GG

I picked up a Stanley Sweetheart #41 yardstick this morning and it has some
language on it that I don't understand.

It is marked in inches on the front and on the back as 1/32, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4,
3/8, 1/2, and  3/4 YD.

Also on the back in small capitol letters is:

SERIA LF.2
APP.TYPE351
N.Y.C.PA.ALA.

What means this??

Also, I think we covered this a while back, but how did the old timers keep
the blades of their slicks from falling off the handles and severing their
feet?

Thanks in advance

Can anyone else remember a day with 3 - count 'em - 3 new bios??  Welcome
all!

Ed Minch

Ed Minch queries:

>>Can anyone else remember a day with 3 - count 'em - 3 new bios??
Welcome all!

How's about four? I'm a re-subscribing lurker, back to the list after
about four years - I finally have shop space again after getting married
(SWMBO _insisted_ that I have a shop - Huzzah! It works for her because
it's three floors away in our big ol' Victorian). I started sliding down
the slope about ten years ago, making my own mallets, handles, bowsaw,
etc., and after comparing Roy's performances to Norm's, I knew which way
to go. Made a bunch of larger pieces back then (standing desk, 10-ft
trestle table for my brother). I've been accumulating...erm...shiny
things...for some time and now I'm able to remove the rust from my
skills, so I'm back at it.

I'm an IT consultant going back to work shortly after getting caught in
the Bubble - all SA work, big projects and problem-solving. I make my
money from the weirdnesses of the IT Borg (that's Microsoft), but at
heart, I'm a Linux/*BSD geek.

I am also the victim of what my friend Bob (a fellow sufferer) calls IAD
- Instrument Acquisition Disorder. At this point I'm up to 3 dizis,
pennywhistles, a concertina, bodhran, guitar, mandolin, tenor sax, erhu,
banhu, and two pianos (the latter are really SWMBO's, but they still
count). I can even sort of play a few of them. As I consider trying to
combine both afflictions, I wonder - do we have any other proto-luthiers
on the Porch?

Glad to be on the best list I've ever seen (and I've run a few),

----------------------------------------
      :         Neal Connor
  '.  _  .'     
 -=  (~)  =-    neal@n...
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Press any key... no, no, no, NOT THAT ONE!

At 07:34 PM 2/15/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>Ed Minch queries:
>
> >>Can anyone else remember a day with 3 - count 'em - 3 new bios??
>Welcome all!
>
>How's about four?

How about five? :)  My name is Ryan Roehrich and I've been a lurker on here 
for a few months and have really enjoyed it.  I'm 26 and live in Omaha, 
NE.  I too am in the IT world, employed as a Unix Administrator within 
Compaq.  Having too much technology in my life drove me to take up 
woodworking around this time last year.  At first my addiction to tools was 
all about power tools, however, over the past year that has largely 
switched over to hand tools.  This switch has allowed my 2 year old 
daughter to safely come work out in the garage and work with me which is 
alot of fun for both of us.  It's kinda neat to have a 2 year old know what 
a plane is instead of the latest and greatest kids toy :)

Recently I picked up a old cheap wooden coffin smoother to play around with 
while I wait for my Knight smoother.  The question I have is about the 
angle of the iron.  It measured the angle and it looks to be a bit less 
than 15 degrees.  Is this too small of an angle for a smoother?

Thanks everyone and it's great to be here!

Ryan

Welcome Ryan,

I can 100% relate to your story. I too started woodworking to get away
from a high tech career by day. It's wonderful to know that you are
making something, and there's no schedule!

As for your wooden plane, I'm not clear which angle is 15 degrees. Are
you talking about the bevel/bezel angle? If so, I would think that 15
degrees is a little low. It should be easy to fix, though, just grind it
back a tiny bit to insure a strong edge, and then use micro-bezels at a
more appropriate angle. There's no need to waste a lot of blade, you
just don't want a long bezel hanging out too much unsupported iron. Use
a light cut, and after twenty years or so you'll have used enough of the
blade up that you won't remember where the old bezel ended.

If you're talking about the bed angle (the angle the bed makes with the
sole), then 15 degrees is way to low for a wooden plane to hold up, but
then I don't think such a plane would be made in a coffin shape anyway.

Bretton

Who counts six bios yesterday, and is who is tickled pink to have
received a copy of Wayne's 2Mb powerpoint presentation on making a YB
plane?

-- 
Bretton Wade (aka Noz Moe King) in Bellevue, WA
http://www.galoot-coop.org/

--- Minch wrote:
SNIP>>>but how
> did the old timers keep
> the blades of their slicks from falling off the
> handles and severing their
> feet?

Ed: 
 The same way I do with my electric guitar---I never
let go of it. Most cool electrics get broke when the
strap fails---in twenty years I've broken about ten
straps and had about a hundred slip off in use, but
never actually dropped a guitar that way, because I am
lucky enough to have been taught to always hold on to
the neck, and if not, by some other part.  Never hang
a guitar by its strap, or expect the strap to hold it.
 Ultimately, it will lead to tragedy.
 And, I always hold the slick by the socket, whether
I'm using it or just carrying it, so it seems safe to
me---my brother once grabbed up a slick saying: "Look
at this HUGE---"---the blade stuck firmly in the floor
about two inches away from his little toe as he stood
there brandishing the handle.  
  It's amazing because he has very large feet---If
Jesus' feet had been that big, no one would have been
surprised by the walking on water.  He (my brother)
dressed up as a clown for Halloween last fall, and
every time he mentioned it, someone said: "So, you
just paint your regular shoes red, right?
 ...good times, good times. 
   Seriously though, some modern slicks I've seen have
the handles pinned, and while it seems like a good
idea, it allows a work habit to develop that will
inevitably lead to disaster---like unloaded guns. 
Plus, you need to be able to pack the thing, and it's
a lot easier to do with a detachable handle.
  So, you've probably seen as many slicks as any of
us, right?  Seen many with permanent handles? 
         and all the very best to you, Ed; 
                  GAM in sunny, sunny Seattle
 
 

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Not sure, but I have a Lufkin no 7122 marked on the back:

N.Y.C & PENNA.
SERIAL NO. E2
APPROVED TYPE

I asked about it a few months ago and no one knew.  I thought it was
railroad related, but I guess there never was a NYC and Penn railroad.

Dave Sawyer
Evansville, IN

From: "Minch" 

> GG
>
> I picked up a Stanley Sweetheart #41 yardstick this morning and it has
some
> language on it that I don't understand.
>
> It is marked in inches on the front and on the back as 1/32, 1/16, 1/8,
1/4,
> 3/8, 1/2, and  3/4 YD.
>
> Also on the back in small capitol letters is:
>
> SERIA LF.2
> APP.TYPE351
> N.Y.C.PA.ALA.
>
> What means this??
>

Gentle Ones;

Dave Sawyer asks about a Lufkin rule marked:

>>Not sure, but I have a Lufkin no 7122 marked on the back:

N.Y.C & PENNA.
SERIAL NO. E2
APPROVED TYPE

I asked about it a few months ago and no one knew.  I thought it was
railroad related, but I guess there never was a NYC and Penn railroad.<<

WHat Dave's asking is not entirely true.  In the late 60's / early 70's when 
both the Pennsylvania RR (giant mother of an Eastern rail-line with tens of 
thousands of miles of right of way, Jeff) & the NY Central (almost equally 
behemoth-like rail carrier, Jeff) were going snuff-a-ways, they merged into 
the Penn Central.  But this likely doesn't have a thing to do with the rule.

However, the rule was likely made for use by both Pennsy & NY Central and was 
marked as being approved by both.  Since both RR's had big operations in the 
NY City metro area with freight & passenger terminals in the city proper 
(Penn Station, long since torn down & replaced by dreck and Grand Central 
Station, recently refurbished & looking as snappy as ever) and also had 
repair yards and facilities in the area, merchants in that region, such as 
Hammacher Schlemmer & others would likely have supplied tools to both 
railroads.  It made good sense to have a rule that was approved by both, so 
they could ensure stock on hand and 'keep an edge' over the other rule guys.  
That is what I'm thinking.  Kind of a neat find, especially if you know any 
rail buffs (although most are staunchly in either the Pennsy or NYCentral 
camp and might turn a nose up at a 'dual use' item).

So there you have it.  Hey how 'bout that, two rule questions in one day for 
me - Ed Minch's rag trade rule question earlier & this one.....  and I don't 
even collect rules...  no sir, not me - I've only got about 20, which as you 
fine fellows & gals know, doesn't even scratch the surface for a 
collection....  at least that's what I tell SWMBO.

Enjoy!!!

Matt Glass - lurching closer to finishing da bench in Nukeville & the proud 
new owner of the most amazingly figured piece of 1/4 sawn white oak (meep, 
meep!!)

Dave Sawyer wrote:

> Not sure, but I have a Lufkin no 7122 marked on the back:
>
> N.Y.C & PENNA.
> SERIAL NO. E2
> APPROVED TYPE
>
> I asked about it a few months ago and no one knew.  I thought it was
> railroad related, but I guess there never was a NYC and Penn railroad.
>

Dave and All,
    Perhaps the railroad notion is a blind lead.  Not too infrequently rules
are found with the NYC mark in one form or another.  It has been suggested
before that this referred to "approval" for bulk purchase by New York City
authorities for use in schools or other city departments.  Ditto for the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvana.

    Sandy Moss

Home Page and Tools for sale list at:
http://www.sydnassloot.com/

Hi Minch & Dave & Matt & Sandy & All,

Minch asked about an N.Y.C.PA.ALA. marking on a rule. Dave S. said he
had a different type rule with an N.Y.C. & PENNA. marking he'd thought
might be RR related but knew of no such RR. Matt said there was such a
RR, so maybe that was it. And Sandy said he'd seen ones with N.Y.C. only
markings and thought it was just a city government approval thing
unrelated to RRs.

I've owned ca. 200 rules, looked at a good many others, and seen several
markings like these. I've thought I knew what they meant in general, but
can't recall why I thought that or how I came to do so. Basically, it's
along the lines of Sandy's idea. Many state and local governments did/do
have weights and measures standards and various types of bureaus and
inspectors to enforce them. I'm sure you're all familiar with the
inspection labels found today on weight scales in butcher's shops,
doctor's offices, etc. My assumption has been that the markings on rules
were simply an indication that that particular rule (maybe even just
type of rule) had been certified as meeting the requirements of a
particular government or such. Such certification would probably not be
needed for all rules - only those used in retail trade or such.

I do know more for sure about the use of such markings in the U.K. - and
maybe that's why/how I made the U.S. assumption. Weights and measures
standards have been a very big deal in the U.K. for centuries.
Individual serving mugs and glasses in British bars are marked with a
symbol denoting the accuracy of the pint of bitters you're buying and
that's been so for a long time. The marking most commonly used is a
small shield with initials designating the reigning monarch (i.e., ER
for Elizabeth Regina or Edward Regina, HR for Henry Regina, etc.) and a
number designating the city or other inspection area. Some old pewter
mugs might have 20 or more such marks stamped into their bodies based on
periodic reinspections; I've assumed those were from bars that maybe had
bad reputations for giving honest measure. Some British rules are also
stamped this same way; I assume those rules were used in retail trades
or such where fair measure mattered. 

Best Wishes,
Bob in MD

On Sun, 17 Feb 2002 11:07:01 -0500 (EST), Bob Nelson wrote:

>Individual serving mugs and glasses in British bars are marked with a
>symbol denoting the accuracy of the pint of bitters you're buying and
>that's been so for a long time. The marking most commonly used is a
>small shield with initials designating the reigning monarch (i.e., ER
>for Elizabeth Regina or Edward Regina, HR for Henry Regina, etc.) and a
>number designating the city or other inspection area.

Didn't know there had been a Queen Edward or Queen Henry.  I guess they 
kept in the closet very well.  (That should have been Edward/Henry REX.)

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