N-Fab Light Bar

Added an N-Fab light bar and some KC lights to the fishing rig tonight. Love the way it looks now that it's on, but it took an awful lot of fitting to get it mounted. It would have been a simple install if the bolt holes had been big enough for the factory tow hook bolts. The bar, also, only uses two of the four bolts on each hook. This ends up leaving a gap on the other side. Including some spacers and longer bolts would have been nice. We'll see how well it holds up over time.

The Electric Carpenter #Restoration

Here's a shot of the bandsaw attachment for The Electric Carpenter. I love the styling on this piece and everything turns free and smooth!! A good cleaning and a coat of paint and we're back in business!!

Basket Case RC10B2 Restoration

Evenin' Folks,

  All my life I've been a tinkerer.  Like so many young boys, I loved taking mechanical things apart just to see how they worked on the inside.  When I was a teenager I was introduced to radio controlled cars and really thought I had found my niche.  I couldn't afford to buy or build a full size car and I was kind of getting tired of fiddling with lawn mower engines (even they took up too much room!), so r/c cars were perfect.  Fast forward about 20 years, and I'm in a similar situation.  I went from having pretty physical jobs where I worked with my hands all day to sitting at a computer staring at a screen all day.  So, I've been screaming for a project to tinker with and, once again, I have no room (or money) for an old car, antique tractor or vintage machinery of any kind.  I Googled r/c cars, just to see what has changed over the years and, to my surprise, restoring vintage cars has become a pretty popular thing!  

  I started out searching for replacement and upgrade parts for my first r/c car, a Team Associated RC10GT.  I've been putting off digging through my storage shed to find the truck, tools and parts, but I started scouring eBay for anything I could find.  In trying to get some used parts for my existing cars, I ended up getting a basket case of a Team Associated RC10B2 buggy.  I guess I've found my first r/c restoration project!  

  I'm going to document the restoration process here on The Angler's Workshop.  I'll use photo, video and commentary to show every step of the way and every process I use to get this junk buggy up and running and then upgraded and tuned up into a vintage racing buggy to be proud of!  Oh, and if you know of anybody looking to get rid of a bunch of RC10B2 parts (preferably free!) please let me know!!!

  I hope you enjoy following along!

     -Nick

Cumming Antique Power Expo -- 8 November 2014

Mornin' Folks,
  Here's a real picture heavy post for you!  These pictures were taken at the Cumming Antique Power Association's 11th Annual Cumming Steam, Antique Tractor, and Gas Engine Expo.  I thoroughly enjoyed walking around looking at all the tractors and hit-and-miss engines on display and watching the saw mill in action.  I wish the show had been bigger, it seems like I covered the whole thing too fast!  I'm definitely going to make plans to attend next year!
  Enjoy the photos!
     -Nick

The Steam Shed

There's something exciting about old crawlers, too!

My dream car! A Stanley Steamer, mid-restoration.  They had it running just about all day and even drove it in the parade!

Thought I'd throw in a hand tool picture as well.  This new-in-box Craftsman plane is available at one of the local antique stores, it just exceeds my $10 antique tool budget!

It's still not quite done, but here's a shot of the saw till I've been working on.  I needed a safe way to move my saw collection around and this fits the bill very well.  I don't care for the oak dowel handle though, it flexes way too much under the weight.  I'll post better pictures when I get a new handle sorted out.

Another Update!

Hey Folks,
  I finished the Disston D-23 crosscut saw that I had been working on!  I'm really happy, and proud of the results.  I'm working on a full write up on it and I'll try to post it really soon.  I've already started the next saw, so I'll get some pictures put up of that as soon as I take some.  I've also completed my first set of knife scales.  I made these out of reclaimed mahogany from an old entry door.  This was a really fun, simple project and I'm already looking for my next knife!  And the last picture here today is my next project.  I don't want to give away what it is just yet, but I will tell you that it is fly fishing related, and it's to replace an item that I've always wanted, but always hated that they're made out of Chinese plastic!  Mine is going to be solid walnut!  I'm making it entirely with vintage handtools, no power equipment will be used at all!
  I hope you're all doing well.  Keep the sawdust flying!
     -Nick

My Disston D-23 Skewback Crosscut saw.  Ready for to be sharpened and put back to work.  I'm extremely happy with the way it turned out!

My first stab at making knife scales! Sorry, couldn't resist the pun!  This is a Sarge knife kit.  I had a lot of fun with it and can't wait to do another!

My next project in the works!  That's a number 16 Russel Jennings auger going into some solid walnut.  It really needs a good sharpening!

A Quick Update!

Just a quick update! With school, work and The Suburban Angler blog keeping me busy, I haven't had much time for my saws. I'm still working on them, plus I've gotten a few more and a few more projects. I'm going to try to post here more regularly, so stay tuned! Finished saw pics coming soon!

Vintage Toolboxes

Evening Folks, 

  I took a stroll around the local antique mall this afternoon and happened to find a few vintage toolboxes. I love these things, especially knowing they were purpose built by the craftsmen that needed them to specifically fit the tools he wanted to put in them. I wonder if two pre-industrialization tool boxes ever looked alike. I hope not. I've already blown my antique tool budget for a while, so I wasn't able to adopt one for myself. One of these days I'd like to bring one home. I'll keep sharing pics as I find them, though. 

  Take care, 

       Nick