tools for son

[Bob Riefer]

Over the years, we generally try to buy things that we need as we need them. Between this approach and having generally pretty level-headed kids, we are blessed that our kids don't have a long list of wants when holidays/birthdays come around. During non-pandemic times, we would instead focus our gift giving on family experiences such as going to a 76ers game and having a fancy dinner in the city... but those sorts of gifts are trickier this year.

When I was a young teenager, my dad started building up a tool collection for me. Screw drivers and hammers and levels etc. His idea of the gold standard at that time was Craftsman, so that is what he gave me. I can distinctly remember having dual thoughts at the time...

Thought 1: "Geez, I'm just a knuckle head kid that plays a lots of basketball.. I don't even know which end of a hammer to pickup"

Thought 2: "But, there's just something neat about those tools... and dad sure must think I'm becoming a man to deserve such quality"


30 years later, I still have and use the tools. I had zero clue how to use the tools at first, but was willing to try. Little by little it morphed from repairing simple items around the home to progressively more complex home renovations and now to woodworking. I like to think I have a little clue now (heck, even my old man asks me for tips from time to time these days.. probably the greatest honor of my life), but am also wise enough to know that I'm still in the equivalent of 1st grade when it comes to being a craftsman (being aware of your own ignorance, and being willing to address it, is a powerful thing).

I think those tool gifts were the seed planted in becoming (more) self sufficient and starting a journey of creating (hopefully useful/quality) things. Thank goodness, because we have saved so much money by doing things ourselves, have built pride in the things that we have and the process to have them, and have created some things that others will use and love for many years.

My boy is a freshman in high school this year. He is a wonderful person and my best friend. He gets straights A's and is polite and funny. He helps me when I ask him to, and his assistance is increasingly helpful with each passing year. He lets me be tough on him as he understands there are lessons to be learned - I require that we do it right and that he be as strong and smart as possible when it's time to work. Raking leaves, shoveling snow, climbing up on roofs, helping with glue ups, painting, pushing wheel barrows, putting tools away, running errands, using some of our power tools under close supervision - do all of these things properly, do them until they're done, pretend not to tire out before your old man etc. The 107 boy-wonder (who somehow consumes roughly 25,000 calories per day, and grows about 1/2 inch per month these days) sure tries to hide that he's just a knuckle head kid that plays a lot of basketball and barely knows which side of the hammer to pickup... And I appreciate the act he's putting on. Sometimes you need to fake it until you make it, and I think portions of becoming a man are like that. I think he gets it that he'll need to be self sufficient someday, and that creating things is pretty cool.



So, I was thinking this may be the perfect year to continue the tradition my dad began with me 30 years ago. I'd like to start my son's tool collection. Sure, I've stocked the kids' workbench in the barn with hand me downs to some degree. But I mean starting his own collection that he will hopefully cherish and that we can add onto over time... things he can bring to college and to his future apartment and home etc. Maybe this is the seed planted for him too. (hell, it worked with basketball... started working on his jump shot form when he could barely walk :-)


To keep things reasonable, let's put this year's Christmas budget for tools around $250-300. And I'd like to focus first on non-power items (preferring to gift those to him in the future when the self sufficiency years are closer).


Do you have any thoughts on first items on this path? Toolbox, specific tools, brands? Anything. Just a fun thing to think about and talk about with likeminded folks.

I always greatly appreciate the insights here!

[jamil mehdi]

I did exactly the same thing with my boys, twins.

At 12 years old, I made them each a tool box (different, because they're twins and everything has to be different) and had a little brass plate engraved with their name and 12-25-2012 on it. I added a tape measure and combination square to each box.

The next year, shortly before christmas, I was at an auction and picked up three lie nielsen planes for pennies. One kid got shoulder plane and the other got a block plane.

The next few years weren't as impressive as the planes; drills once, a ratchet and socket set, screw drivers, wrenches, etc.

It's been 8 years since then and they each have what looks like a decent little handyman toolbox now. It's still just basic stuff, but good basic stuff. The boys are both at college now and one has an apartment. He called recently to ask how to do something simple. I said, "Get your drill and a 1/4" bit and..."

He did it. He was proud of himself. I was proud of him. The tools became important to him, and to me.

It's a very nice tradition and I envy you just beginning it with your son.

[Frederick Skelly]

I'd start with a toolbox. Give him a good hammer, a good set of screwdrivers and a tape measure. He will soon be driving. So with what is left, I'd start buying the initial pieces of a socket set. Get at least one ratchet and 6 sockets. If budget permits, buy both imperial and metric. The brand doesn't really matter. Even today's Craftsman brand is a step up from what I have used for years and should be perfectly sufficient for him to work on his own car.

Enjoy your son. It sounds like you are truly blessed.
Fred

[Edit. Lee is right - he needs Channel Locks.]

[Lee Schierer]

My Dad did the same for me when I started college. For birthdays and Christmas I received nice tools. My mom had a craftsman catalog that she kept track of the tools I'd been given. I did the same thing for my son. In fact he's getting a 10" glueline rip blade and a zero clearance insert for his Rigid 4512 table saw for Christmas. He got some Channellock pliers for his birthday.

Daughters like tools too, particularly when their husbands get them.

[Bill Dufour]

When my nephew was about 8 or 10 he got a free Harbor fright tape measure for christimas. I think I threw it in with some Craftsman screw drivers or socket set. His mom told me it was a hit with his little sister. He held it on the steps and she rolled marbles on it down the stairs. He is a graduated engineer now.
Bil lD

[andy bessette]

Just to give you some ideas, here is a photo of my principal portable tool kit I always have with me in my work of customizing yachts. Of course I have other kits mainly arranged around some specialty, such as drilling and fastening, mechanical, electrical, wood cutting, etc. A tool bag is generally far handier than a tool box and doesn't mar adjacent finishes.

[Jim Becker]

I gave my older daughter a tool kit recently when she moved to her first apartment and will be doing the same for the younger when she does the same within the next year. I mention it in those terms because it puts perspective on what I think should be in the initial kit...all the tools that one would normally need to handle typical tasks around the home/apartment. So that includes a normal, general set of screwdrivers, but be sure you include not just Philips and flat, but also square drive and torx. A multi-bit driver can easily handle all that, but it should be supplemented with some small drivers, too, for tiny screws that often are used for smaller things. Pliers, a regular hammer and a small one, an adjustable wrench or two, an awl (!), and a tape measure are the bare minimum. At least a small level should be in the kit and maybe a combo square. A battery powered screwdriver is also a nice thing to have as part of the basics if a larger drill/driver isn't part of the initial set. The bottom line is the initial assortment should cover the bases for "general tasks" that tools are handy to have for, rather than being specifically pointed at something like woodworking. You can certainly add other things to the mix no-problem. Any of the "house brands" of tools are fine for this...Craftsman, Kobalt, Husky, etc.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Step 1: Define the intent.

Although you may be thinking about things such as building stuff, when they go to school (or similar), it is useful to have things such as:

• screwdrivers
• hammer
• pliers of some sort
• an adjustable wrench

While working as a night manager in the early 90's, a college kid explained to me that he did NOT know how to use a screw driver. Note that I was in college (or fresh out) at the time. I had no idea how to react to that in a way that would not offend the kid.

When I met my wife and a door knob was broken, she at least had a (very) small tool chest from her Father. Perhaps she had no idea how to use it, but, I was able to fix what was broken with the very few tools that were in it. The tools were cheap, but they worked. It was small so she had room for it.

Andrew Pitonyak

[Ed Aumiller]

All my grandsons when they first started driving (16 yrs old) received a tool set w/sockets/wrenches/ etc for in their car at Christmas...

[Sam Force]

I still have a set of Craftsman sockets and ratchet from 47 years ago. I have most of the combination wrenches from the same time. All were a gift from my parents. They have seen a lot of use over the years. They still reside in the same Craftsman tool box 47 years later. If my truck leaves the garage my prized Craftsman tools leave with it.

[Justin Rapp]

Are the into bicycles? If so, a socket set and some wrenches along with some bicycle specific tools would give them a good start to getting there hands dirty making repairs and adjustments. When they move up to cars, the knowledge just transfers and grows.

As far as brand is concerned, keep it was quality. As much as I am not a fan of craftsman power tools, but i'd suspect their current hand-tool offerings are still good. I have a mix of older craftsman, Kolbalt from Lowes and Husky from Hom't e Depot and all are equal in quality. No need to run out and drop big bux on SK or Snap On unless you wanna blow your budget.

[Mike Kees]

Bob ,your Dad and mine had the same idea of a great way to equip their sons for life. My parents bought my brother and me Socket sets and wrenches that I still have and use today. Craftsman was also my Dad's gold standard. We also ended up with a Jigsaw and drill. I still have the Jigsaw. I have also carried this tradition on with my son ,buying him mechanical tools for Christmas. Buy quality stuff that will last and be used as well as useful for a lifetime. Thanks for posting, this brings back fond memories of life in simpler times.

[andy bessette]

63 years ago, when I was 14, my dad took me to Sears to spend the paycheck I had earned from my first full week of work running heavy equipment; this was a summer job. He helped me pick out, among other things, a Craftsman 1/2"-drive ratchet/socket set plus a large set of Craftsman combination wrenches, most of which I still have today. In those days Craftsman tools were quite good quality and a good investment. And they were considered good enough for the working man.

Nowadays, much of what is sold as Craftsman is imported from China and is a noticeable step below the quality of the earlier product, sorry to say.

[johnny means]

My son will be graduating and most likely leaving the nest in a few months. I"ll be dumping my old stuff on him and rewarding myself for 22 years of being superdad with a bunch of brand spanking new Milwaukee stuff.

[David Stone (CT)]

Great post. The tools my dad and stepfather gave me years and decades ago or which I inherited from my grandfathers mean a a lot..... My gift candidates would be a Lie-Nielsen block plane or a Starrett combo square: beautiful, superb tools that will be useful and relevant at every stage of life, whether his need / interest is home maintenance, basic woodworking or fine furniture making.