Shop is all but empty now

Tom Baugues

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Lafayette, Indiana
Kinda sad but I've been helping my father this summer get rid of all his woodworking tools and supplies. His health just will not allow him to continue so he made the decision to get rid of everything. So yard sales and Craigslist ads have done their job and tonight I went up and picked up the last of the paint and cans of stain that he had. Dad really had a lot of stuff and although I got what I could for myself there was just too much for me to take ownership of and it's been kind of sad seeing it sell off for pennies on the dollar. So tonight it really hit me because it was so bare and empty inside. He even has the power shut off to the building so it just had a weird eerie feeling to it. Over the years whenever I would go to my parents house I knew where I could find my dad...out in his shop.
One of the things he had that he was pretty proud of was he had every issue of "WOOD" magazine from about 1987-2010. I brought them home as well and although moisture within the shop over the years has got them smelling kind of "musty" I didn't want to see them just get tossed in the trash. Not quite sure what to do with them. The first one I picked up to look at had articles on cutting boards, turned Christmas ornaments and a very cool "mission style" clock like I've been wanting to make. All that in just the first issue. Oh I'm sure I could probably find the same information online somewhere, but it's just not the same as having it in print (to me at least).

So anyway...been working on finding a place for everything.
 
know what yu mean tom my dad and mom both are doing bad and he doesnt do anything now,, oxygen is all that is keeping him here. to see it daily is not fun..
 
Sorry to hear this Tom it sure is a sad day. I remember how it affected my Dad when same thing happened to him. It sucks.
Just an idea depending on how bad his health is but what my Dad did in his last years was to have a small bag of what i would model tools. He kept them in his room at the old age home. Then he used them to build a model boat which only involved assembly of pieces. The model pieces came from a magazine subscription so it gave him something to do in stages not overwhelming and with a magazine to read.
You might want to look into this as it was quite a clever step down from having a shop. I got him some small plastic clamps from the local dollar store and sent them to him to use. Ver light duty.
Best of luck to your dad Tom. Getting old sucks.

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Sad story indeed. I hope he can get a bit of solace from the fact that his son is also a tinkerer like him.
 
Know how you feel Tom, my dad hasn't done a whole lot of tinkering in the past couple of years, my FIL also mentioned he was done working in his shop, just can't stand up for very long anymore. Have to make some time to go over and help him get things taken out of his shop. Some of the tools I'll buy from him, others I'll sell for him or move to his son's place if he wants them when they get settled again.
 
It does hit us hard when our loved ones are at the end of there run. It also effects us oldsters.
We no longer can do what we love to do and can't figure out why it don't work. Being realistic
it is the way of life we live our best and go the way of our forbearers. It is harder on the survivers.
David
 
A friends grampa pretty much gave up working in the shop, when he cut his fingers off at 95. (made a tourniquet and waited an hour until a family member made their usual stop)
Made me think about what tools I had and used, and how I started out with hand tools, and think eventually may go to being a neander/galoot.
 
Reading this thread reminded me of clearing my father's tools and other stuff out of the garage at my parent's house after he died in 1985. Mom wanted me to take as much as I could along with his old truck, a '62 Chevy. It felt really weird emptying out the garage of his stuff because I knew how much he enjoyed building things. I never spent much time in his shop with him because I lived a few hours away. After moving his stuff to my garage, it was a good feeling to remember seeing him use his tools and show me what he was making. Having his tools took me to another level and I have since upgraded just about everything, but still hold onto several tools as a reminder of his love of woodworking.

Tom, I have a large collection of "Wood Magazine" as well and still get the print version each month. To reduce shelf space and make it easier to search for projects, I bought the back issue DVD a couple of years ago. I know what you mean about having the print version to flip through, but the convenience of the electronic version is something to consider.
 
you guys have no idea how lucky you are to have been able to share a hobby with your father as you got into it more and more, and then share life with your fathers.
I lost my father when I was 21, Id give my right leg to have had another 10 or 15 years with him.
not meant as an insult to anyone, just that everyone with older dads now should be happy at this point in their lives they got to spend all of it with their parents around.(my mother also died young 25 years ago)
 
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