I am regularly in this aisle.

1907 patented Parmelee pipe wrench. Modelled after the human hand for a non-marring grip.

#tools #antique #vintage

This restoration was on The World's Star circular sock knitting machine with ribber attachment made by Creelman Bros. of Georgetown, ON, Canada. This particular model was patented in 1874 and was most likely made around that time as well since the company ended in the 1930s with different models. You can see what is left of the original manual here: https://www.angoravalley.com/sockmachines/manuals/Creelman%20Bros%20The%20World's%20Star.pdf

I won this tool at an auction several years ago and it came with several other important parts including the cast on basket, bobbin winder, weights and yarn stand. At the time I had no idea how much these types of machines were worth and was very surprised to find out how in-demand they are.

The sock machine was no in a massively poor condition like some other tools on this channel, but it did need some parts fixed, a full replacement of all the japanning, and a general clean. I was also happy to accidentally discover that the original gilding was able to be seen under UV light. This allowed me to have it recreated digitally and then as beautiful waterslides to get as close to the original designs as possible. I used a product called Micro Sol to soften the decals allowing me to blend the edges in better and to press the decal flush into the uneven cast surfaces.

How this machine functions eluded me until it was finally and entirely put back together. It was also very neat to see how the stitching works in slow motion, so that I could better understand what was going on.

I hope to make some full socks one day with the actual heal and fully ribbed ankle as those were just too much of a learning curve for now and potentially filled with fines and excommunications.


I'd like to thank @CRCAutoUS for sponsoring this video. I've switched to a food-grade penetrating oil from them as a more safe alternative, and it as worked just as well as the usual penetrating oils I've used.
You can check out the products from them used in this video in the links below:
https://www.evapo-rust.com/
https://www.crcindustries.com/evapo-rust/
https://www.crcindustries.com/smartwasher/
https://www.crcindustries.com/food-grade-penetrating-oil-11-wt-oz/

Wrenches, screwdrivers, and socket drivers are now for sale at https://www.handtoolrescue.com/

Watch narrated videos and help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
https://www.patreon.com/handtoolrescue

This restoration is on the Key Combination Safe No. 40 made by the J. & E. Stevens Co. of Cromwell, Connecticut, USA in the late 1800s. The company started in 1843 and lasted about 100 years while making cast iron toys and coin banks.

This specific cast iron curiosity seems to be designed for storage of some small valuable items like coins or jewelry.

During my move to a new workshop, this was unfortunately left in a storage container that was not climate controlled, so the constant temperature and humidity fluctuations led to this item getting extremely rusty in a short period of time. Luckily, as we know from lesser restoration channels, short term rust does not damage the surface of the metal at very much. Concurrently, the safe was originally nickel-plated so the rust damage would have been limited.

This was the first restoration where I just threw the whole thing into Evapo-Rust before taking it apart, as it would be easier to see where this thing was pinned together. The restoration itself was straight forward and the only known issue was a missing tooth on the combination dial.

It was super neat to see the intricate, delicate, and beautiful castings and I was really happy to have this pass through the shop!

I'd like to thank @CRCAutoUS for sponsoring this video. I've switched to a food-grade penetrating oil from them as a more safe alternative, and it as worked just as well as the usual penetrating oils I've used.
You can check out the products from them used in this video in the links below:
https://www.evapo-rust.com/
https://www.crcindustries.com/evapo-rust/
https://www.crcindustries.com/smartwasher/
https://www.crcindustries.com/food-grade-penetrating-oil-11-wt-oz/

Wrenches, screwdrivers, and socket drivers are now for sale at https://www.handtoolrescue.com/

Watch narrated videos and help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
https://www.patreon.com/handtoolrescue

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/handtoolrescue

Facebook Group - Share your restorations
https://www.facebook.com/groups/handtoolrescue
https://www.facebook.com/handtoolrescue/

Reddit - Share your restorations
https://www.reddit.com/r/HandToolRescue/

Podcast (with @jimmydiresta and Andrew Alexander) - https://anchor.fm/fitzall

The perfect mini screwdriver is ready!

#tools #restoration #lawn

This video is the final part of the Coldwell "Model L" Lawn Mower Co. of Newburgh, NY, USA in the late 1920s.

The other half of the restoration of this machine was much less frustrating than the previous half. Most repairs were just cosmetic painting issues although a few pieces were cracked and needed to be brazed back together. I did end up remaking the drive roller cover as the previous one had a large hole in it. The largest issue was the need for a new drive shaft that was longer than the max capacity of my lathe so I had to hire that job out.

I was incredibly grateful that the radiator did not leak and actually worked, although I did use RV anti-freeze instead of water as I didn't want the whole cooling system to start rusting again.

The helical cutting blades were a "reel" pain to sharpen as I used grinding compound and spun them by hand twelve million times so make sure they worked perfectly.

As for the actual function of this mower, it's insanely fun to use and has a surprising amount of power. The lack of reverse makes it somewhat difficult to maneuver if you happen to get stuck, and the whole thing weighs 350 lbs so pushing around when it's not running is tough. Having super smooth rollers is great for flattening the grass, but if it hits a patch of gravel it gets stuck immediately. I really wish this had a chair and some steering as I would have loved to drive this around my lawn.

I'd like to thank @CRCAutoUS for sponsoring this video. I've switched to a food-grade penetrating oil from them as a more safe alternative, and it as worked just as well as the usual penetrating oils I've used.
You can check out the products from them used in this video in the links below:
https://www.evapo-rust.com/
https://www.crcindustries.com/evapo-rust/
https://www.crcindustries.com/smartwasher/
https://www.crcindustries.com/food-grade-penetrating-oil-11-wt-oz/

Wrenches, screwdrivers, and socket drivers are now for sale at https://www.handtoolrescue.com/

Watch narrated videos and help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
https://www.patreon.com/handtoolrescue

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/handtoolrescue

Facebook Group - Share your restorations
https://www.facebook.com/groups/handtoolrescue
https://www.facebook.com/handtoolrescue/

Reddit - Share your restorations
https://www.reddit.com/r/HandToolRescue/

Podcast (with @jimmydiresta and Andrew Alexander) - https://anchor.fm/fitzall

Sneaky restoration technique for hidden gilding.


#restoration #csm #sockmachine #knitting

Homelite XL-100 gas powered circular saw

This machine was made by the Coldwell Lawn Mower Co. of Newburgh, NY, USA in the late 1920s. It claimed to cut and roll 3 acres on a single tank of gas using a 25" width reel mower powered by a 3.5HP Fuller and Johnson engine. It cost the equivalent of ~$7000 in current(2024) USD.

This video focuses solely on the restoration of the engine portion of this tool. The engine was not in the worst shape I have seen for something its age, but it is a very odd design and not common at all.
It fought me every single step of the way, to the point where it took me 4 months to fully restore.

I made some choices early in the restoration that came back to bite me in the end. I decided not to replace the piston rings despite a light honing of the cylinder, since replacements were not available at the time and I really didn't want to make new ones like I did for the steam engine restoration. I also decided to use composite cork with a gasoline resistant coating for the carburetor float replacement. Lastly, I decided to lightly repaint the outside of the of the magneto.

Unfortunately, all of these things were a terrible idea that set me back months of work and time. The piston rings did need a full replacement as compression was low and blow-by was showing up in the oilers. I found a single set in Australia. The coating on the cork float completely failed , so I tried coating it entirely in gasoline tank sealer, but that also failed. I ended up replacing the float entirely with one that I custom made out of nitrophyl, which is a plastic float resistant to gasoline. The original cork float was coating in shellac, which unfortunately will dissolve in modern gasoline, which contains ethanol. Lastly, I spent 5 weeks working on the Bosch BA-1 magneto, which decided to completely stop working after just painting the outside. This is a rare magneto with expensive and hard to find replacement parts, so I had to figure it all out myself. I ended up completely tearing the whole thing apart multiple times and investigating every part with my multimeter. Initially, it looked like the secondary coil needed to be rewound, which would have taking a professional several months, but once I got my hands on a more sensitive multimeter, it checked out fine. I also replaced the capacitor within the magneto, but that did not help either. After weeks of disassembly and reassembly, I found a hairline crack in one of the insulator parts that was allowing some voltage to leak and spark somewhere internally to the magneto.

I also chose to restore the radiator for the engine in the next part of this restoration, as I can run the engine for a short period without it, and this video was already running quite long.

In the end I learned that this is the first engine I've ever restored that has depression and truly hates all its original parts.


I'd like to thank @CRCAutoUS for sponsoring this video. I've switched to a food-grade penetrating oil from them as a more safe alternative, and it as worked just as well as the usual penetrating oils I've used.
You can check out the products from them used in this video in the links below:
https://www.evapo-rust.com/
https://www.crcindustries.com/evapo-rust/
https://www.crcindustries.com/smartwasher/
https://www.crcindustries.com/food-grade-penetrating-oil-11-wt-oz/

Wrenches, screwdrivers, and socket drivers are now for sale at https://www.handtoolrescue.com/

Watch narrated videos and help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
https://www.patreon.com/handtoolrescue

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/handtoolrescue

Facebook Group - Share your restorations
https://www.facebook.com/groups/handtoolrescue
https://www.facebook.com/handtoolrescue/

Reddit - Share your restorations
https://www.reddit.com/r/HandToolRescue/

Podcast (with @jimmydiresta and Andrew Alexander) - https://anchor.fm/fitzall