You never know what from your woodworking your kids will value – cool family heirloom

[Mike Allen1010]

My wife's grandfather operated a cabinetmaking shop in Greenwich Village New York in the 1930s – 1950s. He passed away before I met my wife and the family got rid of all his tools etc.

I met my wife when I was 21, two years after her grandfather had passed. As an impoverished college student/woodworker I was crushed when I heard they got rid of all his stuff. As you can imagine, I would've given my left arm for anything from his shop. As it is, I do have a couple of his saws – one Sandvik "Dragon" saw that probably has the best steel in my shop.

His last surviving sibling passed away recently, and when Sherrie was going through her things, she found this:

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His October, 1935 membership certificate to the Association of Master Carpenters, Cabinetmakers and General Contractors of New York. This is now framed and hanging in a place of honor in my shop. I guess it just goes to show you, you never know what future generations might appreciate from the woodworking heritage you pass along to them.

All the best, Mike

[Bill Houghton]

That's pretty fine.

[Christopher Charles]

Fantastic! And look at that skyline...

C

[Jim Koepke]

Fantastic! And look at that skyline...

C

Missed that, couldn't get my eyes off of Mike's nails.

Those don't look like a carpenter's nails. :eek:

jtk

[Patrick McCarthy]

So, if only you had been dating her in high school . . . oh, the tools you could've had . . .

Michael, the story of our lives: a day late and a dollar short.

Pretty cool buddy, pretty neat.

Best, patrick

[Patrick McCarthy]

[QUOTE=Jim Koepke;2363952]Missed that, couldn't get my eyes off of Mike's nails.

Ya know, I've seen others claim " I laughed so fast I spit out my coffee" . . . . . . now I know EXACTLY how that happens . . .

[glenn bradley]

Missed that, couldn't get my eyes off of Mike's nails.

Those don't look like a carpenter's nails. :eek:

jtk

Its amazing what they can do with french tips now-a-days.

That is a great find Mike. I treasure stuff like that from my family.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Michael, the story of our lives: a day late and a dollar short.



He missed on some unreal antique tools. He wooed, won, and married the girl. We know where your priorities lie, Patrick my friend. ;) ;)

[Mike Cherry]

That is awesome!

[Daniel Rode]

The membership is a really interesting piece of history.

The nails are a perfect match. I believe that style is called a french polish :)

[Frederick Skelly]

Thats way cool Mike!

[Lee Reep]

Mike,

Glad to read that you have it displayed in your shop. I love old certificates like that. My dad was a Marine Corsair pilot in WWII. I have his certificate from graduation from Naval flight school, as well as his flight log books. I have very little else, but glad that those survived after his passing.

[Jebediah Eckert]

I have plenty of top quality tools in my shop I have accumulated over the years. Bunch Lie Nielsen planes, saws, good power equipment etc etc. But my three favorite, a lower quality then most of my stuff, I will never give up. They were from my grandfather's shop and I used them a ton when I was a kid. Probably the only three things I could use at 5-6 years old when I got my start nailing boards together and drilling holes. My Grandfather is still going strong at 98, although it has been quite some time since he did any woodworking. The tools always bring back memories and remind me of him and his basement shop.

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