Triumph Speed Twin sectioned

Sammy Miller Museum. Amazing place, go visit.

 

First Apple logo

 The creation of the Apple Computer company fell to  the 10% founder Ronald Wayne. His design centered around Issac Newton about to discover the theory of gravity. It's a nice rustic-looking idea but not what Steve Jobs wanted for a forward-looking computer company. It lasted less than a year, Ronald Wayne didn't stay with the company and neither did his logo.

 Rob Janoff, a graphic designer, was hired to design something more modern and the Apple with a bite out of it was created. The initial rainbow pattern was to celebrate the new colour monitor.

Logo history here.

Grinningbirds

 Pacific Southwest Airlines billed themselves as the friendliest airline around and painted smiles on their fleet in the early 1970s. They were also known for the uniforms of their flight attendants which included hot pants. Here a bevy of smiling flight attendants pose with a new Lockheed L1011. Friendly or not, the L1011s were never profitable and were soon grounded . The airline saw a lot of changes as they diversified into unrelated businesses in an attempt to become profitable. By August of 1976, the hot pants were gone too. The airline struggled along and deregulation did them no favors. The airline was sold in 1988 to American Airlines.

Ford Edsel wagon

We can't describe this one as understated.

  Crazy colours, heavy-handed grille and taillights, and woody panels besides. 

 

Treadle metal lathe

This device was on display at Brooklands. The idea of using a foot powered lathe to cut metal doesn't seem practical but they were common before shops became electrified. The pedal mechanism is not a lot different than a treadle sewing machine, though the belt is a lot heavier of course. I also would have expected more of a flywheel-type pulley for more momentum to assist the operator.  Up top, that's a normal metal lathe with probably an 8 or 9" throw and a 3 and a half foot bed so capable of serious sized jobs. No manufacturer's name apparent. It looks like they've set up a shaft 2 feet long and 1 1/2" diameter as a demo piece. Someday I'd like to try one out.

 

8" Adjustable wrench Mfg 1708

Ok, it's made in the USA, marked Mfg 1708 and the logo seems to be P& something? Any guesses who made this one?

 

Big Red miniature jackstands

These were fun, They looked like real jackstands, but tiny. I should have bought a couple...

 

Pathfinder Special

 

Brooklands Museum

Pathfinder Special pedal cars were made in the Austin Motor Company Ltd Junior Car Factory in Bargoed, South Wales and were based on the prewar twin cam Austin 7 racer. About 3000 were produced in 1949-50 before being replaced by a model based on the A40. They bring big money these days.

Sidecar Sunday

Mid Ohio Vintage Days...

 

Checker Car Company 1961

The Checker Marathon was the last model from the company, in production from 1960 to 1982 when the company ceased to sell cars. After that they continued to be a contractor of stamped metal parts to GM and others. The company went bankrupt in 2009.

Burgess Dunne

 Burgess Dunne flying over North island in San Diego in 1914. This is the only picture I've seen of the tailess pusher biplane in flight. Canada purchased one as the military's first aircraft, it didn't have much of a career.

Precooling truck

Refrigerated train cars were still cooled with blocks of ice before the war, this device appears to be nothing more than a mobile hopper of ice with a v8 powered fan.

As seen in London...

Cars in England aren't as small as they used to be but this one is still in a class of its own...

The Modern Motor-Driven Woodworking shop, 1930

This 125 page book by Woodworkers Educational Department (a division of Delta Manufacturing) dates to 1930 and introduces the reader to the world of woodworking with power tools. It's the forerunner of a million woodworking books and seems very advanced for the time, there were still factories running machines with belts and shafts. Many techniques and tips are described along with instructions for operating the various tools. I wonder how many regular guys could afford these sophisticated tools, or even a workshop, 1930 was into the Depression.

New York Central to Chicago

 A New York Central travel poster by Leslie Ragan in 1929. Not a train to be seen, the attraction is the Magnificent Mile but there is smoke in the sky, signifying industry and prosperity.

General Tire Squeegee

 The Squeegee tire was in production for at least a decade, starting about 1939. General Tire started in business in 1915 in Akron, diversified into broadcasting by buying radio stations during the 30s and later rocketry. The tire portion of the business was bought by Continental in 1987.

22 mm wrench

This looks like another specific tool for some machine, similar wrenches on ebay suggest a carriage wrench or a scythe/snath adjustment tool. The logo resembles a Maltese cross. Material might be cast iron.

 How many people (besides me) needed to look up the word "snath"?

 

Railway crossing

    Coal train passing through Osage, West Virginia in 1938. 

Imagine all the issues modern health and safety people would have with the scene...

Buick Skylark, 1953

 Not the usual style of early fifties car ad. Interestingly, the car doesn't seem to be available in the shade of yellow shown, the closest was Osage Cream (below).

Porter Safety Seal

Patented in 1902 and again in 1916, but I could not find those patents, this device seems to be related to putting an anti-tamper seal on a container or door. There is a similar one on ebay, but without description or instructions. Any guesses as to how it might work?

 

Monday mystery, what airplane?

 Can anyone identify this aircraft only by the canopy area?

Another 6 volt spare lightbulb kit

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Sidecar Sunday

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Land Rover Series IIA FC Forward Control

This looks like a good useful utility vehicle, but they sure don't come much homelier.