Restoring antique tools

September 28, 2018 6:34 PM

Antique Swiss Blowtorch. 1930s German Spiral Jack. 1940's Two Speed Enclosed Breast Drill. 100+ Year Old Joseph Lucas Bicycle Carbide Lamp.
posted by carter (15 comments total)

Skookum, natch.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 6:36 PM on September 28, 2018 [3 favorites]

Awesome. I love tool restoration videos. Jimmy Diresta has done a couple or sometimes he'll just find an old rusty axe (or two) and make it new again.

There's something magical about taking an old, rusty hunk of what looks like junk and making it, not new, but beautiful and operational. Old tools have such a lovely patina on them when they're restored.

Plus, corny as it sounds, they don't make 'em like they used to, so if you can take an old hunk of iron and make it work again you're going to end up with a really nice tool. It's practically a given that any new woodworker's first plane is going to be something old that they've spent hours flattening and tuning.

Thank you for posting these. I'll be busy watching them tonight.
posted by bondcliff at 6:52 PM on September 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

Check out Hand Tool Rescue, too! He restores some really cool old tools and his videos have some really weird/charming touches (like in one he pretends to coat all the parts in Nutella.)
posted by Hey Dean Yeager! at 7:04 PM on September 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

a youtube channel that usually does more engineery teardowns and repairs has done a few with hand tools and power tools.

They are immensely satisfying.
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 7:42 PM on September 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

These are basically ASMR videos for me. Ahhhh.
posted by gwint at 7:54 PM on September 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

Fixing up machine tools - lathes, mills, grinders, etc: Via SuburbanTool Inc
posted by rustcrumb at 8:08 PM on September 28, 2018

I make a new one

Fantastic! I love there's no talking, no soundtrack -- just the sound of the machining and work. Splendid, beautiful work.
posted by oheso at 9:35 PM on September 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

I love this so much.
Obligatory nitpick: buddy has got to get some proper punches and a deadfall hammer. Seeing him use drill bits(!) to drive out those roll pins and knocking on parts with a steel ball peen hammer took me right out of my trance.
But yeah, this is what I'm falling asleep to tonight.
posted by Krawczak at 11:52 PM on September 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

Good stuff. I am reminded of James May's The Reassembler, sans the when-i-was-a-lad narration and Je T'aim business.
posted by mumkin at 1:29 AM on September 29, 2018

He restored the carbide lamp to fully working order. As somebody who's failed at that, I give him extra credit.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:28 AM on September 29, 2018

This reminds me to retry my casual search for a quality hand miter box that isn't priced out of my budget.

Old hand tools really are, as others have said, so conducive to restoration both because build quality was good (often far better than all but the best today has to offer, I'm looking at you LieNielsen) and were even build with upkeep in mind.

Thanks for this.
posted by RolandOfEld at 5:42 AM on September 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

My Grandfather was a tool and die maker from the 40s through the late 70s. As the youngest grandchild my ability to understand what he really did - and how freaking cool it was - wasn't fully online until after he passed away. As I dabble more in 3D printing and CNC machining, I begin to understand what Grandaddy did by hand, with only his brain and his calipers.

Watching these videos - creating detailed parts using a lathe, fashioning new leather gaskets, etc. - makes me feel sad and happy at the same time.

I hope this gentleman keeps up the good work.
posted by HannoverFist at 9:05 AM on September 29, 2018 [2 favorites]

thank you. this is EXACTLY the rabbit hole I needed to escape into at the end of this week.
posted by TheAliceMunroSingers at 6:44 PM on September 29, 2018

Delightful videos!

The carbide lamp does show how far back Lucas & Co’s inability to illuminate the darkness goes. “Lucas Prince of Darkness” indeed.
posted by monotreme at 7:54 PM on September 29, 2018

Videos like these have been popping up on my YT a lot lately for some reason. They're really satisfying to watch, though I can't help worrying about how all those solvents, degreasers, rust removers, etc. are being disposed of (hopefully not down the drain).
posted by theory at 8:31 PM on September 29, 2018