The Whole Garage Catalogue: March 2013

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Saddle Taps For 1/2" Iron Pipe

These are for connecting a branch to an existing run of pipe. You'd clamp one to a pipe with the gasket carefully positioned, then drill through the wall of the pipe with a 1/4" drill. (Needless to say, it's wise to shut off the water supply first.)

All the plumbing in my house is copper, so I really have no use for these. Anyway, they can go in the drawer where I keep some pipe fittings. Perhaps I'll find a strictly mechanical use for them some day.

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A Diecast, Chrome-Plated Chest Handle

It's a beauty. 'Too bad there's only one.

On the underside is embossed, "MADE IN CANADA" and "ME 42". Overall length is 8"; the fastening holes/countersinks take No. 8 flat head screws perfectly.

I'll steel wool it to get the grunge off, and stash it in my spare handles bin.

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Introduction

This blog is in honour of my deceased father, Nick Gaspick.

It sprang from what had started out as merely a post on my workshop blog, Rouge River Workshop. Here's my introduction to that post:

"My son has been clearing out my deceased father's garage, so he'll have a place to restore an old car, and he's been finding all manner of stuff. I've begun one post about an old woodworking vise that I mean to restore. This weekend, my son brought me four toolboxes full of items. As a small honour to my father, I'll 'catalogue' them in this post, in no particular order, little-by-little as I go through the boxes."

The nature of the post was for it to grow ever longer, and that can be dangerous. Blogger has some quirks that I've experienced in the past, and I was getting tired of always backing up the entire post so I wouldn't lose it should Blogger vapourize an editing session. I finally decided to make a full-blown blog with an index out of the post. Here it is.

I'll leave the original post as it is, where it is, but I'll bring over all the items in it so far as individual, indexed posts here as well. Needless to say, new material will only appear here.

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A Little About My Father:

My father emigrated to Canada with his family from Croatia at about the age of seven. His family took on a homestead up Sudbury, Ontario way, and made a living there through the great depression.

My father loved school, and yearned to continue his schooling past grade eight, but that was not on. He had to leave school to make a living -- trapping, mining, whatever. Eventually, he and his made their way to Toronto -- the big smoke in Canada.

My father was built like a brick shit-house; he was a sturdy guy, unlike scrawny me. My father was a guy who could clear an acre of Canadian bush before breakfast, have it tilled and planted before lunchtime, with the plants sprouting before dinnertime.

Jesus H. Christ!-- a guy like my father ought to have lived forever!