My Mother in law has been under the weather the past couple of weeks, so
SWMBO and I have been spending a lot of time with her in the hospital
and her husband (at home). The FIL is starting to lose his faculties, so
we have to check up on him daily, make sure he gets enough nourishment
and generally make sure he takes his meds and bathes once in a while. I
often sit with him and "relive" his past. This past weekend, he told me
that he wants me to "get those dam tools outa the basement..."I'll never
use them so please get them to a good home".....

I expected him to have a couple of "Wen" grade tools, bent screw drivers
and claw hammers with broken claws...SURPRISE

When we went down stairs, he took a couple of plastic sheets off of a
table that contained the "cutest" little lathe...a 1952 Craftsman 6",
with 3 and 4 jaw chucks, a dead center, a steady rest, a couple of mics,
a bunch of tooling, a couple of gear sets, pulleys, and a box of stock
(brass, "tool steel", rods and shafts, bushings, and aluminum....

If seems that he was a "Bowling Alley Mechanic" from WWII until he
retired in the 70's and he bought the lathe to make bushings and shafts
for the pin setters he had to keep running. He made a lot of the parts
because he couldn't see paying AMF or Brunswick 50 cents for a bushing
he could make him self..... Over the past 25 years or so, it has been
sitting in his basement waiting for a new home. He hasn't run it since
it left the bowling alley, but it has been lubed. Each year when he
changed the batteries in the smoke detector, he went down to the
basement and slopped oil on the ways, the gears and just about anything
that got in his way. Through the years, the oil has built up and dried
out so that It is just about like Cosmoline... Sticky and gooey. I
cleaned the bed with "Brake Kleen" and it is flawless. Like wise the
chucks, steady rest,ect. The tooling was wrapped in the rust resistant
paper and all looked new.

As I was marveling over my good fortune, he dragged me over the the
other side of the basement and uncovered a set of shelves with a great
collection of wooden hand planes, chisels and funny little tools that I
still have to figure out. It seems that my MIL's grand father was a
cabinet maker and these are his tools, and he inherited some of them
from his father and grandfather (both cabinet makers). I haven't brought
the wood working tools home yet, but I expect them to have been cared
for just like the lathe.

I feel like a kid in a candy store....

I know that I won't be "running with the big dogs", making the big chips
like many of you with big iron, but I does feel good to "get off the
porch" and be able to make little chips with my little lathe.

Greg Postma

"Greg Postma" wrote in message
...
My Mother in law has been under the weather the past couple of weeks, so
SWMBO and I have been spending a lot of time with her in the hospital and
her husband (at home). The FIL is starting to lose his faculties, so we
have to check up on him daily, make sure he gets enough nourishment and
generally make sure he takes his meds and bathes once in a while. I often
sit with him and "relive" his past. This past weekend, he told me that he
wants me to "get those dam tools outa the basement..."I'll never use them
so please get them to a good home".....

I expected him to have a couple of "Wen" grade tools, bent screw drivers
and claw hammers with broken claws...SURPRISE

When we went down stairs, he took a couple of plastic sheets off of a
table that contained the "cutest" little lathe...a 1952 Craftsman 6", with
3 and 4 jaw chucks, a dead center, a steady rest, a couple of mics, a
bunch of tooling, a couple of gear sets, pulleys, and a box of stock
(brass, "tool steel", rods and shafts, bushings, and aluminum....

If seems that he was a "Bowling Alley Mechanic" from WWII until he retired
in the 70's and he bought the lathe to make bushings and shafts for the
pin setters he had to keep running. He made a lot of the parts because he
couldn't see paying AMF or Brunswick 50 cents for a bushing he could make
him self..... Over the past 25 years or so, it has been sitting in his
basement waiting for a new home. He hasn't run it since it left the
bowling alley, but it has been lubed. Each year when he changed the
batteries in the smoke detector, he went down to the basement and slopped
oil on the ways, the gears and just about anything that got in his way.
Through the years, the oil has built up and dried out so that It is just
about like Cosmoline... Sticky and gooey. I cleaned the bed with "Brake
Kleen" and it is flawless. Like wise the chucks, steady rest,ect. The
tooling was wrapped in the rust resistant paper and all looked new.

As I was marveling over my good fortune, he dragged me over the the other
side of the basement and uncovered a set of shelves with a great
collection of wooden hand planes, chisels and funny little tools that I
still have to figure out. It seems that my MIL's grand father was a
cabinet maker and these are his tools, and he inherited some of them from
his father and grandfather (both cabinet makers). I haven't brought the
wood working tools home yet, but I expect them to have been cared for just
like the lathe.

I feel like a kid in a candy store....

I know that I won't be "running with the big dogs", making the big chips
like many of you with big iron, but I does feel good to "get off the
porch" and be able to make little chips with my little lathe.

Greg Postma




Very cool! Depending on the model of the Sears lathe, you could have a very
fine machine. Some of those old planes could be worth some money to
collectors!
Lane

"Just Me" notreal at nowhere dot com wrote in message
...

"Greg Postma" wrote in message
...
My Mother in law has been under the weather the past couple of weeks, so
SWMBO and I have been spending a lot of time with her in the hospital
and
her husband (at home). The FIL is starting to lose his faculties, so we
have to check up on him daily, make sure he gets enough nourishment and
generally make sure he takes his meds and bathes once in a while. I
often
sit with him and "relive" his past. This past weekend, he told me that
he
wants me to "get those dam tools outa the basement..."I'll never use
them
so please get them to a good home".....

I expected him to have a couple of "Wen" grade tools, bent screw drivers
and claw hammers with broken claws...SURPRISE

When we went down stairs, he took a couple of plastic sheets off of a
table that contained the "cutest" little lathe...a 1952 Craftsman 6",
with
3 and 4 jaw chucks, a dead center, a steady rest, a couple of mics, a
bunch of tooling, a couple of gear sets, pulleys, and a box of stock
(brass, "tool steel", rods and shafts, bushings, and aluminum....

If seems that he was a "Bowling Alley Mechanic" from WWII until he
retired
in the 70's and he bought the lathe to make bushings and shafts for the
pin setters he had to keep running. He made a lot of the parts because
he
couldn't see paying AMF or Brunswick 50 cents for a bushing he could
make
him self..... Over the past 25 years or so, it has been sitting in his
basement waiting for a new home. He hasn't run it since it left the
bowling alley, but it has been lubed. Each year when he changed the
batteries in the smoke detector, he went down to the basement and
slopped
oil on the ways, the gears and just about anything that got in his way.
Through the years, the oil has built up and dried out so that It is just
about like Cosmoline... Sticky and gooey. I cleaned the bed with "Brake
Kleen" and it is flawless. Like wise the chucks, steady rest,ect. The
tooling was wrapped in the rust resistant paper and all looked new.

As I was marveling over my good fortune, he dragged me over the the
other
side of the basement and uncovered a set of shelves with a great
collection of wooden hand planes, chisels and funny little tools that I
still have to figure out. It seems that my MIL's grand father was a
cabinet maker and these are his tools, and he inherited some of them
from
his father and grandfather (both cabinet makers). I haven't brought the
wood working tools home yet, but I expect them to have been cared for
just
like the lathe.

I feel like a kid in a candy store....

I know that I won't be "running with the big dogs", making the big chips
like many of you with big iron, but I does feel good to "get off the
porch" and be able to make little chips with my little lathe.

Greg Postma




Very cool! Depending on the model of the Sears lathe, you could have a
very
fine machine. Some of those old planes could be worth some money to
collectors!

And a right ******* he would be to sell them, too.

Fourth generation tools are not supposed to be sold just 'cause they are
worth some money.

Greg Postma wrote:
My Mother in law has been under the weather the past couple of weeks, so
SWMBO and I have been spending a lot of time with her in the hospital
and her husband (at home). The FIL is starting to lose his faculties, so
we have to check up on him daily, make sure he gets enough nourishment
and generally make sure he takes his meds and bathes once in a while. I
often sit with him and "relive" his past. This past weekend, he told me
that he wants me to "get those dam tools outa the basement..."I'll never
use them so please get them to a good home".....

Damn!

All I ever got from my FIL were a lot of requests to fix broken stuff
for him.

Some guys have all the luck. G

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."

Great finds! I hope you put them to good use, as tools should be.

"Greg Postma" wrote in message
...
My Mother in law has been under the weather the past couple of weeks, so
SWMBO and I have been spending a lot of time with her in the hospital and
her husband (at home). The FIL is starting to lose his faculties, so we
have to check up on him daily, make sure he gets enough nourishment and
generally make sure he takes his meds and bathes once in a while. I often
sit with him and "relive" his past. This past weekend, he told me that he
wants me to "get those dam tools outa the basement..."I'll never use them
so please get them to a good home".....

I expected him to have a couple of "Wen" grade tools, bent screw drivers
and claw hammers with broken claws...SURPRISE

When we went down stairs, he took a couple of plastic sheets off of a
table that contained the "cutest" little lathe...a 1952 Craftsman 6", with
3 and 4 jaw chucks, a dead center, a steady rest, a couple of mics, a
bunch of tooling, a couple of gear sets, pulleys, and a box of stock
(brass, "tool steel", rods and shafts, bushings, and aluminum....

If seems that he was a "Bowling Alley Mechanic" from WWII until he retired
in the 70's and he bought the lathe to make bushings and shafts for the
pin setters he had to keep running. He made a lot of the parts because he
couldn't see paying AMF or Brunswick 50 cents for a bushing he could make
him self..... Over the past 25 years or so, it has been sitting in his
basement waiting for a new home. He hasn't run it since it left the
bowling alley, but it has been lubed. Each year when he changed the
batteries in the smoke detector, he went down to the basement and slopped
oil on the ways, the gears and just about anything that got in his way.
Through the years, the oil has built up and dried out so that It is just
about like Cosmoline... Sticky and gooey. I cleaned the bed with "Brake
Kleen" and it is flawless. Like wise the chucks, steady rest,ect. The
tooling was wrapped in the rust resistant paper and all looked new.

As I was marveling over my good fortune, he dragged me over the the other
side of the basement and uncovered a set of shelves with a great
collection of wooden hand planes, chisels and funny little tools that I
still have to figure out. It seems that my MIL's grand father was a
cabinet maker and these are his tools, and he inherited some of them from
his father and grandfather (both cabinet makers). I haven't brought the
wood working tools home yet, but I expect them to have been cared for just
like the lathe.

I feel like a kid in a candy store....

I know that I won't be "running with the big dogs", making the big chips
like many of you with big iron, but I does feel good to "get off the
porch" and be able to make little chips with my little lathe.

Greg Postma

On Thu, 7 Jul 2005 19:58:08 -0300, "jtaylor"
wrote:



And a right ******* he would be to sell them, too.

Fourth generation tools are not supposed to be sold just 'cause they are
worth some money.

No point in keeping tools one would never use if another might
appreciate them and use them well. I agree that they should go to
the "best user", not necessarily the highest bidder. That kinda
rules out Ebay.

"Greg Postma" wrote: (clip) This past weekend, he told me that he wants me
to "get those dam tools outa the basement..."I'll never use them so please
get them to a good home".....(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
There is a part to this story that you are not telling us, either because
you don't realize it, or because you are too modest. That old man may be
losing his faculties, but he has known you for years, and he must realize
how you will respect and value those tools. Your reaction shows me that
those tools are going to the right person.

Cool.. Very cool.

There is just a great sense of satisfaction in working with the hand
tools of your ancestors, it is as if the tools know what to do.

"Greg Postma" wrote in message
...

Through the years, the oil has built up and dried out so that
It is just about like Cosmoline... Sticky and gooey. I cleaned
the bed with "Brake Kleen" and it is flawless.

Lucky you on acquiring this treasure!

One word of caution though: I would refrain from using Brake Kleen (or
similar solvents) for cleaning your machines for several reasons:

1. They might remove or de-gloss (or otherwise damage) any paint on the
machine.
2. They will effectively remove *ALL* protective oils, greases, and waxes
leaving your bare metal primed and ready for a massive rust attack. In fact,
in a humid environment you could almost watch the surface rust bloom right
before your eyes.
3. These solvents are very nasty to breath or absorb though the skin.
4. These solvents are very nasty to the environment as well.

On that last point, don't mistake me for a Greenie nut-job. There are valid
applications for Brake Kleen type solvents (like cleaning brakes and other
friction surfaces). But there's no reason to pollute the environment (and
endanger your health) by using powerful and hazardous solvents for
applications for which they are not intended nor needed. I am particularly
concerned that you might have applied the Brake Kleen in the enclosed
basement (which might be below your FIL's living spaces).

For cleaning of machines and tools, I recommend a 50/50 mixture of kerosene
and mineral spirits. This solvent may not work as fast as Brake Kleen, but
will be just as effective. Plus, it will leave a very light oily surface
residue that will help prevent rust until you can get the metal properly
oiled or otherwise protected. (Note: Because of this oily residue, do not
use this mixture to clean a surface for painting. Use straight mineral
spirits, followed by acetone.) And kerosene, mineral spirits, and even
acetone, are fairly benign solvents.

- Michael

Don Foreman wrote:
On Thu, 7 Jul 2005 19:58:08 -0300, "jtaylor"
wrote:



And a right ******* he would be to sell them, too.

Fourth generation tools are not supposed to be sold just 'cause they are
worth some money.


No point in keeping tools one would never use if another might
appreciate them and use them well. I agree that they should go to
the "best user", not necessarily the highest bidder. That kinda
rules out Ebay.


Seems He already was given very specific instructions .
" get them to a good home " , no confusion I can see . The gentleman
loved his tools and wants them in the hands of someone who will work
them with respect . Isn't that the way we all feel ?
Ken Cutt

I find that when using my FIL's tools I use them in a way that would respect
him. The tools that I buy I will use if I'm going to abuse the tool.
lg
no neat sig line

wrote in message
oups.com...
There is just a great sense of satisfaction in working with the hand
tools of your ancestors, it is as if the tools know what to do.

Just Me wrote:


Very cool! Depending on the model of the Sears lathe, you could have a very
fine machine. Some of those old planes could be worth some money to
collectors!
Lane

Lane, I think that the Craftsman lathe will suit me fine . I don't plan
on doing any thing with tolerances to close. Mainly just learning the
craft.
As for the planes, my beloved and I were at dinner tonight and she was
trying to figure out how old the WW tools might be. She figures some of
them might be from the 1840-1850 era. I plan on using those which are
usable and displaying those which are not. She even offered to let me
put "the prettiest one" in the display case with her Royal Dalton
figures. Gotta love the woman.........
In any case, I don't believe that they will leave my grubby little hands
until I pass them down to one of our sons.

Greg

jtaylor wrote:

And a right ******* he would be to sell them, too.

Fourth generation tools are not supposed to be sold just 'cause they are
worth some money.


Yes, I am a right proper ******* and thank you for noticingG.

How ever, I do agree about 4th generation tools. When my grandfather
moved to Florida in the 1960, he gave me his tools. He also was a
cabinet maker and never owned a power tool. He was a pattern maker at
Pullman Co. from the 1920's til he retired in 1960. I still remember
this tool box, flat black and butt ugly on the out side and cherry,
mahogany and rosewood on the inside. A place for ever thing and every
thing in it's place. I got married, moved about and when I went back to
my folks place to collect the tool box after I bought a home, I found
out that the tool box and tools were badly damage by a flood in the
basement and my Dad tossed the whole works out. I was heart broken.
I now have a second chance at owning experienced tools. I hope that my
hands will someday be as good as the hands that once owned these tools.

Greg

Jeff Wisnia wrote:

Damn!

All I ever got from my FIL were a lot of requests to fix broken stuff
for him.

Some guys have all the luck. G

Jeff


Jeff,
After my FIL gave me the tools, He asked my to help change his
Depends, so I guess things even out.

Greg

On Thu, 07 Jul 2005 16:57:43 -0500, Greg Postma
wrote:

My Mother in law has been under the weather the past couple of weeks, so
SWMBO and I have been spending a lot of time with her in the hospital
and her husband (at home). The FIL is starting to lose his faculties, so
we have to check up on him daily, make sure he gets enough nourishment
and generally make sure he takes his meds and bathes once in a while. I
often sit with him and "relive" his past. This past weekend, he told me
that he wants me to "get those dam tools outa the basement..."I'll never
use them so please get them to a good home".....

Big snip

I feel like a kid in a candy store....

I know that I won't be "running with the big dogs", making the big chips
like many of you with big iron, but I does feel good to "get off the
porch" and be able to make little chips with my little lathe.

Greg Postma

Another case where someone is rewarded for kindness to the old folk.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

DeepDiver wrote:
"Greg Postma" wrote in message
...

Through the years, the oil has built up and dried out so that
It is just about like Cosmoline... Sticky and gooey. I cleaned
the bed with "Brake Kleen" and it is flawless.


Lucky you on acquiring this treasure!

One word of caution though: I would refrain from using Brake Kleen (or
similar solvents) for cleaning your machines for several reasons:

1. They might remove or de-gloss (or otherwise damage) any paint on the
machine.
2. They will effectively remove *ALL* protective oils, greases, and waxes
leaving your bare metal primed and ready for a massive rust attack. In fact,
in a humid environment you could almost watch the surface rust bloom right
before your eyes.
3. These solvents are very nasty to breath or absorb though the skin.
4. These solvents are very nasty to the environment as well.

On that last point, don't mistake me for a Greenie nut-job. There are valid
applications for Brake Kleen type solvents (like cleaning brakes and other
friction surfaces). But there's no reason to pollute the environment (and
endanger your health) by using powerful and hazardous solvents for
applications for which they are not intended nor needed. I am particularly
concerned that you might have applied the Brake Kleen in the enclosed
basement (which might be below your FIL's living spaces).

For cleaning of machines and tools, I recommend a 50/50 mixture of kerosene
and mineral spirits. This solvent may not work as fast as Brake Kleen, but
will be just as effective. Plus, it will leave a very light oily surface
residue that will help prevent rust until you can get the metal properly
oiled or otherwise protected. (Note: Because of this oily residue, do not
use this mixture to clean a surface for painting. Use straight mineral
spirits, followed by acetone.) And kerosene, mineral spirits, and even
acetone, are fairly benign solvents.

- Michael


Michael, Thanks for your thoughts, I did use a "little" Brake Kleen,(in
my own shop) on a rag to clean the bed. I wanted to see it it was as
good as it looked (it was) and then I oiled the ways with some 3in1 oil
to prevent rust. I plan on having a machinist freind come over this
weekend to help me clean the lathe properly, lube it up and level it on
a bench I am making out of a piece of bowling alley. I thought it poetic
justice to set up the "Bowling Alley Mechanics" lathe on a piece of
bowling alley.

Greg

On Thu, 07 Jul 2005 19:09:52 -0400, Jeff Wisnia
wrote:

Greg Postma wrote:
My Mother in law has been under the weather the past couple of weeks, so
SWMBO and I have been spending a lot of time with her in the hospital
and her husband (at home). The FIL is starting to lose his faculties, so
we have to check up on him daily, make sure he gets enough nourishment
and generally make sure he takes his meds and bathes once in a while. I
often sit with him and "relive" his past. This past weekend, he told me
that he wants me to "get those dam tools outa the basement..."I'll never
use them so please get them to a good home".....

Damn!

All I ever got from my FIL were a lot of requests to fix broken stuff
for him.

Never had a FiL - he died when SWMBO was a year old; but I did rent a
room from an older couple for 12 years when I refused to move my
family to regional office. Before the husband passed away he passed on
a few favoured items as something I might be interested in, latter,
the wife passed on more things including several coins from a great
aunt who had taken a fancy to her "young man". Two weeks ago, my
youngest son was married and into the brides shoe went an 1893 silver
sixpence from this collection. The elderly lady (87) attended the
wedding and was pleased about the sixpence. I just talked to her and
will be visiting Saturday to install a ceiling fan in her kitchen. She
has now been a member of our family for 23 years and hopefully many
more.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

"Greg Postma" wrote in message
...
| My Mother in law has been under the weather the past couple of weeks, so
| SWMBO and I have been spending a lot of time with her in the hospital
| and her husband (at home). The FIL is starting to lose his faculties, so
| we have to check up on him daily, make sure he gets enough nourishment
| and generally make sure he takes his meds and bathes once in a while. I
| often sit with him and "relive" his past. This past weekend, he told me
| that he wants me to "get those dam tools outa the basement..."I'll never
| use them so please get them to a good home".....

I just had an idea that could kill two birds with one stone. Merge your
time spent with him to time spent with him _and_ his tools, and see what you
can learn from him while he's still "good." If he wants to relive his past,
then perhaps having him share his machine knowledge as well would do you
both a world of good.
I'm not you, of course, so whether this will work is for your and your
family to decide.

In article ,
Greg Postma wrote:
DeepDiver wrote:
"Greg Postma" wrote in message
...

Through the years, the oil has built up and dried out so that
It is just about like Cosmoline... Sticky and gooey. I cleaned
the bed with "Brake Kleen" and it is flawless.


Lucky you on acquiring this treasure!

One word of caution though: I would refrain from using Brake Kleen (or
similar solvents) for cleaning your machines for several reasons:

[ ... ]

2. They will effectively remove *ALL* protective oils, greases, and waxes
leaving your bare metal primed and ready for a massive rust attack. In fact,
in a humid environment you could almost watch the surface rust bloom right
before your eyes.

[ ... ]

Michael, Thanks for your thoughts, I did use a "little" Brake Kleen,(in
my own shop) on a rag to clean the bed. I wanted to see it it was as
good as it looked (it was) and then I oiled the ways with some 3in1 oil
to prevent rust.

3-in-1 oil is not a good choice as it gums up rather quickly.
What I would suggest for the ways is to get some "Vactra No. 2" (you can
get it in one gallon containers from MSC, though I went for a 5-gallon
drum when I got mine, as I have more machines to keep lubed.

The spindle will need something different, and what will depend
on the kind of bearings it has. Some of the earlier versions of this
lathe use bronze sleeve bearings, with an adjustment screw to make up
for wear -- up to a certain point. Newer ones have either ball or
roller bearings (I'm not sure which). Each type of bearing will
determine what is the proper lube for the spindle. I think that
whatever works for the spindle will work well for most other lubrication
points other than the ways, which really need a proper way lube, like
the "Vactra No. 2" suggested above.

I plan on having a machinist freind come over this
weekend to help me clean the lathe properly, lube it up and level it on
a bench I am making out of a piece of bowling alley.

Hopefully, he will bring along the proper lubricants.

I thought it poetic
justice to set up the "Bowling Alley Mechanics" lathe on a piece of
bowling alley.

I agree. Did your father in law have the piece of bowling alley
too, or were you just very lucky in finding that at the right time?

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

"jtaylor" wrote in message
t.ca...
snip-------

And a right ******* he would be to sell them, too.

Fourth generation tools are not supposed to be sold just 'cause they are
worth some money.


Yep! Sometimes you have to appreciate things for what they are, and what
they represent.

Harold

"JohnM" wrote in message
...
Cool.. Very cool.

Hey, I was going to say that!

It really is cool!

I have a few of my father's tools, a carpenter that died in '69. No value
placed on them.

Harold

On Thu, 07 Jul 2005 16:57:43 -0500, Greg Postma
wrote:

My Mother in law has been under the weather the past couple of weeks, so
SWMBO and I have been spending a lot of time with her in the hospital
and her husband (at home). The FIL is starting to lose his faculties, so
we have to check up on him daily, make sure he gets enough nourishment
and generally make sure he takes his meds and bathes once in a while. I
often sit with him and "relive" his past. This past weekend, he told me
that he wants me to "get those dam tools outa the basement..."I'll never
use them so please get them to a good home".....

I expected him to have a couple of "Wen" grade tools, bent screw drivers
and claw hammers with broken claws...SURPRISE

When we went down stairs, he took a couple of plastic sheets off of a
table that contained the "cutest" little lathe...a 1952 Craftsman 6",
with 3 and 4 jaw chucks, a dead center, a steady rest, a couple of mics,
a bunch of tooling, a couple of gear sets, pulleys, and a box of stock
(brass, "tool steel", rods and shafts, bushings, and aluminum....

If seems that he was a "Bowling Alley Mechanic" from WWII until he
retired in the 70's and he bought the lathe to make bushings and shafts
for the pin setters he had to keep running. He made a lot of the parts
because he couldn't see paying AMF or Brunswick 50 cents for a bushing
he could make him self..... Over the past 25 years or so, it has been
sitting in his basement waiting for a new home. He hasn't run it since
it left the bowling alley, but it has been lubed. Each year when he
changed the batteries in the smoke detector, he went down to the
basement and slopped oil on the ways, the gears and just about anything
that got in his way. Through the years, the oil has built up and dried
out so that It is just about like Cosmoline... Sticky and gooey. I
cleaned the bed with "Brake Kleen" and it is flawless. Like wise the
chucks, steady rest,ect. The tooling was wrapped in the rust resistant
paper and all looked new.

As I was marveling over my good fortune, he dragged me over the the
other side of the basement and uncovered a set of shelves with a great
collection of wooden hand planes, chisels and funny little tools that I
still have to figure out. It seems that my MIL's grand father was a
cabinet maker and these are his tools, and he inherited some of them
from his father and grandfather (both cabinet makers). I haven't brought
the wood working tools home yet, but I expect them to have been cared
for just like the lathe.

I feel like a kid in a candy store....

I know that I won't be "running with the big dogs", making the big chips
like many of you with big iron, but I does feel good to "get off the
porch" and be able to make little chips with my little lathe.

Greg Postma

Excellent!

And Greg? Be sure to show poppa your work now and then, and ask his
advice about how to do things. Even with failing mental abilities..it
will make him feel warm and fuzzy to know his tools are actually being
used, and that you think enough of him to ask his advise.

We are all going to get there someday..so treat him like you would be
treated. Its good for our egos, and better when one feels useful.

And take care of your new tools..that lil lathe is capable of making
superb and esquisite things. And pass it along when its your turn.

I often wonder who will get my machines when I no longer need em, or
can use em.

Gunner

"Considering the events of recent years,
the world has a long way to go to regain
its credibility and reputation with the US."
unknown

"Greg Postma" wrote in message
...
Jeff Wisnia wrote:

Damn!

All I ever got from my FIL were a lot of requests to fix broken stuff for
him.

Yeah... When my FIL died, he had hundreds of tools... All 99-cent
"pocket-buster rack" stuff with the blades bent, rusted, and not worth the
gas to take them to the dump. He owned no less than six broken electric
drills, all of a quality that cost at least $7.95 at retail.

Good stuff is a remarkable find.

LLoyd

carl mciver wrote:

I just had an idea that could kill two birds with one stone. Merge your
time spent with him to time spent with him _and_ his tools, and see what you
can learn from him while he's still "good." If he wants to relive his past,
then perhaps having him share his machine knowledge as well would do you
both a world of good.
I'm not you, of course, so whether this will work is for your and your
family to decide.
Oh how I wish that I could "sit at the feet of the master" but his
mental abilities have ebbed over that past few years.....
His instructions so far have been," You put the ,the ,the...stuff in the
thing that goes around and the you use the sharp thing and ah...... you
use the whatamacallit to make what you need.... Are the Cubs or Sox on
today?"

I have shown him pictures of the lathe's ways after I cleaned it and he
was very proud that he had been able to keep it from rusting......

It's kind of strange, the last time he was in the hospital (brought back
from the edge of life,or death, once again) he was agitated and angry at
everyone and every thing (I think it was the pain meds) but when I sat a
talked to him, he calmed down and became almost lucid. There must be
some kind of bond between us that I'm not aware of.

I had the same Kind of relationship with my next door neighbor. He was a
retired carpenter and ten years, his body gave out. He would start a
project and not be able to finish it, so I would. He always felt bad
about that. I told him and "Everyone needs a hobby and you are mine..."
When my folks died, he and his wife asked me if they could "adopt me".
I was honored. "No one should be an orphan, even if they become one at
age 50" was their reasoning...

BTW way, both my FIL and my neighbor were/are cranky, cantankerous old
farts, and I seemed to be able to bond with them very well. Maybe they
recognized a "cranky old fart in training"....

Greg

On Fri, 08 Jul 2005 05:56:14 GMT, the opaque Gunner
clearly wrote:

On Thu, 07 Jul 2005 16:57:43 -0500, Greg Postma
wrote:

My Mother in law has been under the weather the past couple of weeks, so
SWMBO and I have been spending a lot of time with her in the hospital
and her husband (at home). The FIL is starting to lose his faculties, so
we have to check up on him daily, make sure he gets enough nourishment
and generally make sure he takes his meds and bathes once in a while. I
often sit with him and "relive" his past. This past weekend, he told me

I had the chance/pleasure/honor to do that with both my father and
grandmother before they died and it was wonderful.

--snip--
As I was marveling over my good fortune, he dragged me over the the
other side of the basement and uncovered a set of shelves with a great
collection of wooden hand planes, chisels and funny little tools that I
still have to figure out. It seems that my MIL's grand father was a
cabinet maker and these are his tools, and he inherited some of them
from his father and grandfather (both cabinet makers). I haven't brought
the wood working tools home yet, but I expect them to have been cared
for just like the lathe.

I feel like a kid in a candy store....

(Take photos of the WW tools and I'll try to help name them for you.
I do not enough of either, but more woodworking than metalworking,
and old hand tools (all trades) have been my focus for years.)


I know that I won't be "running with the big dogs", making the big chips
like many of you with big iron, but I does feel good to "get off the
porch" and be able to make little chips with my little lathe.

(Goodonya, Greg!)


And Greg? Be sure to show poppa your work now and then, and ask his
advice about how to do things. Even with failing mental abilities..it
will make him feel warm and fuzzy to know his tools are actually being
used, and that you think enough of him to ask his advise.

Great idea.


We are all going to get there someday..so treat him like you would be
treated. Its good for our egos, and better when one feels useful.

And take care of your new tools..that lil lathe is capable of making
superb and esquisite things. And pass it along when its your turn.

I often wonder who will get my machines when I no longer need em, or
can use em.

Bwahahaha! "Who" indeed. You mean "What ARMY", don't you? Your little
collection could start up an entire college shop or three, huh,
Gunner?


-
Press HERE to arm. (Release to detonate.)
-----------
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming

And, and --- just when youall though Gunner had no sensitive side!

Bob Swinney
"Gunner" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 07 Jul 2005 16:57:43 -0500, Greg Postma
wrote:

My Mother in law has been under the weather the past couple of weeks, so
SWMBO and I have been spending a lot of time with her in the hospital
and her husband (at home). The FIL is starting to lose his faculties, so
we have to check up on him daily, make sure he gets enough nourishment
and generally make sure he takes his meds and bathes once in a while. I
often sit with him and "relive" his past. This past weekend, he told me
that he wants me to "get those dam tools outa the basement..."I'll never
use them so please get them to a good home".....

I expected him to have a couple of "Wen" grade tools, bent screw drivers
and claw hammers with broken claws...SURPRISE

When we went down stairs, he took a couple of plastic sheets off of a
table that contained the "cutest" little lathe...a 1952 Craftsman 6",
with 3 and 4 jaw chucks, a dead center, a steady rest, a couple of mics,
a bunch of tooling, a couple of gear sets, pulleys, and a box of stock
(brass, "tool steel", rods and shafts, bushings, and aluminum....

If seems that he was a "Bowling Alley Mechanic" from WWII until he
retired in the 70's and he bought the lathe to make bushings and shafts
for the pin setters he had to keep running. He made a lot of the parts
because he couldn't see paying AMF or Brunswick 50 cents for a bushing
he could make him self..... Over the past 25 years or so, it has been
sitting in his basement waiting for a new home. He hasn't run it since
it left the bowling alley, but it has been lubed. Each year when he
changed the batteries in the smoke detector, he went down to the
basement and slopped oil on the ways, the gears and just about anything
that got in his way. Through the years, the oil has built up and dried
out so that It is just about like Cosmoline... Sticky and gooey. I
cleaned the bed with "Brake Kleen" and it is flawless. Like wise the
chucks, steady rest,ect. The tooling was wrapped in the rust resistant
paper and all looked new.

As I was marveling over my good fortune, he dragged me over the the
other side of the basement and uncovered a set of shelves with a great
collection of wooden hand planes, chisels and funny little tools that I
still have to figure out. It seems that my MIL's grand father was a
cabinet maker and these are his tools, and he inherited some of them
from his father and grandfather (both cabinet makers). I haven't brought
the wood working tools home yet, but I expect them to have been cared
for just like the lathe.

I feel like a kid in a candy store....

I know that I won't be "running with the big dogs", making the big chips
like many of you with big iron, but I does feel good to "get off the
porch" and be able to make little chips with my little lathe.

Greg Postma

Excellent!

And Greg? Be sure to show poppa your work now and then, and ask his
advice about how to do things. Even with failing mental abilities..it
will make him feel warm and fuzzy to know his tools are actually being
used, and that you think enough of him to ask his advise.

We are all going to get there someday..so treat him like you would be
treated. Its good for our egos, and better when one feels useful.

And take care of your new tools..that lil lathe is capable of making
superb and esquisite things. And pass it along when its your turn.

I often wonder who will get my machines when I no longer need em, or
can use em.

Gunner

"Considering the events of recent years,
the world has a long way to go to regain
its credibility and reputation with the US."
unknown

What a great way to pass good tools on.
Sorry for your FILs failing health, but it no doubt pleases him to know
his prized tools are going to someone who will use and appreciate them,
as he did.

- -
Rex Burkheimer
Fort Worth TX

Greg Postma wrote:
My Mother in law has been under the weather the past couple of weeks, so
SWMBO and I have been spending a lot of time with her in the hospital
and her husband (at home). The FIL is starting to lose his faculties, so
we have to check up on him daily, make sure he gets enough nourishment
and generally make sure he takes his meds and bathes once in a while. I
often sit with him and "relive" his past. This past weekend, he told me
that he wants me to "get those dam tools outa the basement..."I'll never
use them so please get them to a good home".....

I expected him to have a couple of "Wen" grade tools, bent screw drivers
and claw hammers with broken claws...SURPRISE

When we went down stairs, he took a couple of plastic sheets off of a
table that contained the "cutest" little lathe...a 1952 Craftsman 6",
with 3 and 4 jaw chucks, a dead center, a steady rest, a couple of mics,
a bunch of tooling, a couple of gear sets, pulleys, and a box of stock
(brass, "tool steel", rods and shafts, bushings, and aluminum....

If seems that he was a "Bowling Alley Mechanic" from WWII until he
retired in the 70's and he bought the lathe to make bushings and shafts
for the pin setters he had to keep running. He made a lot of the parts
because he couldn't see paying AMF or Brunswick 50 cents for a bushing
he could make him self..... Over the past 25 years or so, it has been
sitting in his basement waiting for a new home. He hasn't run it since
it left the bowling alley, but it has been lubed. Each year when he
changed the batteries in the smoke detector, he went down to the
basement and slopped oil on the ways, the gears and just about anything
that got in his way. Through the years, the oil has built up and dried
out so that It is just about like Cosmoline... Sticky and gooey. I
cleaned the bed with "Brake Kleen" and it is flawless. Like wise the
chucks, steady rest,ect. The tooling was wrapped in the rust resistant
paper and all looked new.

As I was marveling over my good fortune, he dragged me over the the
other side of the basement and uncovered a set of shelves with a great
collection of wooden hand planes, chisels and funny little tools that I
still have to figure out. It seems that my MIL's grand father was a
cabinet maker and these are his tools, and he inherited some of them
from his father and grandfather (both cabinet makers). I haven't brought
the wood working tools home yet, but I expect them to have been cared
for just like the lathe.

I feel like a kid in a candy store....

I know that I won't be "running with the big dogs", making the big chips
like many of you with big iron, but I does feel good to "get off the
porch" and be able to make little chips with my little lathe.

Greg Postma

Jeff Wisnia wrote:

All I ever got from my FIL were a lot of requests to fix broken stuff
for him.

Some guys have all the luck. G

My FIL sold off all his tools right before I met his daughter. Had a
nice collection too, from what I heard.

It is interesting to observe how actual discussion of real machine tools,
actual metal working consistently brings out the better side in the group,
almost as reliably as politics brings out the worst.

Let me add my congrats, Greg. Getting ones first real lathe is a happy
thing, to be savoured. I have (somewhere) a 1954 Sears tool catalog that
shows that lathe, along with a small miller, some other pieces. That was a
dream machine for me, in my early teens (in the 70s BTW, not 50s, the
catalog was my dad's) .

Adam Smith,
Midland, ON

"Robert Swinney" wrote in message
news
And, and --- just when youall though Gunner had no sensitive side!

"Greg Postma" wrote in message
...
snip------

BTW way, both my FIL and my neighbor were/are cranky, cantankerous old
farts, and I seemed to be able to bond with them very well. Maybe they
recognized a "cranky old fart in training"....

Greg

Then you and I should get along great!

Harold

Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
Yeah... When my FIL died, he had hundreds of tools... All 99-cent
"pocket-buster rack" stuff with the blades bent, rusted, and not worth the
gas to take them to the dump. He owned no less than six broken electric
drills, all of a quality that cost at least $7.95 at retail.

Good stuff is a remarkable find.

LLoyd

My father in law had some pretty nice tools. Which is as it should be,
as he was a toolmaker who worked for L.S. Starrett. He started working
there full-time in 1941 and, except for a couple of years at the end of
WWII, worked there his entire career. He was still putting in 40+ hour
weeks when he died in 2001. His son, however, inherited his things,
which was fine with me as I already had most of the hand tools I need.

My great grandfather was a cabinetmaker, and I have his tool chest and
many of his tools - some of which may very well come from his father or
grandfather. Plus, I have my grandfather's tools. It's when I work
with those that, if I take my time, I can often hear the tools talking
to me and feel their hands guiding them along with mine. I'll
sometimes surprise myself with how well I do something, then realize
that I had help.

Not much soul in a broken electric drill, but a hundred-year old plane
or gouge or micrometer is a different matter.

John Martin

Adam Smith wrote:
It is interesting to observe how actual discussion of real machine tools,
actual metal working consistently brings out the better side in the group,
almost as reliably as politics brings out the worst.

Let me add my congrats, Greg. Getting ones first real lathe is a happy
thing, to be savoured. I have (somewhere) a 1954 Sears tool catalog that
shows that lathe, along with a small miller, some other pieces. That was a
dream machine for me, in my early teens (in the 70s BTW, not 50s, the
catalog was my dad's) .


You are soooooo right Adam.
I would dearly love to visit with some of the regulars here, like
Harold, to see if a cranky old fart and a cranky old fart in training
would get along G or Gunner to see a world class scrounger/horse
trader in action. I'd like to meet Ed Haas to see his world class
collection of wheel weights or DoN and hear his squeeze boxes play. Or
Tom Gardner to watch him make the machines that make "the best wire
wheels in the world" (according to Gunner).

I'd like to meet Ed Huntress, a gear head that writes in complete
sentences and uses proper syntax. Or sit with Ernie for a while and
learn why my vertical welds look like that were made by a sick pigeon
flying past.....

There are so many interesting people here that share their thoughts and
wisdom so unselfishly, answer the same questions time and again and
contribute to the education about and the furtherance of metalworking in
it's many forms. I want to thank you all, in advance for answering my
newbie questions.

Greg

be gentle with that lathe - I used to have one, and it is fine if you don't
over stress it - I didn't know what I was doing at the time (not that I do
now), but I once took a cut (bad technique) and had the tool dig in - the
headstock just moved about 2 inches and the tool tip went under the work
(and messed up what I was trying to do) - on a "better" machine it would
have broken the tool or stalled the machine - and of course a better
machinist would not have made that mistake in the first place.


"Rex B" wrote in message
...
What a great way to pass good tools on.
Sorry for your FILs failing health, but it no doubt pleases him to know
his prized tools are going to someone who will use and appreciate them, as
he did.

- -
Rex Burkheimer
Fort Worth TX

Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:

"Greg Postma" wrote in message
...
snip------

BTW way, both my FIL and my neighbor were/are cranky, cantankerous old
farts, and I seemed to be able to bond with them very well. Maybe they
recognized a "cranky old fart in training"....

Greg


Then you and I should get along great!

Harold


No ****!


michael

"michael" wrote in message
...
Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:

"Greg Postma" wrote in message
...
snip------

BTW way, both my FIL and my neighbor were/are cranky, cantankerous old
farts, and I seemed to be able to bond with them very well. Maybe they
recognized a "cranky old fart in training"....

Greg


Then you and I should get along great!

Harold


No ****!


michael

Go shave your face, you damned old hippie.

Harold