avdave - thanks for the axe and machete photo; I only mentioned axes because guys of Steve's generation would, at some point, have lived in houses with open fires and open fires require kindling which in turn requires an axe.
Axe brings with it a requirement for a whetstone with light oil to lubricate.
Your photos of saws took me back....a lot of years.
Wherever stuff was stored and used - in a garage or shed - there was a unique smell....oil, sawdust, metallic all mingling together; possibly stale cigarette or pipe tobacco in the mix.
Garden tools were wire brushed and oiled at the end of autumn.
Talking of garden tools....
@frankconway when I moved back into my house a couple of months ago it was to an empty garden shed, it's not empty anymore! Steve and Joan moved here in 82 when they'd both retired from the Board of Trade and spent a lot of time gardening. One of the things I found most moving were all the bits of string and wire in the pockets of his old gardening coat. Sadly it had been a good few years since he was able to get out and do the gardening but it was something that had given him real pleasure for many years. My ex-wife was the gardener, I just did all the landscaping and construction work, I've now found myself in the role of gardener and I'm really enjoying it, perfect for lockdown. It feels really good to be putting his tools back in to use in my garden.
Today some spirit levels and folding rules, the brass level is a lovely thing and the rules are imperial only so a few years old.
After a bit more googling this morning I’ve realised that the stick I’ve kept because well it’s a stick isn’t it and it’s got suckers at either end and of course one day I’ll need exactly that for something I or anyone questioning me can’t possibly foresee is in fact the valve grinding stick that goes with the compound.
I obviously inherited my mechanical sympathy and bodging skills from my dad as he recounts stories of fixing burnt valve seats by cutting one of those sticks in half and attaching it to a drill to speed the process up 🤣
Before tubeless inflators there were refillable aerosols
I think this falls into the not sure if I'm brave or reckless enough to try it!
Built in the days before anyone collected the stats on how many people they injured!
What's the liquid/aerosol part, or is it just for dusting with compressed air?
My mate bought one of those jenni cans for respraying motorcycle fairings after hed chucked them down the road. Bit of paint in can plus thinners to suit lid on pump away as far as you dare then ...nothing turns out lightly compressed air as a propellant was not up to it!! got rattle cans after that :)IIRC there were adverts on tv for them?
I won't bother with paint then, just go back to my original first thought and use a nice flammable liquid. What could possibly go wrong with a home made fuel air device?
I've not tested this properly yet but it's a rather nice battery tester. The needle does deflect with an AA battery but it needs zeroing
Built to last
I've no idea when the footpump was made but the way it's built it should last a couple more lifetimes. The tyre lever is a Dunlop one, I assume from when he had his motorbikes.One of those things I'll keep as I'm certain that one day it'll be exactly what I need for an as now unseen job.
That tester is lovely
This thread is great, thanks avdave2. Good pics as well.
Yet another reminder of my dad - he had a footpump like that, it was blue, I think. It even had the same wire catch to hold it closed when not on use.
So many continued thanks for this thread, avdave2
The tyre lever....my Dad had a stack of them including some which you could clip to spokes;
he also had a foot pump with a brass cylinder.
Loved the spirit levels and have a couple of my Dad's.
This is the thread that keeps on giving; keep it coming!
I’ll keep as I’m certain that one day it’ll be exactly what I need
You've caught "It'llcomeinhandyitis", whereas I inherited it from my Dad.
I have FB-ATB along with "Handytohavein" inherited from my mum, usually kitchen stuff with her.
Can’t complain about the affliction, I’ve just rummaged through the garage & shed and reckon I have enough bits kept “just in case” to build some rollers for my son’s trike at the weekend. The newest bits will be the bearings from his fidget spinner! Not that he knows about that!
I've got a a spirit level just like the big one in your photo.... needless to say it was my old dads...when I use it I handle it with the respect it's due and think of dad.
Jenni can.
Still got one of those.
No regulator, so all of the air + contents come out in one wooosh!
Swords into ploughshares
Well maybe not exactly but what appears to be a 25mm canon shell turned into a homemade plumb line. Typical of Steve to have found a new use for it. The casings are .50 inch and are in the list of things to clean up.
Nothing useful to add but thanks OP for a first class thread and thanks to Steve for a lifetime curating such a fascinating collection of 'stuff' and associated stories. This thread has made me smile every time I click on it at a time when smiles are hard to come by.
STW at its best.
Like the plumb line!
The casings are .50 inch and are in the list of things to clean up.
.55" for a Boyes Anti-tank Rifle.
Kinda rare and might be worth a couple of shekels on the bay...
I'll have to check on those scruffywelder, stamping on the bottom is WII K4 1942
Edit - just googled that, didn't need to though did I because this is STW and as @scruffywelder has just proved all knowledge is here! 😊
Right at the back of the garage in the top corner I found Steve's old slide projector, the box shows signs of the years it spent in there but the projector is still in great condition.
Someone had mentioned AF spanners earlier and yes he had them, lots of them, these are a few.
The Bonney ones at the top of the picture are lovely things, sort of tools that make you want to go out and find something you can use them on.
Bonney brand was a few notches above Snap-on. They were very expensive and when they went bust the UK importer/distributor sold them off to independent trade van sales. I bought an 18 mm and it is so polished and precise that I keep it on the desk and have never used it.
Snap-on at the time were something like £1 a mil, Bonney were £3 a mil. My 18 mm spanner should have been around £45-50 at the time (late eighties). Could all have been BS from the tool guy of course.
The Palmera ones were/are cheap Spanish stuff found on market stalls.
That's interesting to know Marko, they certainly feel really nice to pick up and hold. Steve loved really good tools but at the same time he was also a great fan of everything that turned up in the middle of Lidl! Mum and dad would despair when the weeks special buys were tools as they knew they'd have a hard job in persuading him not to add the lot to his shopping list.
As we are heading towards an economic shock we haven't seen in 300 years I've realised I might need a new job so given that this was in the garage I've decided that a good 18th century occupation would be a pirate.
I believe it's his father's officer of the watch telescope possibly of WW1 vintage. It's made by Ross of London and is also marked Yeates & Son Dublin where it was bought. There is a box of pipes I have some of which were his father's I believe which are from a Dublin maker so I assume he spent some time there. It's difficult to know for sure as Steve never talked about his father, I don't think he ever forgave him for abandoning his mother.
If its army issue from the first world war it should be date stamped next ordinance stamp i think. Certainly the family binoculars etc i have from ww1 and a few other bits were very easy to date.
@joshvegas I don't think it would have been naval issue at that time, more something he would have purchased himself. There are no ordnance markings on it. I do know his father served in Royal Australian Navy but I believe he was Royal Navy before that.
I've rethought the pirate option, too much risk of seasickness so I've decided on highwayman instead
He'd mentioned a horse pistol he had in the garage, turns out it was this a William IV cavalry pistol from the 1830's. It's another of those things where I've no idea how he came to own it.
Wow. Looks in great condition
Ermmmmmmm............ there might be legalities involved with that, you might want to ask at a gun shop or the police station what to do with it.
It's a black powder pistol so as far as I can ascertain there are no issues with ownership of one. You can find them going in auctions. The two Lugers and Lee Enfield Mk4 that he used to have might have been an issue but his wife made him hand those in. I think he found that very hard, one of the Lugers was apparently of WW1 vintage.
My first thought as well Skankin_giant😊
*desperately hopes for parrot in next picture*
Wow, this truly is a remarkable treasure trove of things, this garage.
On the subject of the pistol. For years, when we were kids, there were two pistols quite similar to that one mounted on the wall of my grandparents' living room - we always knew them as 'The Duelling Pistols' for whatever reason. Anyway, when grandparents died, they went to my dad, and then when he died last year, they emerged from a storage box in the garage there. Dad had checked with the police several years ago, and they were fine with him keeping them. Anyway, my brother did some digging, and sent photos and descriptions to a couple of dealers; the upshot of it was that the pair of them were worth roughly £1200. Neither was in the good condition (especially the flintlock mechanism) of that one, but it has to be said that one of them had the name 'Griffin' on it, which apparently is a much sought-after brand. The dealer took them for restoration and selling on, as he obviously has the contacts to do that much easier than we could have done.
If you (or Steve's family) are interested in valuation, I could probably dig out the details of the dealer that my brother contacted; in Dorking or Reigate or somewhere, as I recall. PM me if you want that.
I have nothing to add, other than my envy. Dave must have been a fascinating person to know.
Dave must have been a fascinating person to know
Ermm, Dave's demise might be a bit of a shock to him.
I didn't even know I was unwell!
No parrot unfortunately but he did have a pet monkey when he was young. The family spent some time in Africa, I have his mother's Gold Coast driving licence from 1926 among other things.
Serves me right for posting when I should have been working! Apologies to both.😊
posting when I should have been working
If we stopped doing that, tumble weed would start appearing!
Ermm, Dave’s demise might be a bit of a shock to him.
has he heard the news about Joe Cocker?
@thelawman I remember the days of dueling pistols on the wall and when Steve first mentioned this pistol I sort of assumed it was a reproduction from those days, not the real thing. I should of known better! I really don't know what I'll do with it but I can't see myself selling it, If I do then I'll pm you.
I've decided I'll stay on the right side of the law, I've ruled out pirate and highwayman and am going for Bow Street Runner
Again no idea of where this came from but if a man has a sword, a machete, an axe and a pistol in his garage then a truncheon is hardly a surprise. I think Steve may have been the shopkeeper*
* those of a certain age may know who I mean
* those of a certain age may know who I mean
nods knowingly
