L.O. Beard the tail of 3 hones.

[C-Bag]

Interesting set. Do you use it for old cars or newer models? Last I tried to get a brake cyl kit it was not available, only whole cyl's. I love old tools that are useful, but only if they're cheap

I'm not a collector, I'm an accumulator of bargains.

 

[SundanceK]

I have another set that I use when I have to work on my cars which is not often anymore. I got a guy for most of that work anymore. I just do a little machine work now n then... Really like the old tools too and wonder how many I need sometimes. It's fun to get em out, clean em up and think about what they've seen.

 

[C-Bag]

What’s fun for me is to learn about an old tool either by a thread or vid and then they show up locally. It’s often like they just materialize. I needed set of reamers and that Navy set of old reamers shows up on CL for $120. Most of which were still in their original wax paper wrappers from the 40’s. Had two missing and a couple well used but what a bargain. But who had ever heard of L.O. Beard?

There was a couple of Atlas 7 shapers at different times for around $500 on CL and that led me to do a search and find out about them. It was apparent they were stripped and missing parts but I didn’t know what. Over time I pieced it together and after I’d gotten my cheap lathe and mill I realized a shaper would be very useful for what I do. Then one day at a crazy tool hoarder estate sale I find a complete 7b for a bargain. It has turned out to be even more useful than I thought and a great addition to the shop. That set of LO Beard hones on eBay and finding refills locally is probably the craziest though.

 

[SundanceK]

I also like the estate sales and estate auctions. I remember the old swap meet and flea market days when a person could go thru old stuff all day long. I would think there are a lot of old tools out there just waiting to be found. Some people may not know what they have or how to sell it when they want to get rid of it either. Some ends up in the trash sadly. My grandfather owned a Skelly Service Station and ice locker from the 30s to the mid 60s. I remember a lot of old tools he had. I still have a few. I also worked for the original Vise Grip company as a Toolmaker. They had some old tools and tooling there from way back to their beginning.

It's amazing what a person can find if they keep searching. After I came across the L. O. Beard hone I decided to research and came across your post. I had to reply to find out more as there is not a lot of info out there. Those were the days of many small manufactures who were later bought up by the large companies. I also had another hone set with that one and I'm posting a photo. The Lisle hone company was a more popular one and is still in business.

 

[pdentrem]

Old Ammco Hydraulic Brake Cylinder Grinder. Comes with the 3 arm and parallel stone set up. No idea how old it is.
Pierre

 

[C-Bag]

I also like the estate sales and estate auctions. I remember the old swap meet and flea market days when a person could go thru old stuff all day long. I would think there are a lot of old tools out there just waiting to be found. Some people may not know what they have or how to sell it when they want to get rid of it either. Some ends up in the trash sadly. My grandfather owned a Skelly Service Station and ice locker from the 30s to the mid 60s. I remember a lot of old tools he had. I still have a few. I also worked for the original Vise Grip company as a Toolmaker. They had some old tools and tooling there from way back to their beginning.

It's amazing what a person can find if they keep searching. After I came across the L. O. Beard hone I decided to research and came across your post. I had to reply to find out more as there is not a lot of info out there. Those were the days of many small manufactures who were later bought up by the large companies. I also had another hone set with that one and I'm posting a photo. The Lisle hone company was a more popular one and is still in business.

That cool you were a toolmaker for Vise Grip, anything you rescued from there?

Around here are all kinds of fascinating small old businesses because of fishing was a big thing for a while. The estate sale I got the shaper in was probably a once in a lifetime thing as it was on 2.5ac with a 65x75 barn with sheds, lean toos, and truck bodies etc scattered all over. Each area with different “themes”. The barn was stacked literally 10’ high with little paths between boxes and machines. It was overwhelming. I think the guy started out doing machine work on boats and ships and then devolved into a hoarder because there was no room to do anything in the barn. A crazy mixture of tools in boxes, bins, stacked on the floor, on benches, everywhere. And probably 30guys crawling like ants all over. It was hilarious. See something and pick it up and think WTH? And there would be another guy right behind you pick it up and ponder, then move on. Every once in a while somebody would say “I’ve been looking for that for X years” and guys would look at it and just like me have no clue. And the family was just blasting stuff out the door for pennies on the dollar.

After I quit the knucklebuster trade I went into working in local fruit packing houses as a fabricator/mechanic and there was always hoards of antique tools and equipment in some oil stained room that was just storage and nobody used. One packinghouse was made in the 20’s and the whole place was made out of huge redwood beams with one sizer that is still used made out of wood. That place was fascinating with nooks and crannies all over. And every place I ever worked had a boneyard where machines and equipment went to rust away. Some I saved, most I could only feel sad for.

I have tried doing several searches for L.O.Beard and no trace or history marker of what happened to them. I have several Lisle tools from my early days of wrench twisting in the 70’s. No sets, just “gadgets“ like brake spoons, a screwdriver like thing for detaching and reattaching brake springs along with a thing for taking off and putting on small springs that held the brake shoes to the backing plate. I think some of my small brake cyl hones were Lisle but nobody has parts for them in the local auto parts. Almost all the small specialty hand tools in the auto parts were Lisle. Not anymore. I’d love to see some close ups of the Lisle hone, looks similar to the Beard but looks like you can re skin the hone shoes?

My current antique resto is an antique Manley screw press. I was hoping it would be good enough to use as is but after almost exactly 100yrs it needed some love. It has turned out to be a deeper rabbit hole than I intended. Its here:

Manley mechanical press

I’ve been on the hunt for quite a while for a larger arbor press specifically for broaching. I have an old 2tn Jet arbor press that did great for all my projects so far but doesn’t have the umph or stroke for 8mm or 3/8 broaches. The other day this popped up and it was kinda rusty looking so I...

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[SundanceK]

I have a drawer full of Vise Grips, some prototypes and one offs. We made Unibits, hex keys, QuickGrips, spring clamps and more. I have some of each of those items plus other prototypes from those tools also. And 3 heavy duty roller carts...one very heavy duty. And about 350 replacement springs for all the locking pliers. One of my best bosses ever..and Nam vet. I asked for a few extra springs one day and got a LOT. I would ask him for tools and we would sit down and order. I would ask for something else and he'd say 'Hell, why don't we just make one'. My kind of guy.

The only thing with any info on L. O. Beard was this link. Maybe the town of Lancaster, PA would have more in a library or museum?

Trade catalogs from L. O. Beard Tool Co.

americanhistory.si.edu

I really like to dig thru places like the barn you speak of. I could spend days there. My latest was a shed full of about 20 1960-1970s Chevys and 15-20 blocks on the floor with parts and dust ALL over. The overhead door had not been open for around 35 years. We got first chance to go thru all the stuff there and it was piled high. Couldn't open doors or hoods/trunks on many vehicles. Second time we got closer because he got the door open and some things moved. We were in coveralls with flashlights etc. all over stuff for about 8 hours. Did not buy anything but gained much experience and knowledge. I better just stick to machining, gunsmithing and all that.

In search of small old rotary table next.

 

[C-Bag]

That’s interesting about your time with Vise-Grip. Did you work with any of the old timers? Would be interesting to see some pics of your stash of oddball one off’s.

I had a couple of good bosses and in my last wage slave tour I had two that were brother in laws that any time I went to them with an idea they jumped on it. I had worked into being the R&D mechanic where I would work with the engineers and we’d debug a design and then make the jigs and tooling for it, train a crew to build it and then I’d move on to something else. Pay was embarrassingly bad, but I liked the work. And I was the only one in the whole shop not constantly punching in and out on jobs.

Did you actually find a LO BEARD trade catalog in that link? I couldn’t find it in that mess. Sorry.

Not being a car guy, a shed full of cars wouldn’t do it for me like bumbling onto an old workshop. This area has had a lot of small specialized industry. So finding them when they liquidate is really fun. One i went to was before I found my lathe and mill when I was still in my research phase. It was an estate sale and it was this guys dad. I bought a nice old mil spec storage cabinet and was looking at the dividing head he had on the table. He brought me back into his dads shop where he was a world renowned racing boat head designer! He only had one thing left which was this low HD cab that was like 18x64x36 all drawer FILLED with all his tooling! He wanted $500 for the whole thing and each of the drawers I looked in had 3x’s that. But I didn’t even have my mill and lathe yet and didn’t know where I’d put it. I will go to my grave regretting that one.

 

[SundanceK]

I did work with some of the old timers. The Tool Room was the place to be because it had A/C in the summer heat and humidity of Nebraska with forging furnaces blazing. The factory covered at least 3 city blocks inside and we had electric Cushman carts with tools, etc to get around the factory for die set, press work and other maintenance. I was among the first 'Tech Grads' to work there. A couple guys in the Tool Room got there by what we called the theory of relativity. They were related to the original Peterson family who invented the Vise Grip tool. Some were a great source of knowledge and the company history. Then there were a few others to which the theory applied.

One of my favorite jobs was much like yours. I would present an idea for an improved method, concept, safety issue or updated die set to management. Upon approval I could draw/design it, order tool steel, etc. and make the components on our machinery including CNC programming. I would order all other parts needed and then build and assemble it. We would test it and troubleshoot to produce the first articles for quality approval. Then they would assign us a machine operator who I trained to run the die. Then on to the next project while supporting the last. Not much for a budget at that time either. It was fun.

I did not find an L. O. Beard catalog on the link. Every time I clicked on a link in the article it brings up a search page that circles around to the original link. Not sure it you could get any help if you tried to contact them?? Customer service being what it is now...

 

[C-Bag]

I can’t stand to do repetitive rote production work that would be better done by a robot. So when they realized that and I could make improvements to the machines I was assembling they started giving me ongoing projects that had dead ended. More my cup o’ we tea than a blank slate.

Getting to work with an engineer directly that we appreciated and respected each other was a boon. I didn’t and still don’t do CAD or CNC. Together we fixed a project that had been going on for 15yrs at least. Some of the old timers called it Frankenstien, others called it the Juicer as it was an automated orange packer. You can imagine why they called it the juicer because it mangled many an orange

We made quite a stir when we got the Juicer to go head to head with the original and only machine on the market for 20yrs able to do box packing and beat it slightly. But our design was half the size, you didn’t have to modify the box conveyor to install it and was safe. The other machine was not and many an operator was hurt by it. And unlike the other machine it could be bought not leased like the other. Oh and it was quiet as the old machine used a shop vac mounted on top to supply vacuum for the collator head.

One of the best things about working with old timers besides good tips and legacy knowledge was looking through their tool box. There was always some LO Beard like tool in there that I’d never seen or heard of. Many I can only think they were lacking proper marketing or bad management? dunno.

I saw first hand how often companies don’t survive the generational evolution several times. The guy who invented the panel saw was close by in Atascadero and I went there when they started liquidating. The grandson showed me around and I bought mostly material and a couple of tools. But it seemed mostly what got them was patent infringement and not being able to defend it. Then the old man passed and the next one in line was not an inventor, and the slowly faded. All the machine tools in the shop had been modded by the old man to do specific jobs non CNC. Fascinating. I would have loved to see them in action. I’m more a lover of clockwork than electronics.