Yesterday, Benni sent me a message about a new post we might try -- regarding old tools that we may find interesting, useful, and unique.
Thought it was a good idea -- so to expand a bit on Benni's idea -- how about a post where we share a neat old tool from the past, a new tool from around the world, or even a particular tool we have modified or invented to do a job more efficiently?
We all know that many tools for metal-working, mechanics, wood-workers, reelsmiths, rod wrappers, and household chores -- can be useful for our reel work -- or other projects we get into. Most, if not all of you -- are very clever, mechanically inclined, and skilled with many talents. So this should be right up our alleys.
I will start off -- but this isn't about me, or any one of us -- it is to give us new ideas from the old school, new schools, or our workshops -- to share with others.
Here are a couple of old Eifel Geared Pliers that never cease to amaze me. Patented in 1916 -- these were the fore-runner to our modern day adjustable crescent wrenches -- but much more solid, stronger, and built to last. I keep one pair in the mobile work box -- and one in my outer mechanical shop rolling Snap-On Taco Tool Chest.
These never fail to do the job.
Best,
Fred
https://youtu.be/Cy61FRQxwtg
If anybody has a 1929 Baldwin steam locomotive, and is short the wrench that tightens the pitman rod nuts.....I have one :P.
I never slam the door too hard...'cause if it fell on my head, I'm sure it would hurt !
Great job ,,,,,, :D now we got a tool tread ok I did some car interior work and you got to have good shears new and old,,,,,,, ;D
Ball bearings on those ! I've never seen that before ! Must have been a pretty pricey pair of pinkers !! :D
I used to collect 'old tools", but sold most of them , when we moved to the new place....here's one wrench, that I kept, along with a page from an "older" Popular Mechanics magazine:
That's a very cool looking wrench,,,,,,, 8)
Ok my dad got this at a estate sale two gauges and a Robinair recovery and recharging system for $15 and I was gave a tank of r34a freon from kme when they were going out of business,,,,, ;) a little help from friends and family I guess you say,,,,,,, ;D
A/C is a "good thing" !
My dad was a pretty good handyman. Not just a tinkerer. He could fix most anything, and the few things he couldn't fix. he had knowledge enough to know it. His main qualification to do this stuff, besides just the basic knowledge involved, was that he was not intimidated by new problems or new technology. He had, with a partner, a TV repair shop they started a few years after he got out of the Navy after WW II, at a time when TV was pretty new to most people, TV was still a little squirrelly to operate and TVs were expensive enough to warrant repair. When personal computers came out, he dived right in. He liked gadgets--not just Rube Goldberg stuff, but things that actually worked. I almost never tackle a repair job without thinking about him.
Here are a couple of tools I found in his toolbox after he passed away. The first is a "Crick-It". Awfully handy for those hard to reach bolts/nuts that you can get a socket or open end wrench on, but there is minimal clearance to turn the wrench. Squeezing the wrench handle operates a ratchet to speedily turn the nut off or remove the bolt. Reversible too. You could buy them about 35-40 years ago for about $25, so they weren't cheap tools. And, US made. The other item is a "Kant Twist" clamp, a name brand of what is also called a cantilever clamp. I believe you can still buy these for a little under $20 apiece, so they, too, are not cheap. They really grip whatever you want to hold together, and the clamp ends have a little groove for round parts.
Frank
Not exactly a super unique tool, but im in the process of restoring and getting ths antique south bend lathe in order. Its a 1942/3 from the serial number and the stamps on the ways indicate it was used by the navy.
Quote from: wideopenoutdoors on June 30, 2020, 08:14:59 PM
antique south bend lathe
Those have a great reputation. Best of luck moving it.
-steve
Quote from: oc1 on June 30, 2020, 08:24:55 PM
Quote from: wideopenoutdoors on June 30, 2020, 08:14:59 PM
antique south bend lathe
Those have a great reputation. Best of luck moving it.
-steve
Thanks, my father used to move safes at one point, so between the two of us, the tractor, some floor Jack's, and some big oak blocks we got it in the garage!
A Sears Craftsman "electronic handsaw" and a Stanley "handyman"(made in England-!?). What's cool about these? Well made, sturdy tools.
Got the "electronic handsaw" at a yard sale. Don't know the aprox. age, but the spare blades had cardboard sleeves(don't have 'em no more, darn!) with lettering/pictures that smack of the 40's or 50's. Weighs about 10lbs., has a 10ft. cord, only 3 plastic knobs and a plastic rheostat connected to the metal trigger.
The hand-planer was from Uncle Al's estate. All metal and wood. Surprisingly difficult to reassemble after complete disassembly and cleaning, much like some reels can be. I think it's mainly about knowing what each part is supposed to do, and how it's supposed to do it.
Hand planer.
There are people who can date those Stanley planes. It's a classic and has been around forever. Back the adjustment screw out before assembling. Search "Stanley wood plane parts" to get a schematic-like picture.
In our junior high shop class Mr. Festus Smith made everyone become proficient with those. It's really satisfying to use when everything is sharp and adjusted and the wood is cooperating. But, it's like trying to get the stars to align.
-steve
Quote from: oc1 on July 10, 2020, 05:57:14 AM
There are people who can date those Stanley planes. It's a classic and has been around forever. Back the adjustment screw out before assembling. Search "Stanley wood plane parts" to get a schematic-like picture.
In our junior high shop class Mr. Festus Smith made everyone become proficient with those. It's really satisfying to use when everything is sharp and adjusted and the wood is cooperating. But, it's like trying to get the stars to align.
-steve
I've had one of those big, beautiful planes for a long time, and as near as I can recall, I've never successfully used it for anything. I could've used a Mr. Smith in my past.
Frank
When it's working right the shaving come off in long beautiful curls. When it's not working right it just chatters and gouges the wood.
-s
(http://www.raingarden.us/snap/paper.jpg)
-s
Steve you say if the wood is cooperative, that why you work with the grain, & not accross it, cheers Don.
I may have enough plans to qualify as an airfield
cool... are you Amish?
how'd you get to an Alabama island?
horse must be REALLY tired :)
No, I'm not Amish...if I was, these "hand tools" probably wouldn't be so "dusty" , from hanging on the wall, will I use the "power tools " ;D.
Alabama is only a "wintertime abode", the rest of the year, we are in Illinois..........doing yardwork :'(
Quote from: oc1 on July 10, 2020, 05:57:14 AM
There are people who can date those Stanley planes. It's a classic and has been around forever. Back the adjustment screw out before assembling. Search "Stanley wood plane parts" to get a schematic-like picture.
In our junior high shop class Mr. Festus Smith made everyone become proficient with those. It's really satisfying to use when everything is sharp and adjusted and the wood is cooperating. But, it's like trying to get the stars to align.
-steve
Hell, when I started as a finish carpenter a 24" jack plane was main stay for hinging & hanging doors. I didn't step up to the electric Stanley & Porter Cable planers until the early '70s. Believe it or not, I can still remember cutting the fire cuts on ceiling joist with a
rigging ax (https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images2/1/1211/27/vintage-plumb-perma-bond-rigging-axe_1_debc0e7f7a622a088120f2186ea33e52.jpg) after the ceiling joist & rafters were installed. ::) I've still got my old Plumb riggin ax. I use it every now and then, not for fire cuts but for chopping Mulberry saplings out of the fence line. ;)
Looking at Crow's impressive selection I was wondering where he hid what I've always used to call a spokeshave or a drawknife...
There's spoke shave in the third pic, right below the cabinet scraper. I'll try to remember to get a pic of the wall that the drawknives are on , tomorrow. That stuff is all in my "upstairs shop", and with my back screwed up, I'm not getting up there, as often .
The drawknife without handles is one that went through a fire (the outbuilding I was using as a shop, burnt down) , I "re tempered" th blade...but, never have made new handles. The 'curved' , shorter, one....actually called an 'inshave", is one i made, myself, to "scoop out" chair seats. Since we have been "going south" , for our winters, I haven't done very much woodworking, as that was my "wintertime hobby". It looks like, with the Covid, we probably will be stuck here, this winter....so I'll, no doubt, start in , again. Although, I do have a ton of reel projects I want to do, too.
Wow, I've never seen an "inshave" before, didn't even know they existed but thinking about how chairs are made it makes sense. - john
This is one of my favorite tools,,,, ;) don't get to use it unless I'm doing car interior work,,,, :-\ $38 expensive but worth it and fun to use,,,, :D and it's got a cool name "hog pen tool",,,,,,,,, ;D
We have some "regular" hog ring pliers. The rings must be about an inch wide before it is squished together. I don't know why they are regular, but remember seeing huge over-size hog rings in upholstery; like two inches across. We also have "crimp pliers" for little rings about half-inch or less to put wire mesh together. They are shaped just like hog rings but for some reason they call them crimps. Regular hog rings are for piercing the pig's nose. It must be sensitive because it keeps the pig from rooting and making a mess of everything. I guess there must be bull rings too because they can put a ring in a cow's nose. You can lead it with a leash attached to the nose ring. I used to think that was so weird and creepy but now you see people with rings in their nose. I guess you could lead them around if they would sit still long enough to attach a leash.
-s
just need a 2nd pair of hands
Quote from: oc1 on October 22, 2020, 05:26:07 AM
... if they would sit still long enough to attach a leash.
-s
w/ 2nd pair of hands, hold earlobe loops from behind... if alone, put hipster bun in vise
Quote from: Benni3 on October 22, 2020, 04:01:28 AM
This is one of my favorite tools,,,, ;) don't get to use it unless I'm doing car interior work,,,, :-\ $38 expensive but worth it and fun to use,,,, :D and it's got a cool name "hog pen tool",,,,,,,,, ;D
I've got 10 pair of those. We used to use them to connect egg laying chicken cages together when 4 cages connected. We used ferrules where 2 connected. I still use them for multiple tasks like connecting my state required identification tag to my animal traps when fur trapping.
There was a true craftsman here locally when I was a lad, who worked upholstery and redid the seats in my 74 Dodge Charger. Watching him work was amazing. After forming the fabric (my old Dodge had bench seats) he took a handful of rings and tossed them in his mouth. Then as he stretched the fabric around the frame with his left hand he would hold the pliers up to his mouth and spit a hog ring into the jaws that he would immediately clamp around the fabric and frame, and then move onto the next one until he was done. - john
I used to think that was so weird and creepy but now you see people with rings in their nose. I guess you could lead them around if they would sit still long enough to attach a leash.
-s
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I once suggested to my wife that I could cut one side of my wedding ring, get it pierced through my nose, hook a chain to it, and then she lead me around like her subservient prize bull. 😤
QuoteI used to think that was so weird and creepy but now you see people with rings in their nose. I guess you could lead them around if they would sit still long enough to attach a leash.
I've seen a few I would like to
snag with one of these. (https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tvNiJrjo-3c/Vue2YqId-YI/AAAAAAAAAd8/KsNX8Gf5pEw0zUQlNymltzj43a1VhU1mQ/s400/DSC_0056.JPG) :D