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Tinkerers what you brought back to life recently? Not a watch

Swissmister
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I’ve always loved making broken things work. The longer they were inop the better. Share some of your restoration and repair work. I’ll start with a Vendo 56 Coke machine.
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Found a few before photos. It had no cooling equipment at all when I got it.
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Evitzee
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Great restoration there! The moon lander is a nice touch.
 
Swissmister
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Thank you. That little lander was in a box at an auction about 25 yrs ago. It has a string, as you can see coming from the top, and I hook it to the ceiling. It was made with a little gearbox to allow it to slowly lower itself. I wish I could put a video up. It's kinda cool. A Japanese tin toy from the late 60s.

I know some of you are fixers. It can be a clock, maybe, or an old pinball machine. Or maybe you collect old telephones and restore them. In recent years I've been restoring audio, mostly turntables and receivers. Even old furniture, not machines, but would still be cool to see. How about old toys? Old gas pumps (petrol for those who drive on the wrong side)? And a recent car resto would work.
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Ludi
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From this pile of rusty metal ...

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... to that sweet little happy car

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Not my work though but posted for inspiration 😉
 
verithingeoff
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In another life I restored vintage tractors. here's a part restored Ferguson TEF. First pic up on stands after respray, second pic the one on the left with new owner.
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Swissmister
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That is very cool. I grew up on a farm and love tractors. Many times at farm auctions I've been sorely tempted to buy one. The prices were often very good, and they looked so damn cool. But I have no way to store them or enjoy them. IF I did get one, it would be a John Deere B. My dad had one, and I have great memories of steering it and riding with him pulling the manure spreader, etc. I'd bet those in your photo are connected to a childhood memory. Am I right? Oh, and we had a little Ford similar to the size of yours, too.
 
verithingeoff
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When I was about five I went camping with my dad. We were on a small farm in wales. The farmer was a great bloke, he sat me in the seat of a Fergy TED, set the throttle to very slow, shoved it in gear and I was happy for the next couple of hours.

I did a number of Fergusons and an Allis Chalmers model B. Here's a pic of the Allis, I don't have any "after" pictures
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Swissmister
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Michael, that table looks great, and that is not lowering any bar. Those tapered legs and that finished edge on the table top require great workmanship. Well done, and I think the hipsters call that "mid century."

On the tractor: Were all those makes from the US? I think Massy, Ferguson, Allis-Chalmer, and many others were made in the Northern US, right? I remember so vividly leaning against those little fenders. Now, I'm sure that would be considered far, too dangerous for a child. Great memories, huh? You may have just caused me to collect toy tractors and implements. I had quite a few as a boy.
 
verithingeoff
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Harry Ferguson was an Irish mechanic who was the inventor of the ubiquitous three point linkage which is fitted to practically every tractor in the world. The prototype was called the Black Ferguson. The T range was introduced in 1946 withe the TE20 which was a petrol paraffin engine. I believe that Ferguson tractors were built under licence in the US
Edit to add:
Allis Chalmers was an American company
 
michael22
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Swissmister Swissmister
Here’s a memory for some of you.
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And another memory in the mirror. When I was 10, we moved into a backward area, the house had a phone very similar to that.
 
marco
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Cast iron out door garden tables rescued from a dumptster.
Derusted using electrolysis.
 
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michael22
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@marco How do you dearest with electrolysis? Is that a DIY thing, or do you send it out?
 
marco
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michael22 michael22
@marco How do you dearest with electrolysis? Is that a DIY thing, or do you send it out?
I did it at home in the garage.
Wheely bin, battery charger 12 volt battery, sacrificial anode and washing soda electrolyte. You can google it for details.
Here's a pic of the setup.This bin has 2 mild steel chairs in it. Takes a while 24/36 hours , the bigger the charger the better.
Here's a pic of the finished chairs and table and a "before" pic, this was a long labour intensive job , great deal of preparation as they were a mess.
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michael22
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Awesome. I assumed the rust would be sacrificial, so no sacrificial anode would be needed. I'll read up on it. I have a couple of projects in the line-up.
 
marco
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michael22 michael22
Awesome. I assumed the rust would be sacrificial, so no sacrificial anode would be needed. I'll read up on it. I have a couple of projects in the line-up.
Not quite , the process is similar to electro plating in reverse. The rusty item being cleaned has the rust migrate to the sacrificial anode , which attracts the rust but eventually disintegrates into the solution. You can actually watch it gassing from the rusty surfaces, if its not "gassing" its not working, which means bad contact in the circuit.
For total safety this should be done in a well ventilated area as it gives of hydrogen, not good !
If you use a "smart" charger you must use a battery in circuit as the charger needs to "see" a load before it will send out dc.
Wear old clothes this is messy !!
 
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