MAPP gas is no longer what it was, methylacetylene-propadiene propane. Which was a Union Carbide product. They no longer make it. The new MAPP is mostly propylene, with maybe a little propane in it. I personally find it about the same as propane, and not the almost acetylene substitute that old MAPP was.
Alan, you heard right. MAPP is no longer available (since 2008). MAPP (5300°F) burns much hotter than MAP-Pro (3730°F) or propane (3600°F). I bought my MAPP torch kit years ago and it came with the pushbutton lighter in the torch and two full MAPP gas tanks. The one in the picture is the last of my supply. I'll save it for those jobs that need more heat than a propane torch and I'm not planning on wasting money on tanks of MAP-Pro ($14.97) and just use propane ($5.98). Makes no sense to pay more than double for an extra 130°F. I do like the pushbutton lighter built into the MAPP torch so I spent the money on that upgrade for the propane torch.
Snap, so was I. December’64 a great year.I was about to have my first birthday.
@M.Brane, I don't know how many flints were in that 'box flints' but that was the price of a McDonald's hamburger back then. That date stamp marks our son being two years, one month and one day old. The date also brought a tear to my eye because it was in the first week I went back to work after 12 weeks recovery from my run-in with the train.Thought you'd get a kick out of this Bob. Receipt found in the metal Benz-O-Matic box I got from dad's garage. Had it for 10 years before I actually cleaned it all out to see what was in there. Almost brought a tear to my eye. I was about to have my first birthday.
Kay, I finally got my replacement flints for the BernzOmatic sparky thing. I ended up buying 25 flints for $9.98 so 40¢ each. If the 'box' in that invoice was five flints, you are spot on at $2.00 and I'm going to check with my son to see if he knows of twenty plumbers who might need flints (I've used two so three should last me -- as long as I live).
Steve, to me you're still a kid at heart.Snap, so was I. December’64 a great year.
Dan, I know....Kids.....
Alan, I fear my tank of real mapp gas will outlast me. I remember thinking the yellow tanks at Home Depot were still the same stuff. Had no idea the new stuff was so wimpy.
Remember, when you get that pruner, the off hand goes behind your back. No excuses. I've got the yellow one, and it's as soulless, mindless, and powerful as a stamping press, and will slice through 1.25" branches like they weren't even there. There's no way I'd want to change my name to Bob. You either.
Me personally it's my shop teacher who I keep remembering as the missing finger person. Maybe it's a bad idea as I can see my wife slicing her finger off using it. With the hedge clipper she's forced to use both hands to hold it due to its size.
They do make a long stick version of the pruner. I know it's yellow. Not sure if it's the name brand, or just uses the batteries.
BernzOmatic is a NYS company, manufactured in Rochester, the third-largest city in a state of 19 million+ people. At least that one was. When I was a kid, in the morning, getting ready to go to school, the parents would have the radio on, and they would listen to the financial news. Xerox, Eastman Kodak, Bausch & Lomb and GM_Rochester Products were local companies which were doing well then. For some reason I recall the commodity of 'pork belly futures' being one of the things mentioned.
Bob, like the lady doing the punctuation corrections on your manuals, I detect a 'scrivener's error' in the above paragraph. The model car company is AMT and not AMC. The AMC is, of course, the abbreviation used after the Ramblers stopped rolling-off the assembly line and were replaced by American Motors Corporation. The AMX and the Rebel Machine were two of my favorite AMC cars. Roger Penske ran Javelins in Trans-Am, I believe, at one point.
www.streetmusclemag.com
fantastic-plastic.com
Korvette, JM Fields, Woolworths, Grants Neisners, K-Marts, Kresge's, and the stamp redemption stores are all fond memories for me. There was a Katz in Chicago I shopped at for a copy of the Beatles White Album, and it had a serial number on it, I recall it was a six-digit number. I still have it, along with probably another 2,500 LP's of rock, R & B, soul, jazz, and at least one copy of Sounds of Sebring, which I used to play while racing my Aurora Model Motoring HO-scale slot cars. I had a hot plate which was from a set for making powdered ceramic pieces of copper. I used to put a few drops of castor oil on the hot plate to replicate the aroma of it coming across the racetrack at Watkins Glen, during the F1 races I attended there in the 1960's. The cars would be on the track, and when they came in, they would drain the oil out of the delivery system (I think most of the cars used a dry-sump system) because it would get gummy, if allowed to cool in the engines, and the engine would destroy itself on a re-start.
I've posted before about my unique work experience. I fought a fire in the snow on that day in Florida, south of you by county. I bet I'm one of the few surviving fire-rescue members in Florida who did that. It was a Dade County pine frame/siding building, and as the fire burned hot, the sap would come to the surface of the wood, and pop and spit, exploding onto your bunker coat and pants.
I recall helping Mom fill the S&H stamp books. There was a redemption store < 1 mile from me in FL, and I forget what I got, some small countertop kitchen appliance I think. I'd read that S&H was closing, so I redeemed what books I had, and the store closed soon.
That reminds me of a story of when I was very young and still wet behind the ears... Mom, having a sewing machine, and as a gag gift to my aunt... Mom bought a stuffed toy in the form of a frog. She also bought a small amount of bright pink fabric and some very small pom-poms to match. She took the fabric and made the required plumbing for the boy frog along with the pom-poms and then wrapped it up. The surprised look on my aunt's face was priceless, when she picked up the frog and looked underneath..., when she opened her birthday gift. I'll never forget that day. Ok, I've said too much about my mother.
No! It is for joining the chain gang with cool hand Luke (well alternatively with Woody Allen, if Luke has already departed) !
The AMC is, of course, the abbreviation used after the Ramblers stopped rolling-off the assembly line and were replaced by American Motors Corporation. The AMX and the Rebel Machine were two of my favorite AMC cars. Roger Penske ran Javelins in Trans-Am, I believe, at one point.
Cody, I have a spliced extension cord of my own due to the corded hedge trimmer. I usually put the extension cord over my shoulder to avoid the problem but when I bent to get to a low section of hedge, the cable fell off and like a magnet went right into the hedge trimmer blade.
Kay, before I bought the pruner I bought an even more frightening tool, a Milwaukee M12 Plastic Pipe Shear. It was a real time saver whenever I had to work on the PVC sprinkler system in the yard.
Kay, none taken. A finger (or tip) lost in a table saw is bad but an elbow crushed by a train is a whole different level. Our daughter has a photo of my face shortly after a branch attempted to poke my eye out in a pruning fiasco and she uses it in her department safety meetings regarding safety glasses. She hasn't figured out how to include my numerous other fiascos. I do follow your advice and imagine my phantom limb is behind my back when using cutting tools of all kinds.
Cody, our son tried to flick a stuck burger out of an automated hamburger patty machine and left the tip of his right index finger in the machine. I think they changed the menu to include 'finger sandwiches' a short time later.
Kay, the DeWalt pole pruner appears to have the drive motor at the top of the pole with the battery and trigger at the bottom. I prefer the Milwaukee design that has the motor, trigger and battery at the bottom and just the bypass blade mechanism at the top. Unfortunately the red one is twice the price of the yellow so I'll make do with the manual ones with the rope.
Kay, my local Dome Hepot has two of the DeWalt pole pruners in stock.
@Prospecter, Maybe I'll keep one of the strikers in my pocket to use as a pseudo-flashlight (my Android phone is always on the stand next to my office computer).
Philip, all those years writing IBM manuals has given my brain a lot of short circuits. When I joined IBM in 1964 they were transitioning from SMS (Standard Modular System) circuits to SLT (Solid Logic Technology) circuits and each subsequent advance meant thousands more abbreviations and acronyms. When I don't pay attention or remember what name is behind a corporate abbreviation, I mix them up. AMC (American Motors Corporation) was the #4 auto manufacturer in the 1950s-60s, AMF (Amercan Machine and Foundry) made bowling alley equipment and bicycles -- my first bike was an AMF Roadmaster and AMT (Aluminum Model Toys) made models, including the plastic ones I glued together and customized. American Motors Corporation was born when Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company merged in 1954, the same year Studebaker and Packard merged. George Romney took the helm of AMC and abandoned the Nash and Hudson brands in favor of Rambler. My father bought a 1958 Rambler when gasoline reached 30¢ a gallon (equivalent to $3.31 in todays's dollar) because he was planning to drive us to and through Mexico the next summer. Not dragging a trailer with us meant a big savings in gas but having to stay in hotels and motels and eating in restaurants made gasoline an almost trivial expense. Oddly, 1958 was AMC's first significantly profitable year.BernzOmatic is a NYS company, manufactured in Rochester, the third-largest city in a state of 19 million+ people. At least that one was. When I was a kid, in the morning, getting ready to go to school, the parents would have the radio on, and they would listen to the financial news. Xerox, Eastman Kodak, Bausch & Lomb and GM_Rochester Products were local companies which were doing well then. For some reason I recall the commodity of 'pork belly futures' being one of the things mentioned.
Bob, like the lady doing the punctuation corrections on your manuals, I detect a 'scrivener's error' in the above paragraph. The model car company is AMT and not AMC. The AMC is, of course, the abbreviation used after the Ramblers stopped rolling-off the assembly line and were replaced by American Motors Corporation. The AMX and the Rebel Machine were two of my favorite AMC cars. Roger Penske ran Javelins in Trans-Am, I believe, at one point.
From
in italics, below:Rare Rides: The 1969 AMC Hurst AMX 390 Super Stock
This month's Rare Rides offers an in-depth look at AMC's apex predator, the exceedingly rare 1969 AMC Hurst AMX 390 Super Stock.
The engines were removed from the cars and sent to Crane Cams in Hallandale Florida, where Shahan modified them with JE pistons, Crane cylinder heads with 2.080-inch intake, and 1.740-inch exhaust valves, a Crane R2741393 solid roller camshaft, an Edelbrock STR-11 Cross-ram intake, dual four-barrel Holley 650 cfm carbs, Thorley headers, and an aftermarket exhaust. The engines were sent back to Hurst and installed in the cars.
Upon the Super Stock’s announcement, AMC stated that its engine was good for 340 horsepower. In reality, though, the modified 390s churned out something more akin to 420 ponies.
AMC listed the Super Stock for sale to the public at $5,994 without any form of warranty – a hefty premium over a base car’s price. Nonetheless, all 52 cars were sold and were soon tearing up the streets and strips of America with 11-second quarter-mile times at over 120 mph. Insane numbers for 1969, and certainly respectable even today.
In NHRA SS/D and SS/C classes of drag racing, the cars began to slay all comers with mid ten-second runs, and track records began to fall to AMX Super Stock runners on a weekly basis.
Today, only 40 of the 52 cars are accounted for and rarely hit the auction block.
Ed. note: I knew Harvey Crane, and his kids. One of his former machinists is a friend of mine, whom I use as the need arises.
The Mark Donohue/Roger Penske AMC connection:
I made many AMT and Revell models, one other company I really enjoyed, was Monogram. They made 1/8 scale cars, and I made a Jaguar XK-E towards the end of my model-building time, and I really liked the job I did on it. I kept it for many years, but it finally succumbed to a porch leak here in FL. I suspect it was 30 years old by that time, and had survived moves to three different states.
Monogram also made many space models, and the space advocate Willy Ley who was a consultant to Monogram had a club you could subscribe to, which of-course I did.
Here are two of my favorite models from the Willy Ley influenced space model kits. You can see that he's prominently featured in the box art.
Willy Ley Orbitral Rocket by Monogram
A 1:192 scale plastic model of the Willy Ley Orbital Rocket by Monogram
Willy Ley was an engineer who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930's and he never stopped championing the exploration of outer space. His biography is very interesting. Just reading these posts I found, makes me recall all the fun I had in building these models and many more. I'd call Revell, AMT, Aurora and Monogram to be the Big Four in models of cars, planes, ships, spacecraft, and even classic Universal Studios models of horror film creatures like Frankenstein, the Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Wolfman, and others.
Korvette, JM Fields, Woolworths, Grants Neisners, K-Marts, Kresge's, and the stamp redemption stores are all fond memories for me. There was a Katz in Chicago I shopped at for a copy of the Beatles White Album, and it had a serial number on it, I recall it was a six-digit number. I still have it, along with probably another 2,500 LP's of rock, R & B, soul, jazz, and at least one copy of Sounds of Sebring, which I used to play while racing my Aurora Model Motoring HO-scale slot cars. I had a hot plate which was from a set for making powdered ceramic pieces of copper. I used to put a few drops of castor oil on the hot plate to replicate the aroma of it coming across the racetrack at Watkins Glen, during the F1 races I attended there in the 1960's. The cars would be on the track, and when they came in, they would drain the oil out of the delivery system (I think most of the cars used a dry-sump system) because it would get gummy, if allowed to cool in the engines, and the engine would destroy itself on a re-start.
I've posted before about my unique work experience. I fought a fire in the snow on that day in Florida, south of you by county. I bet I'm one of the few surviving fire-rescue members in Florida who did that. It was a Dade County pine frame/siding building, and as the fire burned hot, the sap would come to the surface of the wood, and pop and spit, exploding onto your bunker coat and pants.
I recall helping Mom fill the S&H stamp books. There was a redemption store < 1 mile from me in FL, and I forget what I got, some small countertop kitchen appliance I think. I'd read that S&H was closing, so I redeemed what books I had, and the store closed soon.
Bob, do you have any experience buying groceries at the NYS chain, Red and White? For us, they were across the street from the IGA, another NYS chain. Both stores were within a frisbee-throw of the Erie Canal, where the village was, next-to which we lived. The following history lesson I've posted before.
The Erie Canal, was a big gamble in the first quarter of the 19th Century, when we were still paying-off as a country our Revolutionary War debt. States other than NYS lobbied in Congress not to support the building of "Clinton's Ditch," but once it was built, the cost of shipping goods from the Great Lakes dropped by something like 500%. Produce from the western NYS farmers was able to reach the population centers of the East Coast and it opened the Midwest to settlement, allowing the growth of Chicago and Detroit, and other communities which were relatively small settlements before the Erie Canal. "Johnny Appleseed" whose real name was Chapman (a Jeopardy question last week), planted fruit trees along the path of the Erie Canal under construction. He wasn't interested in "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." He was interested in fermenting the apples into applejack, and in selling the alcohol to the canal workers, making him very wealthy. That, and an apocryphal folk hero in the history of the USA.
An international trip comes to an end in Rochester NY, via the last leg of the trip for these brewery tanks and it was on the Erie Canal.
Scott, ours are 51 weeks so they're probably closer to Scottish twins.
Rick, I didn't consider it a big deal when I signed up, it was just a way to say Thank You. Around that time I paid the Corvette Forum extra to become a Lifetime Member but I rarely visit or post there these days. It got pretty nasty for a while.
Rick, unfortunately I'm far from a perfectionist. More like an experienced half-assist. My sweated copper joints sometimes leak, my electrical work is code-ish and my yard is presentable. My nearly-finished projects outnumber my finished projects by at least 20 to 1.
Rick, my mother was a wonderful woman but had absolutely no sense of humor. I don't recall her ever telling a joke (on- or off-color) and rarely responded to them with more than a puzzled smile. I suspect several decades teaching first graders has that effect.
@Squankum, I could swear that insurance agent followed me down into the new septic drywell I was digging. At least there was no lid so I was able to escape.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner. The little one-pounder that resides in front of that one was out driving some stakes in the ground when I took the photo.
@gman007, at least my shackles are only on my ankles. The other one is just a shock-bracelet.No! It is for joining the chain gang with cool hand Luke (well alternatively with Woody Allen, if Luke has already departed) !
That decade playing Frank Gallagher on Shameless me a hint at his age.
I'm ashamed I didn't know where "Yonkers" came from. It was originally derived from the Dutch jonk 'young' and heer 'lord'. As usual, the English settlers bastardized it to Yonkers. In a way, I'm glad I didn't grow up there so people don't refer to me as a Yonkersonian, Yonkersite, Yonker, or Yonk.Wow. It is? Yet it gets left off of large-scale maps of the US because there'e not enough room, so they show Buffalo, then Syracuse.
I went to Wikipedia and checked. Apparently two Irish families have moved to Yonkers, pushing Rochester into fourth place.
Also, I feel ashamed for not knowing about BernzOMatic being a Rochester company. I was only there a couple of years but I tend to pay attention. I'm sure all of those other companies are still thriving, though. (COUGH COUGH COUGH)
Well, it has more th an two seats so that's a plus.Now the French make AMX's! This one can go 53 mph! That's pretty good for a tank-like thing.
AMX-10 RC - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
I recall Farmtruck and Azn (Street Outlaws spinoff) using steering wheel airbags to move all kinds of stuff but I don't recall an Adirondack chair being launched.Now now, this is GJ, all you need is a little more wood, some hinges, an air tank, a ball valve and...
12 Ton Air/Hydraulic Bottle Jack
Amazing deals on this 12T Air/Hydraulic Bottle Jack at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.www.harborfreight.com
Come to think of it, one suspension air bag would really do the trick, with no corrosion or humidity problems.
You.ve reminded me why I prefer the coated/capped steel hooks and the plastic hooks over the
Growing up as a scrawny version of "Pig Pen" the idea of missing a meal was totally foreign to me. Leaving my weirdo cat home alone at night was also foreign.
I level the freezers and refrigerators left to right but always adjust for a slight tilt to the rear so the door closes automatically when you let go. The magnetic weatherstrip on that Galanz machine just wasn't very powerful. Our Samsung French doorBob:
A note about freezer doors being open, especially when it's a new unit: like a house door, is it vertical? Did you use a level? (I feel dumb even saying this among such handy company and to you.) Always something to check. Adjust the feet and tilt it rearward a tiny bit if need be?
Now for my dumb moment.
Downstairs we have an upright freezer, and since I'm charge of defrosting it every other summer or so, I started to wonder, how normal is this? And I took a look at the weatherstripping and noticed that I could be happier in the bottom left corner of the door. I concluded that leaning a dumbbell against it most days of the week would slow down frost build up, and I was right!
Not a trip hazard where it's located. Note, I have the whole thing up on rollers. When defrost day comes, I merely remove a 1/4" wide bit of trim wood from a nearby doorway, roll it forward and out of that room and into the Underground Lair, and out to the driveway for summertime heat and garden hose fun.*
This freezer has no internal light, and Ms. Squankum used to hold a cheap flashlight with one hand as she rummaged around in there. I got her a Harbor Freight "Braun" LED and she saw the light quite quickly. It can light up a freezer quite nicely from up top.
__________
* When I was an impatient young renter I would do this job with some pots of hot water, Ziploc bags of warm water, and mostly Crafstman rubber-tipped hammer... oh, screw it, chisels and big screwdrivers and hammer... faster! faster! But carefully. Never hurt the appliance. A man has got to know his limitations.
That's new to here. None in stock yet. It replaces the shorter stockier one they used to carry. Hmm. Mo money, but nicer n longer reach. I can dump my accursed manual pole pruner.
Kay, I expect one of the red ones will show up here eventually. I have four manual pole pruners. I bought a Corona brand one and the pole split. Had to buy a new one and discovered they have a lifetime guarantee. Returned the head with a short piece of split handle and they sent me a new one. My neighbors run a consignment shop and go to many garage sales. He picked up a couple of nice short ones so those two live in the garage and the two longer Coronas live in the shed.
Derek, she does have a few photo evidence items that probably wouldn't be appropriate in a workplace.Your daughter just needs to get creative.
Bob
