Grandad's Tool chest

Recently (after much nagging) my dad gave me his father's tool chest. This now sits in pride of place at the centre of my workshop (garage) and is a regular reminder of one of my woodworking heroes, Stanley Heath. I think I mentioned my maternal grandad, Arthur Banham, in a previous post. Arthur was a woodworker by trade, but Stanley was very much a shed woodworker and though I aspire to be more, I guess that is what I can relate to most. I remember a few things that Stanley made; a card table, a bird feeding table and a toy castle that he built for my nephew (his first grandchild). I've also seen photographs of other things like a toy garage and a doll's cot. My Dad tells me that he would see something in a shop and then go home, go to his shed and a few hours later he would emerge with his interpretation of what he'd seen. Aside from the skill involved that's an attitude I really admire and try to emulate.

Unfortunately the tools that came with it weren't really up to much. there weren't many of his original tools and those that had belonged to Stanley had seen better days. It's interesting though to look at the different slots and spaces and try to work out what once went where (say that ten times as fast as you can), because of my own interest in woodworking it gives me a great sense of connection to him. I wish that I could talk to him and ask about it, but I guess this is the closest I can get.