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.
Very cool stuff. Thanks for sharing. I thought Shinto rasps were a new thing as well. Can you talk a little more about the vintage one? Same or different manufacturer? Any idea how old it was? Thanks. Sincerely, Joe Leonetti.
ReplyDeleteHi Joe. I posted about this Shinto on the FB unplugged ww group a few weeks ago. Someone said these rasps go back to the 1800's. I had no idea! My guess, and it's only a guess, would be that this was from the 1960's or 70's. Unfortunately I didn't examine it closely enough to see the maker.
DeleteThanks. I didn’t realize they were that old. Good to know. The Shinto rasps certainly work well.
Delete