L'Albatros motocyclettes

  Not much information available but they seem to have been in business from only about 1907 till 1912. The single and twin-cylinder engines were sourced from Givaudan.

Morgan maintenance

Remember, safety is overrated...

When pigs fly

  In response to the old adage, 'When pigs fly!"  J.T.C. Moore-Brabazon takes a pig named Icarus II  for a flight on Nov 4 1909. Neither of them seem to be enjoying it.

 

Safari Toronto

 Cars in the 'hood. Here is a Land Cruiser station wagon fully outfitted for the wilds of the urban streets, I expect someone has imported this lovely old truck from parts unknown.  It's a very basic model, there aren't even seatbelts for the bench seats in the back. 

Another job you may not want to do; Making billiard balls

 

Making celluloid billiard balls at the Albany Billiard Ball Co. (late 19th C)

 Previously made from ivory,  celluloid was developed in the 1860s and was the material of choice for billiard balls till the 1980s when phenolics replaced it. I'm curious about that, bakelite were patented in 1909 and no one got around to trying the material for balls for 70 years?

Sidecar Sunday

Basic wooden structure of a 1950s wooden sidecar by Watsonian.

Velocette in 1960

 

Andree basin wrench

datamp.org

We probably all have a cheap chintzy basin wrench that does the job just fine when occasionally needed but doesn't this old Andree wrench just look so much more business-like?

 

Happy Halloween

From Kladderadatsch, 1931.

 Kladderdatsch was a satirical journal published in Germany from 1848 till 1944.

 No idea what the context of this sketch is, but it looks enough like Halloween to use it here.

Westinghouse ultraviolet tubes

 The fluorescent tube lighting system was introduced in 1938 by GE. The next year the 4 foot tube was released, it became the industry standard. Eighty five years later, fluorescent is still spelled incorrectly by about 50% of the population.

  In 1950, Westinghouse introduced this healthy ultraviolet tube to fit the same system. 

Know your twistgrips...

 From top, Amal screw-pull, second- same with air lever, drum type and a rack and pinion design. And yes, this will be on the test...

Below, Honda 90, BMW  

                                              

                             

                            Twistgrip Patent US765138

Planes in formation, Typhoon Mk 1-B

56 Squadron, March 1943

#2 Alligator wrench

Just another alligator wrench, but I don't recognize the logo.

 

Motorcycles Automoto

c.1930, Max Ponty (1904-1972).

https://encycloduvelo.fr/automoto/

 

Horse and buggy cast iron

 Decorative clevis for hitching a horse harness to a wagon.

Coveted jobs of the past

National Geographic Magazine, Dec. 1950

  

Mailman for the lake boats, sounds like a rather nice way to spend a work day.
 

No better name for a motorcycle

  In 1931 bicycle manufacturer P.J. Meijer offered a variety of motorcycle models under the None Better marque, all of which were re-badged British machines from Wolf and Sun. The name was short-lived, a year or two later, they were called New Rapid.

Snatch block evolution

    One of my ongoing projects involves moving furniture-sized rocks with a pulley/cable system. Years ago I acquired a heavy duty (supposedly) military-surplus pulley. It incorporated an ingenious latch system to allow a quick insertion of the cable. Tip the big hook 90 degrees to unlatch a link, drop the cable in and reverse the process to use the system.

 Recently I needed to get a second pulley and ended up on Amazon for the 30 ton snatch block shown here. It does what the previous one did but with a much simpler mechanism, using just three parts (one used twice) and a circlip. I think it's brilliant, but maybe I just impress easily.

 

Lead pipe expander

  Here's a plumbing tool for working with lead pipes, it appears the cone is inserted into one end of a pipe, the handle squeezed to spread the cone to flare the end of the pipe to make an overlapping joint, presumably then soldered up to make a watertight seal. 

Datamp.org

 

Cdn patent

Sidecar Sunday

 Luigi Cavanna setting speed records in 1952 with the streamlined supercharged 250 Moto Guzzi.

We used to make things in this country, #373 "It" Khaki web cleaner

A very specific cleaner. No internet presence that I could find for the It company, presumably long gone.

 

True cigarettes

 Catchy ad from the mid eighties, back when cigarette sponsored race teams, though I don't remember any motorcycle sponsorship by True.

DFI wrench

 I suspect this is an Asian manufacturer but I see nothing online for this wrench.

 

Primitive carburetor controls

  Before "sophisticated" carburetors that mixed fuel and air in proper proportions were developed, it was the job of the rider to keep the balance. In the early part of the last century, that was done using separate levers on the right handlebar for fuel and air.  Probably a point of honour for an experienced rider, measured in fuel mileage and lack of puffs of black smoke but remember, the riders hands were also controlling spark advance as well as the usual clutch (if used) and brake levers.

 

Crosby Laughlin hook

   Just another beautiful object in an antique store, it would be a shame to put this large old hook back into service, put it in a frame and just enjoy the visuals. Not sure how old this is but Crosby and Laughlin started in 1836 and seem to be the industry standard even today. Here is a link to an odd blog entry that reads like AI though it dates back to 2012. Constructionclampsdigest.

Previous post on hooks here

 

Motorcycles on record albums, Society Of Seven

 

Open Up and Live, LP on the UNI label 

Portable bandsaw mill

  Seen along Hwy 138 in Quebec last week, no car in the driveway and a large dog made me decide not to get any closer.

  It's an unusual arrangement, a very large vertical bandsaw, possibly an old industrial unit with elevated table to match the throat height.  I assume it's homemade, built on a heavy truck axle. Quite the machine.

Kawasaki Concours/ Voyager cutaway

 

From 1986. Kawasaki made and sold the Voyager (GTR-1000) unchanged for 20 years. 

Crescent Wrench Patent

datamp.org

 

We used to make things in this country #372 J&J Taylor Safes

   Visiting Quebec City last week, we happened upon this gorgeous old safe at the entrance of the restaurant Alphonse. 

J & J Taylor set up shop near the waterfront in Toronto as a foundry in 1855, making castings of all sizes for machinery and hardware for buildings, boats and safes. They soon were manufacturing complete safes. The safes were fire and theftproof and they pretty much had a monopoly in the business that lasted well into the 20th century. This led to expansions in 1867, 1876 and 1883. By this time the Taylor family had left but the company continued to grow. When the railway arrived in Toronto it routed right past the factory, making shipping more convenient.

In the mid 1950s, they acquired Dominion Locks and  in1959 Taylor Safe was acquired by the Mosler Safe of Hamilton, Ohio.

More information here.