Progress is fine, but it's gone on for too long.
with apologies to Ogden Nash...
Sunday, December 7, 2025
Saturday, December 6, 2025
Clean cut candle wick trimmer
At first I thought this was some specialized medical-type pair of scissors, but they seemed too decorative for that use. Google Lens pointed me in the right direction, it's a candle wick trimmer for all that candle maintenance you've been neglecting...
Friday, December 5, 2025
Slaymaker lock
John Slaymaker started his company in 1888 to make locks for the Pennsylvania railway. In 1898, the company started making steam cars, but Mr Slaymaker soon abandoned the now-named Baldwin Automobile Manufacturing Company venture to return to his locks. With the Pennsylvania Railway connection, I wonder if the Baldwin Locomotive company was somehow involved.
He purchased the T. Slaight lock company in 1904 and that company was renamed the Slaymaker Lock Manufacturing company, until 1917, when W.E. Fraim of the E.T. Fraim lock company bought in changing the nam e to simply Slaymaker Lock Co. In 1921, John Slaymaker exited, prompting yet another name change.
Manufacturing so often seems to be just a game of musical chairs.
So quite likely this lock dates to that 17 year period. And finally, nothing really of note in this cheap lock except the Slaymaker logo.
Thursday, December 4, 2025
One of my vices is vises. Trojan
A sad old neglected and abused vise. According to Garage Journal, Trojan was the economy line for Parker. The ones I see online usually have a cast-in model number.
This one was outside at a local antique market, rusting away with a broken base and seized up, a shame.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Motorcycles on record albums, Living Strings play the Monkees
Miniskirt, a Honda 90 and the Monkees, there's the sixties right there.
"Living Strings" was a RCA Victor-created band for making easy listening cover tunes...
We used to make things in this country #374 DMP Minibikes
Lots of manufacturers were getting involved in the motorized leisure market in the late sixties and early seventies. Delhi Metal Products produced a line of minibikes, this Rupp clone Trail-Champ has full suspension and the inclined Tecumseh motor with torque converter.
Delhi Metal Products was a supplier of fans for furnaces and air handling systems, also antennas and other metal products. The company was bought by a US company General Instrument in 1973 for the antenna business. I suspect that was the end of the minibike production.
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Woodworking Machines in four languages
Here's an interesting idea for a book. Definitely from a different era, it consists of 350 pages of examples of woodworking machines with descriptions and details in four languages, intended to make translations easier for salesmen and others in the industry. Lots of variety of manufacturers, most of the names are new to me.
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| H E Horten, Woodworking Machines in four languages, Holt Publishing, 1968 |
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