A big deal to me

larry@stinescorner

Well-known Member
I was just using a wrench tonight,and putting them away made me think how long I have had them.My dad and mom gave me them for Christmas when I was around 15 or 16? I m 60 now. Its not an expensive set,,Fuller brand,,made in Japan.It came with a red clip to hold them together and each time I used them I would clip them together.That way I knew if there was one missing.Many times I had to search through leaves or grass and such till I found a missing one.As i was just putting them away tonight.I Thought....,,This may be a good post for tool talk? Now,I do understand I dont use wrenches as much as most so it was a lot easier for me to keep track,,but this little set is something special to me, I think of my dad everytime I put them away.
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When each of 4 boys would graduate, dad would give us a Craftsman box with 3/8 socket set, combination wrench set, screwdriver set, several other tools. I still have mine, but some have broken and been replaced over the years. My 3 brothers could probably not find 1 piece of theirs today. I can reach for a specific tool and without looking, put my hand on it.
 
The first set of metric combination wrench's I'm owned was made in India. Had them around 40 years. Still have most of them. They are very good wrenches.
 
Larry
My parents gave me the same set when I was 15.
That was forty yrs ago.
I still had the whole set until my nephews started
working on stuff in dads garage.

Steve A W
 
Although they don't have the Mystique of Snap-On, SK or even Craftsman, Fuller wrenches were a good tool for the money. I still have a couple flea market Fuller wrenches in the (mismatched) set I use at work.
Glad you still have yours.
 
I have the same set Larry , Fuller from the early seventies . They were my father's but became mine when he passed . I never did have much use for them until I bought my first ferguson tractor . Now I use them whenever I work on any of them and think of my dad .
 
Excellent story! My dad wasn't into tools much, but I still hope someone will develope a liking to mine
so I can pass them on.
 
I have some Fuller tools of that vintage and they are not bad tools at all, the local hardware sold them and I am still fond of the adjustable wrenches for being slim and trim yet very well made, I have a full set from 4 to 12. I also still have almost all of the Craftsman tools that Ma and Pa bought me when I went to trade school in 10th grade and pushing 60 myself.
 
Dad bought a couple of standard sets from 3/8" up to 1 1/8" made in India years ago. I have really used and abused 1 set in the shop and they have held up GREAT !
 
How right you are. I'd add to that, take care of your car/truck and it will take care of you too. My '68 Mustang has served me well, acting as a construction trailer puller and 'she' is STILL willing to take me and my family wherever we want to go.
 
Larry, I have a set of Western Auto combo wrenches my Dad gave me about 36 years ago. The big plastic roll up case is long gone. I use them all the time. Had to replace the 1 1/8 a couple of times. Don't know how I manage to break it more than others, unless it is on trailer balls.
Richard in NW SC
 
Larry,
I don't have my original tools my parents gave me as a kid. My brothers used them and
I lost them. Lesson learned, when my boy got old enough I bought him a complete set of
craftsmans sockets and wrenches. He still has them.

At Christmas and his birthday, I give him tools. Recently he put a new floor is bath
and kitchen and he said, Dad, remember when you gave me this tool, I finally got
around to using it. Past two Christmas, by son and son-in-law are getting dewalt
cordless tools. Both think the world of them. Got to teach them you can never have
enough tools. Also they don't ask me to borrow mine.

My dad passed in 85. Mom gave me a few of his hand tools.I think of him everytime I
use them. Haven't lost them and would be sad if I did.

When I die, My kids will need pole barns to put all my toys in.
geo
 
My first tools were a 3/8" Craftsman socket set my dad gave me before I was sixteen. They got mixed in with other tools so it's hard to keep track of them, except for the 1/2" socket. It went through the marking roller twice so all the letters are doubles, about two letters apart. I hated that when I was a kid because it wasn't made right. Now it's my guaranteed tie to that first set, and I used it today.

Made in Japan was "Made in China" during the fifties. Just like now, there were lot's of much maligned good tools made in Japan. Most people don't remember that Made in Japan was supposed to mean junk.

Maybe someday Made in Malaysia, Indonesia, or Sri Lanka will mean good tools.
 
Custom was in my small town that kids got a watch for 8th grade graduation. When I graduated from 8th grade my Dad got ME a smallish craftsman tool box with a set of 1/4 and 3/8th drive sets. My classmates thought that odd but I still have my sockets and they don't have their watches. They are retired now and stay in the box. As others, my tools and my Dad's tools have lots of memories. One is the 12 inch adjustable wrench he lost off his tractor plowing. Two years later I found it when I was plowing. Yep, a little cleaning and lube and back in the tractor tool box!

For High School graduation my future father-in-law got me a set of Thorsen double open ends.
 
You caught me unawares on that one! When you said "They are retired now and stay in the box." I thought you were still talking about the old classmates.
 
First tool I ever got from Dad was a claw hammer for Christmas when I was 6. The card said "This is yours, now leave mine alone!". I still have it at 72, but on about the third handle. I still have some of Dad's wrenches, and use them all the time, good brands like Proto, S-K, etc.
 
I still have some of the Craftsman sockets and combination wrenches my folks gave me when I was
about 16. Over the years I have added to the collection so much the originals are sort of lost
among the others but still there. And of better quality and workmanship than the newer ones. I am
67 now.
 

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