A House 173 Short
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FORMER BOSS' GRANDFATHER'S TOOLS
I TAKE 'EM OR THEY GET TOSSED
TWO LARGE TOOLBOXES WORTH
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Two forgotten toolboxes, untouched for decades, begin a new chapter at House 173, one restoration at a time.
An Unexpected Phone Call
About a year ago I was showing my former boss (let's call her Kim) about the Inherited Oil Can restoration. She feigned interest for a minute or so, then said she had two of her grandfather's tool boxes and if I was interested I could have them. Playing it cool, I simply said sure, I'll have to check them out sometime. Of course inside I was getting all giddy, but I figured if she was serious she'd bring it up again. Well, a few days ago she called and said she and her husband had sold their house and the closing was that day. If I wanted the tools I'd need to pick them up in the next few hours. Excited, and still giddy, I fired up the Jeep and hustled on over, not knowing what tools might be in the collection nor their condition. In no time, I had inherited two very large toolboxes worth of tools!
Opening the Toolboxes
I couldn't wait to get home, but I did. The boxes were pretty heavy and I felt that boded well for me! After lugging them to the basement, it was time to take a peak!
I loved it! I had secretly hoped there would be some rusted tools in these boxes and sure enough there were! All kinds of stuff lay before me, I felt like Ralphie staring at the Red Ryder BB Gun in A Christmas Story!
Downtown Hohman was prepared for its yearly bacchanalia of... peace on earth and good will to men. Higbees' corner window was traditionally a high-water mark... of the pre-Christmas season. First nighters, packed earmuff to earmuff, jostled in wonderment... before a golden tinkling display of mechanized, electronic joy.
Wow, there it is. The holy grail of Christmas gifts...The Red Ryder 200-shot range model air rifle. And there he is...Red Ryder himself! In his hand was the knurled stock of as coolly deadly-looking... a piece of weaponry as ever I had laid eyes on.
For weeks, I had been scheming to get my mitts on one of these... fearsome blue-steel beauties. My fevered brain seethed with the effort of trying to come up with... the infinitely subtle devices necessary to implant the Red Ryder range model air rifle indelibly into my parents' subconscious. - Ralphie in A Christmas Story
A Collection Worth Exploring
I don't want to get into the details here. Seriously, there are so many pieces that I'll be working on these tools for a long time to come. But I will give you a bit of a hint with a couple highlights. The first box:
There's a bunch of stuff in here, lots of auger bits, a large brass plumb bob, marking tools and sharpening stones just to name a few. Then in the second box:
This box had a bunch of punches, some screwdrivers and chisels and other odds and ends. But the real exciting stuff are three saws and two wood planes! That's right ladies and gentlemen! Saws and planes!
The Beginning of Many Restorations
So that's all I really want to get into here, this post being more of a heads up that there's likely to be any number of posts over time that will come from this out-of-the-blue tool haul. Kim's grandfather passed away 20 years ago, and had retired 20 years before that. So, these tools hadn't been touched in 40 years, leaving them in rough shape. As a result, I can see it taking some time to restore all these tools while sprinkling them in with other projects, but this post will at least give some context! Here's a hint to the first project from this collection...
This is gonna be fun!
I've been following House 173 long enough to know that when a post starts with a couple of old toolboxes, it almost never ends there. What I enjoyed most wasn't seeing every single tool laid out on the bench, it was watching your excitement build as the story unfolded. I laughed at the way you tried to play it cool when your former boss first mentioned the toolboxes, even though you admitted you were 'giddy' inside. That's such a relatable moment. Then came the phone call with the deadline: 'Pick them up today or they're gone.' Suddenly I felt like I was riding along in the Jeep, wondering what treasures might be waiting inside.What really makes this post work, though, is that you resisted the temptation to show everything. A lot of blogs would have turned this into a giant inventory of tools. Instead, you gave us just enough, a glimpse of the plumb bob, the auger bits, the saws, the planes, to let our imaginations fill in the rest. It feels less like the end of a project and more like the beginning of an adventure.*By the time I reached the final photo teasing the first restoration, I realized this wasn't really a post about acquiring old tools. It was about giving someone else's working life another chapter. Those toolboxes sat untouched for forty years, and now they're back in the hands of someone who appreciates both the craftsmanship and the stories behind them. I have a feeling these old tools are going to become some of my favorite House 173 posts over the next few years. - Anonymous Reviewer
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are old woodworking tools worth saving?
Many vintage hand tools were built from high-quality steel and hardwoods. With proper restoration, they often perform as well as, or better than, many modern equivalents.
How long can hand tools remain usable without maintenance?
Even tools that have sat untouched for decades can often be restored if rust is mostly superficial and the metal hasn't suffered severe damage.
Why restore inherited tools instead of buying new ones?
Inherited tools carry history along with utility. Restoring them preserves a connection to the craftsmen who originally used them while keeping quality tools in service.
What's the first thing you should do with an old toolbox full of tools?
Begin by sorting the tools, identifying each one, checking for structural damage, and removing loose dirt before deciding which restoration methods to use.
Which vintage tools are usually the most rewarding to restore?
Wood planes, hand saws, braces, auger bits, marking tools, chisels, and plumb bobs are all popular restoration projects because they're both beautiful and practical.
Will every tool from this collection be restored?
Probably not immediately, but each one has the potential to become its own story as future projects unfold.
Keywords
vintage tool haul, antique hand tools, inherited tools, woodworking tools, vintage toolbox, old carpenter tools, hand tool restoration, wood planes, antique saws, vintage tool collection, House 173, tool restoration