Ducati for sale...

  For sale at the CVMG swap meet.  A mere $4100. Lots of questions. For instance...What model is it? How did something so exotic and expensive end up in this condition?  Why would someone buy it? How negotiable is the price? the list goes on...

 It would certainly make a good subject for a creative writing class.

Sidecar Sunday

 Nimbus with sidecar, seen at the Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group rally.

AJW Super Four

 This unconventional bike was made to chase world speed records. It drew huge crowds when it was show at the Olympia Motorcycle Show in 1928. Despite its straight line performance it was unstable enough that it was not used. More here.

Gray Bonney 3/8 ratchet

 I picked this up today for 75¢. The reversing lever is broken off but it works ok in both directions. Checking Alloy Artifacts, they suggest the ratchet was introduced in 1936 and show a slightly different version with just the Bonney name. Another difference is that this version is assembled with screws opposed to the Bonney's rivets, might be innovation from Gray.

 I might try to renovate the thing just for fun. 

 

Corvette!

Sweet. I'll guess, 1960? 

 

The G man meets C & B Rods

  No relation to me, but Clawson & Bal's business practices led to a 1939 tax lawsuit regarding whether a connecting rod is a taxable item.

 

Bone chisel

  I always get a bit queasy when I find these surgical tools, I would definitely need anesthetics for this one. Nasty. Text stamped in the handle looks like Teur a Paris, Google Translate says Author in Paris but we'll just leave it there. Futuristic (for twenty years ago) Ridgid hammer included for scale.

 

Early farm innovation...

 As Wilbur tested the new machine gun mount on his biplane, it occurred to him that it would make an excellent rowcropping agricultural tool, battling both potato bugs and groundhogs.   

This picture was taken while I was flipping through a book at an antique market, so I don't know what's actually going on.

Google Lens tells me this is a Blériot XI- the first plane across the English Channel, it it is obviously not.

One of my vices is vises; Lakeside

  Lakeside was a brand name that Montgomery Ward used for their tools, a little googling shows people certain that they were all American-made but this 3" one comes from Belgium! Too bad the swivel base is missing, it looks like a nice home workshop vise.

 

Trackmaster Triumph

 Just a nice side view of a cool flattracker. But what's with the front brake?

Did I need this?

Suddenly I have acquired a 1937 Allis Chalmers B. Not completely stock but very nice. How could someone say no to this?

 

Henley Filson wrench

According to this Garage Journal thread, the Henley Filson Company was located in North Vernon, Indiana where they were listed as a maker of dies and forgings. The tools appear with different labelling, this earlier post shows a very similar wrench with just the Filson name. Other than the GJ thread there is not much info online about the company or products.

 

Magazines come and go... Superbike Illustrated

 A nice high quality glossy magazine from 1986, covering a range of of notable motorcycles, modern and historical, even a bicycle! It seems to have been shortlived, this is Volume 1 Number 2 and is the only issue appearing online in 2026. I don't recognize any of the staff names. R.I.P.

Monday Mystery

I can't even guess. No name, no hints whatsoever.

 

Stuka engine installation

 The engine is a Junkers Jumo 211 inverted V12 putting out 1000-1400 hp depending on the model. 

Landmarkscout

Sidecar Sunday

 The Hawker motorcycle racing team at Brooklands circuit. AI tells me  that's Leslie “Red” Parkhurst with the passenger named for once,  Fred Ludlow.

Used and abused...

 Here's an old "multitool", a combination monkey wrench and hammer. Looks like the outer jaw is adjusted by rotating the handle. No manufacturer's name that I could find but it looks like it has seen a lot of use.

 

Driving test

  With the blast furnaces in Gary, Indiana in the background,  this ore carrying laker is making use of the turning basin, no helpful tugs present. I think this might be a defining moment for any aspiring captain. 

Vacuum power brakes

 And there you have it. Modern power brakes, pretty much all there by 1936. Some car manufacturers were still deciding whether brakes were really required on all four wheels...

One of my vices is vises, Rockford

That is a large heavy 4 inch vise. Once again, very little history on the company that I can find. 

 

1930s Wyandotte pressed steel Streamlined Speedster (updated)

Gorgeous! Another toy I would have appreciated less as a kid.

 Update; Claus sends these images of his car/trailer combination. I agree with MARSHALL in the comments, this needs to be a full scale replica.

MGB GT

Probably 1973. In factory correct Harvest Gold, looks like sandy brown to me. 

 

Update; Derek sends some images of the original harvest gold touch up paint from Unipart, the spare parts organization of British Leyland.

Know your roller bearings

I'd suggest that the cage should have been illustrated as a separate part. I do approve of the handlettering...

Big casting

Robert Gordon, Patrick Mahone, The Texture of Industry, Oxford Press 1994

  In this photo foundry workers pose with a mine hoist sheave wheel they have just cast in a sand mold. The wheel would have been cast flat and has been stood up with the wooden jib crane on the left. It tuns out the foundry is the Knight foundry in Sutter Creek, California which amazingly is still operating, the last water-powered foundry and machine shop in America.

Standard Guilford C clamp

 This rarity was found at Liberty Tool, very little information on the company that I can find, but by the items found on ebay, it seems that for a while, Standard Guilford was in business making pretty ordinary C clamps and pipe clamps. 

Ebay 

Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta

  In 1932, Imperial Airways requested an airliner for their African and India routes. The specification included room for 9 passengers and the safety of multiple engines, resulting in this 4 engine airliner. The engines were Armstrong Siddeley 10 cylinder radials producing 340 hp each and the aircraft cruised at 156 mph. The prototype flew well with no real issues and quickly went into service. Eight units were built, they served for 5 years before being replaced. During WW2 they were used by the Indian air force for coastal patrols and as transports before being retired in 1944.

Metcoid wrench

  Metcoid was an early 1950s brand of tools by a company named Metal Engineering Company of Chicago, there is a thought that they might have been made by Moore Drop Forge which made Craftsman Tools in the same era. With the raised panels they do look similar. As always, Garage Journal has a thread on the brand. 

 

Monday Mystery, found in the ocean off Maine

 Another weird one. This aluminum and fibreglass thing was found floating, someone picked it up and brought it ashore. Looks like the top handle is maybe a pivoting flagpole, The "handhold" area looks much too light to have been used for towing or anchoring... In the image below the remains of eys are somewhat visible, so it can't have been too serious, but so far no one can figure out what it is.