To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

The Lugzsonian - A Virtual Tour

To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

LesserSon

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 7, 2016
Messages
5,074
Location
PA USA
I had as much fun guessing the type of tree. Walnut? Locust? Acacia?
The outlines (or rather, their fill) got me, too, At first, I saw the strokes as shallow gouges or router passes into the fiberboard, but now I think black marker that has faded to brown. They don’t look like brush strokes to me.
 
OP
P

Private Lugnutz

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
30,592
Location
The Authentic Jersey Shore
^ I'll take a few photos of the leaves, bark, and root entries next time I'm there. Also the board. Could be marker, it was definitely done in strokes though, the way a child would fill in an outline, and those strokes are what gave it depth at first glance for me.
 

LesserSon

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 7, 2016
Messages
5,074
Location
PA USA
IMG_0557.jpeg
The problem with this shape is MOST every tool you squeeze looks a bit like it. Air or water hose gun, grease gun, staple gun, brad gun, paint gun, timing gun, phaser, laser, blaster, sonic disrupter…not a *** pistol, obviously.
Wait, here it is:IMG_0566.jpeg
 
Last edited:
OP
P

Private Lugnutz

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
30,592
Location
The Authentic Jersey Shore
Well, if you flip that picture around, you're close to giving the Cub Scout salute, a gesture of Serbian nationalism, the Uttarabodhi Mudra sign for supreme enlightenment, or shooting a finger gun. Which do you prefer? :)
 

gpw_42

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Messages
717
Location
NC Sandhills, USA
Well, if you flip that picture around, you're close to giving the Cub Scout salute, a gesture of Serbian nationalism, the Uttarabodhi Mudra sign for supreme enlightenment, or shooting a finger gun. Which do you prefer? :)

Of that list, I'd go for the last. But my default thought was for the shocker....I'll skip an explanation, as that would definitely not be family-friendly...
 

Old Radar

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 17, 2019
Messages
2,755
Location
San Antonio, TX
Of that list, I'd go for the last. But my default thought was for the shocker....I'll skip an explanation, as that would definitely not be family-friendly...
Ha! We had a flight surgeon whose nickname was The Shocker and whom we constantly accused of wearing his class ring during physical exams.

Getting back to the Auto Hobby Shop--for those unfamiliar with this kind of military "benefit", it, along with all other MWR (Morale, Welfare & Recreation) facilities like the Wood Shop, Ceramics, Recreational Equipment Rental, etc., are Non-Appropriated Fund (NAF) activities. This means no Congressionally authorized funds go toward their operation and upkeep. They rely solely on receipts from their users.
Back in the old days, when military bases and posts were out in the boonies and well away from civilization, military members and their families relied heavily on these establishments.
Now that civilization has spread to encompass these once-lonely outposts, and members and their families have an abundance of options vying for their disposable income, many of the NAF activities are seldom used.
Under utilization equates to under funding which leads to closure.

So, when Lugz says it's usually empty, I'm only surprised it's still operating. I can't remember seeing a viable Auto Hobby or Wood Shop on any base I've been on in the last 25 years. This leads me to believe this particular Auto Shop must be on one of the rare posts that civilization has yet to encroach upon. I'm guessing somewhere a couple of hours southeast of Tucson.
 
OP
P

Private Lugnutz

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
30,592
Location
The Authentic Jersey Shore
This leads me to believe this particular Auto Shop must be on one of the rare posts that civilization has yet to encroach upon. I'm guessing somewhere a couple of hours southeast of Tucson.
Close - if you ignore a little geography! :ROFLMAO:

Same size, temperament, and isolated, place-that-time-forgot feel, but substitute "high mountain desert" with "pine barrens" and "hacienda style buildings" with "humongous, historic airship hangars". People who have never been here, who have never been out of the airport, or south of the Raritan, or who have just passed through on 95 would never know it, but South Central NJ can out-hick the hickest parts of the hickest states. (Which is why I like it so much!) :)

Here's a map for the unwitting...

Map of NJ.jpg
 
Last edited:

LesserSon

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 7, 2016
Messages
5,074
Location
PA USA
IMG_0667.jpeg
I had the precise location figured on May22, but it seemed a little intrusive to post it until this last convo.
Also, my hickpride is a little stung at the assertion that NJ “can outhick the hickest.” It’s hick enough, I’m sure, but though I have spent the majority of my adulthood among the Shoobies and a few Bennies, I was raised in Ridgerunner northcentral PA, where everyone else is looked down upon as a Flatlander.
With retirement has come an anadromous urge to repatriate, and I’ve been giving special consideration to Renovo PA, as my own childhood turf has become built up, by comparison.
 
Last edited:

Old Radar

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 17, 2019
Messages
2,755
Location
San Antonio, TX
Close - if you ignore a little geography! :ROFLMAO:
Ahh! You caught me in a preconceived notion--focusing on the clear blue sky and sand colored building and ignoring the green grass and the multitude of trees in the background. You've mentioned traveling to Fort Huachuca in the past and it does have the occasional tree.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 555

gpw_42

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Messages
717
Location
NC Sandhills, USA
Renovo, PA! Great memories of being in the area in the fall of 2002, with a HS friend. We went to HS in NJ (both of us transplants in the Land of Lugz' Bennies); he and his dad hunted grouse near Renovo, so we met there for some of our own hunting, without a dog. The hunting was interesting, but I'll never forget stopping at a little bar in the late afternoon which was RIGHT out of The Deer Hunter. $5 got two beers and two shots, IIRC...the details are a little fuzzy now, and I'm going to claim time is the cause of the fuzziness!
 
OP
P

Private Lugnutz

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
30,592
Location
The Authentic Jersey Shore
I had the precise location figured on May22
Boy, you really wanted to know the identity of that tree going into Google Earth surveillance mode! :)
Also, my hickpride is a little stung at the assertion that NJ “can outhick the hickest.” It’s hick enough, I’m sure, but though I have spent the majority of my adulthood among the Shoobies and a few Bennies, I was raised in Ridgerunner northcentral PA, where everyone else is looked down upon as a Flatlander.
Snerk. Lest you forgot, I was born and raised in what I have zero shame in calling Pennsyltucky, so I know hick when I see it. :) Most people think the colorful antiquated nicknames are just fun until it hits summer and you start to see the "Shoobies Go Home!" and "Bennies Go Home!" signs going up in the yards of disgruntled Clamdiggers' houses. :)
With retirement has come an anadromous urge to repatriate, and I’ve been giving special consideration to Renovo PA, as my own childhood turf has become built up, by comparison.
I was just home for the funeral of a childhood friend and the urge is very strong. Thomas Wolfe was wrong!

...he and his dad hunted grouse...[ ]...The hunting was interesting,
Oh, ruffed grouse get lots of trees shot, for sure, and you and your dog if you're not careful. They're dang hard to find to begin with, dang hard to see if you find them, and they have a tendency to flush fast, turn hard, swoop right at you, turn again, climb, and be gone. State Bird, if you didn't know it.

Speaking of...
The Deer Hunter.
...the church below, where I tended altar until I was 16 years old, is the same denomination.

Interesting part of the country in an interesting time in our history. Small factory towns surrounded by mountains, woods, fields, and streams, where all the townies were Eastern European, and all the farm boys were Pennsylvania Dutch (German).
 

Attachments

  • 20260529_192838.jpg
    20260529_192838.jpg
    812.6 KB · Views: 16
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

LesserSon

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 7, 2016
Messages
5,074
Location
PA USA
errr... not sure about the bar, but the hunting scenes were filmed up near Mt. Shuksan in the Cascades.
It's that mountain that shows up anywhere.
Yeah, the first time I watched it, that location suspended my suspension of disbelief. There are craggy ridges here and there where trees have a hard time concealing the underlying geology, but I had never seen such a mountain in PA. Now, nearly a half-century later, I still haven’t.
I’ve driven over Mt Davis (at 3213ft, the highest peak in PA is just over a third the height of Mt Shuksan) in a blizzard, and it’s not as impressive, even in those conditions. Since MrsLS & I drove to WA and OR see the Pacific, (through CO on the way back), we just laugh at elevation signs posted along Eastern highways.
 
Last edited:

RTM

Well-known member
Joined
May 13, 2019
Messages
13,189
Location
SF Bay Area
we just laugh at elevation signs posted along Eastern highways.
When my kids were in school in Ohio, I used to joke that I drove over a higher elevation ridge (every day to work) than the highest point in Ohio, which is a bump on a high plain.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: 555

Cruzan80

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 22, 2015
Messages
4,221
Location
Denver, CO
My guess is a technican tool kit. The kind with lots of small pouches for things to sit inside. If I had to go down to a manufacturer, Bell Labs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 555
OP
P

Private Lugnutz

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
30,592
Location
The Authentic Jersey Shore
You guys are funny. No pouches, @Cruzan80, but you were on the right track.

Given our penchant for US Army inspection layouts, boards, and anything else with actual size tool outlines, it should come as no surprised that we adored this the moment we saw. It was overstuffed with all kinds of extra tools and **** that did not belong. We threw most of that in the trash, cleaned and repaired the case, and cleaned the tools.

Here it is empty.

PK 2.jpg
 
OP
P

Private Lugnutz

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
30,592
Location
The Authentic Jersey Shore
And here it is with the tools. Missing a few tools (six small combo wrenches, a large Phillips screwdriver, and hook nose pliers), but complete enough to give a very good representation of itself.

ProKit 3 MU.jpg

The offset screwdrivers are hanging on for dear life, and I have no idea how the manufacturer or distributor thought the hex keys were going to stay under that cloth strap, so they're laying on that board in that main compartment on the upper right.

That board in the main compartment sits on four supports (you can see two of them below) and the smaller board with the crimper, level, and pliers slips underneath that. Who knows, there may have been hammers and other tools under there too.

PK 4.jpg
 
Last edited:

Old Radar

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 17, 2019
Messages
2,755
Location
San Antonio, TX
Are the tools from a single manufacturer? Possible salesman samples?
Any indication of what firm put it together? Doesn't look like Bell or AAA.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 555
OP
P

Private Lugnutz

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
30,592
Location
The Authentic Jersey Shore
Are the tools from a single manufacturer? Possible salesman samples?
Yes, and I think it was intended as a complete kit. There's a good range of combo wrenches (5/8" to 1" on the left) and the six missing sizes were all smaller than that. The nut drivers go from 3/16" to 1/2". Decent complement of screwdrivers, including one each regular and Phillips with screw holders. And the black oxide shanks are Torx from -15 to -30.
Any indication of what firm put it together? Doesn't look like Bell or AAA.
All the tools are branded ProKit, from Taiwan. Never heard of it, of course, and I don't make a habit of buying foreign tools, but the whole thing was just too perfectly Time Capsule irresistible. Based on the case - plywood with vinyl, the hardware and the breakdown hinges, and the COO, I would've guessed classic 1970's import, but the tools seem slightly newer than that to me, so I'm not sure. Quality is actually pretty good.
 

Attachments

  • ProKit 5.jpg
    ProKit 5.jpg
    569.2 KB · Views: 9
  • ProKit 6.jpg
    ProKit 6.jpg
    503.5 KB · Views: 9
  • ProKit 7.jpg
    ProKit 7.jpg
    491.1 KB · Views: 11

555

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Messages
2,302
Location
Nomad-Arkansas & Georgia
Electronics tool kit. I had a very similar one in my DAS3 circa 1982. My kit even had a level. The kit was assembled by GE but if I remember correctly the tools were APEX and Weller.
 
OP
P

Private Lugnutz

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
30,592
Location
The Authentic Jersey Shore
Lugz, is it possible the board for the Allen wrenches are upside down in the top?
Gravity says yes.
HAHA! Well, hopefully you guys weren't picturing me holding them in that position and wondering why they kept dropping. :badteeth: (What I meant was the strap wasn't tight enough to hang them by the short legs.) But yes, they would definitely rest and stand up on the bottom if the board was reversed, so my apologies to the designers at the unknown Taiwanese manufacturer. (EDIT: I may have to take that apology partially back. It clearly seems designed to go the other way around, but there is only one button on the back of the board for the snap inside the top of the lid, and that's where it's located. Apparently a factory mistake.)
I used google lens on your phirst foto and it came up with an empty one on ePay. No tool cards, just the empty shell.
Hey, cool. That's it. For $5, I would've bought it empty if it had the tool boards with outlines. Those were the only reason I bought it. Almost none of the tools were hanging and I was wondering how many in the rusty jumble would be original. The seller initially said $10 and reduced it to $5 before I even had a chance to say yes. Later, my buddy joked that if I had delayed a little longer he might've paid me $5 to take it. :ROFLMAO: To be fair, he was packing up and it was a heavy, filthy, overstuffed mess.
Electronics tool kit. I had a very similar one in my DAS3 circa 1982. My kit even had a level. The kit was assembled by GE but if I remember correctly the tools were APEX and Weller.
Makes sense. Taiwan firms were good at copying and rebranding our products, "ProKit" as an abbreviated portmanteau of "Professional Kit" is so on brand for their blatant strategy, and that confirms my feeling that the case just seemed a little dated for the tools to me. I searched GJ for ProKit and didn't get any hits, which surprised me a little - there are plenty of modern Taiwan tools and Made in Taiwan tool proponents up on the General Board and I expected someone had some tools if not this particular toolkit. I also searched Google Books on ProKit and couldn't find anything definitive.
 
Last edited:
OP
P

Private Lugnutz

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
30,592
Location
The Authentic Jersey Shore
Some close-ups.

As I said, the quality and the workmanship is not bad at all. The screwdrivers have through-shanks. The finish is starting to flake on the combos, but there is no shoddy chaff on the edges or the jaws. The shanks inside the handles of the nutdrivers are showing some rust, but overall, the tools have survived in fairly good condition. The outline tool "boards" are layers of cardboard riveted together and encapsulated in a wipeable plastic coating with a pot metal edge. I had to reattach a few sections of the edging by spreading it, inserting the board, and re-crimping, but they, too, have survived very well.
 

Attachments

  • 20260620_075201.jpg
    20260620_075201.jpg
    585.2 KB · Views: 12
  • 20260620_075231.jpg
    20260620_075231.jpg
    511.6 KB · Views: 12
  • 20260620_075252.jpg
    20260620_075252.jpg
    394.1 KB · Views: 12
  • 20260620_075310.jpg
    20260620_075310.jpg
    530.6 KB · Views: 9
  • 20260620_075333.jpg
    20260620_075333.jpg
    391.8 KB · Views: 9
  • 20260620_075322.jpg
    20260620_075322.jpg
    751.6 KB · Views: 12
  • 20260620_075357.jpg
    20260620_075357.jpg
    397.8 KB · Views: 12
  • 20260620_075454.jpg
    20260620_075454.jpg
    317.2 KB · Views: 12
  • 20260620_075439.jpg
    20260620_075439.jpg
    330.1 KB · Views: 11
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom