Pre-machine age household tool kits.

[Cheshirechappie]

All my grandparents were born between 1900 and 1910, so they were marrying and setting up home in the difficult years between WW1 and WW2. Neither family had much money left after covering rent, food and other essentials, so there wasn't anything to finance hobbies.

My father's father was an electrician. He worked for GPO Telephones for most of his life, retiring before it became BT. His home 'toolkit' consisted of a thin wooden box about 15" x 9" x 3" deep, with a jumble of bent screwdrivers, odd rusty spanners, a couple of pairs of pliers, a junior hacksaw (blunt), a Warrington pattern hammer with a loose handle, a 2lb ball peen hammer with a short, loose handle - and a selection of rusty, bent nails, odd screws and various loose domestic fittings.

My mother's father was a mechanic, and even his tools were fairly basic at the time of his retirement (which would have been in the late 1960s), though he was better off for tools than Dad's dad. During WW2 he was employed for a while taking military vehicles coming from America through Liverpool docks (as deck cargo, quite often) and making them ready for service. Thus, some of his tools were of American manufacture - apparently the makers were careless enough to leave them in odd places, where they couldn't stay during service (Well - that's what he said, anyway). More importantly from the woodworking point of view, he inherited his landlord's carving chisels and other bits; I still have them - most stamped with an acorn, and probably dating from before the Henry Taylor buyout by Aaron Hildick.

I think this last point shows the difference. Tradesmen had tools, but often couldn't afford more than the essentials, and in general even the respectable working classes couldn't really afford expensive hobbies (even if they had the time to indulge in them). Even the domestic essentials tended to be basic, but were also generally better than some of today's disposable rubbish, and were expected to last. However, one step up the social scale, for someone with a little more disposable income and some time, hobbies were possible, and those who indulged in wood related pastimes could and did buy good tools.

 

[thetyreman]

it really depends what they specialised in, cross cut saws, tenon saws, gents saws at different PPI all have their place, old worn wooden planes with a large open throat are still useful for removing a lot of wood fast, scrub planes would have been used a lot more as well, to remove vast amounts of wood as fast as possible.

 

[Corneel]

My father was a school teacher, and he liked to make things from wood from time to time. Nothing fancy, mostly nailed and screwed. He didn't like electric tools, got an electric drill and a jig saw later on (nineteen eighties).

What I remember of his kit. One handsaw, about 22- 24". A gents saw, and a keyhole saw. A brace, but bot with auger bits, just a couple of these thin gimlet type bits. Later he used standard bradpoint bits with round shaft and used sanding paper around the shaft to prevent them from spinning!

Then there was one wooden plane. A couple of chisels, a marking gauge and a square. The rawl plug tool indeed, very usefull in a brick house. Screwdrivers, some plyers and a mixed bunch of spanners. One or two hammers.

I guess he didn't have many tools, not because of poverty, he was just not really interested in tools (!) I don't really know where my fascination with tools comes from. It certainly isn't inherited.

 

[bugbear]

Speaking as a car boot attender, where there are several house clearance dealers...

The typical kitchen drawer tool kit has a jam jar full of nails, screws, curtain rings etc, fuses. There might be a small wooden plane, with a single iron (sorry, DW). Some kind of backsaw, or short panel saw, blunt from ill use on firewood, broom handles.

A couple of screwdrivers with rounded tips. an adjustable spanner, may be a surform, and (definitely) a hammer, probably a claw hammer, but sometimes Warrington. Some kind of multi purpose pliers. Sharpening stone noticeable by its absence.

If they actually had intentions of making things from wood, they'd have far more, but the above is enough to fit a plug, stop a door sticking, put up a shelf, put a new head on a broom.

BugBear

 

[Normancb]

I inherited a book called The Practical Man’s Book of Things to Make and Do, which my father would have bought around the time he married in 1937. It’s obviously aimed above simple house maintenance but has a list at the beginning of “the most important tools to enable you to make a good start in simple woodwork”. They are:

20” handsaw
10” tenon saw
2” metal jack plane
Metal smoothing plane
Pad saw and blade
Ratchet-type brace 8” swing and 6 bits
5 firmer chisels from 1/8 to ¾”
½” external grind gouge
Spokeshave
4” and 9” screwdrivers
Try square
Marking gauge
Warrington pattern hammer
Nail punch
Pincers
Oilstone
Mallet
Small and medium gimlets
Small and medium bradawls
2ft 4-fold rule.

These are quoted as costing £4 in total for “tools of really good quality”. The planes alone account for £1/7/6 – over a third of the total. It says “this amount could be cut down by 15/- or so if wooden planes were substituted for metal ones but this would be a false economy".

 

[bridger]

... an old biscuit tin full of every nut/bolt/washer/screw/nail that he's ever come across.

I still have one of those except it's grown into a large drawer

Mine has grown into a heap in the corner of the shop. All told probably 500 to 1000 lbs.

 

[rxh]

My wife's maiden aunt died a couple of years ago at the age of 95. We found the following tools in the kitchen of auntie's flat:
- handsaw, 20"
- backsaw, 12"
- claw hammer, 16 oz.
- Warrington hammer, 4 oz.
- small axe or hatchet,
- Surform plane
- chisels, 1/4" & 3/8"
- pincers
- water pump pliers, small
- screwdrivers, large and medium
- screwdriver, Philips, stubby
- set of AF spanners
- set of small spanners
- lino knife
- glass cutter
- tins of nails, screws, panel pins, tacks, cup hooks etc.

 

[Andy Kev.]

Hi Andy

I would tend to think of the "Pre-Machine Age" to be before the start of the industrial revolution, so late 18th Century? I'm not totally sure what a working class toolkit would look like, however one would assume it would be pretty simple. I would assume someone further up the pecking order would of just paid someone to do it.

If you're wondering what an average working class home had for hand tools before the post WW2 rise of power tools then I would surmise not much. Again, if you were further up the pecking order I would assume you'd pay someone to do it. My Grandparents were Farmers or Carpenters so there was an extensive array of hand tools hanging around. However if they weren't Farmers or Carpenters I would think they'd have the basics, hammer, saw, screwdriver, brace and bits and a plane that would be used now and again and the classic tubs of "useful stuff".

Interestingly, my maternal grandfather, a tenant farmer, who passed in 2003 aged 76 never made furniture in his spare time. He'd repair bit's I guess. My paternal grandfather, a professional woodworker made some nice pieces.

I like you're point on schools, it'd be great to see students have the opportunity to follow their talents in to more diverse fields rather than herded into a mainstream education. More Technical Colleges, Grammar schools etc. Thank heaven the for industrial revolution though, it means I enjoy a quality of life far above what my ancestors did. I can even make furniture, for fun, in my spare time!

Hello Graham,

by pre-Machine Age, I meant in the times before the average householder would have owned power tools. It's difficult to think of a term for it ("pre-DIY Boom" or even "pre-WW2" perhaps?)

It's refreshing to see that the tin of odd nuts, bolts and screws seems to be an eternal tradition, although I personally am a bit more upmarket and use jam jars, the theory being that they can be sorted according to what they hold.

 

[bugbear]

My wife's maiden aunt died a couple of years ago at the age of 95. We found the following tools in the kitchen of auntie's flat:
- handsaw, 20"
- backsaw, 12"
- claw hammer, 16 oz.
- Warrington hammer, 4 oz.
- small axe or hatchet,
- Surform plane
- chisels, 1/4" & 3/8"
- pincers
- water pump pliers, small
- screwdrivers, large and medium
- screwdriver, Philips, stubby
- set of AF spanners
- set of small spanners
- lino knife
- glass cutter
- tins of nails, screws, panel pins, tacks, cup hooks etc.

Classic!

BugBear

 

[bridger]

before the average householder would have owned power tools. It's difficult to think of a term for it ("pre-DIY Boom" or even "pre-WW2" perhaps?)

small electric tools came pretty fast on the heels of domestic electrification. pre-grid, perhaps?

 

[ED65]

small electric tools came pretty fast on the heels of domestic electrification. pre-grid, perhaps?

You're in the US aren't you? Home power tools showed up surprisingly early over there but I think much later over here. Even if not they remained relatively uncommon for decades after becoming nearly ubiquitous in America.

 

[bridger]

small electric tools came pretty fast on the heels of domestic electrification. pre-grid, perhaps?

You're in the US aren't you? Home power tools showed up surprisingly early over there but I think much later over here. Even if not they remained relatively uncommon for decades after becoming nearly ubiquitous in America.

I'm in the US, yes.

It's a bit surprising to me that there was much of a lag there between electrification and power tools. what did you use it for, then?

I guess with the strong traditions of woodworking in place and the ready availability of excellent hand tools it shouldn't be such a surprise. The UK still has a much better supply of old hand tools, AFAIKT. Also, the earliest power tools were kind of out there- dangerous and poorly thought out. No wonder anyone with any sense over there used hand tools.

 

[AndyT]

Don't forget that there was a big difference in disposable income between US and UK.

Domestic electricity started mainstream in the 20s but was largely for lighting.

DIY power tools didn't really get going until the 60s/70s and they were expensive items, often bought on hire-purchase. Many people bought an electric drill with accessories as needed to make it into a circular saw, sander, etc.

They only got cheap when manufacturing shifted east, in the 80s.

 

[D_W]

small electric tools came pretty fast on the heels of domestic electrification. pre-grid, perhaps?

You're in the US aren't you? Home power tools showed up surprisingly early over there but I think much later over here. Even if not they remained relatively uncommon for decades after becoming nearly ubiquitous in America.

The message in the US in the past century has been "modern, modern, modern" until recently. That's why so much of our stuff has been thrown away leaving what's left to have surprising value sometimes.

My grandparents grew up in the depression, and they adopted every convenience that they could afford in their lives. They were still thrifty, but they liked the modern methods as they'd started farming with horses and mules and the shine of that wore off (the "old ways" things). They were farmers, though, and had a lot of tools - stuff that was needed was good quality (welders, wrenches, etc), stuff that wasn't needed as badly was gotten used and cheap. Being farmers, they aren't a good indicator of DIY tool kits as they had space and uses for tools, little money, and could do a lot of basic work (electrical, plumbing, etc, perhaps including putting up buildings and dwellings). They did not do any fine work of any kind.

Their friends and other relatives of their generation who didn't farm also lived cheap until their deaths, but I can't recall any of them having any quality tools or being handy at all. Those types being either the white collar folks, or the factory workers in the families. The cheapness often kept them from even fixing things or paying to have them fixed properly - live with stuff that's partially broken until it's completely useless and then throw it away - or keep it even though it's broken because they feared throwing things (that cost them money) away.

The idea of being handy or having a universal level of being handy (changing light sockets, fixing basic leaks, making basic shelves or something) didn't catch on here.

 

[G S Haydon]

David, that sounds like most of the people I would of know from my grandparents generation. It's reassuring to see that people didn't live with extensive "hierloom" tool collections and a welcome reminder that many of us have never had it so good!

 

[Rhyolith]

Responding to the issue of old(set) portable power tools. The oldest one I am aware of is this massive Black and decker monster, which most sources seem to put around the 1920s though its hard to pin down with certainty (there were drills that looked like this then). It works off modern power sockets, though I don't do this often cause its terrifying!

Black & Decker "Gutt Buster" Drill by Rhyolith, on Flickr

The oldest electric drill I know of that seems to have been specially aimed at DIYers is the B&D Utility of the 1950s. I think this is the first generation of the combo drills that could be fitted to lathes, saws, sanders, etc.

Black & Decker Utility Drill by Rhyolith, on Flickr

Graces guide has a number of ads for this drill from the mid 50s http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Black_and_Decker (scroll 3/4 of the way down).

So it looks like there were DIY power tools at least as early as 1955 and judging by the reasonable number of the above drill still about, it would appear they were relatively common.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The thought of throwing things away scares me - I can't imagine just opening my wallet every time something went wrong, and I admit to a certain pride when I hear swmbo tell one of the children to take something to my workshop and ask me to fix it. Not whether I can or not, just fix it. I have friends and relatives who don't think twice about buying new all the time, but they are all worth at least several £million each so can afford to do it.
Forgotten household tools? What about shoe lasts? When I were a lad everyone seemed to have had one, although I don't recall anyone doing shoe repairs.

 

[AndyT]

Shoe lasts!
Yes, that fits a childhood memory. I was fascinated by this odd lump of cast iron out in the garage, with a big foot, a middle sized foot and a tiny foot, like something out of Goldilocks. It was cold and heavy, and would stand stable any way up. My parents were very thrifty but as children our shoes were grown out of before they were worn out so I never saw it used. There were packets of stick on rubber soles and heels in a drawer though, with a tube of rubber solution to stick them on with.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I had one that got lost in a house move that I was going to polish for use as an anvil for copper and silver smithing. Nice gentle curves.

 

[ED65]

What about shoe lasts? When I were a lad everyone seemed to have had one, although I don't recall anyone doing shoe repairs.

Not really surprising but I've heard that was the case over here too. Certainly they seem like they're the most common old tool-related item at car boots, I must have passed nearly 100 of them in the last few years at car boots and in markets.

Like you I wanted one for use as a light anvil but I never saw one in good enough condition that I felt like taking a punt on it, plus you've got to carry the blasted thing once you've bought it! But recently the one from my fiancée's family made its way into the house and I'll be cleaning it up and polishing it for her jewellery-making endeavours.