When equipment was built to last

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I learned today that the boring bar I use on a daily basis is 100 years old this year.

Storm Mfg., model A, number 259, built in 1919.

It works at least as good as it did when it was new.

It has a few updates like a variable speed drive for the quill and variable synchronous down feed along with pressure lubrication.

When equipment was built to last
 
Yup,

Standard Modern 11" ship's lathe - made in Toronto Canada in 1952, it's still running on its original motor

My grandpa's Beaver - Callander Foundry table and band saws, made mid - late 40's and still running strong on original motors (the table saw motor is as heavy as the bloody saw itself)

Not to mention the myriad of mid-late 19th century hand planes and chisels I acquired during my time as an apprentice luthier, all still doing what they were made to do
 
When I got the old boring bar it was un-used military surplus. The cosmoline coating was so thick and dirty it was hard to tell what it was. The v-belt that was wired to the side of it was so hard it broke when I tried to straighten it out.
I stashed the 1/3 hp, 50 lb, open frame motor and the downfeed geartrain and installed the speed control stuff along with a lube pump from a mill before I started using it.
It has bored a lot of cylinders since then.
 
1930s Snap on socket set.. used by my uncle as a fitter for a working life on the railways and by me since the 1970s.. still perfect.
 
I've got full sets of 1930's 3/8 and 1/2" socket sets + ratchets. Made in USA..
Thanks Dad! it is sad that our country has lost it's metal industrial prowess.
Can't even learn the skills anymore. Who teaches anyone how to use a milling machine?
Where can a machinist learn the trade? What schools actually teach how to read and
convert inches to metrics? What's a micrometer?
 
I've got full sets of 1930's 3/8 and 1/2" socket sets + ratchets. Made in USA..
Thanks Dad! it is sad that our country has lost it's metal industrial prowess.
Can't even learn the skills anymore. Who teaches anyone how to use a milling machine?
Where can a machinist learn the trade? What schools actually teach how to read and
convert inches to metrics? What's a micrometer?

My wife's family has run a tool & die outfit since the 50's, started by her gramps after the war (he was a tank mechanic)

To this day they are ALWAYS looking for skilled machinists, but can't find them locally as the trade school grads are the pits, so they end up bringing in skilled machinists from Europe on temp work visas (mostly from Hungary for some reason)
 
You want skilled machinists? Cashiers in the U.S. can’t even make change. They become befuddled when offered exact coinage and a bill. What few craftsmen left are denigrated and offered subsistence wages. The U.S. does lead in number of billionaires, though.
 
In 1775, Adam Smith wrote that manufacturing was "the wealth of nations". Prior to WWII, Admiral Yamamoto warned his nation "the industrial power of the United States was awesome"!. How much we have forgotten and thrown away since post WWII !!

Slick
 
Great thread! My workbench vise belonged to my first wife's grandfather; it is a Prentiss #53 Bulldog from 1923/24. It was a rusty lump when it came to me, but it cleaned up very well. It was a welcome addition to my workbench and has served many projects very well. My grandkid(s) may well wind up with it on their workbench!

~998cc
 
When I got the old boring bar it was un-used military surplus. The cosmoline coating was so thick and dirty it was hard to tell what it was. The v-belt that was wired to the side of it was so hard it broke when I tried to straighten it out.
I stashed the 1/3 hp, 50 lb, open frame motor and the downfeed geartrain and installed the speed control stuff along with a lube pump from a mill before I started using it.
It has bored a lot of cylinders since then.

That's better than a barn find! It makes one wonder how something that old went all those years unused and fully preserved. Anyway, it was a great acquisition that has obviously benefited many Nortons. :)

~998cc
 
Great thread! My workbench vise belonged to my first wife's grandfather; it is a Prentiss #53 Bulldog from 1923/24. It was a rusty lump when it came to me, but it cleaned up very well. It was a welcome addition to my workbench and has served many projects very well. My grandkid(s) may well wind up with it on their workbench!

~998cc

There's nothing like a solid bench vise, I've two from my grandad, one 8" stephens (1915) and one 10" richards (1918) that I recently restored, I run them parallel with stringers for shooting long boards
When equipment was built to last
When equipment was built to last


Here's a complete Stanley #55 in the original box with all cutters... it's a bit of a hassle to set up but cuts beautifully
When equipment was built to last
 
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That's better than a barn find! It makes one wonder how something that old went all those years unused and fully preserved. Anyway, it was a great acquisition that has obviously benefited many Nortons. :)

~998cc

It was a quonset hut find.

And it was a "find". The guy I got it from said "I know there's one back there somewhere. If you want it you have to find it." He could hardly get around.

And my wife calls me a packrat. This was serious..there was 2 Indian motorcycles in there too, but we could never come to an agreement.
 
1943 Monarch 18" swing tool room lathe.
I feel privileged to operate it.
76 years old and a treat to run.
As with Jim's machine, it has some modern items fitted, a DRO, a quick change tool holder and a new 7.5 HP Baldor.



That looks really sweet. A privilege for sure!

My only lathe is an old 13 inch Colchester that I have been trying to wear out for 40 years -and pretty much succeeded.
 
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