I work in a lot of old factories and find old machinery sitting in a
corner somewhere and wonder what the stories are behind these old
machines and the people that ran them.
I was looking at a steam driven reciprocating air compressor the other
day at a Midwest steel mill. It was a two-stage reciprocating steam
engine driving a two-stage reciprocating air compressor. Still has
the old flyball governor sitting on top.
They were great old machines.


I like this website of old-tyme photos, scanned in high resolution.
Everything from waifs in factories in the early 1900s to gorgeous
Kodachrome WWII war effort photos to dustbowl farmers. A real slice
of life.

A couple metal related photos:

http://www.shorpy.com/node/2632 - machining 40mm gunbarrel with 5
cutters

http://www.shorpy.com/node/677 - girls in curls operating a large
grinder

http://www.shorpy.com/node/1348 - 20 cutter wheel flange lathe, not
high-res


I check it every week after some of the reader comments have
accumulated. The insights of the commenters are tremendous. I am not
associated with the site, just a fan and thought you might like the
occasional metalworking content.

Enjoy,
Chris