OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

271057 Bill Ghio 2020‑06‑01 Re: Scraper blade narrow chisel
> On Jun 1, 2020, at 1:47 PM, John Ruth  wrote:
> 
> A great master shipyard Machinist once wrote that the difference between the
average worker and a Master is that the Master can determine what special tools
are needed to do the job, and then s/he can MAKE the tools.
> 
> Pretty them up, indeed.  I recently encountered a 4” open-end wrench flame
-cut out of 1-1/2” thick plate.  Looked like whomever did it just put the
finishing touches on the inside of the jaws with a hand-held grinder and files.
The rest of the surfaces were left “as torched.”
> 
> I presume that a “real” 4” wrench was either not easily / quickly obtainable
or was “not in the budget.”  Surely this “ersatz” wrench cost considerable
labor, but may have none-the-less been the sensible thing to do.


My father was a machinist at the outset of WW II and, when he got home from that
mess, he went fishing. Spent about forty years in the San Diego, CA tuna fleet
as a Chief Engineer, which meant a lot of time in and around the shipyard. He
had a friend there who was a master w/ a torch. Circa 1970 this guy presented me
w/ a wedding gift he had cut, free hand, out of 3/8” plate steel. It’s been
hanging on my wall ever since:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/77280442@
N.../49960980877/in/dateposted/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/77280442@N.../499
60980877/in/dateposted/

Bill

Recent Bios FAQ