Mattel Power Shop

[LCHIEN]

Hey, did any of you guys have this toy from about 1965?
Combo drill press, lathe, sander and jig saw. Kind of a junior Shopsmith?

http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/PowerShop.html

I actually still have one from back then...
was mine when I was a kid - didn't make too much with it and it did not inspire me to woodworking. I remember thinking it was kind of cheesy.
But I guess it was a prized toy of the day. There was a 1978 reincarnation of the same name but it was really bad- as one review said it was politically correct and you couldn't hurt yourself with it. There was a kind of pump handle instead of an AC motor like the 1965 version.

I checked eBay and they are not going for very much. I was surprised. Like 2 bids for 5 and 6 bucks on five current auctions. Maybe there's a lot of them around still. Shipping's high...

[Daryl]

I had a Handy Andy tool kit, in a blue or green metal case. I remember cutting my hand with the saw and the hammer broke when I tried breaking a concrete block. When Dad passed about fifteen years ago he had one of the screwdrivers in his tool chest and I forgot to take it out and keep.

[crokett]

When I was a kid I played with the metal erector sets. I had enough pieces that the boxes filled the floor of my closet. I also had several motors, pulleys, etc so I could build working cars, cranes, etc.

[cabinetman]

When I was a kid I played with the metal erector sets. I had enough pieces that the boxes filled the floor of my closet. I also had several motors, pulleys, etc so I could build working cars, cranes, etc.

I had one of those too. I also had a building block set that I can't remember the name of. It consisted of small cement blocks all white plastic, different window and door choices, and different materials for siding and roofs. I also had the Lincoln Logs".

[Richard in Smithville]

When I was a kid I played with the metal erector sets. I had enough pieces that the boxes filled the floor of my closet. I also had several motors, pulleys, etc so I could build working cars, cranes, etc.

Davey, was that a Meccano set? I had one of those when I was a kid. Who am I kidding; I still have it .

[ironhat]

Let's see, I still have one of the 60's vintage Erector sets from my youth - hard to part with because I played with it so much. It sure takes a lot more patience and a different way of thinking than Legos, referring to the skeletonized structures of the Erector vs the solid construction of the later. I also still have remnants of a carpenters toolbox but not all of the tools. I'll try to remember to post a pic of that. You don't see that sort of set anymore. Heck, you could put out an eye with the real, metal screwdrives and the potentially lethal corner on the framing square. We're so darn protected anymore... enough of that. I guess I've always loved tools and working with my hands.

[LCHIEN]

Yes, I have two Erector sets on the shelf above the Power Shop.
I also had many Lego sets, the interlocking blocks from Sweden. They are still very popular. My kids played with mine.

And Lincoln logs and Tinkertoys but I don't think I have those anymore.

[LinuxRandal]

Erector sets, lego's (apollo moon landing was my first set), putt-putts (anyone know what these are?), the usual plasitc cowboys and indians, etc......

Was of the generation that we were given those plastic saws, but they bought things like a smaller hammer, and a coping saw. My father still has his coping saw and block plane from some toy kit he got in the early 50's. Most of it is gone though after all the brothers and sisters. That (basically a Stanley handyman) plane is SOOOOO much better then the Buck Brothers that he thought he was getting a bargain on ($2) from our local junk store (he bought me one to).

[eddy merckx]

I had a Handy Andy tool kit, in a blue or green metal case. I remember cutting my hand with the saw and the hammer broke when I tried breaking a concrete block

By brother and I were given Handy Andy tool kits for Christmas in about '67. We immediately used the hand saws to cut limbs off the fruit trees in the back yard. I remember it being a lot of effort. I also remember the look on my Mom's face when we showed her our handywork.

Eddy

[LCHIEN]

By brother and I were given Handy Andy tool kits for Christmas in about '67. We immediately used the hand saws to cut limbs off the fruit trees in the back yard. I remember it being a lot of effort. I also remember the look on my Mom's face when we showed her our handywork.

Eddy

Cut off limbs = nobody
Cut down whole tree = George Washington AKA Father of our country.

Clearly you did not go far enough.

[JR]

Yes, I have two Erector sets on the shelf above the Power Shop.

Having a little trouble letting go, are we, Loring?

[Hoakie]

I had the '78 version. I was eight and definitely didn't "get it". I cut some balsa and sanded some then I think my older brother tried to plane my finger. Great Times . We just cleaned out my parents old house a few years back. I know they didn't get rid of much but I never "saw" it so it probably was broke and was tossed early on. Thanks for the memory

[cgallery]

Having a little trouble letting go, are we, Loring?

I wish I still had my Legos and Erector Sets. All I've got for my future grandchildren is books from my childhood.

[Mrs. Wallnut]

Having a little trouble letting go, are we, Loring?

Heck I think Mark has an erector set out in the shop somewhere that his mother found in her house a few years ago. It was something that he played with as a kid.

[dkerfoot]

Lego is actually a Danish company, not Swedish.

I will never forget the sound of the little erector set nuts and bolt in the vacuum.