Craftsmanship in all things

[Wiz]

I was getting some new locks fitted to the studio.

The locksmith, was a talker, and really nice guy.

He was interested in some of the gear in the studio, and was suitably impressed that I had built some of it myself.

He is into vintage motorcycles and woodwork.

I was explaining to him, about the Neve 1073 preamp (part of a discussion on the obsession with older things, finely crafted) about how I had wanted one for so long, and had actually dreamed of what the red marconi knob would feel like when I finally owned one. How every time I turn it, its solid clunk is simply rewarding to me and I dont tire of it.

He said, you gotta watch this video then and sent me a link.

I know Rick is into woodwork, and even if you arent if you (like me) appreciate artistry and craftsmanship in all things and find it beautiful in its own way, you will appreciate it.

http://www.wimp.com/toolchest/

Back in the 1600s I went for an apprecticeship as a patternmaker, I didnt get it, but I would have loved it.


Cheers


Wiz

[Chris H]

Back in the 1600s I went for an apprecticeship as a patternmaker, I didnt get it, but I would have loved it.


Cheers


Wiz

Amazing tool chest!
Also amazing that you have managed to be around for so long! ...........Peter, is your family originally from Transylvania??

........ and maybe you where really getting new locks fitted to the inside of your coffin......and the door to the crypt under the studio!

[Wiz]

Back in the 1600s I went for an apprecticeship as a patternmaker, I didnt get it, but I would have loved it.


Cheers


Wiz

Amazing tool chest!
Also amazing that you have managed to be around for so long! ...........Peter, is your family originally from Transylvania??

........ and maybe you where really getting new locks fitted to the inside of your coffin......and the door to the crypt under the studio!

you know, I have been called a blood sucking b$*&^()d!

so you never know

8)

[rick]

always makes me smile when somebody links this

is it wrong that i have had the studley coffee book for about 10 years ..?

online old tool hounds... are called galoots

this thing is the mecca of the galloots ..


i am happy to be an offline tool hound though not interested in being a galoot..

that said i have things no man in this century should really have .. the galoots i know dont think its fair
i blame time travel ..
or perhaps i am a treasure hunter .. one mans trash and all that

[rick]

iphone shot of the very first things i saw in my dining room , lets not bother with the shed .. but if you could be bothered noticing this is the ultimatuim brace .. its would have been too expensive for mr studley back in the day
the chisels are brazilian rosewood handled numbers from 1890 the brace is gunmetal and ebony its 1860s
that is OLD for still used wood working working tools

[Wiz]

arent they beautiful 8)

I love that stuff.

I have often stood there touching something made loooong ago, a table, a wall, a brick, and wonder about the person who made it.

[rick]

hey i just noticed for the audio trainspotters ,

the redish bakalite thing off to the left

its actually mic preamp not a woodworking tool ,
made by the good folks at neumann (gefell) in the 50s
very rare ..

ermm very very rare !

uses 2 ancient metal tubes ef-12 for gain

( thats the vf14 replacement tube that wagner use in their u47w microphone and thats about the only thing i have ever see that uses them outside one or three microphones )

[philly]

nice router plane there too

[rick]

router is prewar stanley sweetheart if that means anything to anybody ,
i also have a set of prewar sweetheart bedrocks .. all that prewar stanley stuff has brazillian rosewood handles and blades that actually stay sharp which is probably unneeded information but unless your grandad or his grandad had an eye for quality
these things are not your usual shed finds

i also have .. hell i also have .. well i also have everything that you can sharpen and butcher wood with

maybe i am actually a galoot ?
but will never admit it
if its made as well as the guy that made it ever could
i am more likely interested .. even if i dont know what something is

a thing well made is a thing to hold

[mylesgm]

a thing well made is a thing to hold and to behold. So is that which has a history that is tangible. I often wear my Grandfather's wedding waistcoat and cufflinks for special occasions, nobody else needs to know for me to appreciate the handmade tweed waist coat and the rose gold cufflinks but they mean something to me.

[geareyes]

( thats the vf14 replacement tube that wagner use in their u47w microphone and thats about the only thing i have ever see that uses them outside one or three microphones )

Siemens/Maihak V41 pre uses EF12's.What a sonic beast, to!

Mike

[rick]

few things there mike
first is phil punch has one or two of those v41s (i think its a 41 ? ) so i have seen one , and it looked all the world to me like he had actually been using it the other day when i popped around which he never seemed to at camperdown ,
and
two
i didnt know they used ef12s .. so i am wrong twice ..!

I think after a bit of digging tonight my one is the same circuit v41 with a different housing and numbers , i will have a look at phils though , i am no sure mine has the same input transformers , doesnt look as serious
probably not worthy of this threads heading even !

its ok
it cost me 3 euros ..
it was sold along with a bakalite sewing machine as the power supply on german ebay ..

[geareyes]

Phil has one? I'll buzz him & try to borrow it.I heard one in Germany and loved it.The prob with older German stuff like V76's, V241's, V41's is that they cost a bomb to refurbish and re-tube ... as you would know.

lol @ the sewing machine supply! .DE is a funny playground.

[Sammas]

...and my girlfriend just rolls her eyes when I say "they don't make things like they used to".

This thread reminds me of my late grandfather. He was a toolmaker for Sunbeam for decades, till retirement when he and my grandmother opened a gallery/framing business. All kinds of impressive craftsmanship, attention to detail and ingenuity. He had a 1 foot long piece of railroad track that when laid on its side was the perfect angle to cut the chamfer on the borders of frames... you know? That flat matt that sides below the glass? The most impressive thing was watching him machine a new cam for my aunty's car in his garage out of a block of metal using a bunch of hand tools, a bench grinder and a set of verniers.

It makes me a little bit sad that these kinds of things aren't day to day occurrences or skills like they used to be.

[geareyes]

Speaking of German pres in my previous post, one can't help but stand back and acknowledge their mindset when it comes to craftsmanship & forward thinking.

" Germans make things like they used to "

VW factory in Dresden -

http://www.youtube.com/embed/nd5WGLWNllA?rel=0

[rick]

pretty sure phils are v41 .. mike
whatever they are but they are certainly pre v72 , dunno.. rare..
and always sat up in his locked up cupboard ,
so i was really surprised to see them out and fired up at his place the other day

but mine are some geffel version of them i guess , probably looks better then they sound but you never know
i havent ever fired it up , i took it to gunters after much pestering from him to see them
he had one like that 20 years ago but didnt look at it before he sold it on .. so he had mine for a few weeks i forgot to ask him what he thought
it sat in the boot of my car for a year
and migrated to the dining room as a "thing"
maybe a month ago

should take a better photo of the sewing machine power supply

[Text_Edifice]

You know I'm pretty sure I've seen two of these recently (the Gefell ones).

Wonder what they'd sound like.

[rick]

did your mum have a sewing machine ?

[Text_Edifice]

When I say see I mean offered for sale.

This look like it?

[Wiz]

I loved that VW video Thanks



Peter

ps we had a foot operated singer, that I used to try and hit light speed with as a kid 8)

[rick]

hey dave ..those are the same type but slightly different model number as mine
but mine is clearly much earlier and made a great deal better underneath and have steel tubes not glass
those things look like they were communist junk !

better stick to paying under ten bucks for them i reckon

[Text_Edifice]

Interesting - very similar housing (not that that matters an iota) - must be a real crapshoot with some of the east german stuff?

[mylesgm]

You mean this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-RFT-mic ... 4840afd7a5

[rick]

looks about $500 too much to me

[Drumstruck]

This thread reminds me of my late grandfather. He was a toolmaker for Sunbeam for decades, .....

Degrees of separation - amazing - my late father was also a Toolmaker at Sunbeam - 9 years there I remember him saying. He had similar skills to those you describe - the things he made were amazing. A skilled toolmaker is a real technician.

[philly]

my dad used to work in a helium refinery.

they still speak highly of him

[rick]

this guy will keep you busy wondering why you got sent there from your friendly local audio club forum


http://www.holteyplanes.com/

[Drumstruck]

that plane will never fly

[Wiz]

I think they are wonderful

magic stuff