A Stanley No. 399 Surform

I already have one of these, along with the bigger 'plane'-style version. I never use either of them.

The Surform tools are Stanley's refinement of the wood rasp. I never use a rasp, either.

If I didn't find business & commerce to be such a pain-in-the-neck, I'd put the whole works up on Kijiji for five bucks and try to be rid of them.

I guess I'll just try to make room in the drawer for this additional Surform, and stash it with the others. Perhaps something will come up for which a Surform will be just the tool I need.

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Mystery Washer

The opening is just shy of 9/16" across. The outside diameter is 1 3/16"; thickness is just shy of 7/32".

Embossed around the bevelled perimeter is, "SEE MANUAL DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN BOLT".

I have no idea what the washer is for. It can go with my collection of miscellaneous large washers.

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An All-Plastic Hand Screw

Even the screw is plastic. I can't imagine what this might be from or for.

It looks to be quite useless, but it's too nice to throw out. I'll stash it in my UBICTIO (Useless But I Can't Throw It Out) bin.

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A Ray-O-Vac Sportsman Lantern

A lantern from the days when men were men, and a proper portable lantern weighed over four pounds.

The red flasher beacon is articulated so it can be elevated.

The beam is powerful. It ought to be, considering that replacement batteries are about twenty dollars

This lantern has accumulated a lot of grime over the years. I'll clean it up and get it back as close to pristine condition as I can. Meanwhile, here are the bulb specifications:




Flasher Beacon

No. 407
G-4 1/2 bulb
Miniature screw base
4.9 volts
300 milliamps
1.2 candlepower

Beam

No. 4546-1
PAR36 bulb, 4 1/2" diameter
4.7 volts
500 milliamps
6,300 max. beam candlepower

The above bulb complement is fairly common for this class of lantern. Eveready made a similar lantern that took the identical set of bulbs. Replacement bulbs can still be had from the internet.

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And here's the lantern looking reasonably spiffy for the first time in a long while.

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An ERSIN Multicore Solder Dispenser

The solder dispenser pictured dates from the early 1970s, when I was attending DeVry. The 'ERSIN' name appears to be no longer with us. The 'Multicore' brand now belongs to Henkel. Originally, there was a Multicore Solders Ltd. of Hemel Hempstead, England.

I'll put this with the rest of my small stash of electronic solder.

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My Dad's Kennedy Model 520 Tool Chest

It's a little the worse for wear, but then it must be at least sixty years old. The chest's maker, Kennedy Manufacturing, is still in business, and the Model 520 seven-drawer tool chest is still in their catalogue.

I wish it still contained all that it did when it was a working tool chest, going out on generator service calls to remote places in Ontario, but that's long gone ancient history. At least I still have the chest -- I consider it a family heirloom.

I'm not sure what I'll do with it. It was in a flooded basement for a spell, and the bottom drawer is in rough condition inside. A full-blown restoration would be a huge, difficult project, and I'm not sure I want to restore it, and erase all the evidence of it having earned its living.

I'll find someplace to stash it for now. If I can make room for it in my workshop, I may put it to use just as it is.

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Possibly The Ugliest Camp Stove In The Known Universe

This Canadian Tire propane camp stove dates from the early 1960s, as far as I know.

I don't think it ever saw much campsite use; I recall it being the first stove we had in the kitchen of the Haliburton cottage my dad acquired when I was a boy.

The stove is as tall as it is because of the way the propane bottles reside in it.

That arrangement has the dubious virtue of making the stove as bulky as possible.

The air/fuel mixture is not factory calibrated -- the user has to adjust it by turning a split, knurled brass ring-nut on the fuel supply tube.

The stove does work.

But I think I'd prefer my old liquid-fueled Coleman stove any day.

I'm not sure what to do with it. My son has tried to unload it at a garage sale, with no takers.

I may salvage the brass fuel supply parts, and scrap the rest.

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