# TOOLs from back when ?



## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

This photo is a sketch of the table saw my father made in 50's. He let me use this when I was 8 years old ! How he taught me the safety of a power tool, I do not remember. BUT somehow he got the message to us. We all have our hands , eyes, ears . 
Notice all the safety features that were on these home made saws ! Oh there were NONE. The blade DID not go up and down. The fence was an steel piece of angle iron with c-clamps to set the width. _ The motor was a used furnace fan motor ( little 1/4 hp). Anti -kick back….WHY, the weight of the motor is what put tension on the belt, if you wedged a piece of lumber the belt slipped. To start and stop the saw , PLUG it in !.(Sometimes give the belt a tug to start rotation) Later a switch was attached to the leg of saw, poor wiring, cause as you cut , if you touched the metal top you would feel a tiny electric shock. "Just a tickle my father would say". The hole for the blade was cut with torch, rough edges, warped only a bit !(No zero clearance guide on this one). The stand was made from old Diamond harrow pieces found laying in the farm. Made of spring steel, typically small farm welders did not work on this iron ! (7014 welding rod works on everything )_ This saw was used from 195? till 1994, (The year My father passed away)
He build all the kitchen cabinets in 3 different house we lived in. Remodelled homes for other people, He did very good work with what he had. When he passed away ,I got his old tool box and tools. Black & Decker skill saw (that was his favorite tool) a 16oz, leather handle ,estwing hammer, 24" framing square , try square, small steel (almost square), files and rasps, awl, tape measure,coping saw, key hole saw, very old miter saw (I still use this at times)dull hand saw (only 1) 1/4 sheet random sander, Brace and auger bits. 1/2" black and decker reversing drill , 1/4" black and Decker drill (blue model), power jig saw. 
My Uncle J. had the fancy ,scmancy saw. His motor would go up and down, to cut angles the table would tilt, the motor and blade stayed vertical.
Hope you all enjoy !


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## Wolffarmer (Jul 14, 2009)

Holly cow.

but sounds like he did great work

Randy


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

My dad and granddad built a barn 54×52x 26 feet tall with hand tools. Bet they would have loved to have had they saw ;-))


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

brilliant people. They knew how to tackle a problem and invent solutions.


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## herg1 (Mar 27, 2008)

MsDebbieP I think you are correct.

Our Parents and Grandparents were not bothered with TV,s, I-pods and the like so they had more time to do a strange things called work and study. See how many of the questions below you can answer, remember this is an 8th grade test. The majority of these kids never went any further in school than the 8th grade.

> 1895 TEST 
> This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from 
> Salina, Kansas. It was taken from the original 
> document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical 
> Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and 
> reprinted by the Salina Journal. 
> 
> 
> 
> 8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, Kansas - 
> 1895 
> 
> Grammar (Time, one hour) 
> 
> 1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters. 
> 
> 2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have 
> no modifications. 
> 
> 3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph. 
> 
> 4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give 
> Principal Parts of do, lie, lay and run. 
> 
> 5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case. 
> 
> 6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks 
> of Punctuation. 
> 
> 7-10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show 
> therein that you understand the practical 
> use of the rules of grammar. 
> 
> Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours) 
> 
> 1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic. 
> 
> 2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. 
> wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold? 
> 
> 3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth 
> at 50 cts. per bu, deducting 1050 lbs. for 
> tare? 
> 
> 4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is 
> the necessary levy to carry on a school seven 
> months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals? 
> 
> 5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton. 
> 
> 6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days 
> at 7 percent. 
> 
> 7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 
> ft. long at $.20 per inch? 
> 
> 8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 
> 10 percent. 
> 
> 9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, 
> the distance around which is 640 rods? 
> 
> 10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a 
> Receipt. 
> 
> 
> 
> U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes) 
> 
> 1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided. 
> 
> 2. Give an account of the discovery of America by 
> Columbus. 
> 
> 3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary 
> War. 
> 
> 4. Show the territorial growth of the United States. 
> 
> 5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas. 
> 
> 6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the 
> Rebellion. 
> 
> 7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, 
> Lincoln, Penn, and Howe? 
> 
> 8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 
> 1620, 1800, 1849, and 1865? 
> 
> 
> 
> Orthography (Time, one hour) 
> 
> 1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic 
> orthography, etymology, syllabication? 
> 
> 2. What are elementary sounds? How classified? 
> 
> 3. What are the following, and give examples of each: 
> Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate 
> letters, linguals? 
> 
> 4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'. 
> 
> 5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e'. 
> Name two exceptions under each rule. 
> 
> 6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. 
> Illustrate each. 
> 
> 7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection 
> with a word: Bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, 
> inter, mono, super. 
> 
> 8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the 
> following, and name the sign that indicates the 
> sound: Card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, 
> fare, last. 
> 
> 9. Use the following correctly in sentences, Cite, site, 
> sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, 
> raise, rays. 
> 
> 10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate 
> pronunciation by use of diacritical marks 
> and by syllabication. 
> 
> 
> 
> Geography (Time, one hour) 
> 
> 1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend? 
> 
> 2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in 
> Kansas? 
> 
> 3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean? 
> 
> 4. Describe the mountains of N.A. 
> 
> 5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, 
> Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. 
> Helena, Juan Fermandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco. 
> 
> 6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the 
> U.S. 
> 
> 7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of 
> each. 
> 
> 8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in 
> the same latitude? 
> 
> 9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean 
> returns to the sources of rivers. 
> 
> 10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give 
> inclination of the earth. 
> 
> Imagine a college student who went to public school 
> trying to pass this test, even if the few outdated 
> questions were modernized. Imagine their professors even 
> being able to pass the 8th Grade. Can 
> Americans, student and professor alike, get back up to 
> the 8th Grade level of 1895? 
> 
> I seriously doubt there is anyone in America who could 
> pass this simple test. Some 
> professors could pass the subjects they have a doctorate 
> in, but they would fail the rest. 
> This is absolute proof that the New World Odor Gang has 
> succeeded in dumbing down the 
> American people. Is it no wonder few Americans realize 
> they are being led to the 
> slaughter? 
> 
> the awnsers are found here 
> http://freedomdomain.com/testanswers.html


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Before the Great Depression, only about 10% attended high school. But the 8th graduation test of the period was about equal to what kids were doing through high school in the 50 or 60s. I read all albout this some where but cannor cite the source or maybe it was a PBS special? They kick a lot of these facts out on American Experience.

Here you go: I *fain*ly went to the *fane* in *vane* to *raise* the flag, but was *cite*d at the *site* for my *feign* attempt when the sun's *rays raze*d my attempt *to* put *two* of them *too* high in *sight* of the police station because it was a half mast day. Do I get extra credit for to, too, & two?

OK LJs, pick a question and post your answer )


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## gary351 (Sep 29, 2010)

I think back in the day craftsman had a lot of common sense something thats lacking now a days. My vintage ts still has the switch on the motor, and up in till last month i been reaching around the ts to turn it off with a long stick. I now have a Kreg router switch mounted to the front of the ts so it be safely operated.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I think it is a combination of lack of common knowledge, pride in their work and work ethic. A few years ago an organization I belong to hired a contractor to enclose a building and roof it. They did not vent the attic space!! When questioned, they said it was not specified. When you get to things that basis, it should not have to be specified if you are dealing with competent people.


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## Dragonsrite (Feb 5, 2009)

I found it interesting what Snopes had to say about the "test" that herg1 posted.

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp

The link given for the answers returns a 404 & I was googling for an alternate, 'cuz frankly… I'd fail that exam BIG time! The Snopes article may explain why.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

That specific test may be false, but the SAT requirements have been lowered in recnet years. They are not teh tests we took in the late 60s. My wife work in an elementry school. It is horrid what is not being taught, just get through the books whether anyone learns or not, go through these books this year. It would be funny if it weren't so tragic.


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