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A reply in another thread by@Kenneth R Cluley brought back memories . Not that they were forgotten since they are a big part of who and what I am as a human being but it just made me realize them more and appreciate how destiny has blessed my life. I too have tools that were given to me that I am lucky to have and remind me of those individuals be they family or others. Most of those individuals are the ones that either thought me all that I know or inspired me to learn and emulate them. It was not however always about woodworking. It was countless times about life and life lessons. Much of that was in my 20s many things taking a few years for me to mature and really understand what I was taught. So, this is my hammer. It was given to me by my friend Zev in the day that he retired as he said goodbye. He acquired it when he came to US from Europe in the late 40s. He was a Holocaust survivor and had a long number tattooed inside his left wrist. I worked with him for about two years but in that short time I learned things that would change and shape my life. Things such as the value of human life and dignity. Respect and tolerance for others differences and beliefs. Heard stories of unimaginable suffering and cruelty. Two years that would change a lifetime. As he handed me his hammer his last statement that he so many times had said “Remember, do the right thing even though it may be bad for you”. I have and never regretted it. I have used his hammer since that very day. It is on my bench all the time it has never left my side in over 40 years now. It’s future and continuity of its story are already assured. It’s of course inconsequential what type of hammer it is but it is a second generation Estwing.

Even though it now has a good handle it is the business end of it that really matters. This one is pretty much blunt and incorrectly shaped. Most hatchets and axes are incorrectly sharpened . Culprit most times is the process of sharpening them on an electric grinder. A few bad things happen doing it that way. First and foremost the wheel leaves either a hollow ground edge, an inconsistent bevel and a not straight edge most times all mentioned being present. Also many times to do it quickly only the very edge gets ground reducing the bevel gradually.Most that I see are more splitting mauls than hatchet or ax. It is supposed to slice through wood and not crush through it. The next problem is they are always misshaped by always taking more on front than on back. That is incorrect and creates issues in using it since the angle of attack is incorrect. You can see here compared to the one on the right side the blade of one on left is too short at front. Blade should also be straight or slightly curved. Edge is basically totally blunt. And bevel too short. Edge will have to be straightened first. Unlike on a grinder edge being worked on is facing you and it is clear what file is doing and where. Although tedious it is efficient precise work by hand with file. Edge is first straightened working both sides of blade. Front tip is severely rounded so it will be fixed as future sharpening happen so not to take too much now. This blade is thick. Bevel needs to be steeper. It is now filed longer leaving it slightly rounded . Hollow ground left from a grinder would make edge weak and unsupported . File work is absolutely visible and controllable unlike a grinder. Notice undesirable front tip left for subsequent sharpening. Cutting edge also needs to be in center of head thickness and straight. It is now time to hone edge on fine stone. Further honing with finer stone Finally bevel is polished and edge stropped on leather strop charged with cutting compound. Preliminary test Final testing for various tasks Take also the opportunity to file any burrs around edges No longer abandoned and forgotten in the rusty pile . With its dignity restored it is a tool that it is a pleasure to hold and use. It just takes a bit of time and understanding. Definitely a much more rewarding effort than spending the time, effort and money to purchase a “ modern” equivalent that most likely will not even be in the same planet as far as quality goes. It and other tools like it are out there just waiting to be resurrected.

I have one of those old Estwing's that my grand father had & then my dad used while working construction. It's been used so much that the leather rings are warn off the handle. I now have some newer Estwings (24oz framing & a 16oz claw both with the shock reduction grip) but I still keep Dads old one around.

It moves…

Character is the most important thing in anyone's tool box.

Interesting how we take in a pile of info and file it for later. I was 42 when I realized it's ok for me to be me and mature to the person I know today. I agree with the general sentiment there but I'd modify it a tad. Do the right thing and try your best to make it right for everyone. It shouldn't be ok to sacrifice the good of one for the good of another. Sometimes it's an unavoidable but there's usually a half decent solution if we take a look from a different angle. Words to live by right there.

see

Got the starter put back together and mounted up. Also the first piece of engine tin. Checked all the torque values on the front cover. Tightened up a couple. Started cleaning up the end of the block. Valve clearance checked 02/10/2022 Front. Int. .018 Exh. .008 Rear. Int. 018 Exh. .008 Points checked 02/10/2022 .018

Surprisingly my memory held up for 10hrs. Here is the pictures that you requested. Well used but the business end is still in good shape. A little duct tape was added some where along the line to hold the leather rings down towards the end of the handle.

Effective, indeed. Made this one last year as I posted before. Used the HF Large Bearing Separator, had the Snap-on fine pitch screw, made the rest. As others had noted in prior posts, smack the hub or puller while using it - the shock from the impact helps loosen it. A been there, done that tip - position the keyway at the 12 o'clock position, remove the 3/8" setscrew completely and flood the hole in the hub with penetration oil - FIRST!

I never understood why WH didn't just put recoils on everything. Makes things simpler. Not saying eliminate electric start, but as a backup. How many times has a dead battery ruined your plans? I guess it's easier to manage a single machine. I wouldn't know... But I am definitely adding them where I can.

Get a new brake lining from Bob, they work a lot better than the ones that came with the tractor. @rmay

Still frames from Momma

I was gonna liken it to a runaway train Jeffrey but that nails it. Agreed on no butt splices. I solder and shrink wrap stuff like this but wiring and running wiring diagrams is one of my strong suits. Welding???..... Ahhh not so much so! BTW Stegs thank you for keeping us updated on your progress. All too often we have a member come and jack us like a pump handle for info and we never hear from them again. We enjoy knowing if our help helps or not. We never tire from helping a person out with his horse and often we can learn.

One thing that can happen is that the heat that is generated from a corroded connection causes the so-called 'spring contacts' to lose their temper and they are no longer springs so they don't grip the blades of the fuse properly... then they get hotter... and hotter... inward spiral into the black hole.

Absolutely agreed. After having to thaw one like that I'd put a transmission clean out or rebuild on the must-do list.

Most likely. Gonna want to see what's going on in there.

All well and good as long as you don't confuse the drained transmission fluid for the friolator fluid later....

If you have a propane turkey fryer burner those work great too. Mine just slid right under fit perfectly and away we went. Thawed it out in no time and we were able to drain and change the fluid.

Your brake lining is wore down to the metal on the front side of the band. Can see clearly in the pictures PM rmaynard and get a new lining, that will fix it. Bob

I worked in a motor cycle shop for 10yrs. Every winter we stored 50+ bikes for the season. First year that I was there the owner had me pull the batteries, tag them and park the bikes in our storage building. The next spring was a disaster, hardly any of the bikes would start. Most would start if you drained the gas out of the carb & let the fuel that was in the tank fill the carb again. 2nd year we put Stabil in the tanks and took the bikes for about a 5 mile ride before setting them up for storage. Following spring was not much different, most bikes would not start with the gas that was in the float bowl. 3rd year we added Stabil to the tank, started the bike, shut the fuel off & let the bikes run out of gas. That spring every bike started right up after turning the gas on & letting the float bowl fill up. This became our normal practice from then on. We did later switch to using Seafoam in the tanks instead of Stabil and had the same results. With the above scenario's we had no idea what kind of gas our customers were putting in their tanks. We did determine that all gas will go bad quicker in smaller quantities. I follow this learned practice when storing my 's. Never have fuel related issues when I pull them out of storage.

i've been using those purple Amazon grinder sponge looking discs with my 90 degree angle grinder - work great to clean rust -- i prefer to avoid Amazon if possible.... but had not been able to find them elsewhere - HD etc -- I do use the mini Ingersol Rand air grinder with 1 or 2 inch discs for tight spaces........... but the Scaler noted in this thread is wonderful for certain rust applications - especially in tight seams and cracks or really heavy chunky rust -- Scaler is especially useful in 90 degree corners ..... I use whatever rust removal tool works best,---- Here are some photos of plow blade rehab projects - just did rust removal with grinders/scaler - then hand sand paper, then soap and water then primed -- doing final red paint today in warm sun - also attached is plow i finished last months project - I have had sand blasting done for my mowers, but the plows just need the spot grinding then prime and paint.

You appear to be missing part of the pad between the arrows.

Correct, its alot like Lucas stabilizer...if you never change your oil, it runs low and kicks a rod...you can marinate your broken rod in the stuff and its not magically going to fix it, but if you use lucas and regular oil changes your engine will magically last alot longer.

We rode our bikes over a dozen miles today, saw bald eagles and a blond jogger in shorts. What more can one ask?

1/4 inside diameter probably about 5 feet of hose just get a little extra just in case.

@lynnmor have STA-BIL in every drop of my gas , add a bottle neck to , every fuel top off , zero crud in tanks , fuel filters are clean , carb float bowls are clean . no fuel issues , just my feed back , pete

Make sure there's as many pictures as you can, readin and writin, are some of his strong points

PM me I can give you alternate payment methods

Seems to be operating correctly. The pad may be warn down too far for the stock adjustments. Remove the adjustment nut and place a larger nut on that will slide over the rod. Put the original adjuster nut on and adjust it again. The larger nut will just be there to take up some space.

Craig old buddy we got a fair selection here. Stop by anytime and you can use whatever ones you want... Most are here. Got a few more in the outdoor workshop and more than one hanging for display only ... none of ours have the character or history that Cas' has...

Must be water in the tranny, 15min with the torpedo heater blowing on her rear end and it was all freed up.

yup, Belgium built 1968 and 1969 only relatively common here, for sure the most common 60's model (I come across them twice a year)

Seafoam is good stuff, and like any other it has a purpose. It won't replace proper maintenance, and won't work miracles. It will MAINTAIN a clean fuel system, and help clear carbon from heads when used regularly. When something has been neglected, no additive can fix it. You just gotta take stuff apart and scrub it. Then use Seafoam to keep it clean afterward.

I’ve got rolls of butt wipe and brake clean, they’ll be fine.

No pictures???? Of the eagles of course.

What a great relic. It’s every bit as ugly as I expected based on your description. Thanks for posting and please consider not ever restoring it. It’s perfect like that (with the optional theft deterrent package).

The issue with the leather rings on the Estwings is always caused by the same thing. The white plastic rings break and fall off. The leather rings are then loose and start drying, deteriorating , and wearing eventually breaking and falling. They should also never get wet. I condition this one often with saddle soap keeping them soft and pliable. They are still as tight as when first manufactured. Zev loved this thing and so do I.

I took a slightly different approach. Having learned that worn tines look like shark teeth and you want square end ones, I would routinely prowl the on line classifieds. Persistence paid off and I picked up a lightly used complete tiller with excellent tines that had a leaky seal for $350. I replaced the seal and and sold the one I had for $150. Of course that was 6-7 years ago and things were more plentiful then.

That's why we call them SMART phones.

Been dog proofing the garden yesterday while we still have some garden left. Erected a fence between it and the yard. I did have some help from Nell, the pup. Rather large pup now. Driving the posts in was fun. When I swung the mallet, she'd jump up and try to grab it and push the post with her paws. The hole for the post by the house proved a bit of a problem. A piece of the original drive was still there under the soil. Four inch thick. That I attacked with a large chisel and lump hammer. After about an hour and a half and an aching wrist, I managed to get through concrete and the post in. Then fitted the last panels. Not bad for an afternoons work. I only collected the posts in the morning. Fitted the gate first thing this morning.

So close! Belt guides Finish fuel system Brake rod lug bolts More 2 stroke oil Test ride!

Is this the instructions you followed?

Good news… Steering works and is tight!

@blackwater73 , i use a 5/16 , I/D clear fuel rated vinyl hose, also have this in my 3 horses ,https://www.amazon.com/EVIL-ENERGY-Return-Petrol-Aluminium/dp/B07ZB42CGT , have it mounted VERTICALLY , just after fuel pump discharge to carb bowl fill point , arrow FACING UP ON CHECK VALVE . I use the small dark green spring clamps , with square jaw line,mans plyers for a easy slide on fit , also use a light coating of dielectric grease on the check valve slide ends , makes hose a easier / yet snug fit . this easy add on will prevent carb drain back to pump , always holding a ready gas charge to go , instant start . if your fuel pump is bad , replace it . have many hours on this set up , it consistently quick starts , my magnum engines , pete

@lynnmor don't even think about ethanol free fuel , sta-bil fuel treatment , fuel filters , clear vinyl fuel rated hose , fuel check valve just before carb , my 3 horses start instantly , require practically zero choke , from cold start , this combo works . greasy pete