Friday, March 27, 2026

How to make a lathe

 We were talking about the proliferation of lathe manufacturers at the turn of the last century, this Lindsay books reprint of a 1920 South Bend booklet shows how prevalent machine tools were in society.       This is an instruction book to build your own lathe at the school shop. Comprehensive instructions, full drawings and the cheater page at the end, if you can't cast these parts yourself, your implied "substandard" school can't do the process (ok, I exaggerate), South Bend can supply the rough cast parts you need.

 Lindsay books used to supply reprints of long gone technical books, he closed the business in 2012.




 




Bugatti 35C


 1928 Bugatti 35C, known as ‘Genie, from the Alan Haworth collection.
   The car was sold to John Bentley in 1989 and as of 2019 is owned by collector Peter Rae who has ensured its safe keeping and in as near original condition as essential maintenance allows amid its utterly authentic originality. GNE’s current value must be heading towards £5 million.  Ownership history from Porschecarhistory.

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Save wheat, save meat


  I've read lots about the severe hardship experienced by England after WW2, export or die, gas rations etc., but wasn't aware there was a similar situation on this side of the Atlantic. These posters from 1947 promote the American voluntary food conservation campaign aimed at preventing famine in post-WWII Europe and curbing inflation. Introduced by President Truman, the campaign encouraged citizens to help feed a devastated world while stabilizing the economy. 




 

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Arnstrong Siddeley service card, 1927


 A handy chart for the home garage. If I read the chart correctly, the driver did 15,760 miles that year with only a speedo cable failure.

Motorcyclist magazine Feb 1943


Tough publishing a motorcycle magazine during wartime, just 16 pages. Two paid ads, one is for war bonds. A few classified ads, including one for a dealership closing down for the duration. Hang in there,..




 

Monday, March 23, 2026

Minidrill

   Found in a 1965 British motorcycle magazine, this seems like a variation of the Dremel. The fact that it's being sold by a mail order company probably indicates it was a short-lived product.

 

Fiat Dino V6 section view


Nicely done section view of a Fiat DOHC V6, a detuned Ferrari engine. The signature seems to read G. Bettl, no luck on that...