Jump to content

Grandpa's Tool Chest

Parkerfan1

By Parkerfan1
in Paper & Pen Paraphernalia Reviews and Articles

 Share

Recommended Posts

D Armstrong Extremely Rare

D Armstrong

Posted
Posted

Very nice, thanks for sharing this one too.

 

As another 'nosey Parker' (sorry, couldn't resist!), and as a sometimes-tool-maker, do you have any photos of other tools from the chest?

David Armstrong

• antiques for readers & writers •

http://www.restorersart.com

Sevanti Letterpress

• guaranteed fountain pen friendly •

http://www.sevanti-letterpress.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 43
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Parkerfan1

    7

  • algabatz

    3

  • WendyNC

    2

  • D Armstrong

    2

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

TWRDO Vintage

TWRDO

Posted
Posted

Very, very cool! An awesome heirloom to have, for so many reasons. I saw the "Vacumatic" screwdrivers in your other thread. I love 'em!

Music, verily, is the mediator between intellectual and sensuous life, the one incorporeal entrance into the high world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend. -Ludwig van Beethoven

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wykeite Mint

wykeite

Posted
Posted

A job well done :thumbup: and a fitting tribute to a gentleman that must have had a most interesting working life. It's a wonderful piece of family history.

Born British, English by the Grace of God.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
markc Vintage

markc

Posted
Posted

This forum continues to make me a poor man.. That tool chest is beautiful!

Science is a way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility.

-Carl Sagan

http://mark.intervex.net/fpn/images/LetterExchange_sm.pnghttp://mark.intervex.net/fpn/images/PostcardExchange_sm.pnghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qVJOiluU9_4/THp4f_4pakI/AAAAAAAAA14/_d-MITGtqvY/s320/InkDropLogoFPN2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WendyNC Antique

WendyNC

Posted
Posted

I am amazed at what a difference a good cleaning has made. It honestly looked like you had sanded and refinished the wood and possibly painted the leatherett. So I stand corrected. Again it is a great piece and I envy you

 

Going back and studying on the photos some more, I think the other difference is the lighting in the "before" and "after" pictures, with "after" seeming to be in brighter light. A wonderful restoration of a fabulous chest in any event. Thanks for sharing this--and those great screwdrivers in the previous thread.

I came here for the pictures and stayed for the conversation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Parkerfan1 Mint

Parkerfan1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Wow, lots of request to see the tools.

I'll try to post those those pics this weekend but there's really not much to see. -_-

How many pens do I need, is not the question.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Parkerfan1 Mint

Parkerfan1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi everyone. Many of you wanted to see the tools that were in the tool chest. I have delayed posting those photos because I’m afraid some of you may be disappointed once you see that the box wasn’t filled with a bunch of specialized antique pen making tools. My dad started using the tool chest around 1975 and used it for years. I imagine he removed anything that wasn’t needed, but here are the photos of most of the things my Dad had in chest when he handed it down to me. Besides the Vacumatic screwdrivers, there is a very large, wood handled screwdriver that he made. There is also a very old, probable the very first design of, Sucrets tin. Lots of little things in it but not sure what any of it was used for.

 

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m560/vacumatic/Grandpas%20Tools/MVC-051F.jpg

 

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m560/vacumatic/Grandpas%20Tools/MVC-058F.jpg

 

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m560/vacumatic/Grandpas%20Tools/MVC-057F.jpg

 

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m560/vacumatic/Grandpas%20Tools/MVC-056F.jpg

 

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m560/vacumatic/Grandpas%20Tools/MVC-055F.jpg

 

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m560/vacumatic/Grandpas%20Tools/MVC-053F.jpg

 

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m560/vacumatic/Grandpas%20Tools/MVC-054F.jpg

 

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m560/vacumatic/Grandpas%20Tools/MVC-052F.jpg

How many pens do I need, is not the question.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
shaylenwilliams Vintage

shaylenwilliams

Posted
Posted

What a wonderful thread! Good for you and your family!

"Be who you are and say what you feel; because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss

The Poor Connoisseurs

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Trooper Near Mint

Trooper

Posted
Posted

Ok gang, here is my Grandpa's tool chest. As some of you know, he was a Tool and Die maker at Parker Pen in Janesville Wisconsin for many decades. He started at Parker Pen in 1922 and used the tool chest pictured below to hold his tools. The chest sat on a table at Parker Pen in Janesville Wisconsin until he retired around 1960. He was one of the founders of the Parker Pen Credit Union, organized in 1934 and was also the President of the union at one point. Grandpa made his living and supported his family with the contents of the chest; some of you have seen the Grandpa's Vacumatic Screwdriver Thread. Grandpa passed away in 1974 and my dad inherited the chest and he also used the chest to support his family. Not long ago, the chest was passed down to me. My son will one day receive it, along with the collection of pens that reside within.

 

I felt the chest would make excellent container to house my growing collection of pens, and so with a little elbow grease, I was able to pay tribute to my grandfather and father. My dad looked at the chest and said that grandpa would be happy that his chest was being well taken care of. See the before and after photos below.

 

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m560/vacumatic/gerstner-chest/post-restore/chestcp1.jpg

 

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m560/vacumatic/gerstner-chest/post-restore/chestcp2.jpg

 

 

Very nice. I really like this idea. I have a similar tool chest that I may convert. It does not, unfortunately, have a wonderful family history. Enjoy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
D Armstrong Extremely Rare

D Armstrong

Posted
Posted

Thanks very much for sharing! It's kind of like snooping into someone else's bookshelf: you learn about them, and you might just stumble upon something amazing! And sometimes another person's solution can send you down a path you never would have otherwise considered.

 

The wee tin of bits is most interesting. Collets perhaps? And anyone have any ideas about the threaded thingy next to the magnifying glass? (nothing like those highly technical terms, like "thingy"...)

David Armstrong

• antiques for readers & writers •

http://www.restorersart.com

Sevanti Letterpress

• guaranteed fountain pen friendly •

http://www.sevanti-letterpress.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WendyNC Antique

WendyNC

Posted
Posted

I'm intrigued to see how few tools your grandfather and your father found essential for their work.

I came here for the pictures and stayed for the conversation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Parkerfan1 Mint

Parkerfan1

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I'm intrigued to see how few tools your grandfather and your father found essential for their work.

 

 

 

Oh, nothing to be intrigued about. Pictured are only the few things that were given to me. I'm sure my grandpa had every drawer of the chest crammed full various tools. My dad has already told me that he has things of my grandpa's set aside for my brother, who is a machinist. I imagine I was given the chest because I had always shown interest in it, while my brother may end up with a bunch of really old tools.

 

My father, who is in his seventies, still practices his trade. These days, machinist/tool and die makers, tend to have tool chest made of metal that sit upon large, rolling, metal tool cabinets. A career tool maker is likely to have over $10,000.00 invested in his tool boxes and tools.

How many pens do I need, is not the question.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ogwen NOS (New Old Stock)

ogwen

Posted
Posted

Wow! What a wonderful heirloom with such an interesting history. Thanks so much for sharing and thanks for the great pictures!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
WontonST Mint

WontonST

Posted
Posted

Fascinating! Such a meaningful heirloom. Thoroughly enjoyed reading your thread!

-WontonST

www.sanjosecalligraphy.com

www.wontonst.info

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33583
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26772
    5. jar
      jar
      26105

  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      Links to web pages or articles about Chinese typesetting, signwriting, etc.

      By Shanghai Knife Dude · Posted

      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o

  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More

  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...