Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Today's big job


 Admittedly not a good photo, but you get the idea. A  full size Excello Bridgeport-type lathe has a new home. Its too heavy to lift with the tractor bucket but we did get it out and up, on and off the trailer and into its new home. 

  I clearly would have to work on my camera skills if I wanted to start a Youtube channel.

We used to make things in this country #380; Hornet chainsaw


 Here we have a chain saw from the late 1940s made in Guelph, Ontario. This saw had a two stroke engine that used a float type carb. The problem with a float-type carb is that it only works in one orientation. In order to make a horizontal cut, some means of feeding the engine had to be devised. The Hornet's solution was a longitudinal crankshaft with the shaft out the front. A right angle gear mechanism allowed the blade to rotate 90 degrees while the power head stayed in place. That's one way of doing it!

  Hornet Industries was started by a John J Smith after WW2. The company manufactured one and two man saws. In 1950 the Mall Tool Company bought the company and sold the saws under their own name. In 1958 Remington bought the Mall Tool company, moving chainsaw manufacture to Desa Manufacturing which closed in 2008.




One of my vices is vises, machinist milling vise


No name on this one that I could find...





 

Monday, October 12, 2026

Le Costaud jack


A French-made sturdy (translation of costaud) little jack made to lift heavy furniture, appliances or doors just enough to get rollers or moving pads underneath. 




 

William Hjorth wrench- pliers

 The "Lightning" wrench-pliers by the William Hjorth company.  The company was founded in Jamestown NY in 1902 to made a line of hand tools for plumbing and other trades. They were known for their multi-function tools like this one but also made pipe and adjustable wrenches. The company lasted about 30 years.


 

Safety wire pliers



 Common in aviation and racing where bolts cannot be allowed to come loose. Run your safety wire through the bolt head and nearby tab, grab the two ends with the pliers, pull the center knob back to turn the pliers to make a nice regular twist. No name on them but a couple of decades ago these seemed to show up at surplus stores,  these are first ones I've seen in a while.

 


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Sunday, October 11, 2026

Sidecar Sunday

Seen at the Brooklands Museum. Grubbs "pullman" Tandem with add-on. I can't imagine it handled well. 



 

Saturday, October 10, 2026

What's inside a hand crank phone?


  Giving the hand crank a spin on these phones spun a magneto which sent a pulse down the line to the operators switchboard and alerted her to the incoming call. That grey box in the center may be the magneto, but I don't know what the drycell batteries are for. 




 

Safety first!

 Misplaced apostrophes, but you get the message...