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| Press Association. Britain’s Century. War, Conflict and Dissent. Mainstream Publishing, 1999. |
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Gas mask 1915
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
We used to make things in this country. #26: Empire Surgical Supplies, Toronto
I can't remember what this came off of, but at least I saved the badge! I don't know if they were a manufacturer, distributor or retailer. A google search turns up nada. I'm planning to rivet the badge onto the drawer front of an old metal machinist's tool chest. That will be sure to confuse and confound someone years down the road!
Below, a pair of Empire pliers, although no indication on the tool of where they were made. Different script, so unlikely to be the same company. Probably a popular name in pre-Commonwealth days.
Update August 2021, Leslie sent in pictures of a metal Empire medical cabinet that he has on ebay, quite an impressive piece.
The Thud
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| The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, 1971. |
The "Thud" was the workhorse of the American bomber force flying over North Vietnam. For an excellent account of what it was like to fly this animal in combat, read Colonel Jack Broughton's 1969 book, Thud Ridge (Bantam, 1985).
Monday, March 25, 2013
The Mystery of the Low Pipe Stinger
The Suzuki Stinger was produced in two sizes, we got the 125s on this continent and they kept the 90cc version (named the Wolf) for the home market and possibly other markets. The two bikes shared the same zippy scrambler styling and it appeared they shared the same two tank styles and they came in 3 colours. Ok, for a low-selling short-production motorcycle like that, that's all there was to know, right?
Until the internet. One day back in probably the late 90s, a used bike website in NZ showed a picture of a T90 Wolf for sale, old style tank... and low pipes??!
A quick check with my Suzuki friends all came back, "No such thing!" Must be a homemade bodge-job, maybe Yamaha Twinjet pipes... I saved the image and waited.
Some years later- back in the heyday of Ebay, a listing from somewhere in Scandinavia advertised what they said were Stinger mufflers.
Once again a check with friends produced the opinion, not stock, they never came like that. Nothing in the parts book either. More online research- remember, this was still back in the somewhat early days of the internet- produced nothing.
Then in 2008 once again on ebay, someone was selling some older French newspaper-format magazines- and there was the low pipe Stinger. Unfortunately it was a general small-displacement Suzuki article with no mention of the rarity of the pipes at all.
So. It appears that there really was a low pipe version of the Stinger (or Wolf).
But at this point it's like the Yeti or Loch Ness Monster- some tantalizing evidence, some blurry pictures...but someone better produce the actual critter!
2019 update (found online...)
Until the internet. One day back in probably the late 90s, a used bike website in NZ showed a picture of a T90 Wolf for sale, old style tank... and low pipes??!
A quick check with my Suzuki friends all came back, "No such thing!" Must be a homemade bodge-job, maybe Yamaha Twinjet pipes... I saved the image and waited.
Some years later- back in the heyday of Ebay, a listing from somewhere in Scandinavia advertised what they said were Stinger mufflers.
Once again a check with friends produced the opinion, not stock, they never came like that. Nothing in the parts book either. More online research- remember, this was still back in the somewhat early days of the internet- produced nothing.
Then in 2008 once again on ebay, someone was selling some older French newspaper-format magazines- and there was the low pipe Stinger. Unfortunately it was a general small-displacement Suzuki article with no mention of the rarity of the pipes at all.
But at this point it's like the Yeti or Loch Ness Monster- some tantalizing evidence, some blurry pictures...but someone better produce the actual critter!
2019 update (found online...)
France's first tank
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| Ian Hogg. Tanks and Armored Vehicles. Franklin Watts, 1984. |
Although designed in 1916, the St. Chamond, France's first tank, didn't go into combat until May 1917, only to discover that its long overhanging nose became stuck in rough ground.
In the Second World War, the same problem was encountered, only this time with General de Gaulle.
Las-Stik
In my shop I have a handy but very old 4-drawer metal cabinet with very worn decals on each drawer front:
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The decal proclaims: "Ask 'Em To Buy Las-Stik Tube Patch."
The Las-Stik Patch Manufacturing Company was founded in 1915 by Louis Sohngen in Hamilton, Ohio. The company name may have originated with the founders initials and/or may have been intended to boost the company's first product, a tire patch that would "last and stick." (Personally, I think they were aiming for an association with "elastic" since their patches were advertised to stretch with the tube.) Such a product was essential in an age when roads were poor and mined with sharp gravel and old horse-shoe nails, and tires would often get punctured numerous times in the course of a single trip.
Remarkably, the company is still in business out of Dayton, Ohio, having added the "GitUm" brand of automotive wax polishing cloths in the 1950's.
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| Saturday Evening Post, 1924 |
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| Popular Mechanics, May 1923 |
Sunday, March 24, 2013
A Two Stroke I Should Own
A hot-rodded Scott Flying Squirrel found in a 1986 issue of The Classic MotorCycle.
Interesting to read about vintage bikes in an almost vintage magazine. Good to see Classic MotorCycle is still going strong.
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