Please help me identify my grandfather's high quality tools

[bcmbcmbcm]

Hey folks,

I am going through my grandfather’s old tools. I think some of these go back to the 1970s. He left me a lot of great things…but I really don’t know what these are. I owe it to him to make an effort to find out! If you have any insight please let me know.

The two ‘drivers’-one short and one long, are both spring loaded—when you push them down they spring back.

I see a chisel and possibly a punch of some sort-what would these be used for? They appear to be very high quality tool steel by the way

There is a cutter with red rubber grips but it appears to be very dull. Do you have any idea what this is used for and is it perhaps intentionally dull?

There is a pair of shears of some sort…also looks high quality USA made forged.

Two sets of feeler gauges-I have used these before to gap plugs-but one says taper gauges. What is the point of having a taper?

There is a Duo Fast staple gun-any idea how old this one is? Do folks use these for anything any more?

Thanks again for your help,

Brett

 

[Seventee]

Hey folks,

I am going through my grandfather’s old tools. I think some of these go back to the 1970s. He left me a lot of great things…but I really don’t know what these are. I owe it to him to make an effort to find out! If you have any insight please let me know.

The two ‘drivers’-one short and one long, are both spring loaded—when you push them down they spring back.

Not sure on these, what do the tips look like?

I see a chisel and possibly a punch of some sort-what would these be used for? They appear to be very high quality tool steel by the way

Looks like an all metal wood chisel and a nail set. The nail set is used for finish nails. You drive a finish nail most of the way in with a hammer then hit the nail set with the hammer to drive the head flush, or just beneath the surface of the wood, without leaving a hammer indentation.

There is a cutter with red rubber grips but it appears to be very dull. Do you have any idea what this is used for and is it perhaps intentionally dull?

Appears to be a standard set of side cutters, probably just dull from being used. Typically for cutting wire and various other small metal objects.

There is a pair of shears of some sort…also looks high quality USA made forged.

An old set of sheet metal shears.

Two sets of feeler gauges-I have used these before to gap plugs-but one says taper gauges. What is the point of having a taper?

The narrower width at the tip allows them to be used in tighter spaces where a standard width set will not fit. The thickness should still be the same.

There is a Duo Fast staple gun-any idea how old this one is? Do folks use these for anything any more?

No idea how old, probably 1970s or earlier, but some people still use them for various uses. I still have one, but hammer style and electric are more common now.

Thanks again for your help,

Brett

My responses above as best I know!

 

[Slowleak]

The tools in the first pic look like push drills.....the top one is for sure. The tips should rotate when pushed against something.

 

[TNcowboy]

The tools in the first pic look like push drills.....the top one is for sure. The tips should rotate when pushed against something.

Correct. The rear cap is missing. The handle is hollow for bit storage. I've still got one in great working condition with all the original bits.

Stanley owned Yankee drivers. They also made pump style screw drivers....kinda the first cordless screw driver

 

[1970 Palmer]

My responses above as best I know!

Wow, All the way Back to the Seventies! Your killing me!

Some of us "think the Seventies" were like YESTERDAY!

LOL

John

 

[gnpenning]

Timber framers, some log home builders, etc use that type of chisel with longer length handles. Not as common to see as a regular chisel, but still regularly seen.

I think everything has been identified correctly.

Starrett makes some quality products.

 

[bcmbcmbcm]

Thank you all. Re : Starrett- yes I can feel the quality. I have only used them to gap plugs. Once I tried one of those round gapping tools in the $1 bin from Pep Boys and while it worked these just felt a lot better. My grandfather had a lot of really nice high quality tools. These were just the ones I couldn’t identify. Re the tapered thickness Guages, is there any specific application that comes to mind, when assembling an engine perhaps, that would require a tapered gauge ? Thanks again.

 

[El Kabong]

Most of what I know about those has been covered, but I worked in a hardware store in the 70s & can add a little more.

The larger of the drivers, as mentioned above, is a Yankee screwdriver. Guys who had them swore by them. Popular until cordless drivers took over the world. That one is actually a smaller version. They took both driver bits & drill bits. The drill bits were sort of a half moon shape at the tip. The bits were special & modern hex bits won't fit. The "switch" selects forward, reverse, or locked. IIrc you can lock it long or short. The little one is unfamiliar to me.

The chisel looks like it's missing its handle. Either plastic or wood. Yes, the other one is a nail set. I think that handle design became common in the late 70s or early 80s, but that may just have been when we started stocking that style.

The cutter with the red grips were also called DIagonal Cut plierS. Dikes was the common term, but that term is frowned on today due to other usage, even though the terms were not related. They are normally somewhat dull for most work, but cut wire even when they seem dull compared to other tools. They are also handy for prying out nails, even if the head was torn off by another method. You cut barely into the sides of the nail close to the wood, then rock the tool to pry up the nail a little. Then take another bite down lower & repeat.

We would have called those shears "tin snips". I'm not sure what that specific pattern would be called. The tightness of the screw at the fulcrum can affect how well they cut.

Narrow feeler guages were handy for adjusting valves on a solid lifter camshaft. Some rocker arms were shaped in a way that wouldn't allow regular wide feeler guages to fit. I still have a narrow set that I bought for the built 260 that was in my 64 Falcon.

 

[NewDog]

If the spring in the staple gun is good, I bet it still works fine. You could probably try putting some Arrow T-50 or equivalent staples in it and see if it still fires em out.

Be useful for things like stapling a sheet poly to a wooden frame around my tomato plants to keep the rain off, or redoing the upholstery on seat cushions...just a couple of recent examples where my staple gun like that one came in handy.

Plus if the spring is still strong, it's a good hand workout, especially if you have to put in a bunch of staples.

And looking at the nail set reminds me why I love my brad nailer!

 

[admin]

The cutter with the red grips were also called DIagonal Cut plierS. Dikes was the common term, but that term is frowned on today due to other usage, even though the terms were not related.

When I was a kid in shop class I asked the girl sitting across the table to pass me the dikes. She shot me the dirtiest look and I was super confused. A friend pulled me aside later and explained. Oops!

 

[BoureeOne]

Wow, All the way Back to the Seventies! Your killing me!

Some of us "think the Seventies" were like YESTERDAY!

LOL

John

LOL, I have tools from my grandfather that date to the late 1800's... I laughed also at the back to 70's comment...…

 

[Howard2x4x4]

El Kabong, you knocked it out of the park! I've used all of those tools at one time or another. Makes me feel like a dinosaur....

 

[Seventee]

Wow, All the way Back to the Seventies! Your killing me!

Some of us "think the Seventies" were like YESTERDAY!

LOL

John

I think you may have meant to quote the OP. I never said anything about the 70s except when trying to put an estimate on how old the stapler is. %)

 

[1970 Palmer]

LOL, all on fun.

The 1970's was only fifty years ago! I've got kids older than that.

John

 

[BR549]

I think it’s awsome Brett appreciates his grandfathers tools. They speak about the man, some insight into who he was. I have some of my grandfathers tools that are more than 100 years old. Some of which I still use.

 

[bcmbcmbcm]

Thanks for your help everyone! Yes, my grandfather was a tool man and we worked on cars together for fun right before he passed away in 1992. These tools have been in various storage units and gone through divorce and trauma and I am now in a position to really enjoy them.

The only two questions remaining are regarding the Yankee screwdriver and red Yankee? screwdriver. The big one rotates when I push it in, but when I let go, it rotates back. It doesn't 'ratchet'. Is there a setting for this? Also, I saw Yankee screwdriver bits, old Stanley stock, on eBay. Will they fit if it says Yankee on it?

Re the red screwdriver- it just pushes in and out. it doesn't rotate. I am at a loss on this one.

Thanks again!

Brett

 

[Slowleak]

That red handled one may be a spring loaded punch. Does it have any markings on it? What happens if you press it against wood until it is fully retracted?

 

[kempco]

I think the black handled Yankee is only a hand drill for drilling in wood with bits that store in the handle. The Yankee that is a screw driver has open exposed X shaped cut grooves on the shaft.