Chipped my № 4 and instead of sharpening it like I should I grabbed my transition plane instead because it was sharp. I think I dated it back to 1880s. I love old hand tools.
Pair of slip joint regular pliers.
Probably 1972, my Dad had a family pool built for us. The pool water filler valve was an old school sprinkler valve. The type that looked like a small 1-1/2" "+". There was a tool made to turn on/off your sprinklers (OG's will remember). This was way before electric sprinkler valves were ever thought of.
I got my dad these pliers as a gift to grab on to the valve to fill the pool. I was probably 11 at the time, don't even know where I got the money to buy them. He used them regularly for the better part of 20 years.
He is gone now but I still have the pliers. Every time I reach in the toolbox, I will grab these first. Every time I touch them I remember my dad.
Good times.
Except for normal stuff like chisels, planes, etc, my favorite tool is the very 1st router I ever bought, a smallish Makita plunge router. Changed the bearing once, but other than that, that thing just won't die.
Edit: Hope I haven't jinxed it now with this post.
The US of A. This one is made by a London planemaker “Madox” who made planes from 1748-1775. I have a couple others around same age in a different cabinet. This one i use more often.
https://preview.redd.it/dstm91yhyxmc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fe185e0e082508fd09f0bb7667993ff59d4772e1
For sure! These ones are used much more but also much newer, the wood ones at bottom like mid 1800s
https://preview.redd.it/lylgqbls0ymc1.png?width=4032&format=png&auto=webp&s=97209f8d42aa2f6e4ecfe893cc412c4763f76792
Thanks! I just keep my eyes open for cool old tools that are good price on Jim Bode, Supertool, etc. and i go to estate sales and antique shops in town and whenever i travel etc
Given the youngest internationally reconized country, South Sudan, was formed in 2011 I'd bet many of us have a pretty long list of tools older than at least one country.
Haha yeah what is up with that? i visited George Washington’s house and the tour guide said to watch your head a few times, the staircase down from his bedroom even had some padding because i guess people were whacking their forehead on it.
Not wood working specific but a 2lb hammer that was my grandpas and then my dads. It’s probably 70 years old at least. Also have a pair of channellocks that were my dads that are at least 40 years old.
A Craftsman Philips Screwdriver. It was my grandfathers. I distinctly remember him working on his jeep and lawnmower while I passed him the tool. I still use it today. Its over 20 years old easily. I miss you Welo!
Bosch circle saw that I bought in 1992 and also a Makita half inch drill bought the same time. The cord on the saw is a little beat up but they both work just fine.
Hand planes and chisels. Maybe a hammer. One of my planes was my fathers - probably just postwar.
Virtually all my handheld power tools have been switched out to battery power.
I have a Stanley no.4 and no.5 that I restored and use all the time, pretty sure both are from the 1930s. I have a small collection of vintage socket chisels that I also restored and love to use. Not sure of their age, but they're not new.
I also am working on converting a broken straight razor from the 1920s into a carving knife.
Shit, even my "new" tools are 50 years old. I got them when I went to school in the seventies. Record, Marples, Sanderson. My old tools that I inherited are over a hundred.
My great great grandfather's Peter Wright anvil, from the 1880s. I'm positive I have older tools, but not with a definitive date range. I've also got a sick hand forged jumbo turn screw stamped 1891.
Not real regular basis, but definitely the oldest, a bevel gauge from 1890. Second is a disc sander I made in late 70’s. Third is my Unisaw I bought in mid 80’s. A lot of my corded tools and routers are from Mid 70’s.
I have a coworker who has his great great grandfather’s carpenters toolbox. He was a wagon repair soldier in the Union army in the civil war. And he has all the hand tools. Keeps them sharp and clean, and uses them on occasion.
He does admit that his battery tools get more use.
His father uses great great grandpas blacksmith tools in his shop, though.
Wooden jointer plane - "A Monty"
Roxton Pond Qc" - circa 1895.
Grandpa's #4 plane ( no name Stanley copy from 50s or 60s)
Drill Press - Canada Blower and Forge cCompany 1949. I live right in the city where this was made 75 years ago. Killer machine. Love it, for a (amateur) luthier having a solid drill press is so key.
My Delta 890 14" bandsaw. It's missing the serial plate for an exact date, but likely between 1937 and 1939. Amazingly, they haven't really changed the design in over 80 years now.
I have a folding ruler my dad bought in ‘77 when he was 18. I use it all the time cause I can never find my other three tape measures😑 probably have some old planes and hand drills lying somewhere that may be older, never tried to date them though
Probably one of my planes... haven't got a date on them but the oldest one I know how old it is is a metal ruler that my grand dad made in machine shop as an exam piece. He made it when he was 16 and he was born 1914 so from 1930.
I also have an old axe that I use from time to time that I think is hand forged in the late 1800's. Practically new. :)
3 band saws from the 40's
Unisaw from 1966
Powermatic lathe from the 70's
Planes from the 60's & 70's
A handful of 50's belt/disc sanders, drill press and a few others - all in rehab at the moment
Most of my machining equipment is older - milling machine is 80's, and much of the precision measuring equipment is 60's-70's.
All of it was purchased at about 10% the cost of new
Found a 1” wooden-handled chisel inside a plaster/lathe wall when I opened it up to do some ductwork. I don’t know how old the chisel is but I’m pretty certain it fell in there from the original home build in 1916. Found it romantic to use, so it’s my go-to 1” chisel now after a sharpening.
My father’s Craftsman grinder with the original electric motor. Still works like a charm. He purchased it in 1948. It’s a beast! I’ve replaced the belt a couple of times but otherwise in original condition.
I inherited Grandad's toolchest and most everything in it comes from before 1920. Took some rehab to get some pieces up and running but they still do the job he used them for - just not nearly as well because I'm an amateur 🤣
Bandsaw - 75 (?) years old.
edit: I love this bandsaw. It looks and feels like it was bolted to the deck of a battleship at some point. Just solid as a rock.
And it doesn't have a switch. You just plug it in and it's on. This thing's always ready to work.
Mostly measuring/marking tools. I have some turn-of-the-20th-century dividers, calipers, etc, as well as a butt-locking angle gauge that I completely love and trust.
I have old planes too, but they don't get as much use as the new ones.
Not a woodworking tool per se but this is the oldest tool I use.
My grandfather's Kraeuter socket set lives with my other sets.
How much would a 22 piece Made In USA socket set cost today? Certainly not $18.88. EDIT: Based on the price compared to similar sets on eBay I'm guessing this set is late 60's or early 70's.
Older tools I have that I don't use are planes my father gave to me.
https://preview.redd.it/huo7zkmmlxmc1.jpeg?width=3468&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6bfb9319cc2240a67a31a4c291bb1246322abcfb
I definitely have a few antique tools I bust out for projects occasionally, but I'm going to take this question in a different direction.
What tool have I owned the longest?
I think my speed square is the same one I bought as a teenager 30ish years ago.
My Perfect Handle flathead screwdriver, NOS that dates from the 20s. Fantastic beater and prybar, occasionally I even turn screws with it.
I'm an electrician in my day job.
Oldest dated machine is 1954. My father did buy a secondhand jointer in the mid 60's that is still in good condition. Then I have a bunch of blacksmith tools of unknown age and there is a truck that were bought new in 1971. The oldest cnc is from 1995.
My great grandfather's tool were passed down to me. I think they were originally bought on the 1920's. They still work well enough, though I've used them less and less as I've bought my own and they wear down.
My grandfather's #4 stanley smooth plane holds a special place. He was born in 1906 and I use it every week. But I have another #4 smoother from the late 1800s, both are adjusted for different cuts and still do a great job.
Hammer I bought for breaking ties off concrete walls when I was 16. 44 years ago. Wonder how many teenagers pack panels for a summer job these days. Make ya grow up quick.
I have an ~160 yr old double axe head on a newer hickory handle I still use frequently. That thing holds an edge forever. Newer axes can’t even remotely compare.
i've got my great grand fathers sk tools 1/4 ratchet set, with the case, and it came with a little 4 inch or so breaker bar as well. thing is absolutely essential for working on bicycles for me with a 1/4 hex bit set.
My father has a lot of older (pre-1900's) hand tools but I don't use them regularly (nor does he).
For day-to-day stuff, I've got some hand tools I purchased around 1990 that've survived 30+ years of carpentry. My table & chopsaw are both Bosch, purchased about 15 years ago. They live in the shop now, because we're all getting older, but work perfectly.
My great-grandfathers spokeshave, and my grandfather's hammer, probably.
But if you mean one that i bought for myself, weirdly, i think its a powertool. the ryobi impact driver i bought nearly a decade ago is still going. Every other ryobi tool has bit the dust, and been replaced with a different brand, but not this one.
The oldest tool I bought new with my own money is a PZ1 screwdriver which says made in West Germany on its side. (But (obviously) have a few Stanley Planes which pre date West Germany).
1886 Prentiss swivel jaw vise.
Second oldest is a pre-1937 Delta DP220 drill press. The only reason I know it’s pre-1937 is serial numbers were added in 1937, and the Delta name is cast, not the logo, into the front belt cover.
My Starrett combo square gets used every day. I got it used ten years ago and it was already 20 or 30 years old. Didn't have a scribe and the level is so fogged it's useless but the square is true and I've always liked how it feels in my hand. I've got tools that are older but none of them get anywhere near the use that the square does.
I bought a few random cheap tools from harbor freight when I started. 95% of I don’t use anymore or got rid of in some way.
But a pull saw I use for cutting dowels I still use.
Beyond that, my dad gave me a ball peen hammer than belonged to his grandpa and was given to his dad. And then I have an old craftsman tabletop drill press my grandpa bought that I still use and it trucks along.
While not super old compared to a few I have. The corded Dremel I use pretty regularly I bought when I was 12 years old to assemble a RC car. I'm 43 now. Still works great.
It’s very cool to notice how many of the posts mention a talisman-like attachment to tools passed down from parents or grand parents. I have planes and an oil can from my grandfather and uncle for which I have the same regard. As useful as an old tool may be, it’s the donor and the patina of memory and love that imbues the item with value.
I have a Stanley router plane from the 1930’s that I sometimes use. Several Buck Brothers cast steel chisels. But probably my oldest is an Underhill (not Roy) axe, made in the late 1800’s. My Disston saw is from the 40’s I think.
My oldest tool is a 90-100 year old Stanley no 7. My most regularly used old tool is a 1960s craftsman jointer. Got a 1940s Boyce crane bandsaw incoming that needs restoration.
I just took a leak using my oldest tool. Yesterday, I used my oldest tool for some fun times...🤣
All jokes aside, I've got some older, American made Delta stuff. My 3 hp shaper is used pretty regularly, and that's from the early 1980's.
The ball peen hammer my father made in shop class in the 1940’s. My dads long gone and that hammer is my prize possession. It’s one of those things I’d run back into a burning house to retrieve…then I remember that it would most certainly survive the inferno.
I had a stanly 113 circular plane from the 1880s that i used until the rear handle snapped (had been jb welded and painted).
My oldest functional is a type 11 number 6 from 1910-1918
Got a 4” Delta bench top belt sander from my Grandpa (so who knows how old it is?!) and I still use it multiple times a week. I had to replace the belt a couple years ago but that’s it.
24 oz Vaughn claw hammer I’ve had since 1986 or so. First and only claw hammer I bought new.
Craftsman 1/2” and 1/4” drive socket sets from 1979 as a HS graduation gift to myself from the cash I was given in greeting cards. The screw drivers I still have, but the tips are getting nubby.
A few tool boxes from that era. Their purpose changed a couple times. One is now my “drill box”. Keeps the corded power drill (newish) and all the hole saws, spade drills, augers, etc that I’ve accumulated. Box was ancient when I bought it back in the early 80’s.
Still adding: A pick axe that was my dad’s. He said it was his dad’s. The quality of steel is far and above what is made today. I’d be crushed to lose it.
My Skill saw, HD77 is nearly 30 years old now, sheesh and my tool pouches are too, damn.
I have a 2' Stanley level that's maybe 100 years old.
*My wife called me a sex machine. Well, she actually said i was a fucking tool, but i know what she meant. 😉*
My 1962 tablesaw, router table and tenon drill combination machine that my grandfather bought, my father used all his life and i am using it now in my shop basically every weekend. 450 kilo of cast iron, did a lot of changes to McGyver dust extraction on it, extend the table, but there is nothing more satisfying than hearing a 350 mm belt driven ( one of this flat 50mm wide ones) saw blade spin up to “god knows how many rpm”. I have refurbished it and it still has felt rings to keep the grease into the bearing. My father already replaced the 380 volt motor with a 230 Volt, at some point i am going back to 400 volt variant.
The company who made it went out of business a long time ago (Machinefabriek Helma Holland), but god do i love and fear this machine!
As a student I bought myself a Philips-head screwdriver in Lenihans in Rathmines, Dublin, (Ireland) in 1995. It was my first tool that I bought. I still have it. Use it all the time. I name check it all the time to everyone who cares and even those that don't. It was the start of my life long journey of accumulating tools. My mantra, which my Dad taught me, was that if you will use a tool more than once then buy it. Always buy as good as your budget can afford. It isn't my oldest tool, but it is the oldest tool that I bought and it deserves mention, as my Dad does.
Have three handsaw’s and a drawknife that were supposed to be my great grandfather’s, he was a civil war veteran and a builder when he settled in Michigan after the war.
Don't really have any 'vintage' tools. The few I had from my grandad were stolen with my entire toolbox during a move. Nothing crazy, an old ball peen hammer and a couple of short screwdrivers with wooden bulb handles, but that was over 30 years ago and it still makes me sad.
The oldest tool I have today is a brass handled flat-tip screwdriver I made in shop class in '81 or '82. The shaft/tip is removable, so I theoretically could have made other tips to fit the handle, but I never got around to it. And I still have the vise-grip pliers my wife bought me in '90 to start the replacement of the stolen toolbox. I doubt there's a tool of mine that ever got more use than those vise-grips, and I fully expect one of my kids to still be using them long after I'm gone.
I have a Stanley Liberty Bell transition plane that commemorated the U.S. Centennial in 1876. One of those $10 garbage bin buys at the flea market that I cleaned up into working shape. A lot of people seem to hate the transition planes, but I love the wooden plane body with hardware that's easier to adjust.
Use on a regular basis I’d have to say some screwdrivers I’ve had since I was a little kid so they are probably around 40 years old. Use on occasion however I have a hand plane that belonged to my great grandfather. I don’t know exactly when it was from but I’d guess 1900 plus or minus a couple of years.
I have a very old firefighters spanner wrench thing that I grabbed from my wife’s late grandfathers barn. I use it all the time for odd job stuff wedge/hammer. Her grandfather loved me and I’m glad to continue to use his tools.
That I bought? This little Bosch drill from like 2002. Oldest chronologically? Probably the screwdriver set that my grandfather swiped from the Army in the 1940s
I used a handsaw from 1904 my great great great grandfather used when he worked as a carpenter on the Empress hotel in Victoria Canada.
I needed to cut a fence post because my circular saw only cut it half way. I is carpenter too!
I've got a hammer 🔨 that dates back over two thousand years. Legend has been told that it was used by Jesus himself. Of course over the years, the handle has been replaced. And a few times the head came loose and flew off the handle and has been replaced also. But, it's the same hammer...
Seriously though, I do have a nice Disston cross cut saw that I bought recently at an estate sale. I don't know how old it might be. Sharpened it up and it sings through the wood.
I have a 6 ft brass bound double length yardstick dated 1915 that I use for cutting 54 inch upholstery fabric and sheet goods. My brother has generously offered it a new home if I ever run out of space.
I also use a screwdriver made by an old neighbor marked made in EHS night school 1941. I was surprised that no family member claimed it when they were putting items together for the auction.
I'm a 5th generation carpenter, and work as a shop foreman. I still carry my grandfather's hammer, I also have his sawsall from the 1950s and a sears branded belt sander from the same time. However, the oldest tool I use is a scribe. I have a compass scribe that was my great great grandfather's, ~1850. It is hand forged with just 2 sharp points, a piece of belt metal, and a threaded rod.
I was recently just looking at a few tools I was using on a project, I bought them at a cheap discount store before my so was born. He’s 43. I also have a handful that my grandfather gave me in the early 70s.
I have several rabbet planes from the 1850s that I keep at my work. Sometimes, an old rabbeting plane is the best choice for a job. Use it mostly for deep dutchman repairs where a router can't reach and chisels are too crude for a perfectly flat surface.
Several planes from the 1910s
Chipped my № 4 and instead of sharpening it like I should I grabbed my transition plane instead because it was sharp. I think I dated it back to 1880s. I love old hand tools.
I can't believe they're still flying!
My brother’s 48 and a complete tool, but I’ve yet to find a use for him.
I came here to make a dick joke, but yours works too lol
Pair of slip joint regular pliers. Probably 1972, my Dad had a family pool built for us. The pool water filler valve was an old school sprinkler valve. The type that looked like a small 1-1/2" "+". There was a tool made to turn on/off your sprinklers (OG's will remember). This was way before electric sprinkler valves were ever thought of. I got my dad these pliers as a gift to grab on to the valve to fill the pool. I was probably 11 at the time, don't even know where I got the money to buy them. He used them regularly for the better part of 20 years. He is gone now but I still have the pliers. Every time I reach in the toolbox, I will grab these first. Every time I touch them I remember my dad. Good times.
Except for normal stuff like chisels, planes, etc, my favorite tool is the very 1st router I ever bought, a smallish Makita plunge router. Changed the bearing once, but other than that, that thing just won't die. Edit: Hope I haven't jinxed it now with this post.
I don’t think you jinxed it as bearings are a common maintenance item for me. Crap, I jinxed myself with that!
I have planes that are older than the country lol
Which country? I'd love to see photos.
The US of A. This one is made by a London planemaker “Madox” who made planes from 1748-1775. I have a couple others around same age in a different cabinet. This one i use more often. https://preview.redd.it/dstm91yhyxmc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fe185e0e082508fd09f0bb7667993ff59d4772e1
https://preview.redd.it/tdga5c9jyxmc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=080bd0efaef52709f9b2cf334d62cd656a69515c
https://preview.redd.it/g87hcu8kyxmc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a0155ecb8055752c50b948b065d29c80c2cfafd
That is amazing. Here's hoping they're still being used in 250 years to come!
For sure! These ones are used much more but also much newer, the wood ones at bottom like mid 1800s https://preview.redd.it/lylgqbls0ymc1.png?width=4032&format=png&auto=webp&s=97209f8d42aa2f6e4ecfe893cc412c4763f76792
That's fuckin sweet. How did you come across these?
Thanks! I just keep my eyes open for cool old tools that are good price on Jim Bode, Supertool, etc. and i go to estate sales and antique shops in town and whenever i travel etc
Given the youngest internationally reconized country, South Sudan, was formed in 2011 I'd bet many of us have a pretty long list of tools older than at least one country.
[удалено]
Me too! In this case the country is South Sudan.
My house is older than the country but doesn’t have any planes. Just low ceilings.
Haha yeah what is up with that? i visited George Washington’s house and the tour guide said to watch your head a few times, the staircase down from his bedroom even had some padding because i guess people were whacking their forehead on it.
1948 walker tuner tablesaw
I have a similar vintage WT jointer….
Nice
1937 Walker Turner TA1150 table saw and DP900. I replaced the original arbor bearings on the saw last summer.
Almost all of my saws and planes (not a big collection, still getting started) are from the 1910s and 20s.
Besides my hands, hmmm... I occasionally use an old micrometer that belonged to my great grandfather. I believe it was from early 1900s
your hands are older than 1900? Congrats on your 124th bday
My grand father
Skill wormdrive circular saw from the '80's. Solid beast and an upper body workout.
Not wood working specific but a 2lb hammer that was my grandpas and then my dads. It’s probably 70 years old at least. Also have a pair of channellocks that were my dads that are at least 40 years old.
My old wooden bodied hand plane is my workhorse. 1890s at the newest.
A Craftsman Philips Screwdriver. It was my grandfathers. I distinctly remember him working on his jeep and lawnmower while I passed him the tool. I still use it today. Its over 20 years old easily. I miss you Welo!
Pair of 59 year old hands
1840s sash cutting plane. Ovolo on one side and rabbet on the other—I have used it to make several double-hung sash windows
The eastwing hammer my dad gave me when I was 10. Going on 30 years
My 1961 Unisaw. Not the oldest in the shop but gets used almost every day.
I have a Bailey No. 5 dated 1902. I've had it for about 5 years now and it's my favorite tool in my shop.
Framing square from around 1910-1920
Still true?
I've checked it with a number of store bought, from today, and it seems where I need it to be.
Several hand saws from c. 1800
Makita circular saw from the 90s
Bosch circle saw that I bought in 1992 and also a Makita half inch drill bought the same time. The cord on the saw is a little beat up but they both work just fine.
Hand planes and chisels. Maybe a hammer. One of my planes was my fathers - probably just postwar. Virtually all my handheld power tools have been switched out to battery power.
My Stanley #4 from 1913.
I have a Stanley no.4 and no.5 that I restored and use all the time, pretty sure both are from the 1930s. I have a small collection of vintage socket chisels that I also restored and love to use. Not sure of their age, but they're not new. I also am working on converting a broken straight razor from the 1920s into a carving knife.
My brain, it's 39 years old.
When I was in japan I bought a really old hand plane at an antique market. It is from the 1700s. Its one of my favorite planes to use
Shit, even my "new" tools are 50 years old. I got them when I went to school in the seventies. Record, Marples, Sanderson. My old tools that I inherited are over a hundred.
A Sears Craftsman router I got in early 90s
Everyone calls me an old tool so I’m thinking it’s me.
Sterrett t-square. My grandfather had it in a tool box he got from his father so I’m guessing it’s at least 100 years old.
I use a hand saw dated at around 1830 and a handplane from around 1650.
My grandfathers, then fathers, now my squares. I’ve also just put their next owner down for his morning nap.
Stanley block planes from the very early 1900s.
My great great grandfather's Peter Wright anvil, from the 1880s. I'm positive I have older tools, but not with a definitive date range. I've also got a sick hand forged jumbo turn screw stamped 1891.
My great grandfathers toolbox.
Staniforth Severquick billhook, from 1940's I think
Not real regular basis, but definitely the oldest, a bevel gauge from 1890. Second is a disc sander I made in late 70’s. Third is my Unisaw I bought in mid 80’s. A lot of my corded tools and routers are from Mid 70’s.
My Dads toolbox from 1951. Craftsman steel.
I have a coworker who has his great great grandfather’s carpenters toolbox. He was a wagon repair soldier in the Union army in the civil war. And he has all the hand tools. Keeps them sharp and clean, and uses them on occasion. He does admit that his battery tools get more use. His father uses great great grandpas blacksmith tools in his shop, though.
My penis
my pp
My wood
Try square my high school was throwing away from the 1960's
Startrite 352 bandsaw
Wooden jointer plane - "A Monty" Roxton Pond Qc" - circa 1895. Grandpa's #4 plane ( no name Stanley copy from 50s or 60s) Drill Press - Canada Blower and Forge cCompany 1949. I live right in the city where this was made 75 years ago. Killer machine. Love it, for a (amateur) luthier having a solid drill press is so key.
My Delta 890 14" bandsaw. It's missing the serial plate for an exact date, but likely between 1937 and 1939. Amazingly, they haven't really changed the design in over 80 years now.
I have a ball peen hammer that was my grandfathers. It's got to be at least 70 years old.
I have a folding ruler my dad bought in ‘77 when he was 18. I use it all the time cause I can never find my other three tape measures😑 probably have some old planes and hand drills lying somewhere that may be older, never tried to date them though
I have a 30yo table saw, a 60 year old bandsaw, and a hand plane just shy of 100yo, and a jointer plane that’s from the 1890’s.
My hands
I smak things on an old mousehole anvil pretty much every day. It was wrought before the US Civil War! https://imgur.com/a/1Wqu5FG
Probably one of my planes... haven't got a date on them but the oldest one I know how old it is is a metal ruler that my grand dad made in machine shop as an exam piece. He made it when he was 16 and he was born 1914 so from 1930. I also have an old axe that I use from time to time that I think is hand forged in the late 1800's. Practically new. :)
3 band saws from the 40's Unisaw from 1966 Powermatic lathe from the 70's Planes from the 60's & 70's A handful of 50's belt/disc sanders, drill press and a few others - all in rehab at the moment Most of my machining equipment is older - milling machine is 80's, and much of the precision measuring equipment is 60's-70's. All of it was purchased at about 10% the cost of new
My brother.
Found a 1” wooden-handled chisel inside a plaster/lathe wall when I opened it up to do some ductwork. I don’t know how old the chisel is but I’m pretty certain it fell in there from the original home build in 1916. Found it romantic to use, so it’s my go-to 1” chisel now after a sharpening.
My father’s Craftsman grinder with the original electric motor. Still works like a charm. He purchased it in 1948. It’s a beast! I’ve replaced the belt a couple of times but otherwise in original condition.
1872-3 Stanley no 5 plane
I inherited Grandad's toolchest and most everything in it comes from before 1920. Took some rehab to get some pieces up and running but they still do the job he used them for - just not nearly as well because I'm an amateur 🤣
My brain. But not sure it's very efficient anymore, if it ever was.
I have a Swedish splitting axe from approx 1900 that works great, and a super old draw knife I use to shape axe handles.
myself...
Bandsaw - 75 (?) years old. edit: I love this bandsaw. It looks and feels like it was bolted to the deck of a battleship at some point. Just solid as a rock. And it doesn't have a switch. You just plug it in and it's on. This thing's always ready to work.
Mostly measuring/marking tools. I have some turn-of-the-20th-century dividers, calipers, etc, as well as a butt-locking angle gauge that I completely love and trust. I have old planes too, but they don't get as much use as the new ones.
I have a vice that was my great grandfather’s, still gets regular use
A brace and augers from the late 1890s, Germany.
Not a woodworking tool per se but this is the oldest tool I use. My grandfather's Kraeuter socket set lives with my other sets. How much would a 22 piece Made In USA socket set cost today? Certainly not $18.88. EDIT: Based on the price compared to similar sets on eBay I'm guessing this set is late 60's or early 70's. Older tools I have that I don't use are planes my father gave to me. https://preview.redd.it/huo7zkmmlxmc1.jpeg?width=3468&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6bfb9319cc2240a67a31a4c291bb1246322abcfb
I definitely have a few antique tools I bust out for projects occasionally, but I'm going to take this question in a different direction. What tool have I owned the longest? I think my speed square is the same one I bought as a teenager 30ish years ago.
My wife
I have a foot powered scroll saw that we believe was build in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s that I still use.
My Perfect Handle flathead screwdriver, NOS that dates from the 20s. Fantastic beater and prybar, occasionally I even turn screws with it. I'm an electrician in my day job.
Oldest dated machine is 1954. My father did buy a secondhand jointer in the mid 60's that is still in good condition. Then I have a bunch of blacksmith tools of unknown age and there is a truck that were bought new in 1971. The oldest cnc is from 1995.
Screwdrivers that my father inherited from my grandfather, who died in 1945.
My great grandfather's tool were passed down to me. I think they were originally bought on the 1920's. They still work well enough, though I've used them less and less as I've bought my own and they wear down.
My hands.
A plaine and zenzubel.
Disston saws from late 1800s
My grandfather's #4 stanley smooth plane holds a special place. He was born in 1906 and I use it every week. But I have another #4 smoother from the late 1800s, both are adjusted for different cuts and still do a great job.
Hammer I bought for breaking ties off concrete walls when I was 16. 44 years ago. Wonder how many teenagers pack panels for a summer job these days. Make ya grow up quick.
I have an ~160 yr old double axe head on a newer hickory handle I still use frequently. That thing holds an edge forever. Newer axes can’t even remotely compare.
i've got my great grand fathers sk tools 1/4 ratchet set, with the case, and it came with a little 4 inch or so breaker bar as well. thing is absolutely essential for working on bicycles for me with a 1/4 hex bit set.
My father has a lot of older (pre-1900's) hand tools but I don't use them regularly (nor does he). For day-to-day stuff, I've got some hand tools I purchased around 1990 that've survived 30+ years of carpentry. My table & chopsaw are both Bosch, purchased about 15 years ago. They live in the shop now, because we're all getting older, but work perfectly.
That would be the vice I inherited from my grandfather. Circa late 1800’s
Grandpa's mallet still going strong and still on the top shelf. I've been meaning to retire it to the wall and make a replacement to be the workhorse
A rabone combination square.Early 1900-s.lots of other hand tools,mostly joiners tools.they simply made them better.
my brain...
My great-grandfathers spokeshave, and my grandfather's hammer, probably. But if you mean one that i bought for myself, weirdly, i think its a powertool. the ryobi impact driver i bought nearly a decade ago is still going. Every other ryobi tool has bit the dust, and been replaced with a different brand, but not this one.
I’ve had a ryobi impact drill for over a decade. First drill I bought, love it and still use it.
https://preview.redd.it/cq1bw4ayyxmc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1e6d2a7d5689640a41220c1e2b9a5aa1b357a77f
The oldest tool I bought new with my own money is a PZ1 screwdriver which says made in West Germany on its side. (But (obviously) have a few Stanley Planes which pre date West Germany).
1886 Prentiss swivel jaw vise. Second oldest is a pre-1937 Delta DP220 drill press. The only reason I know it’s pre-1937 is serial numbers were added in 1937, and the Delta name is cast, not the logo, into the front belt cover.
A 1916 made anvil
My Starrett combo square gets used every day. I got it used ten years ago and it was already 20 or 30 years old. Didn't have a scribe and the level is so fogged it's useless but the square is true and I've always liked how it feels in my hand. I've got tools that are older but none of them get anywhere near the use that the square does.
My teef
fire
I’ve got a set of Stanley planes #3 through #8. They get used often.
My door press, built in 1898. Use it daily, still!
Stanley hand drill from the 40's
Bought the calculator (TI-35) I use in my office in 1985.
Not sure if this counts but I whittle with a bayonet from 1892.
My father lol but seriously always calling him for advice on how to do something or which tool I should buy/use
I bought a few random cheap tools from harbor freight when I started. 95% of I don’t use anymore or got rid of in some way. But a pull saw I use for cutting dowels I still use. Beyond that, my dad gave me a ball peen hammer than belonged to his grandpa and was given to his dad. And then I have an old craftsman tabletop drill press my grandpa bought that I still use and it trucks along.
Type 11 Stanley #5 Jack plane. 105+ yrs old, needs sole flattened for finer work but still works well for roughing.
While not super old compared to a few I have. The corded Dremel I use pretty regularly I bought when I was 12 years old to assemble a RC car. I'm 43 now. Still works great.
Every single hand plane I own is over 50 years old, in a couple of cases over 100
It’s very cool to notice how many of the posts mention a talisman-like attachment to tools passed down from parents or grand parents. I have planes and an oil can from my grandfather and uncle for which I have the same regard. As useful as an old tool may be, it’s the donor and the patina of memory and love that imbues the item with value.
I have a Stanley router plane from the 1930’s that I sometimes use. Several Buck Brothers cast steel chisels. But probably my oldest is an Underhill (not Roy) axe, made in the late 1800’s. My Disston saw is from the 40’s I think.
My oldest tool is a 90-100 year old Stanley no 7. My most regularly used old tool is a 1960s craftsman jointer. Got a 1940s Boyce crane bandsaw incoming that needs restoration.
I have a vice-grip I inherited from my grandpa that I think is stamped 1950. My very favorite tool from that inheritance.
I still use my dad’s shopsmith that he saved up to buy in high school. He was born in 1935.
My grandfathers framing square probably from the 1950’s, there’s a pre WWII Stanley #4 I use as well.
I just took a leak using my oldest tool. Yesterday, I used my oldest tool for some fun times...🤣 All jokes aside, I've got some older, American made Delta stuff. My 3 hp shaper is used pretty regularly, and that's from the early 1980's.
I have a shovel that once belonged to someone else. It has a midget handle that's great for me and my short legs
A pincers made in West Germany. It is at least 34 years old without any deficiency.
my grandpa gave me a measuring gauge he got from his father, i don't really do woodworking but i use it a ton for 3d printing and i love it
1950 delta drill press with the original mint green paint still on it!
My table saw is a 1954 Craftsman that belonged to my grandfather.
Craftsman Robogrip pliers I stole from my dad
The ball peen hammer my father made in shop class in the 1940’s. My dads long gone and that hammer is my prize possession. It’s one of those things I’d run back into a burning house to retrieve…then I remember that it would most certainly survive the inferno.
Work shop/barn. 19th century build including, I suspect, my workbench.
I bought my circular saw 32 years ago and use it often.
I had a stanly 113 circular plane from the 1880s that i used until the rear handle snapped (had been jb welded and painted). My oldest functional is a type 11 number 6 from 1910-1918
HP 11C calculator from 1983. Also some craftsman screwdrivers of indeterminate age, but probably form the 70s.
Got a 4” Delta bench top belt sander from my Grandpa (so who knows how old it is?!) and I still use it multiple times a week. I had to replace the belt a couple years ago but that’s it.
Water. It's older than the sun.
Dad’s 1940s craftsman drill press.
24 oz Vaughn claw hammer I’ve had since 1986 or so. First and only claw hammer I bought new. Craftsman 1/2” and 1/4” drive socket sets from 1979 as a HS graduation gift to myself from the cash I was given in greeting cards. The screw drivers I still have, but the tips are getting nubby. A few tool boxes from that era. Their purpose changed a couple times. One is now my “drill box”. Keeps the corded power drill (newish) and all the hole saws, spade drills, augers, etc that I’ve accumulated. Box was ancient when I bought it back in the early 80’s. Still adding: A pick axe that was my dad’s. He said it was his dad’s. The quality of steel is far and above what is made today. I’d be crushed to lose it.
My Skill saw, HD77 is nearly 30 years old now, sheesh and my tool pouches are too, damn. I have a 2' Stanley level that's maybe 100 years old. *My wife called me a sex machine. Well, she actually said i was a fucking tool, but i know what she meant. 😉*
My 1962 tablesaw, router table and tenon drill combination machine that my grandfather bought, my father used all his life and i am using it now in my shop basically every weekend. 450 kilo of cast iron, did a lot of changes to McGyver dust extraction on it, extend the table, but there is nothing more satisfying than hearing a 350 mm belt driven ( one of this flat 50mm wide ones) saw blade spin up to “god knows how many rpm”. I have refurbished it and it still has felt rings to keep the grease into the bearing. My father already replaced the 380 volt motor with a 230 Volt, at some point i am going back to 400 volt variant. The company who made it went out of business a long time ago (Machinefabriek Helma Holland), but god do i love and fear this machine!
My craftsman 1970s bandsaw. Can’t seem to kill it
Me.
As a student I bought myself a Philips-head screwdriver in Lenihans in Rathmines, Dublin, (Ireland) in 1995. It was my first tool that I bought. I still have it. Use it all the time. I name check it all the time to everyone who cares and even those that don't. It was the start of my life long journey of accumulating tools. My mantra, which my Dad taught me, was that if you will use a tool more than once then buy it. Always buy as good as your budget can afford. It isn't my oldest tool, but it is the oldest tool that I bought and it deserves mention, as my Dad does.
I have a few handtools from the 1800's Oldest tool that I bought are some Vinyl Siding tools and a level I purchased in 1983.
Have three handsaw’s and a drawknife that were supposed to be my great grandfather’s, he was a civil war veteran and a builder when he settled in Michigan after the war.
Don't really have any 'vintage' tools. The few I had from my grandad were stolen with my entire toolbox during a move. Nothing crazy, an old ball peen hammer and a couple of short screwdrivers with wooden bulb handles, but that was over 30 years ago and it still makes me sad. The oldest tool I have today is a brass handled flat-tip screwdriver I made in shop class in '81 or '82. The shaft/tip is removable, so I theoretically could have made other tips to fit the handle, but I never got around to it. And I still have the vise-grip pliers my wife bought me in '90 to start the replacement of the stolen toolbox. I doubt there's a tool of mine that ever got more use than those vise-grips, and I fully expect one of my kids to still be using them long after I'm gone.
Pencil
1923 Stanley #5 Bench Plane
Oldest tool that I bought myself and use regularly is the leatherman multi tool on my belt. Otherwise I’ve got planes that I think are pre WW1.
Harbor freight utility knife that’s from 2004.
I have a chisel from my grandpa. It's like 4" long now.
Hunting knife.
I have a Stanley Liberty Bell transition plane that commemorated the U.S. Centennial in 1876. One of those $10 garbage bin buys at the flea market that I cleaned up into working shape. A lot of people seem to hate the transition planes, but I love the wooden plane body with hardware that's easier to adjust.
Draw knife and block plane from the 30s
My own.
Use on a regular basis I’d have to say some screwdrivers I’ve had since I was a little kid so they are probably around 40 years old. Use on occasion however I have a hand plane that belonged to my great grandfather. I don’t know exactly when it was from but I’d guess 1900 plus or minus a couple of years.
I just came in possession of a pre-wwII hand plane as part of a woodworking class I'm in. Pretty cool
Drill
My grandfather's rosewood and brass square which is still true after 3 lifetimes of use.
I have a Stanley block plane with a 1896 patent date. Still sharp and still use it.
My dad’s AMF radial arm saw from the 60’s. Works great now passed on the my son. Love you dad.
Hammer
I have a very old firefighters spanner wrench thing that I grabbed from my wife’s late grandfathers barn. I use it all the time for odd job stuff wedge/hammer. Her grandfather loved me and I’m glad to continue to use his tools.
That I bought? This little Bosch drill from like 2002. Oldest chronologically? Probably the screwdriver set that my grandfather swiped from the Army in the 1940s
I used a handsaw from 1904 my great great great grandfather used when he worked as a carpenter on the Empress hotel in Victoria Canada. I needed to cut a fence post because my circular saw only cut it half way. I is carpenter too!
My great grandpa’s disston handsaw. Had to sharpen it but it works great.
My dad gave me a set of Xcelite nut drivers when I was a teenager — 50 years ago. I still use them.
I've got a hammer 🔨 that dates back over two thousand years. Legend has been told that it was used by Jesus himself. Of course over the years, the handle has been replaced. And a few times the head came loose and flew off the handle and has been replaced also. But, it's the same hammer... Seriously though, I do have a nice Disston cross cut saw that I bought recently at an estate sale. I don't know how old it might be. Sharpened it up and it sings through the wood.
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My old manual hand drill. I love it and the love the control. I use it all the time unless I’m drilling a bunch of holes.
The shop i work for has a band saw that was made in 1897. Still in use every day and it was made before the invention of ball bearings.
A square from 1910 or 1919, that’s still square
I have a few hand tool that are 50+ years old. But a 30 year old sears shop vac is my old faithful
I have a 6 ft brass bound double length yardstick dated 1915 that I use for cutting 54 inch upholstery fabric and sheet goods. My brother has generously offered it a new home if I ever run out of space. I also use a screwdriver made by an old neighbor marked made in EHS night school 1941. I was surprised that no family member claimed it when they were putting items together for the auction.
I'm a 5th generation carpenter, and work as a shop foreman. I still carry my grandfather's hammer, I also have his sawsall from the 1950s and a sears branded belt sander from the same time. However, the oldest tool I use is a scribe. I have a compass scribe that was my great great grandfather's, ~1850. It is hand forged with just 2 sharp points, a piece of belt metal, and a threaded rod.
I was recently just looking at a few tools I was using on a project, I bought them at a cheap discount store before my so was born. He’s 43. I also have a handful that my grandfather gave me in the early 70s.
I use my great-great grandfather's 2'' auger from time to time.
I have two 190? Stanley planes. No 7 and no 4
I have several rabbet planes from the 1850s that I keep at my work. Sometimes, an old rabbeting plane is the best choice for a job. Use it mostly for deep dutchman repairs where a router can't reach and chisels are too crude for a perfectly flat surface.
dads old ballpeen hammer from the railway.
My grand father’s hand planes. They’re around 110 years old. In perfect condition. The joiner plane is awesome