Hand-me-down tools [was; Re: OT - 4 ton Floor Jack - Maintenance?]

aemeijers <aemeijers@xxxxxxx> wrote:

JIMMIE wrote:
-snip-
I have one that is at least 45 years old that my father had when he
ran a service station 45 years ago and he got it from the previous
owner. About 15 years ago I had it overhauled because it oozed oil
around the pump and cylinder.It needed new o rings and rubber pads on
the swing arms. It cost about $75 to repair and may last another 40 or
50 years. Wife hates it because it takes up too much room in the
garage, I love it because I can jack up one whole side of the car at a
time to rotate tires.

Jimmie

Plus it is like your old man is there helping you. Yeah, we all get it,
we really do. Most of us regulars and semi-regulars on here have a tool
or three like that.

My favorite is a level my dad gave me a decade or so ago. It is a
nice little Stanley 1' level of about 1900 vintage-- it is a No. 237,
all metal.

He hadn't used it much but related that he had taken it to GE [where
he was a balance machine operator in their turbine division from
1950-1975 or so] and checked it against their best levels and it was
still dead on.

He said his dad had given it to him in the 40's and told him it was
something special & to take good care of it. Since it isn't a
particularly unusual level I suspect it must have either been a tool
my Gr-grandfather, or Gr-Gr-grandfather handed down to my grandfather.

Gr-grandfather was truck driver and might have had a good level. But
I like to think it belonged to Gr-Gr-grandfather, George Prier, who
was a house-builder of some repute on Staten Island. He died in 1911
when my grandfather, his grandson, would have been 15 and working for
him.

At any rate the level commands a spot amongst my genealogy records,
and it gets pulled out for use in the occasional tight spot- or when I
just need to summon the guidance of those who used it in past years.

Jim
.

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