Monday, December 30, 2024

The Museum of American Heritage

In early December, I had the great fortune to be invited to see the warehouse of a local museum, the Museum of American Heritage.  The museum itself has interesting exhibits that rotate a couple hundred objects in and out periodically. But the exhibits pull items from the warehouse, which is jam-packed with thousands of vintage items.

I only took pictures of the woodworking items, but there was so much more.  From a wooden-framed bicycle made during WWII metal shortages, to the original calculators, to a punch-clock machine from the company that would later become IBM, it was unbelievable.  I wish the lighting had been better for taking photos.

A couple of post drills

Here's a better pic of the one on the right.
I love these things.  Even got to turn it a bit.

A saw set - probably a Stanley #42, not sure

Two spoke pointers - one of them was huge!

Poor picture of a large and LONG T-handle auger

Vintage Shinto rasp - and I thought these were a fairly new tool design

A couple of wooden plow planes

Top shelf has drilling tools and wrenches.
Middle shelf has various wooden planes and side rabbet at far right.
Bottom shelf has a Stanley 45?, Stanley 75 and Stanley 39 dado plane.

Check this out: an old powered jointer with a wooden frame and tables.
Never seen that before!

Stanley #113 circular plane (compass plane)

This is just a sample of the woodworking stuff that I saw.  I also saw a treadle scroll saw, several braces, more planes and other items.

Woodworking was only a small proportion of the overall warehouse.  Everything else was fantastic and fascinating as well.  And I never would have known that it existed.  I wonder how many other small museums (with large collections) exist in other towns around here - or elsewhere for that matter.  If there are any small local museums in your area, by all means check them out.