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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2021 7:23:29 GMT -6
Last week someone gave me an old lantern. It turned out to be an old Railroad lantern. It was in perfect shape other than a little patina. I took it apart and it had plenty of wick. I put some K-1 in it and it works fine. It's made by Dietz vista NYC. 1900. It has a blue lens, which meant don't move this car or engine.
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Post by James T. Kirk on Feb 26, 2021 12:27:51 GMT -6
Does it have a particular railroad name on it? And if I were you I wouldn't polish it or do anything other than dust it off. That patina adds value to it. They are like a lot of other antiques and old old coins. Old looking is good. Shiny and new-looking is bad.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2021 7:18:52 GMT -6
Does it have a particular railroad name on it? And if I were you I wouldn't polish it or do anything other than dust it off. That patina adds value to it. They are like a lot of other antiques and old old coins. Old looking is good. Shiny and new-looking is bad. Thanks, no it is not clean and shiny. My wife made me take it out too the garage. It's not had sandpaper or steel wool taken to it though. Ever color lens was a signal for something. It's interesting to me. I'm sure the railroad doesn't use lanterns anymore. I wonder what they do use or if they use anything?
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Post by James T. Kirk on Feb 28, 2021 7:45:29 GMT -6
I believe some railroad lamps are still used, but probably not so much lanterns. I suspect radios were the first thing used to replace signal lanterns. I'm guessing GPS and computers are widely used now. And yes they make neat conversation pieces and decorations.
You didn't mention whether it had a particular railroad name anywhere on it. I like knowing the history of things and wondering where they've been.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2021 16:50:06 GMT -6
I believe some railroad lamps are still used, but probably not so much lanterns. I suspect radios were the first thing used to replace signal lanterns. I'm guessing GPS and computers are widely used now. And yes they make neat conversation pieces and decorations. You didn't mention whether it had a particular railroad name anywhere on it. I like knowing the history of things and wondering where they've been. No railroad name. The lantern was made by Dietz Vista. They made them up until the mid 50s. They changed the designs 6 times. Mine is the first one. It was made from 1900 to 1910. If I could get a clear lens I might take it fishing with me. It would seem pretty dim though next to a Coleman lantern.
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Post by James T. Kirk on Feb 28, 2021 17:42:13 GMT -6
I go with the LED mooring light on the back of my pontoon for night fishing. It doesn't seem to draw as many bugs.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2021 16:41:18 GMT -6
I go with the LED mooring light on the back of my pontoon for night fishing. It doesn't seem to draw as many bugs. Ok. My garage is full of older tools. One of my prized tools is a Chas Parker 974 vise. It came out of the old L&N work shop. It weighs 80 LBS. It's also is a hundred years old. The same person that gave me the vise has another one they say they are going to give me. If so I'll keep the best one.
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Post by James T. Kirk on Mar 3, 2021 3:43:09 GMT -6
I go with the LED mooring light on the back of my pontoon for night fishing. It doesn't seem to draw as many bugs. Ok. My garage is full of older tools. One of my prized tools is a Chas Parker 974 vise. It came out of the old L&N work shop. It weighs 80 LBS. It's also is a hundred years old. The same person that gave me the vise has another one they say they are going to give me. If so I'll keep the best one. Same here. I inherited a lot of old tools from an uncle who was a machinist for P. Lorillard Tobacco Company. He ran the machine shop there. I got several old vises, but I really haven't looked for a brand. One in particular rotates in every possible direction so you adjust it to fit your job. I also got a great old drill press I had to bolt to the floor of my garage. There were lots of taps and dies that have actually come in handy. But the best thing I got was hundreds of old drill bits, most in the metal indexes. I have bits as long as 36 inches to get to hard to reach places. The bits they make now are junk. The ones I have go through steel like butter and will last longer than I will. The key is to use oil to keep them from overheating. I've got wheel/gear pullers I'll probably never use and a 1 inch drive socket set with a 30 inch breaker bar. The largest socket is 3 inches. I can't imagine ever needing to remove a 3 inch nut, but it's nice to have. Of course these were things I'm sure he needed to to keep that factory running. He had a metal lathe I would like to have gotten but I don't have the electrical service it would take to run it, plus it was very heavy. I sold it to some company in Indiana who had to pick it up with a skid loader and flatbed truck. I've got boxes of hand files and rasps. Man, I had forgotten about how much stuff there was.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2021 6:03:56 GMT -6
Ok. My garage is full of older tools. One of my prized tools is a Chas Parker 974 vise. It came out of the old L&N work shop. It weighs 80 LBS. It's also is a hundred years old. The same person that gave me the vise has another one they say they are going to give me. If so I'll keep the best one. Same here. I inherited a lot of old tools from an uncle who was a machinist for P. Lorillard Tobacco Company. He ran the machine shop there. I got several old vises, but I really haven't looked for a brand. One in particular rotates in every possible direction so you adjust it to fit your job. I also got a great old drill press I had to bolt to the floor of my garage. There were lots of taps and dies that have actually come in handy. But the best thing I got was hundreds of old drill bits, most in the metal indexes. I have bits as long as 36 inches to get to hard to reach places. The bits they make now are junk. The ones I have go through steel like butter and will last longer than I will. The key is to use oil to keep them from overheating. I've got wheel/gear pullers I'll probably never use and a 1 inch drive socket set with a 30 inch breaker bar. The largest socket is 3 inches. I can't imagine ever needing to remove a 3 inch nut, but it's nice to have. Of course these were things I'm sure he needed to to keep that factory running. He had a metal lathe I would like to have gotten but I don't have the electrical service it would take to run it, plus it was very heavy. I sold it to some company in Indiana who had to pick it up with a skid loader and flatbed truck. I've got boxes of hand files and rasps. Man, I had forgotten about how much stuff there was. My collection of tools are not as big and I'm definitely jealous. You're right tools made these days are junk. When they made tools way back then they were made to last.
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Post by James T. Kirk on Mar 3, 2021 14:49:17 GMT -6
Well you got my curiosity up so I went out to look at these vises. Here's a link to the one that rotates. It says Craftsman so I assume it was sold by Sears. Notice the octagon shaped slide. I like it because you can stand you work upright if you need to and still maintain a good grip. The bigger vise is a Prentiss No. 20 like this. I should have weighed that rascal before I bolted it down. Mine looks a little more presentable than this one.
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Post by James T. Kirk on Mar 3, 2021 15:26:30 GMT -6
I forgot the best part. I inherited a vintage Craftman Machinists tool box just like this one.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2021 17:28:45 GMT -6
Well you got my curiosity up so I went out to look at these vises. Here's a link to the one that rotates. It says Craftsman so I assume it was sold by Sears. Notice the octagon shaped slide. I like it because you can stand you work upright if you need to and still maintain a good grip. The bigger vise is a Prentiss No. 20 like this. I should have weighed that rascal before I bolted it down. Mine looks a little more presentable than this one. I couldn't get those to load up but I looked up the Prentiss vise. It's similar to the parker vise I have. Some of the older vises like the Parker in good condition sell for $300. The tool box is nice and looks unique, I've never seen another one like it. I have a craftsman roll around box that's stacked 3 high. I bought it new maybe 15 years ago. You have a nice set up. I'm impressed.
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Post by James T. Kirk on Mar 3, 2021 17:48:08 GMT -6
If had the electrical service to handle it I would have also gotten a commercial sized planer. If I remember right it would take a board up to 15 inches wide. It was huge. He had so many hand tools and tool boxes I put together sets for my two nephews and my niece's husband. And it was all quality stuff. I got several nice hand planers, draw knives and spoke shaves. I have yet to make a single spoke but I did use one to make a primitive replacement handle for a vintage hay fork.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2021 6:50:41 GMT -6
If had the electrical service to handle it I would have also gotten a commercial sized planer. If I remember right it would take a board up to 15 inches wide. It was huge. He had so many hand tools and tool boxes I put together sets for my two nephews and my niece's husband. And it was all quality stuff. I got several nice hand planers, draw knives and spoke shaves. I have yet to make a single spoke but I did use one to make a primitive replacement handle for a vintage hay fork. You must have a nice size garage. To handle big things, I just don't have the room. I'm having 220volts installed I'm getting a welder. It's something I've wanted for a long time.
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Post by James T. Kirk on Mar 4, 2021 9:56:15 GMT -6
It's not really that big but I organize things pretty well. It's only 26x28 but I have a lot of kitchen style cabinets, shelves, storage lockers, hooks and pegboards. You can barely see the concrete block walls. I too want a welder and putting in 220 is on my list of things to do when I have time.
And I'm still able to fit my truck and my wife's car inside.
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