That was published during the war years, it was the handyman's version of a "victory garden" resource. Before 1950, a residential 30-amp fuse panel was the norm, so motor H.P. had to be carefully evaluated too.
I own every issue from 43 up to 91. And a few random older ones. Inherited from my grandfather. Ive spent so much time reading them out of my 41 years on earth. Built a lathe, sanders, sharpening jigs, bench’s, musical instruments, all sorts of hand tools and jigs, measuring tools, all sorts of woodworking projects- dovetail jig- man- ive really got my use out of them- and continue todo so- the newer Pop Mech mag is WORTHLESS it’s so sad. Ive got quite a few vintage Pop Science as well- it was a nice mag too ❤
There's lots of old Popular [Mechanics|Science] issues available on the Internet Archive. There are also old trade magazines, such as one for the industrial coatings industry, where I found some descriptions of how hammered paint finishes were produced back in the 40s or 50s.
@@StuartdeHaro "A one-coat baking formulation developed by the Rohm & Haas Coatings Application Laboratories includes the use of Amberlack 80X, Uformite F-233, Superfine leaf-free aluminum, silicone oil, xylol, butanol, Solvesso, and capryl alcohol." Industrial Finishing, January 1957, Page 44. The two-coat method was to paint the item with a paint containing metallic flakes, then while it's still a little wet, spatter it with solvent. The solvent drops will re-liquify the local coating, and the metal flakes float to the edges, creating the pattern. Then bake the item to lock in the finish. At some point I'll be painting my 1937 Craftsman lathe, and I want to try a hammered finish. I bought some blue mica flake powder off Amazon to help with that.
I have a full set of popular mechanics hardback. These are cool resources even though dated. As far as the paper spacing goes for milling, it's true. Common paper is .003 thick whereas cigarette paper is .001 thick. If you need finer, cellophane from cigarette packs is thinner. Used these often to shim on surface grinders
Definitely one vote for showing more vintage media. Especially DIY plans. Although it was done recently, I think an ongoing series where you build some of the more terrifying examples could be a lot of fun. It sounds like it would get expensive, maybe you could attract some patrons by raffling off the item at the end of the video series? With a blanket liability release of course
I’m a book hoarder too! More book reviews please! Would love to watch you build some of the homemade tools. Hopefully it will inspire us to make them as well.
I really like your book review, keep them coming. The "Welders Drill and Grinder from an old Auto Starter" has me shaking my head! Like you, I also thought of broken wrists...Laughing!
Thumbs up on the book review content idea. Love me some 30s and 40s thinking with line drawings. Also appreciate you calling out the sidebars like the ball trick, brass bluing and pulley removal. Vintage minutiae could be a whole genre on its own!
That looks like a nice book. I agree with the WWII era comment, certainly compared to combat none of this seems that risky. I use a shop-built power hammer in my blacksmith shop nearly every day, risk is relative. I've used a home made table saw many times. I think I am safety conscious, and I try to tell myself every day that all the machines in the shop are capable of injuring or killing me. I too have a die filling casting kit, waiting to be attacked, the die filer is interesting. Lots of projects. The small model maker lathe reminds me of Dave Gingery's series of build-your-own-metal-working-shop-from-scrap books. Do you have any of his books? Dave was a personal friend. I miss him every time I go into the shop. Thanks for the book review!
I don't have any of the Gingery books. I remember see the ads in the back of Popular Science (specifically the one about building a furnace), I just never got around to buying any of them.
@@StuartdeHaro there are several YT series of individuals building various projects of Dave's. I think the shaper might be my favorite. It'll distract you from the machining world over to the world of furnace building, green sand foundry, and pattern making.
'Death Trappy' is a wonderful description for the contents of your splendid volume. I especially like mixing thiosulphate and lead acetate for blueing brass. Copies of the book are available for about $20 from several suppliers.
@@StuartdeHaro There was an article in Fine Woodworking magazine,late70s,a shop teacher made his own from plywood,he stated it was preferred by the students. No instructions, but some photos. I miss the ability to buy a wide variety of things and chemicals and stuff. The inventiveness was relentless.
@@paulmanson253 Ah, the good old days! I have to wonder why you don't see any examples of these homemade tools. Is it because nobody made them or because everyone who sees one immediately kills it with fire?
I have in my collection a 20 volume set of Popular Mechanics Encyclopaedia from the 50's. Make an ark welder, Add a room, Build a fire place, You name it, it's there, In all it's dodgy dangerousness! Lots and lots of old school draft table, hand done drawings, And Imperial measurements all. It's a crack and I'd never get rid of it. When the apocalypse comes it will be invaluable to the survivors!
I don't know..I think "Death Trappy" Is pretty evocative of 'Danger Will Robinson' to! You know common sense is the accumulation of our own.. Ah..., stuff ups!
I always loved reading Popular Mechanics and Popular Science. I was too poor to have a subscription but the school library had them , So I took advantage of one thing school had . LOL
My Father was a subscriber to both Popular Mechanics and Mechanics Illustrator and had literally piles of back editions. I used to go through those and dream about all the projects I wanted to try. When I got older, I began to realize that although they were inventive, they were also, in many cases, dangerous as hell. I never tried to build any one of them but those illustrations did come in handy later on in life. A friend of mine used photocopies to train youngsters in a school shop class about how things could be made but also how they could be made to be safe in their design and use. Some of the students actually did build some projects and while most didn't work all that well, they did learn the basics towards using tools and materials to build successful projects in adult life.
Great article Stuart, when I was a kid, my dad got a set of "encyclopedias" from the grocery store, 20 books, A to Z home handyman projects and plans of every kind. I t was amazing to see that rather than buy something, you could make it at home. I think I'd like to see you make that drill from the pipe fittings, same thing for the die filer. Enjoyed very much, cheers!
Great book review! This book and advise could have been the precursor to the book “ Why women live longer than men”?? 🤣 Keep the book reviews coming....... 👍🏼
When you showed the pipe fitting drill press I thought it might make a pretty good tapping machine. The pipe drill press might also be useful as a small scale arbor press as well.
One of my favorite channels you might want to check out, it's called homemade lathe machine. It's some guy in Central America I believe who has built an entire machine shop out of tuk tuk parts. It's really pretty impressive what he puts together. He has built a pretty well stocked shop at this point and he gets into the nitty-gritty, he built his gearboxs from scratch. It's the same kind of spirit as popular mechanics but with third world poverty thrown in. The guys an absolute genius, his tools are hideous but they do surprisingly good work. Highly recommended if you enjoy the old popular mechanics. There is an amazing strain of self-reliance to be found in that part of the world
Popular Mechanics used to publish a yearly anthology of "Shop Notes," starting in 1905. I have reprints of the first ten years. (Used to be carried by Lee Valley, but no more). Mostly home shop stuff, with a smattering of auto repair, farming practices, trade skills, science tricks, etc. Like your book, the ideas range from clever and practical, madly inspired ("could that actually work?"), all the way to death-wish scenarios. If you're interested, Stuart, I'll send them to you.
@@StuartdeHaro No, I meant send in a box. It's ten books, about 200 pgs each. Learn how to repair a steel tape with a patch made from an old corset stay!
Thank you very much for that book review, Stuart. (I just ordered a copy from a bookshop). I would definitely like if you would present further books of your library.
i just received a copy myself, yesterday. Great fun, and to my mind not that hazardous, certainly not terrifying. It was fun to see this review come up.
I use the paper trick a lot. I originally saw it in Karl Moultrecht's Machine shop practice. I have a roll ( several actually ) of cash register tape .003". I can rip off a nice long strip and it seems about safe enough. It's definitely cheaper than cigarette paper.
I think the die filer could easily be made to fit under a bench. As far as space, I keep seeing other people's shops and how much space they have and I just think, "You son of a..."
I most certainly like this open attitude to Popular Mechanics suited to the time we live now.I am interested also in making Morse tapers and a taper attachment.(TOT has one).Thank you.
I vote for the testing the two pins in the v block. I understand how it would work theoretically. I still cannot see it being very functional, in my mind the upper shaft will necessarily slip. But you don't know if you don't try. Or in this case, I don't know if you don't try, haha. I know that you are considering a larger project but I for one would like to see this experiment
3:10 Yes, you can remove a stuck pillow block barring by breaking the cast housing. Then cut the inner race into with a wafer rock. If your good ( I'm, not) you can do this without nicking the shaft. On another note they do make split pulleys and gears so you don't have to remove everything on the shaft.
The ball bearing drill press that you asked us to comment on, I might be mistaken but it looks extremely similar to one that fireball tool just built on video, out of an old popular mechanics. It might not have been the exact same one, but it was a very recent and very popular video. I didn't know if you were already aware but I thought your efforts might be better applied to one of the other options. Best
Check out the build video of the Martin Model die filer kit by Tolle Spectare; very well done build and video. I built the same kit recently as a beginning machinist and I thought it was a great introduction to working with castings A lot of the stuff he did with a mill I did with a lathe because that's all I had when I started. I eventually shelved the project for a few months until I had my mill up and running... One of the things I learned from the project is that while you can technically mill on a lathe and do a lot of stuff with creative setups, it sucks. 🤨 Mine turned out OK but I still need to get it mounted to a base and hook up the motor. My goal is to make something out of sheet metal rather than just screwing it all down to a board which seems to be common. I bought a 1/3hp 3 phase motor and plan to hook it up using a VFD for variable speed.
I thought about that and I might do it eventually. I think I'd definitely use a welded square tube frame instead of pipe. I don't have as much of a need for a bandsaw though, so I think the drill press will come first and then the die filer because of the interest in it.
Yep. It's very thin, but I wouldn't exactly say it's cheap. $2 to $3 depending on the brand for a pretty small package of paper. My guess is it was popular because everyone had it in their pockets anyway. Now we have to make a special trip to get it and the cashier looks at you like you're a stoner when you ask for it. It's hard to explain that it's just for machining purposes.
I, like most, am interested in what I could use and would likely build. This eliminates the drill press as I wouldn’t likely build it. I have too many as it is. The die filer is of interest. I considered buying a casting kit but I’d rather fabricate it. Appears they use the body and bearing of an electric motor. That build would be my vote but I do enjoy watching people make things either way. I enjoy the variety of videos but do lean towards actual machining tips and project videos. Mrpete started making “What is It?”, “How it Works”, and other non-machining, non-shop tips videos. Interesting but those now make up most of his content. I’m sure those are much easier to film and produce but I find I often scroll past his new content. Sad. I’d hate to see your channel slide too far either. Just me.
As I mentioned in another comment, I built a die filer from a casting kit recently, and I really enjoyed the process of working with the castings. You have to put some thought into your setups to get all of the features positioned well not only on the castings but in relation to each other, and have it not only work but also look right. It's easy to machine one so that all of the machined dimensions are in the right relation and it functions, and yet have it look goofy due to the first feature you cut being centered on the casting, but the rest being off because the casting isn't perfect. I enjoyed the challenge a lot.
I just realised where you are going wrong in your shop, you are not wearing the regulation white shirt and tie.🤔 And if you were in Britain you would need a Trilby hat too. I was going to add an anti woke quip but good taste prevented me, so you just have to imagine a very funny remark instead.
That was published during the war years, it was the handyman's version of a "victory garden" resource. Before 1950, a residential 30-amp fuse panel was the norm, so motor H.P. had to be carefully evaluated too.
That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the perspective.
I own every issue from 43 up to 91. And a few random older ones. Inherited from my grandfather. Ive spent so much time reading them out of my 41 years on earth. Built a lathe, sanders, sharpening jigs, bench’s, musical instruments, all sorts of hand tools and jigs, measuring tools, all sorts of woodworking projects- dovetail jig- man- ive really got my use out of them- and continue todo so- the newer Pop Mech mag is WORTHLESS it’s so sad. Ive got quite a few vintage Pop Science as well- it was a nice mag too ❤
I have that book. red cover. i owned for a time a band saw made from pipe fittings too, it was a lot better than it should have been.
Cool. Got any pictures of it?
There's lots of old Popular [Mechanics|Science] issues available on the Internet Archive. There are also old trade magazines, such as one for the industrial coatings industry, where I found some descriptions of how hammered paint finishes were produced back in the 40s or 50s.
Ooooo, do tell! How scary was it?
@@StuartdeHaro "A one-coat baking formulation developed by the Rohm & Haas Coatings Application Laboratories includes the use of Amberlack 80X, Uformite F-233, Superfine leaf-free aluminum, silicone oil, xylol, butanol, Solvesso, and capryl alcohol."
Industrial Finishing, January 1957, Page 44.
The two-coat method was to paint the item with a paint containing metallic flakes, then while it's still a little wet, spatter it with solvent. The solvent drops will re-liquify the local coating, and the metal flakes float to the edges, creating the pattern. Then bake the item to lock in the finish.
At some point I'll be painting my 1937 Craftsman lathe, and I want to try a hammered finish. I bought some blue mica flake powder off Amazon to help with that.
I have a full set of popular mechanics hardback. These are cool resources even though dated. As far as the paper spacing goes for milling, it's true. Common paper is .003 thick whereas cigarette paper is .001 thick. If you need finer, cellophane from cigarette packs is thinner. Used these often to shim on surface grinders
Definitely one vote for showing more vintage media. Especially DIY plans. Although it was done recently, I think an ongoing series where you build some of the more terrifying examples could be a lot of fun. It sounds like it would get expensive, maybe you could attract some patrons by raffling off the item at the end of the video series? With a blanket liability release of course
I’m a book hoarder too! More book reviews please! Would love to watch you build some of the homemade tools. Hopefully it will inspire us to make them as well.
I really like your book review, keep them coming. The "Welders Drill and Grinder from an old Auto Starter" has me shaking my head! Like you, I also thought of broken wrists...Laughing!
Thumbs up on the book review content idea. Love me some 30s and 40s thinking with line drawings. Also appreciate you calling out the sidebars like the ball trick, brass bluing and pulley removal. Vintage minutiae could be a whole genre on its own!
That looks like a nice book. I agree with the WWII era comment, certainly compared to combat none of this seems that risky. I use a shop-built power hammer in my blacksmith shop nearly every day, risk is relative. I've used a home made table saw many times. I think I am safety conscious, and I try to tell myself every day that all the machines in the shop are capable of injuring or killing me. I too have a die filling casting kit, waiting to be attacked, the die filer is interesting. Lots of projects. The small model maker lathe reminds me of Dave Gingery's series of build-your-own-metal-working-shop-from-scrap books. Do you have any of his books? Dave was a personal friend. I miss him every time I go into the shop. Thanks for the book review!
I don't have any of the Gingery books. I remember see the ads in the back of Popular Science (specifically the one about building a furnace), I just never got around to buying any of them.
@@StuartdeHaro there are several YT series of individuals building various projects of Dave's. I think the shaper might be my favorite. It'll distract you from the machining world over to the world of furnace building, green sand foundry, and pattern making.
'Death Trappy' is a wonderful description for the contents of your splendid volume. I especially like mixing thiosulphate and lead acetate for blueing brass. Copies of the book are available for about $20 from several suppliers.
Oh yeah. I didn't even show some of the scariest ones. There's a mostly plywood table saw in there.
@@StuartdeHaro There was an article in Fine Woodworking magazine,late70s,a shop teacher made his own from plywood,he stated it was preferred by the students. No instructions, but some photos.
I miss the ability to buy a wide variety of things and chemicals and stuff. The inventiveness was relentless.
@@paulmanson253 Ah, the good old days! I have to wonder why you don't see any examples of these homemade tools. Is it because nobody made them or because everyone who sees one immediately kills it with fire?
I have in my collection a 20 volume set of Popular Mechanics Encyclopaedia from the 50's.
Make an ark welder,
Add a room,
Build a fire place,
You name it, it's there,
In all it's dodgy dangerousness!
Lots and lots of old school draft table, hand done drawings,
And Imperial measurements all.
It's a crack and I'd never get rid of it.
When the apocalypse comes it will be invaluable to the survivors!
I wish I could like this comment over and over again. I'm totally going to start saying Dodgy Dangerousness as often as I can.
I don't know..I think
"Death Trappy"
Is pretty evocative of
'Danger Will Robinson' to!
You know common sense is the accumulation of our own..
Ah..., stuff ups!
This was FASCINATING
The PopMech metal shaper is the project highest on my wish list!
Really Cool old book 👍
I always loved reading Popular Mechanics and Popular Science. I was too poor to have a subscription but the school library had them , So I took advantage of one thing school had . LOL
My Father was a subscriber to both Popular Mechanics and Mechanics Illustrator and had literally piles of back editions. I used to go through those and dream about all the projects I wanted to try. When I got older, I began to realize that although they were inventive, they were also, in many cases, dangerous as hell. I never tried to build any one of them but those illustrations did come in handy later on in life. A friend of mine used photocopies to train youngsters in a school shop class about how things could be made but also how they could be made to be safe in their design and use. Some of the students actually did build some projects and while most didn't work all that well, they did learn the basics towards using tools and materials to build successful projects in adult life.
Great article Stuart, when I was a kid, my dad got a set of "encyclopedias" from the grocery store, 20 books, A to Z home handyman projects and plans of every kind. I t was amazing to see that rather than buy something, you could make it at home. I think I'd like to see you make that drill from the pipe fittings, same thing for the die filer. Enjoyed very much, cheers!
This was fun and educational. Would love to see more. FWIW, I liked the drill press belt sander.
Great book review! This book and advise could have been the precursor to the book “ Why women live longer than men”?? 🤣
Keep the book reviews coming....... 👍🏼
When you showed the pipe fitting drill press I thought it might make a pretty good tapping machine. The pipe drill press might also be useful as a small scale arbor press as well.
One of my favorite channels you might want to check out, it's called homemade lathe machine. It's some guy in Central America I believe who has built an entire machine shop out of tuk tuk parts. It's really pretty impressive what he puts together. He has built a pretty well stocked shop at this point and he gets into the nitty-gritty, he built his gearboxs from scratch. It's the same kind of spirit as popular mechanics but with third world poverty thrown in. The guys an absolute genius, his tools are hideous but they do surprisingly good work. Highly recommended if you enjoy the old popular mechanics. There is an amazing strain of self-reliance to be found in that part of the world
Popular Mechanics used to publish a yearly anthology of "Shop Notes," starting in 1905. I have reprints of the first ten years. (Used to be carried by Lee Valley, but no more). Mostly home shop stuff, with a smattering of auto repair, farming practices, trade skills, science tricks, etc.
Like your book, the ideas range from clever and practical, madly inspired ("could that actually work?"), all the way to death-wish scenarios.
If you're interested, Stuart, I'll send them to you.
I love to see that. Are they on pdf?
@@StuartdeHaro No, I meant send in a box. It's ten books, about 200 pgs each.
Learn how to repair a steel tape with a patch made from an old corset stay!
@@g.tucker8682 Sounds good. Send me an email to my channel name at Gmail or you can message me on Instagram if you have that?
Thank you very much for that book review, Stuart. (I just ordered a copy from a bookshop). I would definitely like if you would present further books of your library.
i just received a copy myself, yesterday. Great fun, and to my mind not that hazardous, certainly not terrifying. It was fun to see this review come up.
I enjoyed the book review.
The notches cut in lathe dog is something our lathe dogs at school have. We have one project that requires turned down square stock. Works well
THANK YOU !!!!
Paper trick is how I was taught to touch off a part.
I use the paper trick a lot. I originally saw it in Karl Moultrecht's Machine shop practice. I have a roll ( several actually ) of cash register tape .003". I can rip off a nice long strip and it seems about safe enough. It's definitely cheaper than cigarette paper.
Some interesting stuff in there 👍🏻
Love to see the drill or die filer added to the list
Very steam punk ideas, very interesting little book if you made the drill press that would be really something. Regards John
Please do try making the drill press. Looks rather “steam punk”! Keep the book reviews coming.👏 👏👍😀
Would definitely love to see you try one of these!
I'm definitely interested in the die filer
Thank you. That is quite a unique book! I am intrigued by the die filer but I don't have any extra space either.
I think the die filer could easily be made to fit under a bench. As far as space, I keep seeing other people's shops and how much space they have and I just think, "You son of a..."
I most certainly like this open attitude to Popular Mechanics suited to the time we live now.I am interested also in making Morse tapers and a taper attachment.(TOT has one).Thank you.
I vote for the testing the two pins in the v block. I understand how it would work theoretically. I still cannot see it being very functional, in my mind the upper shaft will necessarily slip. But you don't know if you don't try. Or in this case, I don't know if you don't try, haha. I know that you are considering a larger project but I for one would like to see this experiment
That's definitely on the list
3:10 Yes, you can remove a stuck pillow block barring by breaking the cast housing. Then cut the inner race into with a wafer rock. If your good ( I'm, not) you can do this without nicking the shaft. On another note they do make split pulleys and gears so you don't have to remove everything on the shaft.
I would like to see the die filer build,cool book.
The ball bearing drill press that you asked us to comment on, I might be mistaken but it looks extremely similar to one that fireball tool just built on video, out of an old popular mechanics. It might not have been the exact same one, but it was a very recent and very popular video. I didn't know if you were already aware but I thought your efforts might be better applied to one of the other options. Best
I think that was a hydraulic arbor press, unless he made another that I haven't seen yet.
@@StuartdeHaro You are absolutely right, my mistake. Not sure how I mixed those up.
Check out the build video of the Martin Model die filer kit by Tolle Spectare; very well done build and video. I built the same kit recently as a beginning machinist and I thought it was a great introduction to working with castings A lot of the stuff he did with a mill I did with a lathe because that's all I had when I started. I eventually shelved the project for a few months until I had my mill up and running... One of the things I learned from the project is that while you can technically mill on a lathe and do a lot of stuff with creative setups, it sucks. 🤨
Mine turned out OK but I still need to get it mounted to a base and hook up the motor. My goal is to make something out of sheet metal rather than just screwing it all down to a board which seems to be common. I bought a 1/3hp 3 phase motor and plan to hook it up using a VFD for variable speed.
Fun walk through the book! Speaking of death trappy, how about the tie the guy is wearing at the drill press?
Oh, that's a safety tie. You didn't know about those?
Modify the bandsaw project!!! That would be cool.
I thought about that and I might do it eventually. I think I'd definitely use a welded square tube frame instead of pipe. I don't have as much of a need for a bandsaw though, so I think the drill press will come first and then the die filer because of the interest in it.
@@StuartdeHaro Die filer for sure would be a great project. Looking forward to seeing more of your content.
“ This is how you broke your wrists in the 40’s!” That’s a fracture to you and me….
would like to see information on installing a variable frequency drive control for a 220 volt 3 phase motor
I have an electrician friend that might be able to help out with that. Let me check with him.
8:35 cigarette paper is the thinnest cheap paper for that job I think
Yep. It's very thin, but I wouldn't exactly say it's cheap. $2 to $3 depending on the brand for a pretty small package of paper. My guess is it was popular because everyone had it in their pockets anyway. Now we have to make a special trip to get it and the cashier looks at you like you're a stoner when you ask for it. It's hard to explain that it's just for machining purposes.
I would like to build the drill press. How can I get a copy of the instructions?
Contact me on Instagram or email me at my channel name (all together, no spaces, dots, or dashes) @gmail.com
I made high spot blue with automotive grease and ink pad bottle dunno if its the same thing like commercial high spot blue
I, like most, am interested in what I could use and would likely build. This eliminates the drill press as I wouldn’t likely build it. I have too many as it is. The die filer is of interest. I considered buying a casting kit but I’d rather fabricate it. Appears they use the body and bearing of an electric motor. That build would be my vote but I do enjoy watching people make things either way. I enjoy the variety of videos but do lean towards actual machining tips and project videos. Mrpete started making “What is It?”, “How it Works”, and other non-machining, non-shop tips videos. Interesting but those now make up most of his content. I’m sure those are much easier to film and produce but I find I often scroll past his new content. Sad. I’d hate to see your channel slide too far either. Just me.
I definitely intend to stick with machining related things. If I come up with anything else I'll start a second channel.
As I mentioned in another comment, I built a die filer from a casting kit recently, and I really enjoyed the process of working with the castings. You have to put some thought into your setups to get all of the features positioned well not only on the castings but in relation to each other, and have it not only work but also look right. It's easy to machine one so that all of the machined dimensions are in the right relation and it functions, and yet have it look goofy due to the first feature you cut being centered on the casting, but the rest being off because the casting isn't perfect. I enjoyed the challenge a lot.
I like the video but i would rather see you make something. I dont want to see this turn into a book club channel. Keep up the good work
Fair enough. I'm going to make a version of the drill press and die filer eventually. I can't promise it will be soon.
I just realised where you are going wrong in your shop, you are not wearing the regulation white shirt and tie.🤔 And if you were in Britain you would need a Trilby hat too.
I was going to add an anti woke quip but good taste prevented me, so you just have to imagine a very funny remark instead.
This is when men were men . How I grew up boys today these things scare them sad what we've become where are the men at