Popular Woodworking 2001-08 № 123, страница 63

Out of the Woodwork

Junior's New Tools

When my son left for trade school, a set of tools seemed like the thing to start him off in life. I still don't know why he's miffed.

I went looking for my good #2 Phillips bits.

They were the tough ones that hold up,

unlike that soft hardware-store junk that

strips out after the fifth screw. The golden finish and rough contact surfaces mean that they are genuine titanium bits; they hold screws firm in any position, but they cost like gold.

When a deadline looks you square in the face, titanium is the only thing that you want: it doesn't break when the chips are down. I thought my son Ryan had borrowed them and was tinkering on that '77 Ford he drives. For an 18-year-old kid, he is quite proud of that old car.

Then I heard the whirr of a motor and a screw chunk solidly into the oak frame of the cabinets we built. I turned, and found Ryan hard at work setting the nailers into the cabinet frames, using those titanium bits and my 24-volt screwdriver. He didn't seem to like the 15.6-volt driver I'd gotten him a few months ago; the 24-volt tool seemed much more efficient.

He anticipated what I would say. He knows how persnickety I can be with my tools. Then he asks a question.

"Dad, can we draw part of my college money so I can get a set of tools before I start trade school?" he says, cringing at what I would probably say.

I thought it over. "I guess so, son. I know Smitty, the lead instructor there. Woe betides the fool that violates his rigid safety standards: thou shalt not break off the grounding lug or patch extension cords with duct tape." I laugh.

"OK son, after we install the cabinets, we'll go to Voorhees, and get a real set of tools."

He almost jumped for joy. But we don't jump in a cabinet shop; it isn't safe to do so. We installed the cabinets and Ryan had a look of absolute gratitude on his face as we approached Voorhees. We got a huge steel rollaway toolbox, 3' deep, 8' long and 5' high. New ³/8" bulk air hose, fittings and a

hand press to maintain them just seemed right. A set of four extension cords, with monitor lights at both ends of the clear plastic sheaths, made for an additional safety margin. Six 12" carbide saw blades and a new 12" chop saw made him smile hugely. We loaded the tools into the truck with almost a sense of worship.

Few loads can cause my 2-ton dually van to squat, but this load did. Finally we got to the shop and Ryan was ecstatic. He wanted to try out everything we had just bought, just like a kid wants to play with everything under the Christmas tree. I tried to get a word in edgewise now and then to no avail.

Then, proudly, I presented Ryan my antique rosewood square, with the brass inlay meticulously inscribed with: "To Wolfgang Jorgensberg: may your life be as pleasant as this tool is precise." Old-fashioned crafts

manship says it all.

Ryan sighed with tears. "That belonged to great-granddad, didn't it?"

"Sure did, son. We're vain about our tools in this family, and I want you to know that I'll always remember these tools fondly. Use them in good health in the trade school."

"What do you mean?"

"You see all these classic tools?" I ask. "They're treasures! They don't make 'em like this anymore. They're yours, and all this shiny new stuff is mine."

Ryan then broke down in the most disgusting, cold, overwrought snivel I have ever heard. "But daaaaaad...." PW

Mike Dykes is a writer and woodworker living at Dykes Vineyard in Olympia, Washington. He makes oak barrels under contract for area wineries and does other custom woodwork.

63 Popular Woodworking August 2001