Tools Spotted On My European Vacation

[Private Lugnutz]

As some of you may know, I just got back from an almost 3-week whirlwind tour of the Iberian Peninsula, including stops in Lisbon and Evora, Portugal, and Merida, Jerez de la Frontera, Seville, Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona, Spain.

We were on a tight schedule (reason for trip was following my daughter's college basketball team around), and there was absolutely no time for seeking out any kind of bazaars or markets that might actually be selling vintage tools, but as it often happens when toolhounds are abroad, vintage tools just seem to get sniffed out in the most unlikely of places.

Here is a hammer and chisel I spotted, for example.

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It was also fun seeing this motorcycle repair shop (established in 1947!) in Barcelona…

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…mainly because of its unusual location, in the El Gotik area, the oldest part of the city, located near the sea, just above the site of the original Roman military outpost, a maze of narrow walkways more typically dominated by upscale galleries, cafes, cervezerias, and boutiques.

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[Private Lugnutz]

We also went down to the Rock of Gibraltar, which can be seen in the distance through the front windshield in this photo…

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…the famous monolithic limestone promontory in the British territory of the same name, which I have always wanted to see due to the Prudential Life Insurance Company logo.

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Joking. Due to its childhood renown as one of the “Pillars of Hercules” and its severely understated significance in WWII. (Herman Goring said that the biggest mistake the Third Reich made was throwing half their might at the Eastern Front rather than taking Gibraltar, through Spain, so they could control the entrance and exit to the Mediterranean Sea rather then the Royal Navy and Allies.)

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The Rock is 1,398 ft high. To get to the top, you need to walk or drive a series of narrow winding roads and switchbacks, or take the cable car.

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At the top you will be greeted by tremendous views of the second largest working port in Europe, where half the world’s seaborne trade passes…

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…as well as a host of Barbary macaques. They are everywhere.

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But what I really wanted to see was the 9.2 inch guns of O’Hara’s and Lord Airley’s batteries.

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[Private Lugnutz]

The British have done a remarkable job of maintaining these batteries, which were capable of firing 14 miles, as walk-through museums. From the guns themselves, their turntables, shell hoists, and underground magazines, to the tunnel that leads to the engine room, and the massive engine and all the various pumps and equipment that supplied the hydraulic power for rotation and elevation, everything was impeccably restored and presented.

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And then I saw this....!

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...which was a huge disappointment. (That annoyed my wife, who thought I was being too harsh, using the old “It’s just for looks - nobody else except you and your tool buddies would know the difference!”)

None of the tools are period correct. The pipe wrench is at best 1950’s. The combination wrenches are metric and chrome-plated, marked DIAMOND BRAND. The hammer, marked GS on a plastic sticker, looks like it’s from the 1980’s and had a WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES warning on it! Judging by some of the various slots and shapes in the board, I’m not even sure they’re the original types of tools.

When I inquired at the Information Center, someone said that they remembered hearing something about the tools often being stolen. While I can sympathize with that (and find it funny at the same time!), why not do it right, fill it with examples of the correct originals, and put a glass cover and lock on the tool board instead?!

End of my tool-oriented “What I Did on My Summer Vacation" back-to-school report!

 

[3baygarage]

“(That annoyed my wife, who thought I was being too harsh, using the old “It’s just for looks - nobody else except you and your tool buddies would know the difference!”)”



Well, it does look funny to us.

You got some cool pictures. How was the food over there?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I took 1,014 photos! (No worries - I will spare you the slide show! )

I loved the food, although the cured ham on every menu, every meal, gets a little old. We ate a lot of paella, and a friend of a friend hooked me up with a hole-in-the-wall type place in Barcelona that served old-fashioned tapas that not even many of the natives eat anymore, with pig's knuckles, cold soup, and eggplant. And of course the sangria and the cerveza (I was drinking Estrellas and Alhambras, for the brand conscious), and from the non-alcoholic side-table, I am really hooked on Valencian horchata now.

It's a beautiful country. So many olive trees! And everywhere you turn is a Moorish castle, a Roman ruin, or a Catholic cathedral. (Single coolest - also creepiest - thing I saw was a chapel made out of the very visible bones and skulls of Inquisition victims. Thousands of them, exhumed from their graves!) The beaches in Costa del Sol and Costa Brava are magnificent.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Awesome, thanks.

Maybe the tools are modern usage to maintain the equipment? Looks cool, but if Nigel asks Geoff to grab him a 12mm spanner to pull the grease cup off the coupling of the generator, bet he knows right where it is.

 

[humber2]

Great tour of the guns. The spanners would all need to be Whitworth in the true original sizes, none of the scaled down hexagons of the BS series which the motor trade used.

 

[misterbill]

Here is a hammer and chisel I spotted, for example.

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Is that at the Cathedral of Santa Lugnutia on the Plaza de la Oxidación?

Looks like you had a great time. Well deserved I'm sure!

Bill

 

[woody 73]

LOL,LOL yes we tool collectors have it bad...Just last week I was at the Waco Mammoth National Monument and after looking at all the 10,000 plus year old bones I spotted an assistant and rushed over to look at all her tools for digging up those old bones.

Poor wife I could just see her expression on her face!

https://www.waco-texas.com/cms-waco-mammoth/

Private very nice pictures.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Is that at the Cathedral of Santa Lugnutia on the Plaza de la Oxidación?

Hahaha. I WISH there was a namesake Saint Lugnutia - I could use all the help I can get with the Big Boss Man Upstairs! (It's on La Sagrada Familia, the unfinished Gaudi cathedral in Barcelona.)

 

[1/2 Cup]

Private Lugnutz that is awesome, thank you for sharing.

 

[d42jeep]

Is that at the Cathedral of Santa Lugnutia on the Plaza de la Oxidación?

Looks like you had a great time. Well deserved I'm sure!

Bill

Just in case you were wondering, I did some research and found the FSN for the mallet. I knew you were worried about it.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Maybe the tools are modern usage to maintain the equipment?

I appreciate the thought, LF, but no, they were clearly intended to be part of the historical display.

The spanners would all need to be Whitworth in the true original sizes...

'Zackly!

Just in case you were wondering, I did some research and found the FSN for the mallet.

Now that's funny!

 

[dutchgray]

Cool stuff, nice small dc motor 1424 lb.
The tools would definitely get stolen frequently, sadly its just the way things are.

 

[southalabama]

Tool guys are different.

I laughed at the AT&T repair man. I can't get used to this new AT&T. He was using a cheapo Stanley screwdriver. I asked. He said he had to buy his own. I loaned him a Klein. Just didn't seem right.

Slideshows will be cool

 

[rickhigginshtbr]

None of the tools are period correct. The pipe wrench is at best 1950’s. The combination wrenches are metric and chrome-plated, marked DIAMOND BRAND. The hammer, marked GS on a plastic sticker, looks like it’s from the 1980’s and had a WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES warning on it! Judging by some of the various slots and shapes in the board, I’m not even sure they’re the original types of tools.

When I inquired at the Information Center, someone said that they remembered hearing something about the tools often being stolen. While I can sympathize with that (and find it funny at the same time!), why not do it right, fill it with examples of the correct originals, and put a glass cover and lock on the tool board instead?!

End of my tool-oriented “What I Did on My Summer Vacation" back-to-school report!

This reminds me, next time you're in Philly, the Franklin Institute has a few Williams railroad wrenches on display in the train exhibit. Believe they are close to period correct, iirc.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

This reminds me, next time you're in Philly, the Franklin Institute has a few Williams railroad wrenches on display in the train exhibit. Believe they are close to period correct, iirc.

I should hope so! I'll have to check that out. Last time I was there was as a volunteer parent chaperone for an elementary school sleepover. I pitched my sleeping bag in the giant heart!

 

[3baygarage]

Tool guys are different.

I laughed at the AT&T repair man. I can't get used to this new AT&T. He was using a cheapo Stanley screwdriver. I asked. He said he had to buy his own. I loaned him a Klein. Just didn't seem right.

Slideshows will be cool

That’s so funny. The Comcast guy was here recently and asked me for a screwdriver. Probably didn’t feel like running out to the van again. I pulled out a ratcheting Snap On. He made sure to show me he set it on the counter when he left. I said thanks, that’s my good screwdriver. If he only knew.

 

[3baygarage]

Just in case you were wondering, I did some research and found the FSN for the mallet. I knew you were worried about it.
-Don

 

[notlob]

When I saw "European Vacation", I expected pics like this:

The Tool:

 

[Private Lugnutz]

(You may recall the the last time I made a 1980's entertainment allusion in a thread title!)

 

[lederasd]

I've been to Barcelona a couple of times, but those were work trips and I didn't have time to appreciate their tool market. Now I think I should.

 

[mikaser]

I don't even know which of these photos attracted me more: the instruments, these wonderful landscapes, or the macaque By the way, I really wanted to ask if you saw at least one instrument exhibition that would match their era? Here in America, I've never been lucky with these. Local markets are a completely different matter, but we can't compare private collectors and public collections. Although, I'd like to meet at least one correspondence between the instrument and the era. Does anyone know how things are with the instruments in Australia? I just chose a hotel open near me. I'd like to know what I need to see and what I don't need to pay attention to.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Hey mikaser! Welcome to the site and thanks for bumping my old thread. Sadly, I haven't been on a legitimate vacation since then!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Is that at the Cathedral of Santa Lugnutia on the Plaza de la Oxidación?

I just re-read the thread - and laughed out loud again!

 

[f121]

Great thread @Private Lugnutz , this has inspired me to put Spain and Gibraltar on the list, I’ve always avoided them because of the brits abroad image.

 

[tombell572]

Great thread--I hadn't seen it before. I've learned from my own travels that the Brits have a much greater respect for their industrial/mechanical history that the USA does.

Tom B.

 

[Rosylyinter]

It is why I love traveling to Europe. Their old architecture is amazing

 

[Private Lugnutz]

As some of you may know, I just got back from an almost 3-week whirlwind tour of the Iberian Peninsula, including stops in Lisbon and Evora, Portugal, and Merida, Jerez de la Frontera, Seville, Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona, Spain.

As NONE of you know, because I kept it under wraps until now..., I just got back from another almost 3-week whirlwind tour - almost five years later to the day, this time of Eastern Europe, including stops in Prague, Czechia, Bratislava and Kosice in Slovakia, an excursion to a country I won't name that required me to renew my SERE training and almost scuttled my approval for the trip from the Defense and State Dept, Budapest, Hungary, and Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik in Croatia.

Just like 'Tools Spotted on My European Vacation PART I', the reason for PART II was to watch my daughter play basketball. And just like PART 1, I will spare everyone the typical travelogue and slide show, and try to keep it pertinent to GJ, starting with some shots of some vintage tools, such as these that I spotted in the hands of some rather proud and statuesque laborers...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I also spotted some actual men at work on the renovation of one of the little churches Mrs. Lugz insisted on dragging me to, but I am not as interested in modern tools.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

While she explored every little town with a famous something or other, I spent most of my time buying a beer in a bar so I could take a leak without having to pay to take a leak, a principle I refused to honor. In one such town I got lost and stumbled on a 4th generation knife sharpener's shop. We had a good talk and a shot of palinka.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I always have a knack for finding the things that are not on the travel guide. For example, when she climbed a thousand steps to get to a famous (Not Exactly) Great Wall of Croatia, I went to the other side of the town, to walk around an abandoned salt mining operation, just dozens of large shallow beds where Adriatic Sea water evaporated into salt...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...transported to a mill by narrow gauge railroad...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...with this engine, still bearing JUGOSLAVIJA markings!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

As always, I did spot some cool vintage vehicles...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...including this one, which Mrs. Lugz surprised me with in Budapest! It's a 1953 Gorkovsky Avtomobilni Zavod (or GAZ). Russia used Lend-Lease Willys and Ford jeeps in WWII, but just like Land Rover in the UK, they started their own production based on many of the same parts. Consequently, many - but not all - of my shots of that magnificent city have bars in them.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

We always see a lot of patent diagrams posted down here on the Vintage Board, so I will end with the walls of our hotel in Zagreb, which was very proud of the former resident whose surname graces GJ's favorite car, where a street is also named after him.

 

[Farmer J.]

Looks like a good fun trip Lugz, especially the GAZ, that was a surprise not seen one for a while!

 

[bbbarracuda]

Consequently, many - but not all - of my shots of that magnificent city have bars in them.

Would those pics be inside or outside of said bars?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

especially the GAZ,

It was incredible. They have three of them.