Long Forgotten Hand Tools

@Hal Pollner

My old Craftsman, made by Atlas Press Co., of Kalamazoo, MI, is a 12" X 24". I would hav e opted for the 36" center model, but the added dough was not available (I was 14). The drive motor I ordered was a Craftsman 1/2 HP BALL BEARING equipped motor. In all these years, I had to replace a shaft bearing only on ce, at the pulley end, of course. Never had a center rest or steady rest as you have. Got a big Cushman 3-jaw chuck from a guy at work, had to make an adapter to mount it. 4-jaw was an Atlas 8-inch.

Some jobs produced enormous amounts of chips. Needing a plastic coil form for a Tesla Coil, I turned down my Dad's old bowling ball (no longer used) to make the primary coil form. Produced a garbage-can full of black chip material!

Frank

 

This I saved when I was cleaning out the old homestead. One of my oldest childhood memories.

 

My dad had an old vise mounted on a bench in the shed that looked similar to this....



He also had an anvil.

 

@Beth Gallagher

The back portion of that vise IS an anvil, small, but intended for pounding on. Here are a few more tools I had to learn to use in the Trades:


Outside Micrometer, commonly called a "mike". They are made in one-inch increments, this being a 0-1" mike. The 1-2" model would only measure between those extremes. Most mikes are accurate to about ten-thousandths of an inch (0.0001"). Here is another type:


This is an Inside Micrometer, for measuring hole diameters accurately. This one is likely a 2-3" model, about as small as they get. To measure smaller holes:

Called a Bore-gauge.



Technician using an inside mike to measure bore diameter of a bearing.



This is a Depth Micrometer. Used to accurately measure distance to it's flat anvil. Different length probes are included, as the range of the mike is only one-inch, as usual.




This is a Vernier Caliper, somewhat less accurate than a mike, now widely made with dial read outs, or digital, which are quite accurate. The scales are set up similarly to those on our old slide-rules!



Reading a vernier involves interpreting which two lines most closely line up.....


I have more, but don't want to tax the forum's image capability, or the readers' patience!

Frank

 

Lest I be remiss by omitting concrete and stone work, here are a few more of my tools.


Known as a "bull float", this long-handled device is used to smooth and flatten large areas quickly, before too much evaporation occurs. It "buries" discrepancies caused by small aggregate (stones) in the concrete mix. The handles are generally extendable.



Following the bull float, a Hand Float may be used to further smoothen and flatten the work. Use of this tool requires skill learned only by repetitive use.



Ever notice the "cracks" in sidewalks, regularly spaced and made purposely? Their edges are made rounded by this tool, an Edger.



Pouring a large concrete slab such as this one for a house requires strong and proper forming, which establishes it's height along the edges, "striking off" of the excess concrete as seen being done using a 2 X 6 board. Professional concrete guys use more specialized tools. Striking off determines in large part the quality of the completed work.



Bull float in use after striking off. Time is of the essence here, especially in hot, dry climates.



This mixer, driven by a gasoline engine, is about the size of mine, which is electrically-driven. I mixed 300-lb wheelbarrow loads at a time, pouring eventually a total of 95,000 lbs of concrete when we built our own house outside Phoenix. That total includes mortar used to completely veneer the house in red clay brick.



The foundation as hand-poured, and slab in sections of 10 wheelbarrow loads (3000 lbs) each.



Laying some brick!



Finishing up the garage, rest of building lies to the left. About 1800 sq. ft.



House and garage are connected by a 40-foot long brick wall, being completed here, garage lies to the right out of view. House took 3 years to complete, all my own labor.

Frank