Model Planes I Never Built; A Spitfire by Eagle Solids of B'klyn NY

One of my vices is vises: General Vacu Vise

General Tools and Instruments was founded in New York City in 1922 as the General Hardware Manufacturing Company.  Abe and Lilian Rosenberg were the founders, and Abe came up with his own tool ideas which he had made by various machine shops.  In 1937, they began to offer tools under their own company name and they were among the first to manufacture die-cast tools.  Their success ultimately led them to make tools for Sears, where in 1946 they became charter members of the Sears 100 Club of Craftsman tool suppliers.  The company remains in business today as General Tools.  In 2014 the family sold their interests to High Road Capital Partners of New York City, a private equity firm, where it is still listed in their portfolio. However, it is also now a brand under the flag of the Innovak Group out of Montreal, Quebec.

Harley vs. Indian

From a card someone sent me decades ago.

"You can't wear out an Indian Scout, 
or its brother the Indian Chief. 
They're built like rocks to stand hard knocks. 
It's the Harleys that cause the grief."

We will never surrender!

Winston Churchill watches a Stirling bomber take off.

Drilling with a jig

Cyril Donaldson & George H. LeCain.  Tool Design, 2nd Edition.  
Mc-Graw-Hill Book Co., 1943, 1957.

1957 Ford C-750 truck hood ornament

KRM Superstreak

 

In 1973 Kingston Racing Motors introduced this new British Worldbeater. KRM was a division of Steel Fabrications, a boiler manufacturer in England. The design was from Jack Williams, the man behind the AJS 7R and Matchless G50. Designed to compete against the all conquering Yamaha 350, the engine was an aircoooled 4 cylinder 4 stroke with double overhead cams and 2 valves per cylinder. Looked good, seemed possible but other than the article in Cycle magazine describing the launch, I don't think it ever went further.

 

 

Welcome to Canada: Hemmingford, Quebec, 1930

David McIntosh.  The Collectors.  A History of Canadian Customs and Excise.  
Published by NC Press Ltd in association with Revenue Canada, Customs and Excise 
and the Canadian Government Publishing Centre, 1984.

Happy Canada Day, eh!

Vanished Tool Makers: Kohler

Below, two tools made by this company.   I can't find any information about this firm on the web.

Ford Maverick

 With the look of a mid-1980s teenager's ride, this car was plated and running last year. This year it definitely looks more neglected.