What's The Oldest Tool in Your Toolbox?

[Mark 72@E]

Just for fun -- what's the oldest tool in your toolbox?

I'll give two very different examples from mine.

1) When my great-grandfather gave me this hand tool in the 1970's he said it had belonged to his father. As a frame of reference my great-grandfather was born in 1888, although I don't know the dates when his father was born or when he died.

The cap screws onto the body which is hollow and holds the implements. Both the body and the cap are made of wood. The hand tool is stamped "PRAY'S PAT. AUG 7, 93".

2) I've raced outboards during two periods of my life, "then" and "now". "Then" was when I was a teenager in the mid '70's. The combination wrenches were a Christmas present I received probably in 1972 and which would have traveled with me to races during those years. They are part of a POWR-KRAFT set sold exclusively by Montgomery Wards and are stamped FORGED IN USA.

What's the oldest tool in your toolbox? Pictures aren't required to post a reply and tell your story...

[bill hoctor]

Tools

Besides the obvious....... 7/16th wrench..shorten...cut down around the nut area to get into the middle nut of the block and case of a 20 H.. Merry Xmas

[PRO-MOTIONRACING]

True story, It was the winter of 1969 and it was snowing outside much like today. I was working on my bicycle and had no tools so I nailed an apple crate to a sled, filled it with pop bottles and hooked it to my dog (Samoyed/Malamute). We then towed them about a mile to a store, cashed the bottles in, walked another block to a lumber yard and bought my first tool, a six inch crescent wrench... 50-R

[sam]

I have a set of Western Auto "Thorsen" combination wrenches that I bought new in 1977 when I got my first "real" job, a J/B brand refrigeration manifold and an old analog Amprobe amp meter all from the same time. The young guys look at that Amprobe and wonder how it works "without batteries"

[PROPDOC]

I have a set of Starrett telescoping gauges that belonged to my Grandpa Miller. He bought them in the 1950's. They are probably my most favorite,

[BabcockBros38A]

How bout this one?

I have had this 38 years, It was given to me when i started my Tool and Die Maker apprenticeship @ General Electric. The Toolmaker whom I got it from was, at that time in his 50's. He had it for at least 25 years , and jokingly he said he got it from Thomas Edison!! It was a standing joke in our shop when someone outside of the Tool room needed an indicator, we loaned them this one, and said if they needed a better one they should buy one like we all had to do.

Pete

[ZUL8TR]

Pivot open end wrench

When my dad was at Republic Avaition during WW II working on P 47 Thunderbolts he modified and made many tools to help with the assembly and maintenance of the P 47. One in particular that I have is an open end wrench tool set with same size box size on the opposite end commonly called combination wrenches. He modified the open end by grinding a small portion of a circular arc in one of the open end bearing surfaces to allow the wrench to be used ratchet style without taking it off the nut or bolt head. It can be used to tighten or loosen with the ratchet effect. Here are some pics of the combo wrench and 2 other tools from his box of the WW II era. One is a multi size square wrench and a multi screwdriver that comes apart as in the 1st picture.

[Hydroglobe17J]

My actual tool box, I used it back in the early 70's when I raced the first time around! We call it, " The Des Box".

[Guest]

A rock (billions of years old).

[mdaspit]

Thanks Dad

My oldest best tool was a bit of advice my Dad gave me. When I was a kid, it was my job to clear and wipe the table after dinner.

One night he brought me into the dinning room and pointed out the half-a**** job I had done, and said to me...

"Boy... if you wipe your butt as well as you wiped this table, you must have dingle-berrys growing from it."

[Islandmon]

Me !

[PRO-MOTIONRACING]

A rock (billions of years old).

I had read that thousands of years ago the rare and valued tools were made of Iron. They had not yet discovered how to produce it yet so the only way to get it was to find a meteor that had melted upon entering the atmosphere and make a tool from that.

[Kev43V]

somewhere I have a hand plane that was made before 1900. I had picked it up at a garage sale for a couple of bucks( like 3 or 4 dollars) An older guy I know looked at it and told me I should check into it as he thought it was old. Come to find out the model that replaced it came out in something like 1890. the coolest plane I have ever seen one one that had a seat on it. It seems the way it was used was the craftsman and his helper would get it started. then the craftsman would sit on it as his helper pulled him down the board. it was used to make large moldings like a modern shaper does today (profiled cutters)