Books!

[WisJim]

Yesterday we went to town about 25 miles from us, to do some shopping after being away since before Christmas. Stopped at a couple of thrift stores and got 2 books--a hardcover edition of Van Gulik's "The Chinese Bell Mystery" and a still sealed in plastic copy of "Gunsmithing"by Roy Dunlap--the fancy leather bound edition. Less than $15 for both books.

 

[Outlawmws]

and a still sealed in plastic copy of "Gunsmithing"by Roy Dunlap--the fancy leather bound edition. Less than $15 for both books.

Awesome find!

 

[Shiftless]

Awesome find!

Agreed.
Another copy apparently like new but not plastic wrapped sold recently on eBay.

 

[WisJim]

Picked up 2 books at a thrift store today. I always like books that are about things that I know little of--such as tractor (or any) magnetos.

 

[WisJim]

We walked down to a local thrift store (from our son's house in Pueblo) and I picked up 2 books for less than $5 total. "The Grim Reapers" is a 1943 first edition and is about the Fighter Squadren VF-10 which was attached to the USS Enterprise in the South Pacific in World War II. History books written soon after the action can put a different perspective on things.
I've always been interested in boats and boat building so the "Understanding Boat Design" is a welcome addition to my library and may help me better understand some of my boat building and design books.
My problem is that I buy books faster than I read them. If I read a 3 week and never buy or borrow another book, I'm all set for another 33 years of reading. I don't expect to last that long, though.

 

[Stubby1743]

I picked this up this morning at my small local car boot sale for £1. Published in 1995 at a cover price of £16.99. The classic cutaway drawings of aircraft and aero engines were originally published in "Aeroplane" and "Flight" magazines during the war years.

I will post some of the drawings in the Cutaways thread.

 

[WisJim]

I've been finding some interesting books lately at a nearby thrift store (in Pueblo, CO, still there visiting our son and grandson.)
The engine building book might be a duplicate, I'll find out when I get back to Wisconsin. The other 2 just looked interesting.

 

[Beerhippie]

The other 2 just looked interesting.

Uh huh. You're on the list.

What list? Can't tell you--you have no need to know.

 

[Outlawmws]

Uh huh. You're on the list.

What list? Can't tell you--you have no need to know.

There is a list?

 

[Beerhippie]

There is a list?

There are many.

Be afraid.

 

[WisJim]

The blasting books will go with the old pamphlets from the University Extension from the 1960s about blasting ponds for wildlife in wetlands. I remember going to some demonstrations with my dad. Or maybe I'll just give them a quick glance and pass them on.

 

[cowades206]

Found this in a used book store about 35 years ago and just had to have it. I don't see that one has been shown here.
A bit of American automotive history: I was told Henry Ford started the school because he needed more skilled machinist, and then later closed the school because competitors were hiring his students. Even if it isn't true, it makes a good story.

 

[Jgaz]

Found this in a used book store about 35 years ago and just had to have it. I don't see that one has been shown here.
A bit of American automotive history: I was told Henry Ford started the school because he needed more skilled machinist, and then later closed the school because competitors were hiring his students. Even if it isn't true, it makes a good story.

I had that book as a reprint. Interesting read.

I would say there was more than a grain of truth to the story.
I worked with two engineers at Chrysler that were graduates of the Henry Ford Trade School.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I picked these up at the flea yesterday. What caught my eye was the title: THE WORKER. I'm thinking 'early union pamphleteering' as I inch closer to the table. Nope. Student journals from a legendary historic (1914-1915) "vo-tech" school in Newark, NJ. I took them home and immediately lost a whole day. Just marvelous to page through.

Most of the reportage quips from each "class", which were probably already esoteric to the pupils, teachers and administrators at the time, have become even more inscrutable in the passing of a century, but many are timeless, ranging from insightful to glib, and, like a good novel, one can just see the whole place in time in the minds' eye, informed by our own similar, later experiences, and from having watched old Bowery Boys or Mickey Rooney films.

"When one of the boys was asked what he would like to make, he replied, 'An electric chain for the execution of mice.'"

"Prasch is having a hard time learning how to file, but there is good practice filing fingers."

"Felter left his face plate on a lathe over night. A night man was using the lathe: he did not notice Felter's pattern although it is 20 inches in diameter. The night man put on "high speed" and, alas, the result was the breaking of two lathe belts and a little peek-a-boo hole in the floor."

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The booklets include no photos, but I did find some on Internet Archives. Links: Electrical Shop, Machine Shop. They were uploaded by the Newark Public Schools Historic Preservation Committee. Looking into them I discovered that they were funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts / Department of State, and the National Endowment for the Arts, and the endeavor includes a yearbook collection. On the site there is a big banner asking for help in gathering missing yearbooks, I noticed they had very few as old as these, and those were all from large more typical public schools, so I sent them an email inquiring if they would like to have them.

Established in 1910, as an experiment, one of the first of its kind, and known for many years by its initials "B.I.S.", the Boys' Industrial School, which pulled its students from school districts across the entire city, was located at the corner of School Street and Wickliffe Street.

Nothing quite tells a story better than Before and After pictures, though.

Here is a period photo of the school. The smaller structure is the original school and the building behind it is an eventual expansion.



Here is the school today - one of the most renowned in the area, now known as Newark Tech!

 

[WisJim]

The university in my town started out as a "manual training school " in the late 1800s. I have some photos of some of the shops in the early days that I will try to find when I'm back home.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I had to contain my inner jubilance when I spotted this Audel's "New Automobile Guide for Mechanics, Operators, and Servicemen" at the flea market this morning. The vendor is known mainly for bulbs (flowers), large driftwood pieces, and bric-a-brac, and I seldom buy anything from him. Even though it's only in fair condition (complete, with jacket wear and other defects), I was hoping he wasn't familiar with the series, and it was 'just an old ratty book' at just an old ratty book price, which turned out to be the case.

There are quite a few Audel books on the thread, and some of them are mine, but I don't remember seeing this book before. If there is any encyclopedic type series that deserves "the bible" moniker, not just for its content reputation, but looks (fat, black jacket, and red edges), it's Audel.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here's the little Audel library update.

 

[Outlawmws]

Awesome finds Lugz! I "need" all of those except the Welders, which I have. the rest of mine (7 others, one dupe) are different editions.

 

[Aaron_W]

Found this in a used book store about 35 years ago and just had to have it. I don't see that one has been shown here.
A bit of American automotive history: I was told Henry Ford started the school because he needed more skilled machinist, and then later closed the school because competitors were hiring his students. Even if it isn't true, it makes a good story.

I've got the shop theory book. I think it is still pretty handy for a home shop since it covers a lot of "obsolete" hand tools that can still be handy but training on their use is now only found in old books.

The story behind the trade school is interesting. The school began in 1916 and ran until 1952. Providing skilled labor to the Ford Motor Company was certainly an aspect to starting the school, students even providing cheap labor to Ford as part of their education. The second half of that story sounds like revisionist anti Henry Ford history. Henry Ford had been dead for nearly a decade when the trade school was closed.

The official history sounds far more plausible to me, simply by the 1950s there wasn't the shortage of machinists and engineers that existed in the 1910s. Plus how stupid would Ford have had to be to take 35 years to realize he was also providing workers to his competitors.

The grounds, facilities and equipment of the trade school was donated to the city of Dearborn and has become the Henry Ford Community College which is still operating.

Henry Ford Trade School article from the Ford Motor Company newsletter (admittedly not an unbiased source, but information on the school is somewhat scarce).

 

[gearhead1960]

I've not lucked out to find any "Audels" books, but would buy any edition all day long at a reasonable price....

 

[cowades206]

I've got the shop theory book. I think it is still pretty handy for a home shop since it covers a lot of "obsolete" hand tools that can still be handy but training on their use is now only found in old books.

The story behind the trade school is interesting. The school began in 1916 and ran until 1952. Providing skilled labor to the Ford Motor Company was certainly an aspect to starting the school, students even providing cheap labor to Ford as part of their education. The second half of that story sounds like revisionist anti Henry Ford history. Henry Ford had been dead for nearly a decade when the trade school was closed.

The official history sounds far more plausible to me, simply by the 1950s there wasn't the shortage of machinists and engineers that existed in the 1910s. Plus how stupid would Ford have had to be to take 35 years to realize he was also providing workers to his competitors.

The grounds, facilities and equipment of the trade school was donated to the city of Dearborn and has become the Henry Ford Community College which is still operating.

Henry Ford Trade School article from the Ford Motor Company newsletter (admittedly not an unbiased source, but information on the school is somewhat scarce).

Hey good research. One of my wife's uncles was telling a story, and he could tell by the look on my face I didn't believe him, so he added: "never let the facts ****** up a good story". I guess this falls into that category.