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...


 

Friday, October 9, 2026

Fashion Friday. Polyester leisure suits anyone?

Dow Chemical Company 1958

 

Remember the Maine!


 “Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!” was the American rallying cry used to push the United States into declaring war against Spain in 1898. Wikipedia

Naval Institute

Thursday, October 8, 2026

Chevy Stepside


 Nice sporty vehicle from 1976, get it with the 350 4 barrel, I think.. These days this generation is known as the squarebody, but in the seventies, GM called this the "Rounded-Line" generation due to rounded windshields and door frames. That was before the Audi 5000.

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

Ingenuity at work


This is a Canadian-made Connor wringer washer, popular in the 1940s and 50s, outfitted with a smaller tub and a wooden paddle arrangement to churn butter. Anything to reduce the workload of the farm wife!