Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
Yeah... When my FIL died, he had hundreds of tools... All 99-cent
"pocket-buster rack" stuff with the blades bent, rusted, and not worth the
gas to take them to the dump. He owned no less than six broken electric
drills, all of a quality that cost at least $7.95 at retail.

Good stuff is a remarkable find.

LLoyd

My father in law had some pretty nice tools. Which is as it should be,
as he was a toolmaker who worked for L.S. Starrett. He started working
there full-time in 1941 and, except for a couple of years at the end of
WWII, worked there his entire career. He was still putting in 40+ hour
weeks when he died in 2001. His son, however, inherited his things,
which was fine with me as I already had most of the hand tools I need.

My great grandfather was a cabinetmaker, and I have his tool chest and
many of his tools - some of which may very well come from his father or
grandfather. Plus, I have my grandfather's tools. It's when I work
with those that, if I take my time, I can often hear the tools talking
to me and feel their hands guiding them along with mine. I'll
sometimes surprise myself with how well I do something, then realize
that I had help.

Not much soul in a broken electric drill, but a hundred-year old plane
or gouge or micrometer is a different matter.

John Martin