Saving it for Good

[Rich Eagle]

So, I'm assembling the Harley engine to keep the parts from getting lost. I need to make gaskets for between the cylinders and the crankcase. I remember some nice, green gasket paper I bought in the '60s at Oden Motor. I have been saving this for GOOD for many years. Since then I have bought several rolls of gasket paper to use because I was saving this for good. Now the paper has some stains and lots of dust on it. It is a shame to cut into it for this project so I found some other stuff I have re-rolled it backwards to lie flat. While I'm waiting how much other stuff do we save for GOOD?

I have a friend who has several board feet of lumber he is saving for good. Many of his projects find new lumber as these pieces are too good to use.
On some of my recent car projects I have saved the good headlights and resurrected some junk to restore as the car is not a show piece.
I suspect there are some others that make irrational decisions also. Or is it just me?
Rich

[Ruxstel24]

Yeah, I have the pack rat gene, X2, so does my wife !!
I used to have a pool table, may be still in the basement somewheres underneath her many yard sale/Goodwill acquisitions.
I have several sheets of old gasket material, hole punches, etc.
Drawers and cans full of nuts and bolts, but I do have a scrap pile that needs to go.
(You might want to go through it first, Rich)
Lots of things left from my parents and slowly I am seeing where I got it
Now letting go of most, sometimes I find a keeper, but every time I look, I find a good piece I didn't know I had...after a few years !!

I can't begin to explain, it might crash the forum again !!

[Rich Eagle]

Well Dave, I started a pile to go to the salvage yard. So far I have found three things in it I needed and couldn't find anywhere else.

[Dallas Landers]

Pack Rat? Not me!
Oh but look what I got yesterday. I have a job to dismantle an old house on main street because it sets 18 inches from the building next door and 3 feet from the one on the other side. While looking in the basement I found a potato chip tin and a childs sled. Well I couldnt just leave them there for the scrapper.
Now I dont need or collect either but I may keep them for somebody someday.

Now the sign I found in an old grainery out of town a few miles. How it got there nobody knows as nobody in that family was named Gene. They were demoing the 140 year old building and burning it. Now my sons name is Gene, I couldnt just leave it there to be buried forever.
Hey! Wait a minute!!
Maybe thats why my buildings are all full of what my wife calls junk?
Now I dont keep everything, just the things that are old or usefull or maybe usefull to me or somebody or things somebody might want someday.
Oh well guess I should draw up plans for another barn.

6

[John E. Guitar]

I'm not sure if this is in the same category as saving old gasket material but I've got a new old stock, army surplus Ford sidevalve V8 short block still in the original shipping crate.

I was planning to keep it in the box but lately I've been thinking about building it up and putting it in my 46 coupe.

[Ruxstel24]

Works for me John, but we're gonna need pics

Rich, my neighbor brought a small trailer load of scrap to my pile...I picked half the stuff back out !! Good angle iron, some bearings, 3/8" threaded rod

[Ruxstel24]

Couldn't resist "dumpster diving" for this sign at a previous workplace.

Yeah, I got some scrap...others may disagree as to it being scrap.

[Bob McDaniel]

About 5 years ago I had a pole barn built to move my stuff into and now its full. The plan was to build a garage with a work space in it later but that has not happened yet. I wanted a shop about 20X30 or so and decided to build it in the corner of the pole barn which cut down on my storage space. One day I was out in the 100 year old corn crib working on salvaging some old lumber before I was ready to drop the old shed to the ground and burn it when I turned around and noticed it was about the same size as the shop I want to build.

I hated to tear this down because it was part of the family farm and I even have a picture from 1919 of my Great Grandfather standing in front of it but it was just beyond repair and would have just fell down someday soon anyway so it had to be done. Then the idea hit me as I was going to remove the old wood from the outside and save it but didn't know what I would use it for, why not save the building and put it inside the pole barn? So I started with the end wall and doors and removed one board at a time and placed them in order in the back of the pickup. I then took the wall to the then empty pole barn and placed each board back in place on the floor to keep them in order for later. I did the same with all 4 walls and saved every board I could but a lot were just gone on the backside so I did not have enough to build 4 walls but did have what I needed to build 2. Since I was gong to use a corner in the pole barn that's all it took! The old shed was 24X30 and my shop was going to be 20X32 so I used some of the extra wood and moved the doors around a little but used almost every board to build it. The studs were saved from other buildings so the only thing I bought was the 20 foot long 2X10's for the loft over the shop. I even had the plywood saved from another loft I tore down when we moved. I not only saved the old corn crib but I built a work space to work on old cars and can heat it in the winter with room on top for parts.

Empty pole barn, anyone else have a picture of one?

32 foot long wall on floor.

32 foot wall stood up with tractor.

20 foot end with sliding doors and walk in door moved to other side of wall. I also put in a modern type insulated overhead door I salvaged from the old garage I tore down that the old barn doors will cover if I close them so you wont see the modern door.

[Bob McDaniel]

Things started to fill up fast but here is the progress from a couple years ago.

Inside looking north

Inside looking south

This sign was behind the sliding door when I took the door off.

You will see this in the background of some of my Model T pictures like the 1913 Touring shots I did a couple years ago. All the junk piled around it is not all mine and will be moved some day I hope to get a better view of he wall.

[D Stroud]

I still have some wet/or dry sandpaper that I've had since the mid '60's. It is getting a bit stiff though, but still works. Dave

[Rich Eagle]

What grit David? That is great stuff. I have gone through a half a dozen sleeves of 80 Grit since I stopped sandblasting.
A sunny day, a bucket of water and some rusty parts and you can just let your mind go and enjoy the day. A square of top material can save your fingers.
Rich

[Mindless Automaton]

I save most stuff for good. Too bad it deteriorates before I can use it.

[D Stroud]

240 and 320 as I recall Rich, maybe a dab of 400, been awhile since I've dug it out. Goes well with the wiring on a couple of FoMoCo spools that I've had since about the same time frame. Dave

[Rich Eagle]

Another quandary is whether or not to use some of this. It was most likely was rescued from Douglas Machine shop. I have transferred it from unused gifts in the bedroom to the shop in hopes a little could be put to use. The product originated in 1928. I'm not sure when this roll was produced.
If it retires to hanging on the wall at least it will help the decor.

[Mark Gregush]

I just went thru a 5 gal. bucket of nuts and bolts. Picked out the stuff that I WILL use and the rest is going to the scrappers. Besides what I have found with that bucket of nuts and bolts, by time I would have dumped it out and looked, I would have found 3 of the 4 I needed and would still have needed to go to ACE anyway. I have gotten to the point, if I am not going to use it or sell it, it's gone. I try and keep stuff sitting on shelf's to a minimum and somewhat organized. I just do not have the space to keep everything. I too have some old gasket stock, my take is, it was made to use and have no problem using it. Same with vintage unused parts that came with box, I use the parts and keep the box, that is what the parts were made for.

[Burger in Spokane]

Spring/Summer is my time for pitching a fit in the shop, because I have jammed it with
so much junk that I cannot move, and the order comes down to distro all "un-necessary"
materials to whatever place best keeps it from going to the landfill. Afterall, the OCD
always seeks out a recycling options.

My everpresent "need" to save and display old junk collides constantly with the need to
have space for the tools and materials I have around to pay the bills and keep the lights
on. When spring rolls around, the materials for work gotta go. Either use them up or give
them away. That space is needed for more old junk. Gotta keep the priorities straight !

[CudaMan]

Very wise to assemble the engine (at least loosely) to keep all of the parts together. Better than bagging and tagging because it shows where all of the parts go and how they fit.

Plus, it takes up less space that way!

I don't save enough stuff to worry about sorting by whether it's for "good" or not. I keep the best for myself and pass along the "not as good" to my nephews, who are glad to get it because they are just starting out and have nothing.

[Bob McDaniel]

I keep the best for myself and pass along the "not as good" to my nephews, who are glad to get it because they are just starting out and have nothing.

When I read this I had to look up at who posted it to see if it was my uncle that passes some of his old stuff to me to keep for another 40 years after he is gone. Still got the last couple boxes sitting on the work bench from my last visit with him not long ago. Better put it away before I go see him again or the next box will end up on top of the last box.

[Rich Eagle]

I commend those who can get rid of things and keep their shops tidy. I have tried. However, when I build Ts I find I have mostly whatever I need around the place somewhere. The gas and postage I save is probably worth the grief of whoever has to clean up this mess when the time comes.

[Burger in Spokane]

When I was a kid, many of the old men in the world around me had dark, oily-smelling shops
and garages full of old things. Fascinating old things with sprockets and chains, wheels and
gauges. Things that while utilitarian, had a strong bit of "art" in their construction. Things
that made a kid like me giddy with delight and wonderment.

Sadly, that generation was dropping off rapidly and I was not old enough to own my own place
to hoard it all for posterity. My old man came from the generation right after the these guys and
his idea was to throw everything away. His favorite leisure activity was dump day. I saved what
I could, but the big stuff had to wait until I was out of the house and had my own place.

Guys with old grimy shops full of old and cool are rare as hen's teeth today, but every now and
then one might chance across one of those crazies, especially if one drives a Model T era vehicle.
I have spent a lifetime trying to gather what I guess "those guys" spent a lifetime gathering, just
so I can spend my free time in a place like that. Heaven.

[Duey_C]

Very interesting thread and must admit I do similar. Save almost everything of a mechanical nature. That of which I have room for.
I showed gasket cork some days ago. I'd had that cork up in the cupboard for 20 years anyway. It's getting frail.
Burger, I was far more fortunate. My dad even brought things home for me to fiddle with. Sadly thru a move, I've since lost the very early pinball machine he brought home for me from the basement of a local American Legion he was working on and he gave me room to work on it to get it working. I hadn't pulled that up for many years.
Carpenter he was. He knew I understood mechanical things better but I helped lay out many a pole building to the letter and correct and climbed around many rafters. My older brother still climbs.
One of Dad's pole buildings from near 40 years ago stands on the local county fairgrounds, still stands as the horse barn. He knew enough to sink the poles far deeper as it was swamp ground and the frost would push poles up if shallow. Looks good. I pass it every day.
At 13 in 1977, grandpa drove me to the junkyard with the neighbor's hay rack to pick up my cut-down, bare-bones '29 IH truck.
Guess I wanted to roam the junk yard early too. I was blessed. Born under the Caul tho.
If ever half a country away almost straight East, do stop here. There's a smelly little shop you might understand similar your youth tho my dear sweet gone dogs re-smelled the darned thing slightly.
Ya ever look at things and wonder why on earth do ya type such? I just did.

[Rich Eagle]

Weren't those old guys remarkable? Tony Douglas's machine shop was dimly lit and overcrowded with belt driven equipment. Tony had played marbles with Rich Bingham's Grandfather. He also rabbited an engine for Rich in the 60s that I am still running today. The oil smells and grit on the old walls were marvelous. Was it really that magical or is it that we were so impressionable back then? Perhaps it was both. I asked him if he knew where I could get a model T magneto magnet. He slowly said uh huh and walked over to the pot belly stove (not hot). He pulled it back a little and reached behind it and pulled one from the floor. Folks brought engines, often diesel, from all over for him to babbit. It sometimes took forever but he did great work. His basement was like a medieval torture chamber except for the fantastic boxes and piles of ancient wonders. A friend bough the salvage rights to it but only after it had been severely picked over. The memories of those places sure are nice.

[Rich Eagle]

I guess his other sign says more about the times. Specifying he wasn't the "shoe" guy seemed important. I assume the phone numbers were 3 and 4 digits in the 50s and before.

[Duey_C]

Loved the story about Tony's shop! Been in similars and missed out a Babbitt man's shop about an hour to the west of me by just a few years. There's one up in Fargo that's really neat! My bigger-engine rebuilder's shop is far too nice, bright and has air conditioning. Cool still!
I sure can't complain. I've collected some very neat old timey machines over the years that'll look good together in the new shop.
WANT MORE STILL.
Hey, is there any rejuvenating cork gasket material? I just found another roll of thicker stuff right here in the office.
I forgot I was saving it for good...

[Burger in Spokane]

The main work lane in my shop is always too cluttered. Between projects for work
and my own projects and junk, it is always a clusterschtuppe. But the overall ambiance
is wonderful. Friends and clients come in and say that they could look around for hours,
never seeing all the stuff I hide away in a layered "texture". Today was Get the TT Out
Day .... very late this year. I am rolling it around on sketchy wheels, while the extra
set is getting new spokes, but my vets group has an event tomorrow and asked that I
bring it, so I put all he fluids back in and got it off the stands. This is a great environment
to spin wrenches on a T.

[Rich Eagle]

I have decided to post this here rather than start a "Keeping stuff for no good reason" thread.

Shown here is a red inner tube I have hanging in my shop. It was fine when I took it out of it's tire a couple dozed years ago but the air has allowed it to decompose. I keep it around as a friend who says HI! every few months by dropping a small piece on the floor for me to discover.
Some of us who spend much time alone in our shops need friends. I have driven my normal friends away. You know the ones who interrupt pin a striping session and tell how they have seen it done or would do it or ask questions, "how come the stripe is wiggly now and not straight like the ones before I got here"? Or the guy who comes to talk on his cell phone or complain about nothing to do or his home life.
The tube is quiet and seems to be happy.
Today the air hose developed a leak. It has gotten frayed at the end but hasn't leaked until now. The last rubber dropping seemed perfect to clamp on using a homemade hose clamp that was too big for my acetylene line. I'll fix it better later.
Keeping this stuff around has always paid off for me.
Rich

[Rich Eagle]

Replaced lost photos for story above.
Rich

[Burger in Spokane]

I picked up this sign because I liked the colors, size, and anti-gas or Coca-Cola nature of
its message. Little did I know when I got it that Zelinskys worked directly with my Great-
great grandfather, and his father, a german immigrant who came to the U.S. to work as a
carpenter for the Central Pacific Railroad, in their push to build the western part the first
transcontinental railroad. After the RR was completed, the elder settled in San Francisco
and raised up a family. He was a General Contractor, employing the Zelinsky firm to do his
interior and painting work. My grandfather did not follow in the family business, but I got
the giant chest of retired handtools that nobody else wanted when my parents sold their
farm. I was amused to discover that Zelinsky & Sons are still in business, although their work
seems to be geared more toward industrial painting these days.

Amazing what a person can research on this worldwide web thing !

[Burger in Spokane]

Based on the amount of paint on this ancient hammer in my Great Grandfather's toolbox, it just might
have been left on a job by one of Zelinsky's workers. The construction of this thing sure is interesting,
with a steel "core" similar to a modern double-ended naul puller, but with an added hammer head and
rosewood pieces for a more comfortable handle.

Stamped into the sides of the "core" in the area sandwiched between the wood handle pieces it reads
"BRIDGEPORT HDWE. MFG. CORP. / MADE IN U.S.A." .... imagine that ! Not made in China !

On the reverse side it futuristically attaches to a new or upcoming "20th CENTURY".

This korbel was found in the toolbox with a note that said it came off a house he built in 1888.

I have marveled at this thing for 40 years, and the amount of time/work it would take to make
and carve, and then multiply by the 240 used on a single house of the period ! After 4 slabs of
pine were laid up into a block, the base shape was cut out with a scroll saw. Then a LOT of carving
was done, and a couple pieces were added for additional "texture", and my favorite bit are the
little sunbursts made on the tail by tapping a punch in a tiny circular pattern.

I might assume Zelinsky did the painting on this job, .... regardless, the painters made the body an
accent color from the main body of the house, then painted the carved relief areas a couple other
accents colors to really make it pop. 140 years have turned the fancy paint work to a near monotone
patina that looks pretty cool too.

[Rich Eagle]

Why don't they do carvings like that on houses today. I guess I know the answer but it is a shame we don't see more of that. How cool?

I suppose I would cast them in bondo rather than carve as many as I needed today.
That brings me to the question of what is the shelf life of Bondo? I bought this gallon of Evercoat Z-lite years ago. The copyright on the label is 2005. As I reached the bottom 1 1/2" it began getting thicker and thicker. I needed a bit for some fender work last Saturday and the Body supply store wasn't open. I see that Z-lite is no longer shown as a current product. I was able to soften this a bit with lacquer thinner and mix some with hardener. It seems to work and sand OK and takes primer. It did have some pesky little chunks in it. I would spring for a new quart of something similar but until I have bigger project I don't want to buy something that will sit on the shelf for 10 years. I guess I'm saving buying the new stuff for good. As thin as we put it on it's hard to believe I have gone through my second gallon. Making radiator caps and door handles did account for some of it. Most of it gets sanded off I guess. Just one more quandary I'm contending with.
Rich

[Rich Bingham]

I'm not going to claim I know all about it without reservations, but this has been my experience:
There are many brands of catalyzed fillers, and they may behave a bit differently brand by brand. The stuff is generically a polyester resin that sets up hard when mixed with methyl-ethyl-ketone peroxide. The stuff may become "liver-y" with age, but does keep seemingly indefinitely if the container is well sealed. I got back into a container of "Everkote" brand not long ago that I bought in '97 and it worked OK. I think lumps and near-solid material at the bottom of the can are the result of inert filler materials settling out in time. If the product were stirred up regularly (perhaps just inverting the can at intervals would do it) I have a feeling it would keep indefinitely. Not so the hardeners, which I have found often self-destruct their plastic tube and/or set up hard with age. At least this is what I've found to be the case. Knowledgeable chemists may know better !

[Ruxstel24]

I think where you store "Bondo" has a lot to do with it keeping. Hardener especially doesn't like heat and freezing.

I'm sure you have seen that you kneed the hardener before use. Do you know why you kneed it ?

It won't get hard without it !!