I Love Tools

[Rusty Heap]

3 things I've always wanted to learn. call me old school tools.


1) how to operate my dads slide rule.
2) how to fight in a dual, with a foil, ala fencing like Robin Hood.
3) how to operate and navigate a sailboat with a sextant.


I even signed up for a couple of Fencing classes, but boohiss they were cancelled.

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

2) how to fight in a dual, with a foil, ala fencing like Robin Hood.

I even signed up for a couple of Fencing classes, but boohiss they were cancelled.

That's uh...not the "tool" that we are talking about here.

[MBAtarga]

Originally Posted by regency

1973 911T MFI Coupe, Aubergine

Steve

Did you make that yourself? It has a strong resemblance to mine!

[Jon B]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

things I've always wanted to learn... how to operate my dads slide rule.

Thanks for not saying "my grandpa's slide rule"...

Many of us went through school with slide rules.
If there isn't one already, maybe worth an OT thread of it's own.

Slide rule - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[johnco]

some of my older tools. I've got sooo many tools

[URY914]

How about my grandfather's 1919 edition of Machinery's Handbook....

(larger than life size photo)

[Baz]

I dropped some produce off at Mom's yesterday and she gave me dad's slide rule.

It's a Lawrence (made in Peru Indiana).

Still in it's original case.

I have my own which I used in college - a long time ago....

[petrolhead611]

Bet most of you have never seen one of these Baty micrometers, used for measuring the thickness of cloth or leather. Lift up against spring pressure one jaw using the chrome handle, slip the cloth into place and release the handle which goes down very slowly so as not to squash the fabric.
Sorry about photo quality taken with my phone.

[S hammer]

bought this a few months ago



along with a 1950`s Wilton vise, an early 40`s/50`s Reed vise, & vintage VW engine stand and yoke

[daepp]

I got to examine these yesterday - any idea what these are for?

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by nocarrier

My Level.

what do you do with a master machinist's level? I've got one in my shop that I have very little use for.
.0005" per foot, Just letting the sun hit one side of that thing can throw it out of calibration for hours.
I've used one where the umbrella was too pourus and it let infrared light through and screwed up the calibration.

Had to wear gloves too to keep your hands from warming it up, and store at 70 degrees.

[Jim2]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

what do you do with a master machinist's level? I've got one in my shop that I have very little use for.
.0005" per foot, Just letting the sun hit one side of that thing can throw it out of calibration for hours.
I've used one where the umbrella was too pourus and it let infrared light through and screwed up the calibration.

Had to wear gloves too to keep your hands from warming it up, and store at 70 degrees.

Level a lathe bed, one end vs the other - remove twist.

[wdfifteen]

I came across some old columns I wrote a long time ago. Here's part of one I thought would fit with the "tools" thread.

The other day I was visiting my neighbor James. I was out helping him work on his Farmall “Ol’ Smokey” and needed pliers, so I went into his shop to get them. When I walked in there, I couldn’t believe it. He had all his tools hung up on a board with a little sil¬houette of each wrench and hammer showing where it went! His shop looked like a Snap-On ad.
This was a different sight that I was used to seeing in Jame’s garage. I usually had to stand under a flickering neon bulb and dig through a pile junk to find anything that looked like a usable tool. The guy had turned over a new leaf—heck, a whole compost pile! The wrenches gleamed and the screw¬drivers were all lined up on the wall like nobody ever used them. I grabbed the pliers and went back out to the tractor, kind of disgusted, and I said, “James, it’s no wonder you have so much trouble keeping Ol’ Smokey run¬ning. How can you expect to get any fixin’ done if you spend all your shop time waxing your wrenches? And what’s with keeping them all in the shop up on that board, anyhow?”
Well, he mumbled something about being organized, saving time, efficiency, and some other nonsense that didn’t sound like the James I knew at all. He must have gotten ahold of a book. I cut him right off and I said, “James - you want efficiency, you gotta do what I do. Whenever you finish with a tool, just leave it right there where you used it, ‘cause that’s where the tractor broke down in the first place. I’m not saying it’s going to break down in that exact spot again, but it’s a darn sight more likely than it breaking down in the garage next to them nice shiny wrenches. When was the last time O1’ Smokey broke down in the garage anyhow?”
Now, I thought I had gone too far then, because Ol’ Smokey’s probably the only tractor I know of that’s capable of throwing a rod while sitting in the shop getting his battery charged.
James doesn’t seem to appreciate my laissez-faire attitude toward tool storage any more than my wife does. She doesn’t like to touch my used work clothes any more than she has to, so pocket-sized tools tend to get into the washing machine now and then. They make one heck of a racket. Sounds like the whole washer’s going to fly apart. Naturally, she’ll yell at me that the washing machine is about to fly apart and I have to get off the sofa and do something. Now this is where my true genius comes into play. I tell her she’s done an amazing job of diagnosing the problem and I’ll see if there’s any chance of saving it, but I’ll need a beer, ham sandwich, and about an hour of complete privacy so I can concentrate. About an hour later I come out of the laundry room well rested, with my lost pliers back in my pocket where they belong, and my wife thinking I’m a genius. The only problem I’ve run into is sometimes I get a crick in my neck from sleeping in front of the dryer.