Sticky Updates

[Private Lugnutz]

With some key help from @NUTTSGT, I have finally updated the Sticky.

The A-Z Index is now spread out over three (3) posts, which will allow for future expansion.

It now includes links to threads for Canadian wrenches, Eberhard, Detroit Tool and Mfg (DTM), gapper tools, Giller, the Plomb Letter-Letter Survey, a second Tiny Tools thread (abandoned on General but concurrent to the one started on Vintage), Vaco, and Vogel.

Those were adds I made from old notes or recent requests.

Just like making the original, I can't catch everything. I am sure there are some threads that should be added for easier finding when they languish beyond page 1 that I have missed.

This thread is for suggesting them...

 

[four.cycle]

^ Thank you and thank you.

As noted somewhere else, I am trying to include (if and when possible) the link to the appropriate GarageJournal.com thread on entries in my LIST (which is a continual work in progress and changes daily.)

Using Private Lugnutz's "STICKY THREAD" and that LIST should make it much easier to find what you're looking for.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Including a link to a GJ thread, if we have one, in your US Mfgrs List, is a great idea, because someone reading an entry can go directly to the thread from there rather than have to back out and go to the Sticky. But there are hundreds of manufacturers' names on your list that don't have a thread dedicated to them on GJ. Even if you managed to include a link for every thread we do have, you'd still have to scroll and page through all those. Besides, it's more like a reference. Each of your entries is like a little amazing encyclopedia snippet, with location, patents, associate brand names, and links to information on other sites. The threads links are nice, but I wouldn't sweat it too much, either.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Added... Cutaways, Ephemera, Electric hand drills, Bicycle wrenches, SPS (Hallowell), Blackhawk chests, and Blackhaw jacks, Porto-Power, etc

 

[four.cycle]

^ Oh, I'm not "sweating it", by any means, although I always hold onto some fantasy about being "done" by year's end - it's just my way.
I try to include as much information on each maker as I can within the confines of a notepad text file - short and sweet.
I do try to get a patent number, because it provides an irrefutable point of reference. Each time I make an entry, I look for it here, if I wasn't led to it by a post here - including the GJ link has become SOP.

That episode yesterday losing all those files has caused me to re-think my strategy here... not sure that just "winging it" as I have been doing is prudent. Buddy is hopefully going to come over and help with some "techie" stuff at some point.

Is there a way on this website to look at thread rankings by view count?

 

[four.cycle]

I'm reading it right now...

re: "- HELPFUL HINTS AND HANDY LINKS (including a US Mfgrs List) located in post #6 "

errrr.... maybe change that to just "List of Tool Manufacturers" ? (more inclusive and it'll get picked up on more Google searches.)

==

index....

screwdrivers (wood handle)
screw starters/holders

** maybe add link to "show us your screwdrivers" thread?

==

index .... post #2 WOW!

==

post #3 Index / Belzer - see "German above", but then "German" is listed just below under "G"

post #3 index / JC Penny - should be "JC Penney" / there's no "Penncraft" under "P" / maybe change the line to "JC Penney and Penncraft" ??

==

post #4 index / Walden listed but not "Stevens Walden" (maybe "Stevens Walden see Walden Worcester" (or just "Walden")

wow... the indexes are great.!

==

post #5 - very cool

==

post #6 Alphabetical List of U.S. Manufacturers of Hand Tools <- it's global now. we even have Portugal in there. and Haiti.

post #6 - guide to logos trademarks etc. .... project back-burnered for too long. who knows photoshop who might set that up? (logo folder currently contains 446 files in two folders; "posted" and "dump") - I sent all the files to AA don't know what he did with them but he said he would NOT be including those which were simply names or letters - only symbols. kind of an aside from this project, though.

post #6 -
"Click on the thread and then use the ‘Search' tool to search the thread on the term ‘catalog’ or ‘ad’ or ‘advertisement’, or ‘1942 catalog’, for example, etc, or, if you know the number of the specific catalog you are interested in, e.g., ‘Catalog 19-A’,"


.... now if we could just get them all to be sure to include captions...

post #7 -
"other hand tool history/information sites" - there is a list of them at the bottom of my list - collectively it's a gold mine of info. I just noticed that they're not going to make a bit of sense to the uninitiated, though... maybe I need to fix THAT.

post #7 -
"Is this already being discussed..." (is this as much a hot-button for you as it is for me?) (irritates the **** outta me sometimes, but that's just me, I guess.... )

they can also check my LIST to see if there's a GJ thread... again, I'm really making an effort to get the appropriate GJ thread URL entered on the line for any given manufacturer --- currently I'll check every time I see an unfamiliar name pop up or if some old inactive thread's been brought back from the dead. but do please put that in there. I need to update the whole list that's POSTED on the site - takes three days at least to do it all. Then those URLs will be there for the Google searches too. (Google doesn't see the list on the last post in that thread.)

that's the first time I read that all the way through... that's really quite a piece of work there. fabulous!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Maybe change that to just "List of Tool Manufacturers" ?

Done. Didn't know it was global now.

** maybe add link to "show us your screwdrivers" thread?

??!!

The link in the A-Z Index labeled "Screwdrivers (Wood-Handled)" is the "Let's show our wood (screwdrivers)" thread. The Index does not literally replicate thread titles, which are often wordy and creative and unconducive for an index for someone unfamiliar with GJ. With few exceptions, it takes a more staid approach.

post #3 Index / Belzer - see "German above", but then "German" is listed just below under "G"

Thanks for catching that. That was an artifact of a very early version of the Index, before I separated threads by type and threads by brand. It's above, too, in the By Type section. I removed the redundant, confusing link in the By Brand section.

post #3 index / JC Penny - should be "JC Penney" / there's no "Penncraft" under "P" / maybe change the line to "JC Penney and Penncraft" ??

Done. And I asked the OP (@Thumper) to correct the spelling in the actual thread title.

post #4 index / Walden listed but not "Stevens Walden" (maybe "Stevens Walden see Walden Worcester" (or just "Walden")

Done.

post #6 - guide to logos trademarks etc...project back-burnered for too long

This is just a link to Woody's thread. I kinda sorta remember you telling me you'd like to include logos and TM's in the Mfgrs List, or conjoin them somehow, but for now, it's just links to two helpful internal references, your A-Z Mfgrs List, and Woody's running logo list.

post #7 -
"Is this already being discussed..." (is this as much a hot-button for you as it is for me?) (irritates the **** outta me sometimes, but that's just me, I guess.... )

It's annoying, you are far from alone in being annoyed, and it's not just the Vintage board. The whole reason Ryan built this feature into the thread starter prompt was to try to prevent redundancy. It was a major item of discussion in the 'Suggestions Box' thread he was running during the shakeout phase, before the new site was final. Some of it is lack of general internet forum etiquette, some of it is laziness, some of it is arrogance. It happens within threads, too, though. Why anyone would post a tool and say anything about it before seeing if it's been posted before - by name, model number, etc, and seeing if someone else has already provided the information they're just guessing at, is beyond me. But we live in an instantaneous, disorderly society.

 

[four.cycle]

* my responses >>

"The link in the A-Z Index labeled "Screwdrivers (Wood-Handled)" is the "Let's show our wood (screwdrivers)"

>> I meant the other "Show OFF your Screwdrivers!!!!" thread which is now up to 31 pages long (in GENERAL tool forum)

"And I asked the OP (@Thumper) to correct the spelling in the actual thread title." (penny/penney)

>> not sure he's active any more? I seem to recall trying to get several thread title misspellings corrected over a year ago.

"This is just a link to Woody's thread. I kinda sorta remember you telling me you'd like to include logos and TM's in the Mfgrs List, or conjoin them somehow, but for now, it's just links to two helpful internal references, your A-Z Mfgrs List, and Woody's running logo list."

>> We need to recruit somebody who knows how to use Photoshop. I don't - I've never installed the software, and due to some other issues we're going to put a different O/S into this machine soon - hopefully - and it's not something I have TIME for.
I'll be more than happy to email all the images to somebody who wants to come up with some kind of easy to navigate format to display them in here in a dedicated thread on GJ. The existing thread is, admittedly, a mess.
I have not yet even looked at what AA did with the stuff I sent to him, but again - he made it clear he was NOT going to include every logo.
I didn't want to try to incorporate logos or trademarks into the LIST, although I do include TM numbers and dates in the LIST if and when I come across them or if they're the only way to definitively pin down a manufacture who was awarded a trademark but not necessarily a patent, so that we have an irrefutable point of reference.
This is completely aside from your sticky here, or my list -- completely different deal... I just brought it up because you noted Woody's logo thread link.

"It's annoying, you are far from alone in being annoyed..."
" Some of it is lack of general internet forum etiquette, some of it is laziness, some of it is arrogance."

>> It makes what I am trying to accomplish with the LIST more difficult. Entering two or THREE GarageJournal.com URL's on the SAME LINE for one manufacturer is ridiculous.

>> It makes it mind-bogglingly confusing and impossibly difficult to find the thread one is looking for. The screwdriver threads are classic examples -- do I search for "Show US" or "Show OFF"? Do I search for "Screwdrivers" or do I search for "Screwdrivers!!!!" ? "General" or "Vintage" ?
In order to find the correct thread I have to run a search on the title of a photo image I've posted myself - e.g., "Rosco Screwdrivers".
Absolutely ridiculous.

Maybe increase the font size to 48 point type in RED letters on that line that says "DID YOU ALREADY RUN A SEARCH FOR THIS?"

 

[four.cycle]

most excellent, btw.... I am seeing the results of our collective efforts in ebay listings now.

 

[four.cycle]

not even 7:00 am and I'm already out of edits.

(It was your pointing out the "first use" thing that made me see the value of including that information in the list - run a search IN the list for keywords first use and you'll see how I'm putting them in there.)

 

[Private Lugnutz]

* my responses >>

You're killing me, Smalls!

All the symbols you have to resort it to distinguish your original text from my reply to your next reply is painful to follow.

To quote select snippets from posts instead of the whole post, just run your cursor across only the text you want to quote and lift. It will present the black [+Quote | <- Reply] button below to you. Click on Quote.



You can do that as much as you want in the same post. You can do it across multiple posts, as well.







The system saves all the quotes in memory. When you are ready to reply, it presents them all back to you in a handy window, where you can rearrange them in a different order than you used to make the quotes, or you can remove them.



When you want to put them into your reply window, just hit the black [" Quote messages] button at the bottom.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

This is what it does, leaving you space to reply to each one. When you're done typing in those spaces, you hit the black [<- Post reply] button at the bottom like you would normally do.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Like this...

* my responses >>

See tutorial above!

>> I meant the other "Show OFF your Screwdrivers!!!!" thread which is now up to 31 pages long (in GENERAL tool forum)

Aha. I didn't know there was another one. I hardly ever frequent General, and the threads I do participate in that are located up there (as I said before, annual Garage Sale, Hammertime!, Old World, and Vises) are in my Watched list, so I don't need to go to the General forum at all, and I never have to search for them! Reminder: The 'Watch' feature would help you immensely!

Also, keep in mind that the Sticky and the Index in the Sticky is primarily intended for the Vintage board. It's located at the top of the Vintage board and 99.3% of the threads linked in the Index are located on the Vintage board. It would get very disorienting if it was an Index for the entire site, multiple threads on multiple boards, but located down on the Vb. And, I will add, there is a difference between the Vb and the Gb.

If that thread is overwhelmingly modern screwdrivers of relatively recent production (90's->2024), I am not sure it's appropriate. Are there older screwdrivers on it? If so, one argument is to send those people to the Vb.

But I suppose I could add it and let users decide for themselves which thread is more appropriate.

>> not sure he's active any more?

Last appeared in 2020, so no. I can ask NUTTSGT to do it.

Absolutely ridiculous.

It is, but I think you're exaggerating the scale of it. It has tapered off in recent years as we have all become better watchdogs after suffering with the consequences.

It should be noted that some of it is innocent.

@Outlawmws and I were just talking in PM about the double 'Tiny Tools' threads. One, started by him way back in 2012, is up on the Gb. Another, started almost as far back as that by @twertsy in 2016, is on the Vb. They both have long histories and many pages and participants and I bet most of them aren't even aware there are two. Twertsy very conscientiously stated in his post #1 that he ran a search and couldn't find the subject. Undoubtedly because he ran the search against the Vb only. If he had ran it against Everywhere, I am sure he would have seen the one up on Gb and not started a duplicate subject thread on the Vb.

 

[four.cycle]

^I thought I was making it easier for you doing it that way!
(Goes to show you how differently our brains work sometimes.)

The "show us your screwdrivers!" thread is one of those deals in GENERAL that brings in vintage stuff. I don't know why. Maybe because it's not targeted at a brand, maybe because it's not "wood handled". (I only own three wood-handled screwdrivers myself... I was actually surprised when I got them all dug out... I didn't know I owned that many screwdrivers!)

Some of the stuff in "general" you miss, just as I miss a LOT of stuff in "vintage" because of the manner in which I've been looking at only "new posts". (Hence my being WAY behind the curve on some discussions in vintage.)

Overall, I think this is all working better than either of us had anticipated or expected - at least it certainly seems that way from my end.
When I started seeing stuff in ebay ads that obviously had been lifted right off pages on this website, I knew for sure we're having an effect.

 

[four.cycle]

"...It is, but I think you're exaggerating the scale of it...."

... further expounding on this subject....

That may well be because you're not looking at "new posts" the same way I have been doing all along, so you're not seeing all the redundant threads that pop up in "General", and I can assure you there's no shortage of redundancy there.
I submit:

I believe there are currently no fewer than NINE threads discussing screwdrivers, 1/4" hex screwdriver BITS, and multi-bit drivers. So many, in fact, that I caught myself Wednesday morning posting in the wrong thread.

Ratcheting box-end wrenches. I don't use these, they're all made in Taiwan or PRC, there are no patent numbers, there's too damn many Taiwanese tool manufacturers to even try to make a serious attempt at documenting them all (which has already been done by the Taiwan Tool Manufacturers Association anyway, so why do I need to bothered with it?) Fortunately because of those things, it's not a matter of concern.

So while the scale may well not be as bad in "Vintage", it's nutty sometimes in "General".

It should be noted that some of it is innocent.

Almost invariably it's a member with less than 50 posts, which is why this is the first time you've ever heard me say anything about it.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Some of the stuff in "General" you miss,

Some? I miss ALL of it, unless it's on the annual Garage Sale or Hammertime! thread. But that's by intent. Unless it has changed, most of the time the tools discussed on General are modern, as it should be, and I have no time or patience wading through all that for the occasional vintage tool that should be posted down here.

So while the scale may well not be as bad in "Vintage", it's nutty sometimes in "General".

Oh, I can just imagine. One more reason to confine myself almost exclusively to the discussion board this Sticky serves.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Understandably... I'm not cruising through "General" looking for "Vintage", though, although vintage stuff does now and then show up there.
I'm looking for the newer names that I haven't heard of yet - like "LockNLube" (which I found by chasing an item posted in the "Show us your new tools!" thread.
Picking through all those "new posts" - as tedious and mind-bogglingly-time-consuming as it is, does pay off now and then. Certainly not in respect to the "vintage" aspect of it, but at some point in the future those brands may well be "vintage".