What kind of antique & vintage stuff do you guys use on the day to day? I am a big antique collector and I love to put old stuff to work. Hanging Christmas lights took a little longer than I expected it to and I ended up having to get on the roof after dark. None of my electric lights would stay put on the pitched roof, so... ... I dragged one of my old kerosene lanterns up there to light the way. Furniture? Tools? Appliances? What kinds of old stuff do yall use in your daily life? Is the old junk really better than the new junk or is it just more fun? I use lots of antiques on the daily, so more to come from me...
Most of my "shop" is comprised of tools of all vintages. Itried to determine theaverage age of everything one time and I think I decided to give up... most of the stuff is at least as old as me.
The newest machine posted, the Allen distributor machine is I think 50s vintage, give or take a few years. The Sunnen bushing grinder dates back to 1928, and came out of a mechanic's shop in my home town. He bought it to honeking pin bushings on Fords. The Delta radial arm drill press, ???, it's probably 1950s. Can't remember the name on the valve spring tester, it's probably 1960s. The Mongomery Wards Powr-something or other, belt sander/grinder is 1940s, early 1950s. The Delta Double Duty wood/metal lathe is pre-war. I have had the distributor machine since 1975 and used to set up distributors for some of the racers in my neck of the woods in the 70s and early 80s. It helpedpay for my racing addiction on the dirt at the Valley. The Sunnen machine I got in the mid 70s, I'm not exactly certain what year. I did use it for the same thing that the original purchaser did: honing king pin bushings for my dirt cars. We were still using old Ford spindles when I raced. The Delta drill press is handy when I need to drill holes (not too large) in something where the hole is more than 7 inches in from an edge, and I want it perpendicular to the material. Haven't used the spring rater other than to check another spring rating device. The Delta Double Duty lathe came out of a textile mill in eastern Massachussetts, owned by my brother's father-in-law. I have never used it for wood, however I use it frequently to make things like threaded bungs, radius rods, and even making a tach drive distributer base for a Vertex magneto. So yeah I still use old stuff and like to do as much as I can myself.
I don’t have a pic handy, but I have an old bench grinder that looks a lot like that last pic. I had bought a brand new China built grinder that didn’t last a year when my Pa in law came up with it somewhere. I had to put a new cord on it, the old one would bite you when you flipped the toggle switch, lol. It had nearly new wheels on it, I’ve since worn them down to the point I need to replace the coarse wheel. I’ve had it probably 10 years or more, still starts and runs just fine.
To deviate from tools a little... My computer desk is this enormous Art Metal brand tanker desk. I got it for $20 at a garage sale... it probably weighs in the order of 400lbs. It pairs nicely with a matching steel office chair from General Fireproofing. Pictured at the antique store I used to work at. We found it while picking. It’s a really comfortable chair with surprisingly good overall support. And now back to tools. I recently picked up this old Workace branded scrollsaw. As far as I can tell, it is a converted line shaft machine from the 20s, sporting an electric motor from the 40s. I have already put it to plenty of use. It’s probably not better than the cheapest scrollsaw on the market today, but it sure is fun to use, and fun to look at. I will get around to welding up a stand for it and moving the motor below it, and probably add a chain guard from a bicycle for the belt.
No! Don't add the belt guard! Live life on the wild side! It keeps you alert! And besides, everyone loves a lert!
Lol. The belt guard is for my own good. The aging motor doesn’t start very well in one phase and I have already fed it a finger by jerking the belt while it was stopped. Hurt like a son of a bitch! I am the reason tools are baby proofed these days.
I hear you on that! There but by the grace of god go I. Somehow 66+ years and I still have all 10 and they still wiggle just right!
I've been looking for one of these for a while. Bandsaws are too expensive, and need constant adjustment to cut true, in my experience. But a good power hacksaw...
hey Dusty do you know the brand on the bench grinder as I have moved one like it all over the US an it doesn't have a tag on it for a brand . w Works like a champ
Craftsman stick welder...my dad bought it new after WW2. I still use it on heavier stuff. Need to restore it...
These are my Grandfathers vintage, well worn, but NOT, junk Klein, lineman's pliers. These are old enough that they were stamped M. Klein & Son's and the man on the telephone pole had a cowboy hat rather than a hard hat. My Grandfather used old style green garden hose for grips on the handles. I still use them.
A couple years ago I got into axes...I have since restored about 30 vintage axes from the early 1900's to the '70's. I use them often as they're always ready to work whereas my chainsaws are not.
So Pete, do you have an old hockey goalie's mask for when you use either the axes or the chainsaws???
Bringing this back up. Been rearranging the garage so I have room to get some old machinery back up and running. I'll get pictures over the weekend and post.
Made some room in the garage today for at least one of the old machines that are begging for attention. I'm thinking that I can set up and fix the boring bar I have. It's got a small engine stand, so I'm thinking that I can put that all together first and then I'll have a place to work on the boring bar. It's going over there where the rolling stairs are.
The Jalopy Journal
