Home Improvement’s Tim “the Tool Time” Taylor has nothing on Eloise’s granddad. Her Papaw’s workshop/garage is FULL of tools. He has all the tools he needs, but not all the tools he desires. All kinds of tools. The tools for mechanical repairs and restoration, largely outnumber the woodworking tools, which greatly exceed the tools of his chosen profession: electronics. Just this past weekend he purchased a battery-operated siphon to aid in filling the heaters in the shop. Additionally, the trays from a consumed Healthy Choice® Café Steamers® trays were cleaned and repurposed as small parts cleaner receptacle. His first collection of odd this n’ that tools were a gift. A barn on the top of the hill, a full barn yard, with a back entrance to the pasture. The third door, the last door on the ground level blocked barn, the difficult door that dragged along the ground as it opened outward. The door that led to where the trade assets were stored until they were traded off for something different and perhaps of more value. Scattered about the dirt floor were the tools his Papaw Pierce would gather and gift to his nine-year-old grandson. An old rusted metal box would house the hammer and odd screwdrivers, none in the best of shape; a small rusted hand saw and the stars of the lot; both a hand-cranked drill and a brace and bit. A so-called tree house and races with wooden carts to descent the hill which lead to the ever-running spring of water. These were the first projects of the young craftsman. Encouraged to use tools throughout his life from a father who worked on cars and made home improvements; a Papaw who could lay bricks and blocks, as his ancestors had, and had the ability to plaster over lath in the upstairs of our old home place which has stood the test of time these odd fifty-five years. So. use the right tool for the right job; when needed, multiple examples of the same tool is required due to multiple location or forgetfulness or misplacement. Take care of your tools and they’ll take care of you. And, perhaps we’ll run in to each other at that area of the hardware store that displays all the tools we are coveting for our workshops.
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