That left how to spot weld. There are many YouTube videos showing how to do it with a commercial tool, but one vid showed a homemade welder that was little more than a motorcycle battery, push button, horn relay and some leads. I could do that.
Over the years, Ten Tec has released a surprising number of CW (continuous wave or Morse Code) Keyers for Amateur Radio use. There have been two basic designs, single paddle and double or imabic paddle models. Released in about 1975, the Model 670 is a single paddle version, intended for use with the Century 21 CW transceiver.
I began to haunt flea markets and old book and record stores looking for vinyl treasures. I still had a decent turntable, and had recently upgraded the cartridge, but my phono preamp was at least 10 years old and not the best to begin with. It sounded ok, but the next logical upgrade was a more serious audiophile phono preamp.
In a former life, I worked in professional audio sales and service for a local music store. This was about a million years ago, and the store, Musicmakers Austin, is long gone. I was just recently out of college and the modest pay didn’t matter too much because I was living every musician’s dream: working as a musician — or at least in close proximity to working musicians.
Marilyn and I enjoy the odd flea market ramble, and a trip to Bussey’s in Schertz, Texas was fun. It was our first time to this meet, and we didn’t really know what to expect. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but old tools, radios or cast iron always get my attention.
I enjoy flea markets, and there’s a great one near Fredrickburg, Texas — about an hour from our Hill Country home. We go almost every month. Last October we came home with vintage cast iron pots and skillets, a UT Longhorn-branded Crockpot and — best of all — an old Stanley No. 5 jack plane for just $8!
With the new handle installed, it was time to sharpen. The steel was pitted from its time in the woods, but had plenty of metal and potential. With my new-found interest in woodworking, I’ve been working on my sharpening skills. I’ve tried several systems from wet/dry sandpaper on a glass plate to carborundum, whetstones and diamond plates.
I enjoy restoring old tools. It’s fun to buy a new tool and investigate the abilities it brings, but there’s something about finding an old tool, removing the corrosion and dirt, and repairing and sharpening that are especially satisfying.
In a previous post, I mentioned my reawakened interest in woodworking. The cleanup of the shop and benches, refurbishing of several old tools, and the purchase of others are getting me ever closer to the goal of a proper woodworking shop.
At least a dozen years ago, I helped my Dad and his wife clear out their home in Colorado in preparation for a move to a smaller home in Southern California. They had been there about 10 years, and had a lifetime of accumulation that included some things from my Dad’s childhood home in Fontenelle, Nebraska. There were tools I remembered from visiting the family farm that had belonged to Gramps, and others my Dad had collected over the years, I was very pleased when I learned that many of them would be going home with me.