Monday, October 19, 2026
more from the hardware book!
Ever heard of Soldering Salts? Not me
I've heard of bar lead, it's what body guys used to lead a seam on cars, but Pig Tin? Bar Tin? Never heard of them before
the sheer variety is unreal... every variety of some item, like these forks, and I'd only ever heard of hay forks and common pitch forks before now
so reading these name... shaving fork? And how is a sugar beet fork better for beets than any of the others that are so similar?
another example of a crazy number of varieties, is the number of rakes
Ever heard of a wood tooth rake? or a dandelion rake?
How about a Lawn Comb?
and these are something I've never heard of, weed diggers, and weed pullers
interesting... not a shovel or scoop... it's just the same as a snow rood rake
Ever heard of a Snath?
It's been about 40 years since I've swung a grass whip... before the inexpensive weed whacker, this got the job done, slowly, like you were trying to make perfect gold club swings
What a wicked knife! This should have shown up in some slasher horror movie
Corn knife and Hay knife...
I've never heard of these shears called Heimerdingers before
outstanding tool, why have I never seen or heard of one?
It goes without saying, these garden hose repair parts are something I wish we'd had when I was a kid... them must have worked perfectly with a couple hose clamps
seriously, if a hanging tube of foul smelling stuff kept dogs off yards, there would be a lot of years that dogs would avoid
these are something... double sided gloves!
and lastly, things with wheels! These seem to be nicely mechanically complex
ever heard of a chicken chaser? Kept pigs from hunting chickens when they got hungry
these are ORNAMENTAL trailer hitches!
MapQuest added a new feature to its mobile app last week that allows users to turn on a “surveillance layer” to find Flock license plate readers in their route.
“Turn on the Surveillance Layer in Map Options to see known license plate readers from Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions (Vigilant), Genetec, Axis Communications, Axon, Leonardo (ELSAG), Neology, Rekor, PlateSmart, Ubicquia, Verkada, and other outdoor surveillance cameras,” the post read.
Earlier this month, progressive lawmakers introduced legislation to ban federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). The Ban Flock Act would stop federal agencies from using ALPR and pause federal grant funding to state and local governments with ALPR contracts.
The legislation would also allow Americans to sue the federal government for the use of ALPRs.
Earlier this month, progressive lawmakers introduced legislation to ban federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). The Ban Flock Act would stop federal agencies from using ALPR and pause federal grant funding to state and local governments with ALPR contracts.
The legislation would also allow Americans to sue the federal government for the use of ALPRs.
I've got Angels in the Outfield on tv while I browse for things to post... and they used this old GMC for the Angels team bus
pretty darn good cast of actors, Danny Glover being a curmudgeon of a grumpy team manager... Joseph Gordon Levitt as the baseball loving orphan that can see ghosts, Tony Danza as a pitcher with a worn out arm, the wonderful Christopher Lloyd as the boss angel, Neal McDonough - who you will recognize as the blond with bright blue eyes that plays Dum Dum Dugan in Capt America, and Matthew McConaughey and Adrien Brody as team players - with a real short role for Dermot Mulroney. I was surprised to see Taylor Negron, who was a familiar sight in SO many 80s and 90s movies
I think I posted this... but, it's too good to pass up based on a vague idea that I've posted it once, years ago... Made by Alexander Engineering / Accessories
and by the way, the white stripes on his black helmet? A tribute to the design of his college rowing cap, I kid you not https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-design-of-graham-hills-racing.html
Sunday, October 18, 2026
It's taken me a couple months to go through the 1400 pages of a 1929 hardware supply mail order catalog, and it was very cool to discover many dozens of things inside... and now that I finally finished, I can share some with you!
They had more stuff than a Sears Christmas Catalog...
it's so interesting to see the origins of so many common things, like roller skates... and see that they had rubber wheel skates for rinks, and plain metal ones for sidewalks...
and though the Crescent brand existed, they hadn't cornered the market
and they were not called "Tin Snips" yet, they were "Tinners' Snips"
And axes were known by the shapes, a Wisconsin, Michigan, Chicago, or California pattern
and what the hell is a Car Builders Half axe?
and this is a freaking railroad car moving lever
and a car body clamp, as they were known then, and now, known as C Clamps - is that C the abbreviation for Car? Intriguing!
Kennedy Tool Chests were already a thing!
and I learned a lot of words/names for things... Darbies, Hawks, Riffles
I have no idea what a long chain needle nose is, or how it's different from a "long" needle nose? Shorter and more curved handles?
Ever seen a double ended Crescent Wrench?
Wow, 10000 pounds cutting pressure! I wonder what other tools compare to that, and what tools have more?
and I learned what Berea stone is! I'd never heard of that before
What the hell is a barbed car nail for? I had to look that up, of course!
"Barbed car nails" were specialty heavy-duty fasteners used to build and repair wooden railroad freight cars in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before trains were built entirely of steel
Because rail cars (boxcars, stock cars, and flatcars) were constructed with thick wooden framing and siding and subjected to constant vibration, heavy shifts in freight, and severe weather, standard smooth-shank nails would eventually loosen and "pop" out under this mechanical stress. To prevent this, manufacturers designed barbed car nails
and before we called them Cotter Pins, they were called spring cotters!
there's a lot more, but that's for another day, it's late and I gotta call it a day
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