Tools! My grandfather's and my uncle's

My uncle died recently, and one of his storage units had the older tools in it. The newer hand power tools etc were in another one that a cousin cleaned out. I'm sorting through the chaos. And chaos it is! But a lot of it is OLD cool tools, I'd rather have them than the power tools!

Some of what I'm posting is just to show it off, some I have questions about The ones that I question I'm labeling with a Q and a number, and a letter if there is more than one picture of the item. If you answer questions, please mention the number! I'm expecting this thread to get pretty chaotic.  A lot of these pictures I'm tossing in a glove for scale.

My grandfather worked at Fisher Body in Flint MI, and built houses on the side, one at a time, slowly, would move the family into it when it was done, sell it, then start another house. By the time I was old enough to notice things he had a garage woodshop, and they traveled in a 30 foot trailer that he made a tool organizing system in. When they got someplace (like our house, often for the whole winter!) he'd make things, and usually leave them for their hosts. I have several tables he made me, mom has some too. He made her a huge dining room table that easily seated all 5 of us kids plus room for more. I have the base from that, the top may have died in the move, I'm not sure. There were stools that went with it, I have them too, I like them, and use one of them daily. When his mind went bad (he died of Alzheimer's) my uncle took the tools, as he was doing some very dangerous things (adjusting the table saw fence with the blade running, complained that all his tape measures had lost the ends, no, the blade was cutting them off as he used it measure the fence setting.) I recognized a lot of them right off, they were an important part of my childhood, and some were the tools I learned on.

My uncle had a cabinet shop near Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. The big power tools are gone, no clue where, there is information and parts for a bandsaw, etc, that were not in this storage unit. He did beautiful work!

So for me, to end up with these tools is awesome, to me they are both great tools, and family history. I'm honored to be the custodian of them, and to use them in my own projects.

I have always been a woman of many vices, and many vises, and now I have even more vises! I'm outgrowing a few of my vices, but not my vice of tool hoarding!

A woman of even more vises!

Things to show off, mostly the quantity! My uncle worked alone, and I usually do too, so I'm thrilled to have more ways to hold things still!

Pipe clamps, 2, 4 and 6 foot

Bar clamps, 12 inches to 7 foot long

No mar wood clamps

Some of these tools are in pretty rough shape, some are VERY well preserved

Some are in rough shape

A folding work bench! I have always ways liked these, was happy to see one in the pile, it will need some work, it is very stiff to fold and unfold.

Question number 1:
This looks like it extends the support for long wood while being cut.
How do I use it? What kind of saw might it go on? Am I looking for anything particular when I see a saw to know if it can use it?

Question number 2
This says it's a cutting guide, never used one like that, how do I do so? I have C clamped metal yardsticks or straight edges to boards as a cut guide, but that is all.

Well, Question one is easy, these are for a table saw.
Exactly as you guessed, to support and cut wider wood without a helper.
The two rods and the sliding fence should have gone with the table saw.

thomas rubino wrote:Well, Question one is easy, these are for a table saw.
Exactly as you guessed, to support and cut wider wood without a helper.
The two rods and the sliding fence should have gone with the table saw.

One table saw did come out of there. I have hmm.... 2 or 3 others.
How does it hook? I'll check the table saws when I can reach them.

Question 2 - we've got one of these, but hard to describe with words.

The little clamps rotate and hold the long piece to plywood so you can get a straight cut using just a skill saw or hand saw. So the clamps in use are at each end of the long metal piece, not side by side. The second metal piece attaches to the one with the clamps if you need to cut longer wood, like 8', in one go. It's unwieldly in "joined together" mode, so we keep ours separated unless we're know we're going to be doing a lot  of long cuts.

Great tools, Pearl. It's nice to have that connection to your grandfather and uncle. And don't dismiss the rusty tools -- some of those old tools were of very high quality and with a bit of TLC will serve you well.

Yup, for Q1 it's a fence for either a table saw or maybe a band saw.  The two rods bolt to the front and back edge of the table and the fence slides back an forth on them to set the width of the cut.

Thank you for sharing Pearl. I think you got some good answers on the purpose of those more mysterious items. My dad has that same folding workbench.. since I was a child, and still uses it! A far cry from the cheap, plastic, designed to fail junk that we are flooded with these days..

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:And don't dismiss the rusty tools -- some of those old tools were of very high quality and with a bit of TLC will serve you well.

Oh I'm absolutely not. These are good old steel tools, they will be derusted when I have time.

Mike Haasl: Ah hah! That makes sense. Bet most of my table saws have bolt points then, or can be made to have bolt points. Thank you!

Ted Abbey: Yes, the proliferation of cheap junk is why I am so thrilled to get good quality tools. I have more cheap junk tools than I want to, because that's what I could afford when I needed them. I have been buying good ones used for years to improve the quality of my selections. These are wonderful!

Thank you all!
Keep watching this thread, LOTS to go, it's a matter of how fast I can deal with the photos, and the answer there is not very. These got photoed first because they bulky and were in the way of the rest. I had to move them before I could start the quantity of chaos.

Envy.. what brand is the bench vice in the first picture?
Some names are becoming quite collectable

I have brought back.. de rusted a few tools by soaking them in Coke.
Watch them closely.. but it does take steel down to the.. what next stage.
Depending on the brand, and who carries them today.. a lot of good old tools can be traded in for repair or replacement if broken.
And I have seen displays of tools with.. 'patina' .. welded into a metal hoop for mancave art.
Have FUN..

Nola Marth wrote:Envy.. what brand is the bench vice in the first picture?
Some names are becoming quite collectable

That one says WILTON in raised letters on it. I checked my big one that I have had for years that is on my bench, it just has a big raised 4  no clue what that means. The others that I have had taht I can look at easily are much smaller and have no names.

I have brought back.. de rusted a few tools by soaking them in Coke.
Watch them closely.. but it does take steel down to the.. what next stage.

For other reasons, I keep a highly basic chemical in the house, that's what I have been using on the light rust, haven't touched the heavy rusted stuff yet, haven't had time. The garage is buried in this stuff!

Depending on the brand, and who carries them today.. a lot of good old tools can be traded in for repair or replacement if broken.

I'd not want their current replacements!    They don't make steel like this anymore.

And I have seen displays of tools with.. 'patina' .. welded into a metal hoop for mancave art.
Have FUN..

Oh I hate when good tools get misused like that. My cheap ones I might do artsy stuff with, but I am too much of a tool user to hurt my good tools Rusted heavily... Hm. Maaaybe.    I can think of uses even for rusted past their original intention.

https://mivise.com/wilton-vise-date-stamping/#:~:text=For%20those%20who%20don't,the%20front%20jaw%20from%20rotating.

VERY nice..

Numbers stamped on the body are often Jaw width.

I get what you say about repurposing good tools.
But there is a fine line between restoring and resurrection.
And the math is not good.

Mike Rowe has some awesome commentary on the trades on utube.
For the last 15 years.. for every 5 tradesmen that retired, 2 have replaced them.
And now all the widows are selling up and cleaning out the shop.
I go to Flea Markets, auctions, garage sales.
It is truly heartbreaking to see the price tags on some of this shop jewelry.
Because weight is an issue in my Camper, I have a half dozen guys that I drop stuff off to..
If I ever need it, I get to borrow it back.
They groan.. then go... This is gorgeous.. How much?
50 cents, $2.. $5..

I picked up a 36" Kennedy Toolbox full of a lifetime of Machinist Tools.
Thing was so heavy 2 of us couldn't carry it 10 ft before putting it down. Rest.. stagger another 10 ft. $50.
A week ago.. a whole fishing box full of Ramelson Carvers and chisels for less than $100.
Heartbreaking..

At a certain point.. How much is enough?
If you use it.. great.

I had 9 full toolboxes in my condo when my husband went into care.
Before I went on the road I found a young man. Taking Mechanical engineering.
I invited him over, stood him in front of the toolboxes and handed him a tote..
We loaded that boy up.
I gave almost everything else away to 20 plus people.
Found a local woodworking club to take the rest.
Had about 8 old guys standing around when I dropped it all off..
Every one had a shed of tools that they were hoarding.. hoping for a kid or grandkid to come along that would appreciate them.
So.. it all went..
Then I bought a new all in one tool kit..Light, $79
I carry that in my truck.
I'm always running into guys that have $30,000 in tools at home and a pair of pump pliers and a Leatherman multitool in his RV.

Yeah.. I do a little lip curl when I use them..
It isn't Snap on.. But I'm getting ok with that.
How much is enough?

Having said that... we are gonna need more pictures to drool over.. 🤤 😂

Pearl Sutton wrote:

thomas rubino wrote:Well, Question one is easy, these are for a table saw.
Exactly as you guessed, to support and cut wider wood without a helper.
The two rods and the sliding fence should have gone with the table saw.

One table saw did come out of there. I have hmm.... 2 or 3 others.
How does it hook? I'll check the table saws when I can reach them.

Just like Mike said, bolts to front and rear of a saw table.
Judging by the grey color, and the "Saturn" knob, my guess is a Delta saw. Likely a table saw, but could be a bandsaw...
It may have been removed from the saw for moving/carrying? or replaced with an aftermarket fence? which might make it seem like "extra stuff" set aside.

Nola Marth wrote:Numbers stamped on the body are often Jaw width.

Lookied at that site, I see no numbers on the bottom of the square stock thing. On the side of the jaws: On one side: raised letters that say 8*648 1/2   on that same side stamped  SF2. On the other side stamped 110002   ...so maybe 2002?

I get what you say about repurposing good tools.
But there is a fine line between restoring and resurrection.
And the math is not good.

I can repurpose a lot. Example being that rusty set of sockets, if I can't clean them up enough to use, if absolutely no other use exists they are great weights for my spray painting stencils, being graduated sizes and a lot of weight for their size.
I just consider good tools being made into art heartbreaking.

I picked up a 36" Kennedy Toolbox full of a lifetime of Machinist Tools.
Thing was so heavy 2 of us couldn't carry it 10 ft before putting it down. Rest.. stagger another 10 ft. $50.

I paid 20 for one full of car repair tools. It's picture will be coming. I wanted the box, not the tools, I had all of them, they were recent.

Heartbreaking...

At a certain point.. How much is enough?
If you use it.. great.

Every one had a shed of tools that they were hoarding.. hoping for a kid or grandkid to come along that would appreciate them.

I AM the grandkid who appreciates them!!  

Having said that... we are gonna need more pictures to drool over.. 🤤 😂

Yup! That's why I'm showing them off here, people who will care and say "OOOH!" Instead of what my cousins etc said "Oh god, a storage unit full of old shit..."

Yup! That's why I'm showing them off here, people who will care and say "OOOH!" Instead of what my cousins etc said "Oh god, a storage unit full of old shit..."

*Gasps* Sacrilege!

Kenneth Elwell wrote:
Just like Mike said, bolts to front and rear of a saw table.
Judging by the grey color, and the "Saturn" knob, my guess is a Delta saw. Likely a table saw, but could be a bandsaw...
It may have been removed from the saw for moving/carrying? or replaced with an aftermarket fence? which might make it seem like "extra stuff" set aside.

There was a bandsaw at one point. Not here now. Things were packed down to go into the storage unit, so taking the extension off whatever made sense.  
I don't think it's extra stuff, I think *I* just don't know where it goes yet. I'll look at the table saw that came with this stuff when I can reach it (it's buried, things piled on it) and if not that one, I'll compare it mine.
I'll check for Delta, including what I find that relates to the bandsaw, see if the brand is anywhere.

For the rusty ones I'd recommend electrolysis. It works very well & is fairly simple to make. It won't harm the metal but removes every speck of rust. Much easier & far more effective than mechanical means or using acids like coke or tomato products.

a simple build

I'm sorry for your loss Pearl and glad that you have the opportunity to rescue some of your family hardware heritage. Sounds like you might want to borrow Dan's vibratory tumbler. He got really impressive results here.
I have also heard that molasses solution can be an alternative to coke for derusting too, this page suggests it takes just a day or so for light rust to dissolve away. That would be relatively cheap and easy to try.

Hi my friend;
Hardly been home these past few months.
About your Wilton Vice.
If you remove the outer jaw and barrel and turn them over, you will find the date of manufacture.
Check out my post on replacing the jaws on my Wilton.   It was made in October 1945
https://permies.com/t/158215/Jaws-vise

Something I stumbled on.
Simple Evaporust Clone for Pennies

Pearl, I am sorry you lost your uncle. I'm sure he'd be happy that you got some of his tools because they will be treasured & used. In the 6th photo, is that an old Black & Decker workmate?...If you didn't have one before, you'll find a LOT of uses for this. I have one that was my grandpa's and there's hardly a month that goes buy that I don't use it...Just an FYI, there is no such thing as hoarding tools. The hard part is, finding enough time to use them all...No judgement here. We birds of a feather must flock together;

John Duffy: without going out to the freezing cold garage to check, yes, I believe it is a Black and Decker workmate. I have seen those all my life, and never had one to play with :D  Haven't got that one cleaned up yet.

For anyone who wants to know: the rest of the tools are still sitting there unsorted, my health nosedived, and there they sit. Perhaps this thread bouncing again will inspire me to check, I think I may have taken pictures that I didn't get posted. Still cool stuff in there. Lots of it...

Just an FYI, there is no such thing as hoarding tools. The hard part is, finding enough time to use them all...No judgement here. We birds of a feather must flock together;)

If there is such a thing, I am a tool hoarder. I LIKE cool tools, and I like having what I need at any given time. Example is on my desk, a vase kind of like a pen cup. There are 13 pliers type things in it, from small channel locks, to multiple types of needlenose, rosary pliers, and wire cutters. I use those a LOT, even when I'm not "doing" anything, to the point I can't clean them off my desk. And let's not get into the stuff in the container behind my laptop screen, I don't even have words for some of them. But I use them. Enough that on a cluttered desk that I need to take a shovel to, when I clear the desk, all the tools stay. Priorities.

I am a tool using animal. And possibly a tool hoarding animal. And I'm fine with that :D

John Duffy wrote:In the 6th photo, is that an old Black & Decker workmate?...If you didn't have one before, you'll find a LOT of uses for this. I have one that was my grandpa's and there's hardly a month that goes buy that I don't use it...

I'm pretty sure it is an early workmate. Very useful for moving to where you're doing work. We have a couple: one we bought when first married (I think) the other we inherited from my grandfather in law. That one is a bit heavier (possible more like Pearls) with a cast rather than pressed H frame. Wood worker magazine have an interesting history of the workmate, which illustrates the difficulty in making a good design become a commercial success.

Treasure that workmate! Unfortunately, Mr Ara managed to break his old one and the replacement is really not of such good quality. They are such a useful thing to have in the workshop and can even be used as tables for the barbecue whan more people arrive than you were expecting.
I love old tools and rescued many of my father-in-law's (or were they his father's?) when he died, to everyone else's amazement and incredulity.

Nancy Reading wrote:
I'm pretty sure it is an early workmate. Very useful for moving to where you're doing work. We have a couple: one we bought when first married (I think) the other we inherited from my grandfather in law. That one is a bit heavier (possible more like Pearls) with a cast rather than pressed H frame. Wood worker magazine have an interesting history of the workmate, which illustrates the difficulty in making a good design become a commercial success.

What a cool article! Thank you!!    
(And I want a Lotus Elite!! OOOH!!)
I'll look closer at mine at same point and figure out what type it is.

Pearl, the Workmate just needs a little lubrication to keep it working great. I use a little light weight oil on the leg hinges (3 in 1 oil or, mineral oil works fine)...On the vise threads, I like a little spray lithium grease...mine is over 50 years old and still works great!  Sadly, the newer models aren't made quite so stout. You're gonna find a lot of uses for it. They are tough enough to stand on if you need to;

Thank you, Nancy Reading for sharing the link about the history of the Workmate!  It was very interesting. I'm gonna go see if I can find some ID numbers anywhere on mine.
This is the kind of stuff I totally love about hanging out on Permies...Sooo much knowledge available with a few key strokes...Amazing!