ended, clay tiles were buried in, to provide drainage to farm land. It was backbreaking, monotonous, work. My grandad, was said to be able to spade backwards, faster than most folks could walk forward.
I doubt that many of you will be able to understand my crude description of these s old implements. They were used by most farmers of that era.
Ivan the Butcher
Member
In about 1967 dad cleared about 5 acres of wooded creek bottom and made it a corn field. He forgot to make the access road wide enough for the corn picker! My brother and I had to pick it all by hand and corn-knife! From then on it was a hay field (narrower equipment!)
I have learned to love a good corn knife in the woods. Great in the woods but much lighter than even a small machete! We always kept one on the mowing tractor for along the woods line/fence row. (every time you mow, you cut back those limbs that stick out into the field)
Ivan
I have learned to love a good corn knife in the woods. Great in the woods but much lighter than even a small machete! We always kept one on the mowing tractor for along the woods line/fence row. (every time you mow, you cut back those limbs that stick out into the field)
Ivan
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I found out about a speed handle for driving Phillips head screws in the air force. In 1979, we bought our first house. My first home owner task was to install new cupboards in the kitchen alone. I used a Stanley egg beater drill to make pilot holes in the oak face frames, Yankee screw driver didn't drive cabinet screws in oak, but my old speed handle did.
I used that speed handle until my first Milwaukee 9 V battery drill in 1986. The Milwaukee still works but the second battery holds a charge for less than 5 minutes. I have many of my Grandfather's old saws, Stanley brace & bits, framing square, and 1951 Craftsman table saw.
I used that speed handle until my first Milwaukee 9 V battery drill in 1986. The Milwaukee still works but the second battery holds a charge for less than 5 minutes. I have many of my Grandfather's old saws, Stanley brace & bits, framing square, and 1951 Craftsman table saw.
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Jeff423
US Veteran
After my daughter got her first "real" job, apartment, and Ikea furniture we had to put the furniture together. She was very impressed with my (hand powered) ratcheting screw driver and Pozi drive bits. She bought one of her own as one of her first purchases. I was quite pleased. It took her several months more before she bought her first power tool.
Great post. When I built my house in 1980 my most used hand tools were a tri-square/a framing square/2 & 4 ft levels//chalk box/folding rule/tape measure(1" wide so it wouldn't bend when you stuck out there to take a measurement) and hammer. Wasn't any power nailers available to me back then. I drove cases and cases of #16 coated nails with a claw hammer......Also learned to rough up the face of the hammer on concrete so it would bite the nail better and not bend it.
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That impact driver was a MUST for old walk-in cooler doors & their hardware.
johnjohn
Member
I have quite a few of my dad and grandfathers old tools. Hand saws,bar clamps,hammers, snips brace with bits,etc. Hard to find folks to sharpen hand saws.
CAJUNLAWYER
Member
I have been using a Mont Blanc 146 Fountain Pen for years. Turquois Ink .bottle fill. Medium nib. Nothing flows faster for taking trial notes
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bricker
Member
I laid brick for 35 years with a cordless trowel and hand operated brick hammer.
My son and his wife had a had a Teenager living with them. They went out of town for the weekend. The power to the neighborhood went off. When they came back all the TOILETS were full of waste. My Son ask the Teen why he didn't Flush the TOILETS and He said. THE POWER WAS OFF !!!!!
Ole Joe Clark
Absent Comrade
I have my Dad's crosscut saw, not worth much, but then, it's priceless. Almost all my drills have cords, except for a cheap electric screw driver. It works great when removing old strings from my guitars, and installing new ones.
I bought a Stanley "egg beater" drill at trade day years ago. I was broken, but I was able to fix it. Still use it when I don't want to drag out an electric drill. It is in really good shape, I think I gave $5 dollars for it.
Have a blessed day,
Leon
I bought a Stanley "egg beater" drill at trade day years ago. I was broken, but I was able to fix it. Still use it when I don't want to drag out an electric drill. It is in really good shape, I think I gave $5 dollars for it.
Have a blessed day,
Leon
I have reversal crosscut and rip saws from my dad, as well as a Brace and a box of bits. The Speed Handle Engineer 1911 speaks of operates on the same principle. I removed and replaced many a screw from aircraft panels using a speed handle. You had to be cautious to not strip out the screw slots, cause then you had to get a drill and easy out's.
Mechanical tools
A few of the innumerable, mechanical tools, used by electricians.
Magnetic stud finders.
BX cutters.
Romex slitters.
Electric Wire skinners
BB gun, to shoot holes in glass, and ceramic tiles.
Hook billed electrician knives, to skin electric wires, cables.
Johnson Bar. A large wooden handled pry bar with cast iron wheels, to move heavy equipment.
Pry Bar/Tamper. A 5' Steel bar, with wedge on one end, and round flat head on the other.
Post hole augers, jobbers, and 10' long, wood handled dirt spoon.
Lineman Hooks, and safety/ tool belt. For climbing electric/telephone poles.
12 section, folding, pocket, Wood Rules. I carried one daily for 60+ years, while in the electric trade.
Electric, Cable cutters.
Benders, for metal EMT conduit, and Hickeys for ridged metal conduit.
Your Fingers for, determining if circuits were 'hot'.
9" 'Klein, Sidecuting Pliers. An indispensable, tool, used for many things.
10" Channel Lock pliers. Another indispensable tool.
Straight blade, and Phillip screwdrivers.
Torque wrenches.
Blow torches.
Combination Tool, Wire stripper, cutter, screw shortener, pliers, thread chaser.
Tin snips.
Metal stud punches.
Star drills. For drilling holes in concrete.
Hammer twist tools, and bits, for drilling holes in concrete.
Lead anchor sets.
Electrician knife, Camillus, or Klein. Standard knife blade, and screwdriver/ wire skinner blade.
Key hole saw, for cutting holes for old work boxes in wood lath, and plaster.
Centering rules.
Ground Walnut shells. To seat carbon brushes in generator turbines.
Hilti Guns. Shot black powder cartridges to drive anchor bolts, Studs, etc., into concrete.
Coffee pots. To melt, and pour cable splice ing compound.
Lead pots, and dippers, for soldering wire joints in Knob & Tube wiring systems.
Liquid Nitrogen. To check loose connections.
4' round Wood fence posts, to roll heavy equipment on.
A few of the innumerable, mechanical tools, used by electricians.
Magnetic stud finders.
BX cutters.
Romex slitters.
Electric Wire skinners
BB gun, to shoot holes in glass, and ceramic tiles.
Hook billed electrician knives, to skin electric wires, cables.
Johnson Bar. A large wooden handled pry bar with cast iron wheels, to move heavy equipment.
Pry Bar/Tamper. A 5' Steel bar, with wedge on one end, and round flat head on the other.
Post hole augers, jobbers, and 10' long, wood handled dirt spoon.
Lineman Hooks, and safety/ tool belt. For climbing electric/telephone poles.
12 section, folding, pocket, Wood Rules. I carried one daily for 60+ years, while in the electric trade.
Electric, Cable cutters.
Benders, for metal EMT conduit, and Hickeys for ridged metal conduit.
Your Fingers for, determining if circuits were 'hot'.
9" 'Klein, Sidecuting Pliers. An indispensable, tool, used for many things.
10" Channel Lock pliers. Another indispensable tool.
Straight blade, and Phillip screwdrivers.
Torque wrenches.
Blow torches.
Combination Tool, Wire stripper, cutter, screw shortener, pliers, thread chaser.
Tin snips.
Metal stud punches.
Star drills. For drilling holes in concrete.
Hammer twist tools, and bits, for drilling holes in concrete.
Lead anchor sets.
Electrician knife, Camillus, or Klein. Standard knife blade, and screwdriver/ wire skinner blade.
Key hole saw, for cutting holes for old work boxes in wood lath, and plaster.
Centering rules.
Ground Walnut shells. To seat carbon brushes in generator turbines.
Hilti Guns. Shot black powder cartridges to drive anchor bolts, Studs, etc., into concrete.
Coffee pots. To melt, and pour cable splice ing compound.
Lead pots, and dippers, for soldering wire joints in Knob & Tube wiring systems.
Liquid Nitrogen. To check loose connections.
4' round Wood fence posts, to roll heavy equipment on.
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