Homelite chain saw with bowbar

  The idea was less pinching of the bar, but it doesn't seem safety was much of a factor. 

 History of bow saws here with safety notes, scroll down.

Glider issues

Long after the Wright brothers achieved powered flight in 1903, they continued playing with gliders. Here in a 1911 test, things get a bit out of hand with a gust of wind. No issues though, the next day they achieved a 9 min 45 second flight, a record that lasted 10 years.

 

Fiat Spyder by Pininfarina

  Nice little car, designed by Pininfarina in 1966, who after Fiat discontinued it in 1982, took up manufacturing it under their own name.  Pininfarina had always produced the bodies which were shipped to Fiat for completion.

  In 1982 the company took the whole assembly in-house and sold them as a Pininfarina Azzurra for the North American market and Pininfarina Spidereuropa for the European market. 

  The very fine print in the top corner of the page credits the turbocharger setup to Legend Industries of New York. That must have only been for the American market.

Monday Mystery, casting number

  One of the good thing about old cast iron is that it seems like every time someone made a casting they used it as an excuse to cover it in text, so we can frequently identify patent dates as well as long-gone foundries and manufacturers. Not exactly the case here but the patternmaker did do a nice raised panel so this ESH-010 number remains clearly marked.  

  I found this while scouting for firewood candidates. I was considering a clump of deteriorating older soft maple trees growing on a rock outcropping in the woods. One tree had broken off at the roots and in among the rocks and rotting roots was this foot-long chunk of iron.  What was it doing there? That outcropping is next to a bit of valley that could possibly have been cleared as a pasture or field in the 19th century so is it a piece of farm machinery? It does vaguely resemble a ploughshare. But that region of Ontario also experienced a minor mica mining industry around the turn of the last century so maybe it's related to that.   

  Anyways, I can't quite get myself to scrap/recycle it just yet.

Taft-Peirce gauge

   This would probably be an adjustable go no-go gauge made for some specific job in a production environment. Taft-Peirce started out making sewing machines in 1875 but as the market became too competitive they moved into making special machinery, jigs and gauges on contract to other manufacturers. The company closed in 1995.

 History at Vintagemachinery.org

 

Sidecar Sunday

1963 Thunderbird

This is a nice rare piece, a friction-powered tin toy made in China back in the eighties.

 

Mk 23 practice bomb

Interesting that these WW2-era things still appear in antique shops.      These practice bombs were made of cast iron and were used for low altitude bombing practice. There was a special charge resembling a shotgun shell that went off when it hit the ground, making a small fireworks explosion. 

More here.

 

Williams knurling tool holder

Vintage machinery

The Splendid Book for Boys

   Jet fighter, aircraft carriers, rockets! What more could a boy desire? This classic British boys' adventure publication,  a staple for young readers during the 1940s and 50s, possibly later? seems to have been available in both magazine and hardcover versions each offering exciting short stories of adventure. Lots of copies available, not so much history online.