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Archive for the ‘antique tools’ Category

What I Do in My Spare Time

Posted in antique tools, Quality of Life, Woodworking, tagged furniture, hand-cut, old tools, walnut wood, Woodworking on December 4, 2009 | 1 Comment »

I just finished a small walnut table for our foyer at home. Susan had wanted something designed for a specific space and had pointed out a few examples of the overall style that she wanted. I’ve been working on it for some time along with a dozen other projects, so it took a good while, but at least it’s there now in time for some holiday entertaining.

I love to work with walnut. My grandfather apparently felt the same way because every piece I have that he made was done in walnut. The other reason may be that his brother lived on the family farm outside of Troutman, and there may have been walnut trees that they took from the farm to the sawmill for relatively inexpensive (for them) wood. Nowadays, walnut wood costs dearly. Fortunately, I still have a stack of it that I inherited, so when I want to make something, I just dive into that pile. Unfortunately, that pile is on my side of our garage, so the price I pay for having nice dry wood is my having to park outside. It’s all worthwhile though when I put the final finish on that wonderful rich wood and see the grain pop and feel how silky smooth it is. It just begs to be touched.

The things I make I hope will be passed down to future generations, just like the pieces my grandfather made.

: Finished with Danish Oil and Wax

: Hand-cut dovetails

: Drawer fronts cut from same board as apron so the grain flows across.

: In its new home under a Cotton Ketchie print. Yes, it needs a lamp.

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What’s a Bow Got to Do With a Dulcimer?

Posted in antique tools, Entertainment, Quality of Life, tagged Bethania, bowed dulcimer, dulcimer on November 28, 2009 | 2 Comments »

What do you think of when you see the word “dulcimer?” If you know anything about traditional musical instruments, particularly those familiar to our area, you may think of what we call an “Appalachian” dulcimer. That kind is laid on your lap horizontally and strummed with one hand and noted with the other. There are a few musicians who actually finger pick them like a dobro. Other people will think of a “hammered” dulcimer which is totally different from the Appalachian version in that it has many strings mounted to a trapezoid shaped box. The strings are struck by two small hammers. These are also great for traditional and celtic music.

Several weeks ago, I went to a tool collector’s meeting in Bethania, NC, and was introduced to a type of dulcimer that I didn’t know exists. Kenneth Bloom of Mt. Airy is a musical instrument maker and musician who has revived the use of the “bowed dulcimer.” Kenneth says that they were common prior to the Civil War, but for several generations were virtually unknown. Kenneth set about designing, building and playing these instruments in various sizes. He played one at his presentation, and I was really impressed by the great, complex music he could perform on one of his instruments. You can see more about Kenneth, his instruments and his music at his web site, http://www.boweddulcimer.com/. He continues to evolve his designs and improve the sound quality and volume and is gaining widespread recognition for his work in the music world.

Given that all of his instruments are hand-made by Kenneth in his own shop, all of us tool freaks were really impressed! That degree of craftsmanship is rare. If you have a chance to see Mr. Bloom perform, I think you’ll be impressed, too. Oh, and he’s got CDs for sale on his web site.

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Bethania Tools Gathering

Posted in antique tools, Quality of Life, Woodworking, tagged antique tools, antique woodworking tools, Bethania on November 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Last week I went to the fall meeting of the tool collectors’ association at Bethania Moravian Church near Winston-Salem. We get together periodically to see programs on old tools, primarily the woodworking type, and may trade and buy some tools. Bethania is a good place to think about old things since it is one of the oldest Moravian communities in the country. Driving around the community, you get a sense of history and historic preservation- perfect for people who value the history of old tools. Most of the tools have been used by multiple generations of craftsmen, and when you hold one and use it, there’s almost a sense of the previous owners’ presence, particularly if they have been somehow marked by the then-current owner.

Some of the people who attend these meetings are true collectors, accumulating large numbers of planes, or folding rulers, or levels or who knows what else. I guess there is the thrill of the hunt for ever more rare tools that fires them up. For me, it is the opportunity to find more of these tools of better quality to use in my own woodworking efforts back at the Suther Shop. I’ve just evolved my woodworking into a path that uses mostly hand tools because of the ability to do great work with them in a relatively quiet, dust-free, don’t-cut-your-finger-off environment that powered tools just can’t offer. There are now some wonderfully made new handtools out there that can do great work. I have bought a few. But, somehow, there is a special value to getting an old tool, tuning it up, and making it sing that you can’t match with a new tool. Call me nostalgic. OK. Whatever. The point is to do what you like because half of the reason of doing it is to have fun.

Here are a few photos from the gathering. By the way, the last photo shows us sitting down to a great lunch of Moravian chicken pie- a very special treat that is a trademark of the area. Let me know if you have an interest in this stuff, and I’ll get you hooked up.

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Keep it Running- the Joy of Frugality

Posted in antique tools, Iredell County, Mooresville, Quality of Life on September 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

The older I get, the more I find that my interest in cars has more to do with just keeping them running than with having the latest wheels (we own a 1990 Volvo with over 225,000 miles on it, but the odometer broke, so I’m not quite sure of the total). That’s why this clip caught my eye. Fellow geezer and REALTOR J. D. Whitmire sent me a video from GrowingBolder.com about 89 year old Rachel Veitch who still drives her 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente with over 540,000 miles on it with the original motor. She recently drove it on a 3,000 mile round trip. My first car was a ’64 Ford Falcon 6 cylinder, 2 speed (can you believe it?) automatic, so I understand her appreciation for the car.

See the video HERE.

I inherited a trait related to this from my parents who were young adults during the Depression. They learned the value of keeping things in good shape, fixing them when they broke, and taking pride in seeing how long they can make their stuff last. I know that’s not good for an economy that’s based on purchase of consumer goods, but that’s the way I am. I, especially like my father, get a big kick out of extending the life of whatever things I own and use. Maybe that’s one reason that I like to use old hand and power tools in my woodworking. Many of my hand tools- chisels, planes, etc., are probably on their third or fourth owner, and I expect them to be passed along when I’m gone. Most of my stationary power tools are those that I inherited from my father and his father. They are 1930′s vintage and all work great! As a matter of fact, I even refurbished the shop that contained all those tools after moving it to my home in Mooresville.

I hope that one of the things we as a society learn from the current economic discomfort is that frugality can be fun, not just an imposition on having the latest and greatest of all the gadgets out there. Hey, I’m even making do with with my last generation iPhone!

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Mooresville’s Original Fire Truck on the Street

Posted in antique tools, Iredell County, Mooresville, tagged fire truck, History on May 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

While shooting photos around downtown Mooresville, I happened upon two of Mooresville’s excellent firemen, Cam Ramey and Howard Overcash. They had come from the fire station to the Mooresville Museum to crank up (literally) the old fire truck which is garaged there. The plan was to move the truck to a parking space in front of Turner Hardware to take some photos which will end up in a book that the Fire Department is producing to celebrate their hundredth year next year. The books will be available for sale to the public.

This 1921 American LaFrance truck is original to the town. It has been restored once years ago by firemen, and more recently by a commercial restoration company. It certainly looks great and gleaming! Unfortunately, it had not been run since the last Christmas parade, so like all things old and creaky (I can relate) it took awhile to get it to fire up. The battery was dead and it does have a hand crank, but that takes A LOT of effort. Both Cam and Howard took turns on the crank, but didn’t get it going until another fireman brought a charger that would handle the truck’s 6 volt system. They finally got it running, if not smoothly, and as they got it fully out of the museum and into the street, it died again. Fortunately, a few more cranks this time got it running again and noisily chugging up Center Street to be finally parked in front of Turner’s, itself built in 1899. So, a lucky few of us on the street got to see this marvel up close. If you like machines, you need to try to get a look yourself someday. In the meantime, here are some photos (click on the thumbnails).