This set of number punches belonged to my grandfather. He was born in a bedouin tent in Ottoman Syria in 1901, and came to the US as an infant around 1902. By all accounts, he had led a full life by the time he adopted my father in 1950. He served as a Marine in WW1, and spent time as a POW in Haiti (then Hispañola) before breaking out of jail and making his way back to Kansas City, arriving home a few weeks after his sweetheart had married someone else; he instead married her younger sister. At the age of 19, he became a Teamster and overland truck driver, eventually becoming the foreman of a trucking company - a job he held for 55 years. Back then, goods were shipped in wooden crates, and these punches were used to categorize and account for them. They are housed in a homemade box and are likely around 90 years old. The “practice” numbers in the right side of the box base were added by yours truly around 1992. I use the punches a lot more than one would think, mostly to order components and, most recently, mark drawer placements. They are in most of the pieces I’ve made, as I use them to mark the interior sides (glue side) of laminations. More than a fail-safe on board order and orientation, I think they’re good luck. . . . . . #handtoolthursday #woodworking #antique #antiquetools #handtool #teamsters #punches (at Shigouri Woodworking)