Progress is fine, but it's gone on for too long.
with apologies to Ogden Nash...
Friday, November 6, 2026
We used to make things in this country,#382 IEL Pioneer chainsaw
Scandinavian American, 1913
S.S. Frederik VIII of the Scandinavian-American Line, originally painted by artist Ferdinand Worms (1859–1939).
OEC Four 1934
A proposed 4 cylinder motorcycle by the Osborne Engineering Company, the prototype was not completed in time for the show. The engine was a narrow angle V4 from the Matchless Silver Hawk. The machine never made it to production as Matchless discontinued the development of the engine.
Thursday, November 5, 2026
General Electric Electronic Toys
Here's a GE Model 186-3 toy record player. It came with a 78 rpm record of nursery rhymes, to match the printed illustrations on the sides. It's made of stamped sheet metal in an unusual teardrop shape, even the tone arm is sheet metal. This was sold in the late 1940s and into the 1950s for around $10, not a cheap toy.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
School projects
This tool was offered at an antique market, it was described as a school project. It's a different type of a project, as the big one (after we made a c clamp) in my high school machine shop was a hammer, examples which still turn up occasionally at used tool stores (two examples below). Then there's an entirely different project in the Duke's 2015 post.
Different times, indeed
This was found in a 1970s fishing industry newsletter which did this as a "retrospective". The caption at the bottom says it all.
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Monday, November 2, 2026
Tailoring shears
Now that's a pair of scissors! Heavy and about a foot long, the handles are beautifully formed to fit the operators right hand.
On the brass medallion is cast, "R. Heinisch Inventor - Newark, N.J." and "Latest Patent 1859". These scissors were manufactured by Rochius/Reuben Heinisch in Newark, New Jersey. The 1859 patent (X8680) describes a refined iteration of his earlier innovative handle designs (pioneered in 1835 and 1839), specifically shaped to prevent hand cramping during heavy-duty tailoring or sail-making work.
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