Sound familiar?
A lifetime in the shop, and no plan for it
- You often wonder what’s going to happen to all your tools, and you haven’t figured it out yet.
- Your kids say “Wow, cool, Dad. But what are you going to do with all this stuff?”
- Your wife has no idea what any of it is worth, and she’d back a trailer up to the garage.
- You’ve stood at enough estate sales to see it: $20 for a tool a man paid $250 for.
- You don’t want your treasures to become her burden, or end up in a roll-off.
That isn’t a failing. Nobody ever showed you how to decide it, one shelf at a time.
What you were told, and what works instead
The kids will sort it out.
They take what fits in a trunk, works the day they get it and has a story. Ask them first, then plan the rest. p. 22
I’ll be dead, it won’t matter.
It mattered to you. One line she can follow helps her more than any one tool. p. 17
Call an estate sale company, they handle everything.
They commonly take 30-40% plus fees. Name your own buyers now, and decide whole lot or piece by piece. p. 60
My wife will know what to do.
To her a lathe is a very heavy table. One page tells her who to call and the 3 things to keep from a quick sale. p. 15
My buddies will give her a fair price.
The first month waits: for 30 days she signs nothing and lets no one take anything. p. 55
The math
What she keeps on every $1,000
Nobody decided: one company clears the shop
- Estate sale company commission30-40%
- Plus their feesextra
Your plan says who to call for what
- Tools and collections to a specialist auctionabout 20%
- Guns at auction, seller’s premium12-15%
On every $1,000 of your shop, that’s
$100 to $200 more
On every $10,000, that’s $1,000 to $2,000 more for her, and her say over who buys it. The book is $27, once.
From the commissions sellers commonly report (October 2026), in the book’s quick reference on page 88. Each company sets its own rate; ask for it in writing. Results differ.
Real pages from the book
The pages you’ll fill in
What’s inside
Who Gets the Wrench? is the plan: 11 steps and a fill-in page for every tool, car and collection, done one evening at a time.
| # | Step | Page |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your treasures, their burden. What an undecided shop leaves your wife, and your first object page in 30 minutes. | 11 |
| 2 | Why the kids say no, and what they will keep. Why the kids say no, what they will keep, and the one question that ends the guessing. | 19 |
| 3 | Four piles: keep, give, sell, let go. Keep, give, sell, let go: one shelf at a time, just-in-case pile included. | 26 |
| 4 | Sell now or keep to the end? The honest trade-off. What selling now gives and costs, keeping it to the end, and the unfinished project. | 33 |
| 5 | The right hands. Sons, daughters, grandsons, and the right hands outside the family. | 40 |
| 6 | Tag and tell. A tag on every thing worth one, and a story card so they know what it meant. | 47 |
| 7 | Keep the vultures out. Who to keep away, why the first month waits, and two prices for every thing. | 52 |
| 8 | Who to call. What the commissions run, the buyers you name now, whole lot or piece by piece. | 59 |
| 9 | Guns: the first week. Your guns: the first week for your family, one sheet per gun, questions for a lawyer. | 66 |
| 10 | Do it together while you’re here. The walk-through, the phone video and the letter, done together while you’re here. | 73 |
| 11 | Put it in one place. The One-Page Plan for your wife, the binder, and where she finds it. | 80 |
A few things you’ll find
- The man with a trailer who’ll “take that old stuff off your hands”, and what to write down about himp. 53
- Two prices for every thing, so nobody gets $20 for a tool you paid $250 forp. 57
- The car on stands that’s been “next winter” for years: finish, sell or hand offp. 38
- No kids, or only daughters: where the shop goes instead of the roll-offp. 45
- The coffee cans of bolts nobody will want, and what to do with themp. 31
- One plain question that ends the guessing about who wants whatp. 24
- Your voice on a phone video, worth more to them than the thing itselfp. 76
- A thin binder for each car, so the title isn’t somewhere only you rememberp. 84
At the back: the quick reference (commissions, the fixed rules, who handles what), the object pages for 9 kinds of things, story cards, the first-month rules, the call list, the walk-through and the One-Page Plan for My Wife, all ready to print.
Why I wrote it
A note taped inside the lid
I’m Hank. I’ve spent fifty-odd years as a mechanic and a machinist, around engines, lathes and other men’s shops. A shop is easy to fill and hard to empty.
I found that out young, clearing my father’s shop. There was no list and no one to ask. I stood there with a box and a roll of tape and guessed at every drawer. Some of what I threw out I still miss.
One thing I got right. His wooden machinist’s chest sits on my bench today, with a note in his handwriting taped inside the lid. It’s the only part of that shop that told me what he meant, and it’s why this book has story cards.
Since then I’ve stood at more estate sales than I can count and watched good tools go for pennies on the dollar. So I’m sorting my own shop now, and I wrote down what works. Eleven steps. You need a pen, a few boxes and a month.
Hank
Who it’s for, and who it isn’t
It’s for you if
- You’ve got a garage or shop full of tools, cars, guns or collections, and no plan for it yet.
- Your kids are not into it, and you’d rather pick who gets it than leave it to chance.
- You don’t want your wife left guessing, or taking a lowball offer in the first week.
- You’re the wife, son or daughter who wants to sit down with him and get it decided.
It’s not for you if
- You want a will or legal advice. This is the plan; a lawyer makes it stick.
- You want someone to tell you what your things are worth. The book shows you how to find your own two prices; it doesn’t appraise.
It takes a month, not a weekend
Eleven steps, one a week or one an evening. Every step ends with a page done, so you can stop and pick it up again.
Get Who Gets the Wrench?
Who Gets the Wrench?
- The 11 steps in plain words, each ending with a page done, so you see the shop get smaller
- 32 short entries: what you’ll find, what to do, what men miss, what goes wrong, when to call a professional
- The One-Page Plan for My Wife, with mine filled in, so she knows who to call and the 3 things to keep from a quick sale
- Object pages for 9 kinds of things, hand tools to guns, coins and records, each with a fair price and a quick-sale price
- Story cards, so they know what each tool meant, not just what it is
- The first-month rules and the commissions side by side, so nobody gets her for pennies on the dollar
- Guns, the first week: what to lock up, what to write down, and the questions for a lawyer in your state
- PDF and EPUB, every page printable at home
🔒 Secure checkout by Gumroad · Card · Apple Pay · Google Pay · PayPal
Right after you pay, the download page opens and the link comes by email. Start on page 17: 30 minutes, and your first object page is filled in.
The Handshake Guarantee
Use it for 30 days. If it doesn’t help you decide who gets what, send one email and you get your money back. No hard feelings, and you keep the book.
Questions men ask
Do I need to be good with computers?
No. Open it once and print the pages, or have a print shop do it. After that it’s a pen and a binder.
I have no kids. Is it for me?
Yes. Step 5 has a part for men with no kids, or only daughters: young tradesmen, clubs, school shop classes and museums.
My kids say they want everything. Do I still need it?
Then you’re ahead. Ask them which things, write it on the Who wants what page, and give first pick in order, 30 days each, so nobody fights later.
Will it tell me what my tools are worth?
No. It shows you how to find your own two prices, a fair price and a quick-sale price, from sold listings, a dealer or a club member.
Is this a will?
No. The pages record what you want. A will makes it stick, and the book tells you what to take to your lawyer.
What about my guns?
Step 9 covers the first week for your family, one sheet per gun, and the questions to ask a lawyer in your state. I’m not a lawyer, so the book doesn’t guess at the law.
How long does it take?
One step a week, or one an evening if you’re in a hurry. Every step ends with a page done.
Why is there a clock on the price?
The $27 launch price holds for 90 minutes from your first visit. After that the book is $37. Same book either way.
One shelf tonight. One page for her by the end of the month.
11 steps, a page done at the end of each, and your things go where you picked.
Decide it while it’s still yours to decide.
P.S. Your things will go to someone. The only question is whether you pick who. It’s $27 today, and if it doesn’t help, one email gets your money back.