#33 5000 Old Tools & Still Collecting

Bolt Tool Museum
End of Safford Street between Oak & Pine Streets





Opened in spring of 2006, this museum is the fulfillment of one man's dream. Bud Bolt started collecting in 1957 as a way to get shop students to be more attentive. His idea was to show the students the difference between the unweildly old tools their grandfathers might have used and the modern ones. The boys did start paying more attention, and it also sparked, in Bud, a fascination for old tools that continues today.

All of the tools on display were manufactured during or prior to WWII. They include adjustable wrenches that measure from a small pair about four inches long to a giant 12-foot industrial wrench, and a hand-forged set of sockets made by a blacksmith and discovered by Bud in a junk store in Kalispell, Montana.

The museum is open from 11:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Tuesdays through Sundays, and you'll find it fascinating to listen to the stories that make the tools almost come alive!