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7" of Shapely Goodness
- Thread starter Dave Bonzo
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2013
- Messages
- 391
Vintage awesomeness ! The work light has been called a "retirement light" https://www.ebay.com/itm/324776968323
For a stand might I suggest the Atlas lathe legs . With a shellacked Maple table top , looks pretty good . They are usually are pretty expensive but once in a while you can score . I like engineer wrenches too and square bolt heads .
Here is my little Atlas/Craftsman 10107301 6 inch with the legs and top .
IMG_0834 by mark westi, on Flickr
For a stand might I suggest the Atlas lathe legs . With a shellacked Maple table top , looks pretty good . They are usually are pretty expensive but once in a while you can score . I like engineer wrenches too and square bolt heads .
Here is my little Atlas/Craftsman 10107301 6 inch with the legs and top .
IMG_0834 by mark westi, on Flickr
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2023
- Messages
- 264
Huh...lathe legs: that's a solid idea. I would never have come up with that. Thank you; that sparks all kinds of ideas!
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2023
- Messages
- 264
A couple of small updates...
I got started on cleaning a few small patches to see how bad things are, and I was surprised: it's not bad under there! Everything that's semi-brighter in the following pictures was spruced up with a paper towel soaked in a bit of Kroil; I think that some degreaser, microfiber cloths and some soft brass wool in selected areas would do a really nice job.
Pictured: The original milled surface is still visible outside of the wear range of the...uh...the whatever wears on this area.
Pictured: So, this may just be black paint, judging from the knocked-off spots on the front of the guard...but the knob looks pretty good!
Pictured: Turns out that it's Rockwell and/or battleship grey, underneath the grime.
Pictured: Vise surfaces aren't that bad, but there's some wear...but not much wear, considering.
Pictured: Damn. I didn't think the engravings would be this clear. That's a win.
I kind of knew that this thing was in decent shape, but I'm actually pretty impressed with just how clean it is; sure, it's caked with shop-grime on basically every surface - the horizontal ones are the worst, but the verticals aren't far behind - but that stuff will probably clean off pretty well. I may just set the entire thing in a large tub and start washing it down with...well, something. I don't really want to take a hose to it because that seems like nightmare fuel, so I may just take a bit of light-duty degreaser to it and see where we get. I've never seen Kroil cut paint before, but it cuts through everything else so I don't want to risk it here...and the more I look at this little thing, the more I don't want to restore it. It's somehow survived for somewhere around 80 years almost entirely intact, so I feel like I shouldn't deprive it of that achievement; making it showroom-perfect would...reduce it? Is that the phase I'm looking for? Regardless, it's a promising start and I think that a day of intensive cleaning will yield some pleasant results.
Also, I found a spare plug...so, this happened:
View attachment PXL_20230424_003535935.TS.mp4
That motor doesn't just run, it purrs. Instant, fast start, and it's damned smooth and quiet for its age...and that with basically no oil in the bearings in however-long. I was planning on oiling it and letting it move around a bit, but somehow I managed to relocate myself by 3,000 miles and not bring a single oiler with me...so I'll have to fix that before I let it do much more. I'll also need some fresh belts and the motor section bolted into place, but that's all an easy fix.
Stay tuned.
I got started on cleaning a few small patches to see how bad things are, and I was surprised: it's not bad under there! Everything that's semi-brighter in the following pictures was spruced up with a paper towel soaked in a bit of Kroil; I think that some degreaser, microfiber cloths and some soft brass wool in selected areas would do a really nice job.
Pictured: The original milled surface is still visible outside of the wear range of the...uh...the whatever wears on this area.
Pictured: So, this may just be black paint, judging from the knocked-off spots on the front of the guard...but the knob looks pretty good!
Pictured: Turns out that it's Rockwell and/or battleship grey, underneath the grime.
Pictured: Vise surfaces aren't that bad, but there's some wear...but not much wear, considering.
Pictured: Damn. I didn't think the engravings would be this clear. That's a win.
I kind of knew that this thing was in decent shape, but I'm actually pretty impressed with just how clean it is; sure, it's caked with shop-grime on basically every surface - the horizontal ones are the worst, but the verticals aren't far behind - but that stuff will probably clean off pretty well. I may just set the entire thing in a large tub and start washing it down with...well, something. I don't really want to take a hose to it because that seems like nightmare fuel, so I may just take a bit of light-duty degreaser to it and see where we get. I've never seen Kroil cut paint before, but it cuts through everything else so I don't want to risk it here...and the more I look at this little thing, the more I don't want to restore it. It's somehow survived for somewhere around 80 years almost entirely intact, so I feel like I shouldn't deprive it of that achievement; making it showroom-perfect would...reduce it? Is that the phase I'm looking for? Regardless, it's a promising start and I think that a day of intensive cleaning will yield some pleasant results.
Also, I found a spare plug...so, this happened:
View attachment PXL_20230424_003535935.TS.mp4
That motor doesn't just run, it purrs. Instant, fast start, and it's damned smooth and quiet for its age...and that with basically no oil in the bearings in however-long. I was planning on oiling it and letting it move around a bit, but somehow I managed to relocate myself by 3,000 miles and not bring a single oiler with me...so I'll have to fix that before I let it do much more. I'll also need some fresh belts and the motor section bolted into place, but that's all an easy fix.
Stay tuned.
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2020
- Messages
- 683
Nice score!
I just finished rehabbing a South Bend this spring.
I just finished rehabbing a South Bend this spring.
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2023
- Messages
- 264
Wow, that's beautiful! Nice job!
I've never used a shaper much - maybe once or twice over the years - but it's one of those tools that, should you have one, you start to find uses for. And there's just something about the way they move; that clockwork ticking is so metronomic...and so rewarding. So many tools have either too much or too little movement to be engaging, but a shaper - kind of like a well-tuned hand plane - has this perfect, rewarding, Goldilocks amount...and it feels good to watch.
Also, I just realized that the toolpost that came with mine is still in the floor of the Toyota. I'll have to get that out and take a look at it.
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2016
- Messages
- 960
I've had pretty good success cleaning the grime off of machinery without damaging paint using kerosene.
Ted
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2015
- Messages
- 397
Landcruiser??? Not too many ambulance doors in the US here... 
Looks like a fantastic find and I definitely agree with keeping it "as found"
Take your time and clean it up. Have you seen masonry mixing tubs? They would be perfect to set it in and go to town with some kerosine etc. Might be best to oil it up real well before starting it up. I have a similar Atlas 7" and it has a ton of oil points...
And to make it interesting, the oil type is different in different areas
Looks like a fantastic find and I definitely agree with keeping it "as found"
Take your time and clean it up. Have you seen masonry mixing tubs? They would be perfect to set it in and go to town with some kerosine etc. Might be best to oil it up real well before starting it up. I have a similar Atlas 7" and it has a ton of oil points...
And to make it interesting, the oil type is different in different areas
Plasgad 20.9-Gal Black Large PVC Concrete Mixing Tub 887102C - The Home Depot
This multi-purpose Large Concrete Mixing Tub features a heavy-duty PVC material. The material allows it to withstand mixing of heavy materials such as concrete, grout or mortar for masonry. It has a large
www.homedepot.com
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2023
- Messages
- 264
That's a good idea; thanks Ted. Might give that a shot if I can find a small container of it; I got rid of all the K1 containers when we sold the farm (literally).
Looks like a fantastic find and I definitely agree with keeping it "as found"
Take your time and clean it up. Have you seen masonry mixing tubs? They would be perfect to set it in and go to town with some kerosine etc. Might be best to oil it up real well before starting it up. I have a similar Atlas 7" and it has a ton of oil points...
And to make it interesting, the oil type is different in different areas
Masonry tub...
I feel so stupid for not thinking of that. I've been restoring a little drill press vise and that would have made everything so very much simpler. Thank you; I'll pick up one of those at the local box store when I go to check on kerosene...or maybe the local hardware; we have a good one in town and I like them better anyway.
Also, I looked in the manuals that I have downloaded, and all I could find was "machinery oil" as the lube spec; do you have better or more specific info on that? I don't have anything in the way of oils, yet; it wasn't economical to transport any of that stuff. About all I kept was some shutter oil, because it's very hard to get.
Nice catch; that's the back end of a JDM-spec 73-series. It's my daily, which is why I've had everything from shapers to sheepdogs in the back of it. It's quirky, but I like it, and the ambalamps doors are pretty handy for both shapers and sheepdogs, it turns out... especially the 140-lb. variety of the latter. Beats the hell out of the side-swing tailgate on my Jeeps that I (mostly) sold.
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