What happens to your stuff when you pass?

[Rob Luter]

I went to a garage sale yesterday where a life long woodworker had died. I don't know the circumstances but he had a boatload of tools and materials squirreled away in his garage and basement. His Daughter and SIL were faced with liquidating hundreds of items they knew little about in terms of function and worth. The quantity of tools was amazing.

That got me thinking about my mortality. I'm in reasonable good health but playing firmly in the 4th quarter. I retire at the end of the year and plan on being on the sunny side of the sod for a while yet. That said, things happen. I'd hate to think my bride or Daughter (or both) would be saddled with selling/donating all my tools and equipment.

Any creekers out there facing the same dilemma? I'm doing my best to keep the tool count manageable, but it adds up. Maybe create a tool catalog to aid in the process? Maybe sell off all but a basic weekend kit? Maybe draw a line in the sand and get rid of it all when I can't physically do it anymore but still have my wits about me? Maybe leave it to a local woodworking club to sell off as a fundraiser after my demise?

Thoughts?

[Zachary Hoyt]

I'm in early middle age now (38) but anything can happen at any time, so my recommendation to my mother and sister when we talked about it was that if they had to deal with my estate they should get an auctioneer who could take care of all the tools and workshop stuff, and also real estate and vehicle(s) if necessary. Brzostek Auction Service is the best in these parts as far as I know. The inventory of instruments I have at any given time would probably be best consigned to an instrument dealer.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My tools will be the wife and kids' problem. Those are my toys I with which I continue to play. What I am trying to do is get rid of the useless clutter than we kept squirreling away thinking "someday I might need this". 1/4" of dust means a use hasn't been found in 20 years and likely won't be found in the next 20 years so it needs to find a new residence. I really am trying to make it easier on my family.

[Bill Howatt]

I'm at the stage where I have to give this some serious thought. Right now I'm going with the idea of making a catalog with my estimate of whether the tool is lightly or otherwise used, estimated value at this date. I would also tell them not to hold out for top dollar, I've had my fun with them and they owe me nothing, so get rid of them easily and if there is a young aspiring woodworker maybe give him a deal (not somebody who is hoping to pick things cheap and just resell).
My wife is probably going to sell the house so it would be nice if there was a house buyer who wanted the additional shop full of tools.

[Jim Becker]

I have not exactly decided on any kind of specific disposition although everything is going into a pending living, revocable trust as a first step. If I kick off early, well...it will be my younger darling daughter's responsibility to make all the decisions (I doubt that Professor Dr. SWMBO will be of much help at that point if she is still around due to a medical condition), but I suspect that if I find that I can no longer derive enjoyment from "all the toys", I'll likely liquidate some or most of it before it's an issue for DD. Fortunately, I do keep things pretty neat and organized, albeit not on "digital paper" presently.

[roger wiegand]

I hope my son's interest in building guitars continues and expands. He's probably not going to have a place to put all my stuff, but he'll have dibs on whatever he wants and I expect the rest to go up for auction. He's got good enough tase already to keep the nice small stuff. If he's lost interest by then it will all go to the auctioneer. Someone will get a bargain on a pile of nice lumber. Since I got a bunch of it at estate sales and auctions for a fraction of the lumberyard price that strikes me as fair.

[Ron Selzer]

My wife has been introduced to the family auctioneer, Tom Rawn, every time she would take me to pick up something I bought at one of his auctions. Have told her to have him rent the AAA building at the fairgrounds for the auction and to use Campbell Brothers Moving to get it all there. Let Tom handle it all and give her a check.
Ron

[Kent A Bathurst]

Close friend from B-school - his oldest son turned out to have a big interest in ww.. He knows stuff's purpose and worth. LOML will bring him in for evaluation and disposition.

Take it. Sell it. Trash it. Surprise me.

[John C Cox]

Probably, I'd give serious thought to jettisoning the stuff you don't use or like. I think a lot of us accumulate stuff to try out, and it doesn't work out for whatever reason.

I think the next thing is identifying how and where to sell stuff. Some stuff like contractor saws, miter saws, air nailers and such will do pretty well locally. Big stuff like cabinet saws, band saws, dust collectors, jointers and planers do best at equipment auctions. "Enthusiast" or "Collector" stuff like wooden moulding planes, vintage Stanley, antique chisels and planes, high end turning tools, and such simply won't move locally, and really needs to go online to reach the right audience/collector base.

I see this with all sorts of hobby and collector things from trains to model airplanes to guns and hunting stuff. If the family could get it into the right market, it would do well, but so many times, they make some inquiries with pawn shops or the local club, and get rid of some stuff. The bulk just goes into the trash. A guy I worked with passed, and $20,000 worth of figured maple, walnut burl, rosewood, and exotics went into the dumpster along with everything the pawnshop didn't want - which was 90% of his tools. It's pretty sad. Maybe if his family knew who to contact, it could have gone differently.

[Stan Calow]

I had the same experience - stopping at an estate sale where the widow had a whole basement full of expensive tools and wood and did not have a clue what to do with it. So, yes I am thinking about this a lot lately. I dont have any family or friends that are into w'working and dont want to leave it up to family to get rid of stuff. I am going to start sorting through and selling off stuff that I think is worth something. It's not just age and health, but also narrowing down my focus on smaller projects for which I dont need a lot of tools. I think the last thing to go will be my lathe and turning tools.

[Larry Frank]

I have started to sell some of my tools and will be doing more in the future. There are a few that will go to my son....really anything that he wants. I am not doing any large projects anymore and will.keep a core of smaller tools.

[stephen thomas]

Brzostek Auction Service is the best in these parts

Bernie covers most of central NY top to near bottom and well into the Adirondacks.
I scored 5 more Disston 2 man chainsaws up there at one of his auctions just a few years ago.
Have done very well at his auctions over the decades.

My wife even bought the 1927 Brunswick 9' pool table at one of his auctions in Syracuse that is the current source of my travails as i had to restore the table, structurally adapt the house extensively to support it, and now am working toward finishing the room itself.

Oh, yeah - this is about de-accessioning.

In some versions of the story or the grand universe plan it would seem sort of fair if Bernie got to sell all this stuff again.
OTOH, he is no longer as young as we used to be either.

The biggest factor i face is great machines for woodworking, that not even woodworkers want.
How often has a tenoner been the subject of posts on SMC?
Greenlee 228 Mortiser - autofeed only, rated to take up to 1-1/4" HC's.
Mattison stroke sander. (Originally automatic)
Vertical automatic beam saw - stack cut up to 4 sheets of 3/4" ply, strokes 9'+
Advance (brand) DS shaper the cool "high speed" one with massive flywheel, clutches, and cone drive.
Diehl lumber jointer with freshly overhauled chain.
Metal workers might save the Whitcomb-Blaisdell planer rated 6' capacity/actual stroke close to 7' - its small enough to move and fit in a small shop or even garage.
4' x 4' x 8' oven???
Some of the other "normal" mostly industrial machines & metal working machines, especially tooling, might bring a few $.

As others have said, though, at least for now, these are both my play toys and essential work machines if i stopped working on the house and started doing any commercial jobs again.
Hopefully will have a few years to decide yet.

[Bill Dufour]

Before my Mom died I contacted the local railroad live steam club about donating some of his big machines. They were positive but non committal. When mom died my brother called and they sent some guys and a truck to haul off his milling machine, shaper and a partly built locomotive with blueprints. Brother keep his lathe and drill press/ grinder etc.
It would have upset my mom to give away those tools while she was alive. I think he bought them before they were married. She was not allowed into his little house /workshop in a backyard until after they were married. He said he could sit at the table and eat dinner while he ran his lathe.
BilLD

[Bill George]

Hear you about down sizing its kind of an ongoing project. When I am done with it all, Kids get first pick of they want and they can sell the rest. Same with the guns, they can pick one each, my wife knows what gun shop I trust to sell. Please don’t leave it to your wife with everything else she will need to do. Its really not fair.

[Dan Hunkele]

I told my son to hire an auctioneer. I feel that would bring the best case scenario to the table. Get rid of the tools for a fair price without the hassle of individual sales.