Piano Tuner’s Tool Chest

Alice just sent me a link (translated from Portugese) to a post on the Henry Studley piano tuner’s tool chest. I saw an article on this chest year’s ago in a back issue of Smithsonian (which I can’t bring to hand right now) and I’ve always found the image beautiful and inspiring.

A chest like this would be total overkill for me, but I’d love to find a large high quality photo print.

Simple Hair Dryer

I found this plan for a Rube Golbergian hair dryer in the Popular Mechanics Handbook for Women, 1924, which contains some truly some truly ingenious domestic ideas. I’ll blog some of them over the next few weeks.

Happy Halloween, btw. Sorry an “asbestos lining” and exposed heating element is as scary as I can get today. I’m just not inspired.

This man is an author. He writes stories.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1063458&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
Printing a Book, Old School from Armin Vit on Vimeo.

An Encyclopedia Britannica video on book printing and binding c1947. Combines all of my favorite elements: Books, hot metal, and hazardous work environments.

Thanks to Mark Hurst for the referral.

Happy 4th!: Dragon Breath Sparklers

These photos are from our last “Brooklyn Fireworks” show. Invented by Mr. Cuttita–our friends Michael and Carl’s dad who was clearly a mad genius–these are sparklers turned up to 11.

All you need is a wire hanger and super fine steel wool (no soap added, 000 or 0000 “buffing grade”). Straighten the hanger so you have about a 3 foot length of wire with a small hook at the end. Unroll the steel wool and hook one end to the hanger. Move anyone you love back about 20 feet, light the end of the wool swing the hanger and run around like a spazz .

Good times.

For God’s sake though, cover your hair, have a bucket of water handy (or a pool) and don’t blame me if someone dies.

Remote Control Flying Saucer

Another Remote control Flying Saucer (from a 1950s issue of Air Trails: Hobbies for Young Men) to match last June’s flying pizza tray.

Now you can have Martian dog-fights while the world watches in terrified awe.

Heatwave Project

My new corkboard:

All it took was a two-day heatwave, 200 wine and 4 champagne corks from freecycle, six hot glue sticks, and a pile of bad 80s horror tv on DVD.

If you attempt one of these make sure you sort your corks by size and trim off any stray pieces left by the corkscrew.

Now I can tack up all my weird paper in style.

Flying Witch and Charybdis Plans

I just sold a large lot of model magazines to an overseas buyer and I didn’t want to let these two peculiar aircraft plans get away.

First this plan for a Flying Witch’s Broom by Frank Scott (American Aircraft Modeler, Nov 1972)

Page: 1, 2, 3

Next this spiraling, single-wing craft named “Charybdis” by designer Charles W. McCutcheon (American Aircraft Modeler, Oct 1972)

Page: 1, 2, 3, 4

Don’t hurt yourself!

Curious Antique Newspaper Clippings

In the process of moving, I unearthed a c1900 scrapbook that I acquired several years ago. It’s a technical engineering text with miscellaneous clippings pasted over most of the pages. I had put it aside, intending to conduct “further research” but you know how those things work…

Turns out that it wasn’t very interesting, but I did find a handful of peculiar newspaper clippings that I thought I’d share.

First, a list poem enumerating crimes against books and condemning the guilty to a special hell: “An Index Expurgatorius”
Next, directions to build an apparatus to break a cow of the bad habit of sucking its own milk: “Device For Sucking Cow”
A strange tale of a Burmese child who claimed to be the reincarnation of a recently deceased British Army officer: “Burmese Child Poses as a ‘Reincarnation'”
An in-depth description of the signs to watch for in order to determine if you or a loved one is dying: “Physical Facts that Presage Death”
A short notice on the good will inspired by an American circus touring Europe: “An American Circus in Germany”
Lastly, a Hearst paper editorial exhorting people of the Earth to have some pride in our technical accomplishment and not just assume that the inevitable Martians and Lunarians will be kitted out better than us: “Let Us Push Our Own Planet to the Front“

Tissue and Beer Can Hot Air Balloon

I found this cool and simple plan for a hot air balloon and inflater in a vintage issue of American Aircraft Modeler. Tissue paper a couple of tin cans and you’re ready to go. Looks like a lot of fun.