Years ago my grandfather willed me all his tools, though after he passed my grandmother did not want to let go of the things that reminded her of him.

My grandmother died of a broken heart 5 months later, we are now breaking up her estate and last weekend I brought back his tools. I am now doing something that I have wanted to do - built myself a wood shop!

Not all the tools are the greatest, but their meaning to me is infinite. My grandfather gave me my love of working with my hands.

I am turning the attic over my garage into my wood shop. For the past several years it has just big a big empty space full of car parts. Now I am making it functional! So far all of my building materials have been either from my scrap pile or surplus from the shed build over the summer. I have no funds right now for new materials.


Lathe and chisels. Many of the parting tools and scrapers are hand made from old files he had and was not using. The wall behind the lathe i NEED to seal up. The 914 and my wife's Prius live down there - and I'd rather neither of them get covered in wood chips. I am planning to start turning shifter knobs on the lathe instead of the usual eggs to practice. :-)


The entire wall will have shelves similar to this. I would have made more but ran out of 2x4s. Ideally, the shelves will have doors to keep the majority of the saw dust off them. right now I just want to get stuff off the floor.


The table saw is at least 30 years old. It currently wins as "most dangerous tool" that I own. But, man, it is USEFUL! I have never seen 3/4 inch ply cut like butter!


Excited about these additions too. I know he bought the drill press in 1985, and then replaced the motor with one twice as powerful in the late 90s. As far as I can remember he has always had the band saw, but he probably got it about the same time as the lathe in the 1980s.

I think that Pop-pop would love to see what I am doing with the attic, and that his old tools are going to be used to make things again. There is no better memorial to the old man then continuing to build, create and learn.

My wife has already given me projects for Christmas!

Zach

Great Shop! Now invest in a HF Dust Collector. You'll be happy you did.

That is awesome! I am sure your grandpa is looking down fondly. Our legacy is important and it is great you are using your grandpa's tools instead of it going to a yard sale.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Terry

Sorry for your loss, Zach. But I'm glad you are able to honor your grandfather's legacy by carrying on with his tools. Enjoy the shop!

Cool!

Woodworking is something I've always been interested in but have never taken the plunge despite already having all the tools and equipment from my own grandfather.

Zach,

Great legacy to pass on from you to yours as well. Agreed on the dust collector as well.

I also know your pain as wifey made me clear her spot in the garage for her Prius yesterday.


I offered to let her use my spare car cover to keep the frost off and the Prius above 25 degrees when it gets colder - she wasn't amused

I got my dad's old tools and I would never trade them for new stuff. fortunately he was a master mechanic and all the stuff is top notch.
every time i work on my car i have to think about him......

Nice setup! When you start making the shift knobs again will you be able to make some for the stock shifter?

If I remember correctlly last time you made them they only fit the Rennshifter.

Nice Zach!

Dude, that is fantastic!

I can relate - now. I am named after my Great Uncle Ken, who turned 100 this year. I always hated my name growing up, until I got to know this man and understand that I was named after HIM. Back in the day, he did the fine carpentry in the old passenger cars for L&N Railroad. He is not only an incredible wood-worker, but an incredible man, the type that you strive to model your life after. Now, I could not be more proud of my name and the talent that I apparently inherited from this man through my dad.

At 100, you don't do much wood working, so my dad recently acquired a lot of his tools. Pops isn't into it much anymore, so he offered the table saw to me. It is easily 50 years old and looks like a death trap. I want it for the sentimental value, but I don't have anywhere to put it. It is killing me, because I want that saw to live on, but I can't be the curator. Luckily, I have some of his smaller planers and such that I will keep and use.

Carry the torch, my friend

I love it

My grandfather was a machinist at Pearl Harbor in December 1941 when the bombs fell from the sky. He survived (obviously!) and strangely enough married a Japanese Wahini. After the war, they settled in Waikiki, where my father and uncle were born and my Gramps became a watchmaker.

Gramps loved working with his hands and accumulated a lot of tools. He taught me how to oxy-acetylene weld, to use a lathe, how to set the depth on a plunge router, and generally passed on the love of using my hands -- something that my Pops never took to.

When Parkinson's and the resulting tremors req'd him to pack up the tools about 25 years ago, he gave 'em to me. He passed about 15 years ago, but my Pops still smiles each time he sees his Pops' old tools in my garage. Although many of the power tools became worn beyond repair and have been replaced, there are a few I will cherish forever. In fact, I bought a new Dewalt chopsaw tonight, and the old gent standing behind me in line asked what I was working on; his smile and genuine interest reminded me of the Old Man.

I'll impart some Grandpa wisdom: always remember that a tool knows not the difference between meat and metal -- be careful! And enjoy the tools!!!

I love old tools! Count me in for a shifter knob when you start making them!

Great stuff Zach.
Get a roll of plastic, staple it up on the bottom of the rafters.
Its cheap.

Dad had a pretty large collection of tools also...
I had a real woodshop for years, but there are a few tools...the lathe he had, that still make me smile...I bought him that lathe...

I will be getting is soon.
Its great to touch a tool that someone you love once used

Rich

Well done Zach!

Sorry for your loss. There is definitely something to using tools passed down from previous generations.

My Brothers and I have tools (including a WWII South Bend Lathe) passed down from our Grandfather and Father, who were both great craftsman...it brings a smile to my face each time I use them.

Bob

So you've met Slits eh ?

If I make them in the 917 style for the stock shifter they will need to be an improvement over what is already on the market. I don't want to just undercut the cost of an existing product that someone else put time money and tooling into.

I know how they can be improved, but I would need to test it out first to make sure my improvement actually works.

Zach

these are the knobs I was making back in 2009. They were for the Rennshifter only. I made 5, kept 1 and sold the other 4.

this was post turning but pre-finishing. (I just used several coats of natural tung oil - no epoxy or varnish.)



Any, yeah, they look fantastic in the car!

My immediate project is a 3x6 Thomas the train table for my son for Christmas.
Zach

Another 24 feet of shelving up, giving me 30 feet of shelves plus the 8 foot workbench.
Its all still odd cuts left over from the shed, so none of the shelves are exactly the same. I've even got bits from my old bed from high school now reused as shelving. My garage attic is slowly becoming a somewhat functional space! At this point I have more plywood but don't have any more 2x4 or 2x3 for the up-rights. So I might be done making shelves for a while.

Made the first rips on the play table for my son. Man the table saw is nice for that. Cutting 1x4 down to 1x2 so that I can build an internal frame for the top to sit into. The idea is that there will be a 1 inch lip around the table to keep the train bits contained. So, the 1x4 will go around the table, with a 3/4x2 (nominal) ledge and framework. The table is going to be very simple to build.

Also had the table saw shoot a several pound timber across the room when it bound and broke free. Its just retaining its title of "most dangerous tool."

Zach

What about wheel center caps?

I don't have a metal lathe. Only a wood lathe.

Zach

Very cool....old tools and a dedicated space to use them. But, how do you get sheets of plywood up there?

Very cool !!

I'll be waiting for the order window to open

Carefully.


Those stairs. I can't believe how clean they look in this picture! This was back the day I bought my 914 in Oct of 2005. Once the sheet is up enough, I pitch it over the side onto the attic floor. A 3/4 inch 4x8 sheet of ply makes it a delicate maneuver. Happily all the plywood lately was cut over the summer for the shed, so I was just bringing up remnants.

Zach

Zach, I've been a professional cabinetmaker for 40 years. My delta 5 horse table saw has a fence that will rip 99", but i started with a craftsman similar to yours. I've thrown many boards at the wall, and some of them into my gut. had one hit me in the belt buckle breaking it, bruised my abdomen, and put me on the floor. They bind for one reason only. The fence is not square to the blade. The arbor is adjustable and the blade must be set square to the mitre gauge slots in the table top. then the fence must be set square with the slot each time its locked down. I have a Biesemeyer fence now. squares itself everytime. I've also had 4 of my fingers surgically reattached, and 3 are now permanently deformed, so I can say, please be careful and always use a push stick and hold downs for the small pieces.

My dad had one of those when I was in high school. I had a sheet of plywood shoot back at me while building a speaker box. Knocked the wind out of me so bad I didn;t realizemy middle finger was split in two by the blade until I saw a puddle of blood on the floor. Ask me to show you the scar next ti,e I see you. GET A GOOD FENCE !!!

I think that is someone else's shop & Zach just wanted to talk about his Knob again

Bring the table saw downstairs to make all the initial cuts in plywood..or even better, have home depot do it for you....

Put me down for 2 of the 917 style knobs please!!!

Zach, sorry for your loss. I think it's great that you put such an emphasis on the sentimental value of those tools.... I have a similar situation.

My one grandfather passed when I was just a few months old, so I never knew him. My father has a pristine set of S-K wrenches that were his dad's. My father was a wood-worker, and has never used them. I have no interest/skill in woodworking, but I have been wrenching ever since I was about 12. I keep asking my dad to pass on those tools so I can use them, but he says I have to wait until he's gone. I think my old man just likes to tease me 'cause he knows how much I want them......

May your grandfather's legacy live on!

My fingers don't get near the blade and I never push the wood w/o a pusher once the wood is on the table. These were things my grandfather bored into my brain.

The fence was a good lesson learned.

Zach

This is entirely possible. the conversations between he and Mike can sometimes get uncomfortable to say the least

Zack,

I had a ton of leftover cuts of plywood and 2 gallons of glue and couldn't figure out what to do with the scraps.

You can always create glued lam beams out of the scraps as long as you lap them over each other and press them or clamp well. You can then create a custom built support for your shelves as well.

The only added cost is the glue - HF is a good cheap source. 50 lb bags of sand or Sakrete make a good top sandwich press when gluing the lams. Use the newer pieces of plywood 1st if you do so as they are greener, so to speak and respond better to pressing...

Nice workshop Santa