It Came from the CraterRanch Blog!

Wurlitzer Update #2: Amplifier and Speaker Rebuild

2010-11-10T14:18:00.004-05:00

As readers will remember from the last post on my restoration project of a 1937 Wurlitzer jukebox, I had performed a smoke test on the big, rusting amplifier. Happy as I was that it didn't burst into flames, I decided that if I was going to resurrect such a mighty phoenix I might as well do it right. To that effect I stripped and repainted both the amp and the speaker, and then sent them out to some experts to be rebuilt. In the case of the amp that meant removing all of the old capacitors and soldering in new ones. Old capacitors can fail, smoke, melt, and sometimes explode so this was money well-spent. Luckily the transformers and tubes were all good. The speaker needed a new cone and wires, and the finished product looks great. Given that these two parts are the heart of the old jukebox I know that having them properly rebuilt will make it all the better when the old crate sings the old tunes again.

Currently I'm working on getting the cabinet restored, which so far involves a lot of glue and clamps. Once the outside is done I can start putting things back inside and getting all those gears and parts to start moving and meshing again.

Curb Find #33 - Cast Iron

2010-09-11T08:21:00.004-04:00

There's this house down the street that always puts a couple old things out on trash night. I think the house was packed with junk when they bought it and they are emptying it out piecemeal. I pass it on the way to work and sometimes the junk catches my eye and I pull over to inspect it. I got the mid-century arm chair there, as well as a couple of other little things. Last week there was an old cast iron dutch oven. Having picked up a few cast iron pieces before I knew how to clean and season them, and although this one was very far gone, I saw hope gleaming off it's rust-coated shell.

Recently I got my old air compressor working, and finally got around to blasting some rusted parts on the Wurlitzer. This was the most rusted thing I tried blasting to date, but when I was done I could see (through sand-filled eyes) that it was worth the effort. Now that the sand was removed, it was time to season it. Seasoning is what gives cast iron cook wear its black color and non-stick properties. Seeing as how they are finding more and more Teflon inside people these days, you might want to consider switching to some cast iron pans. If you do, be sure to season them if they aren't already, and use the proper cleaning method. To season your cast iron, clean it well, coat it in oil and bake for an hour at 300 degrees. To clean cast iron, wash with soap and water (no dishwasher), dry, then coat the cooking surface lightly with oil and put on the burner for a few minutes, then wipe the excess. This might seem like a lot of extra work, but when you're eating pancakes and sausage off your cast iron griddle, or a burger off a well-seasoned frying pan, its worth it!

History Detectives Eat Your Heart Out

2010-07-03T15:37:00.008-04:00

The other night while out on a family drive in a neighborhood slightly more upscale than our own humble street, we came upon a little pile of discarded things in front of a house. Our antique-loving eyes immediately honed in on the big old oak picture frame. We stopped the car and brought the treasure home.

It's a very nice antique oak frame, and although the picture it contained wasn't to our taste we decided to find out a little about it. After all, The old trash pictures we see people find on Antiques Roadshow are often valuable, and make me wish I studied art history. Upon removing the back we found a few pages of an old newspaper used as backing for the picture. The picture (a colonial scene of people drinking coffee) turned out to be an old advertisement for chocolate that someone had cut and fit into the frame...a sure sign of Yankee frugality. The newspaper, however, provided much entertainment. The pages are from the June 9, 1884 Whig and Courier from Bangor, Maine. The paper isn't in business anymore, perhaps because they kept throwing their weight behind the wrong presidential candidate. The lead story promotes James G. Blaine as the "next President of the United States." (Grover Cleveland would beat Blaine in the 1884 election, becoming the first democrat elected to the Presidency in 28 years.) There is also an interesting article, I'm not sure if it's a society article or a sports article, but it details a sculling (rowing) match between two gentlemen (or dandies, I'm not sure). Apparently one of the racers didn't show and there was a big hullabaloo. I won't spoil the story for you but will run it in its entirety in a later post.

But the real fun is in the advertisements. The majority of them are for medicinal items, although I have to wonder at the actual medicinal value of any of them. In fact, if you added the phrase "ask your doctor about..." to them and then a list of possible side effects most of the ads would be very familiar to most of the drug commercials that plague us today. Johnson's Anodyne Liniment, for example, promises to cure "influenza, bleeding at the lungs, hoarseness, hacking, cough, whooping cough, chronic diarrhea, cholera morbus, kidney troubles, and diseases of the spine." And that's with internal AND external application! Gray's Specific Medicine isn't very specific, as it promises an "unfailing cure for scminial weakness, impotency, and all diseases, as loss of memory, universal lassitude, pain in the back, dimness of vision, premature old age, and many other diseases that lead to insanity or consumption."

By the way, if you're looking for a good smoke you can get six havana cheroots for 25-cents at Tea White's. Also, if anyone wants to buy a used steamboat, lookup Dr. A. Walton, Bangor, ME.

Pictures from Aruba

2010-05-11T10:16:00.002-04:00

Our Aruba vacation and first big trip with Keiran continued this morning with some fun in the surf. My new old camera and marine case worked perfectly at the beach across the street from the rental house. Keiran put on his new little speedo and took to the water like it was a great big bathtub. I added pictures to the CraterRanch gallery, and will post more as the trip continues.

-K

Aruba Arrival

2010-05-10T14:23:00.005-04:00

After weeks of dreading plane travel with a baby, I have to say that our two flights down to Aruba have confirmed what Heidi and I already knew: that Keiran is the best baby ever. Not only did he sleep for most of the flights, but when he was awake he was happy and charming the pants off of everyone who walked down the aisle. He didn't cry once from the time we left the house (5:00 am) to the time we got to the rental over twelve hours later. Heidi and I were very proud, and it made for a nice first Mother's Day surprise.

So, here we are in Aruba, at a very comfortable house right in front of the ocean. The weather is warm, but nothing a dip in the clear blue water can't fix. Keiran is wearing his new sun hat, and we look forward to playing with him in the water.

Radio Rises from the Dead

2010-03-18T15:20:00.002-04:00

It's hard enough to keep myself from bringing home old furniture, tools, radios, etc. when those things are for sale, but put an antique radio out with your trash and it will inevitably wind up in our basement. Sure, if it's been stripped down to bare wood and had its parts thrown in several bags it might take me several drive-bys before I decide. But oh yeah, it's mine.

Such was the case with this Silvertone console radio, model 7046. I had just brought home the Wurlitzer, a project that is still on the to-do list, when I saw this around the corner. I could see from the car that it had been someone else's work in-progress, but they must of got fed up with it sitting in their basement, mocking them with blaring incompleteness. Lucky for me that person did a passable job removing the old finish, and carefully put all the little bits in a plastic bag. If I hadn't seen those little knobs and screws I might have left the old thing for the trashman. Still, with little Keiran around it took me until recently to get to this project. He's reached the point where he only requires 94% of my attention, instead of the full 100, so for about 30-minutes a night I was able to glue, apply wood-fill and some little pieces of veneer, and refinish the cabinet. Some smoking and sputtering capacitors were replaced with brand new ones , and the speaker and grill cloth (the only missing parts) were replaced. All-in-all it came together nicely, and served as good practice for the Wurlitzer, too. Click here for more before and after pictures.

I sold the radio this week. It feels good to have one less project going on, and now I'm re-energized to start back on the jukebox.

Tool Cache

2010-03-08T06:32:00.005-05:00

A new acquisition to the basement workshop came last week in the form of two vintage Craftsman toolboxes and their contents. The little one has an antique set of sockets and two sets of speed wrenches. The big box is called a top box, and was meant to go on the top of a rolling tool chest. It's got a flip-up front and pull out drawers on the inside. This must have weighed about fifty pounds with all of the old tools in it, but for 20-bucks you can't go wrong.

Almost all of the tools are rusty, apparently from sitting in a damp garage for so long. But I discovered an old trick: soaking them overnight in vinegar. It eats at the rust and makes it easy to clean off with a wire brush. A little coat of oil and they stay rust-free. Check out the clean half of the tin snips in the picture compared to the rusty handles.

The boxes are another story. Those can be used as-is, but I think when the weather is nice I'll sandblast them and give them a fresh coat of paint. Look for updates on those and the clean pile of tools in the future.

Editor to Ride Pan-Mass Challenge!

2010-02-06T11:18:00.008-05:00

Crater Ranch Editor in Chief Keith Ferguson yesterday registered to ride the Pan-Mass Challenge, that huge annual Massachusetts bicycle event that raises money for cancer research and treatment.

Each year, thousands of riders embark on a two-day ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown. The 190-mile ride is grueling to say the least, but not as grueling as raising the $4,200 donation minimum for the ride. This big wall of money has been the main reason I haven't done this ride before. This year, however, a work colleague that used to ride the PMC each year passed away from an illness, and some other folks have formed a team in his honor. With this added support, I decided this was the year to go for it. Plus, it will get me back out on the bike, which I didn't do seriously this past year, and help support a good cause.

I will post updates on my training and preparation as time goes on, but in the meantime please help get me started with a donation to the cause. The ride isn't until August, but why wait? Click here to donate via credit card. $4,200 is a lot of money, but it's for a good cause and with everyone's support I think I can get that much and more. Give till it hurts! Trust me, you won't be in as much pain as I'll feel after the first few rides on the stationary trainer.

Study Confirms: Baby Makes Three

2010-02-06T08:53:00.003-05:00

Crater Ranch scientists, after an exhausting four month study, have confirmed the long-held belief that two parents, plus baby, makes three. The tally was complicated by the constant demand for play, naps, bottles, and drool cleanup. And then there were the baby's needs. Although the four months of late-night feedings, crying fits, and diaper containment breaches took their toll, the two parents also acknowledged that, "It could have been worse."

Keiran Frederick Ferguson is generally, and so far, a very happy, satisfied baby. He doesn't have extended crying fits, at least nothing that a bottle, a funny face, or a bounce on the yoga ball can't remedy. He smiles very easily, especially for his parents, and he eats extremely well. He has even started to grab and hold the bottle himself, although nipple placement still needs improvement (babies have trouble discerning mouths from eyes, nostrils, etc.). At the time of this report the baby's first teeth were coming in, and was soon to begin small amounts of solid food (if wet, soggy rice cereal can be considered solid).

Some of his favorite things so far include going outside in the stroller, playing with the stuffed polar bear, kicking, and shoving both hands into his mouth.

09/19/09: Your Horoscope

2009-09-19T17:59:00.012-04:00

Born today, you are endowed with a wide variety of gifts and talents. Already winning over hospital staff and passers-by, you are destined to charm your way through life using an easy smile and alluring charisma, which will be especially effective on lady-folk. You will sleep soundly, rarely cry, and learn to read Shakespeare by age 3, although you'll prefer Vonnegut. While your musical and athletic abilities will open up many avenues for excellence, your knack for difficult trigonometric equations will lead to the development of a groundbreaking theorem (age 8) and subsequent energy-producing formula (age 9) that will change human existence as we know it for the better. Having earned billions in revenue, you will support your parents' early retirement, world travels, and wacky projects, while you become a well-known philanthropist and entertainer. You will make things better for those around you, and will never be the subject of unreasonable expectations from your parents.

(More pictures here)

Garden on Autopilot

2009-09-10T18:41:00.005-04:00

Fall is just about here but the grounds around the house are still brimming with activity. The tomato plants, haggard though they may seem, are still making plenty of fruit. Our sad, stunted cucumber plants still eek out a pitiful offering every couple of weeks even though the stems are dry and shriveled. Some random squash is crawling along by the cellar door, even though we didn't plant squash there this year. Because of all the weeds there I didn't notice it until it had several orange blossoms. Long periods of rain followed by weeks of humidity have created a menagerie of mushrooms on the lawn, including one as big as a human head on one of the oak trees. Miscellaneous annuals, from seeds of years past, have sprung up here and there, including inside one of the upside down tomato buckets. I mowed most of them, but one neat purple flower grew up between the rocks on the side of the driveway. Go nature!

Wurlitzer Update #1: Amplifier Smoke Test

2009-08-24T17:50:00.008-04:00

Since acquiring what is probably my most ambitious project to date, the 1937 Wurlitzer automatic phonograph (jukebox), model 616A, I've been mostly in research mode. I also acquired most of the parts my unit was missing, which is a pretty good accomplishment considering what it was lacking were some very hard-to-find pieces. The coin mechanism, for example, can cost hundreds of dollars, and that's if you can even find one (many coin mechanisms were removed from old machines by the vending companies so no one else could use the jukebox to compete against them). I went to an amazing old building in western Massachusetts that had three floors packed with antique jukebox parts, but even they didn't have many of the things I needed. Luckily, I found most of the parts I needed on a similar machine that was up for auction on eBay, and the seller agreed to remove and send them to me for a very good price.

One of those parts was the amplifier. Amps of this vintage are big, heavy things with lots of transformers and vacuum tubes. I had to find a few replacement tubes, and the power cord was just a couple of strands of wire blowing in the breeze, but when I rectified those problems I was ready for a smoke test. A smoke test is just what it sounds like: plug it in and look for smoke. Smoke, as in most other situations, usually means something is wrong. Well, the tubes lit up, and there was the faintest hum. Then a little crackling noise. And then, a little whisp of smoke coming from...somewhere. I checked the unit and tried a few more times, but no more smoke. The unit hasn't had power going through it in decades so it could have just been some dirt getting singed. But, the amp didn't go up in flames so I'm calling this a success. I'll have to wait to do some additional testing, but for now it looks like we have an amplifier.
-K

Like-Minded People Found

2009-08-23T11:48:00.006-04:00

I am a tinkerer. I can often be found in the basement, taking apart some recently-acquired gadget, device, furniture, appliance, etc., or maybe putting it back together. Old bikes, radios, and oak furniture. Antique tools, modern machinery, mystery devices. The only thing I like more than finding them is studying them, understanding them, and when necessary, bringing them back to life. Broken things around the house get fixed. Discarded pieces of furniture get restored. Old machines work again. I am not an electrician, plumber, programmer, or carpenter, but I have done all of those things. Using my mind and my hands is part of the fun. Fixing or building something might be the end goal, but the learning and the puzzle-solving are just as important. I've recently come upon two individuals who not only live by the same credo, but have also promoted it amongst others, and seem to have made a decent living from it, too.

The first gentleman is Matthew B. Crawford, author of "Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work." After working in an office, Mr. Crawford changed careers and opened a motorcycle repair business. He makes the argument that working with one's hands can involve just as much thinking, if not more, than that required in a white collar job. It seems sometimes that people in my generation almost regard blue-collar jobs as a failure of sorts, or perhaps as not living up to one's potential. I think that point of view not only does a dis-service to our fellow man, but also harms us as a nation. What kind of nation will we be when we don't use our hands, or even develop the minds to use them? I look forward to reading this book.

Then we have someone who goes by the name Mister Jalopy. He seems a lot like me...fixing old things, tinkering with technology, writing about it, except he's actually made a business out of it (several, it seems). He fixes old bicycles and sells them in his shop. He made an iPod interface out of an old console stereo. But one of his coolest ideas is the Maker's Bill of Rights, which says that "if you can't open it, you don't own it." I agree. It used to be that people expected the things they bought to last, and when they broke, they expected to be able to fix them, or to have them fixed. So much of what we buy today is impossible to fix, or even to open. Sure, electronics and appliances are a lot more complicated these days, but even some of the simpler tasks would be hard for a skilled professional. Ever try to open an iPod? It's not easy. The Maker's Bill of Rights says that you should be able to open, repair and modify the products you buy. Ok, so many of the things we buy now and in the future will probably be beyond understanding for most of us, but does that mean that manufacturers shouldn't keep us in mind when they make something? They should if they want us to buy it.
-K

House Filling Up with Antiquated Music Devices

2009-08-16T20:20:00.007-04:00

Recent visitors to our humble abode have probably noticed new antiques sprouting up here and there. First there was the Victrola, purchased last year and installed in a corner of the dining room. It's a marvel of manual music that never fails to bring a smile to everyone that sees it. My own smiles were lacking for a while as the 90-year old mechanism had to be disassembled, cleaned, and put back together shortly after I got it. The Victor Talking Machine Company isn't exactly honoring warranties anymore, but fortunately I like that kind of thing. She's finally playing outdated music again, and I still haven't heard all of the records that came with it.

Next up was the 1937 Zenith radio. That was an easier restoration, and I'll never have to worry about lubricating springs, although I suppose electricity brings its own set of problems. That's up and running in the office, and I'll probably refrain from getting any other old radios as long as it's around. Oh wait, there was an old Silvertone I found in the trash down the street. That one's currently in the basement; a future project.

The king daddy of them all, however, is a 1937 Wurlitzer jukebox. Technically it's an "automatic phonograph," as they hadn't coined the term "jukebox" at that point. I mulled this one over for some time, as it needs lots and lots of work. But, I just couldn't resist the challenge. I love old things and this one is just so neat. This project is definitely long-term, but I look forward to bringing the old thing back to life. Maybe by the time Keiran takes his first steps. That would be great, actually, since he could help me get it up the basement stairs.

You can see pictures of the Victrola here, and the Zenith here. Additional reading is available on the Projects page of CraterRanch.com.
-K

UPDATE: I have since sold the Zenith, which since posting this article had been sitting in the basement for protection from Keiran, and also to give him some more play space. It was a nice unit but it went to a good home and if I ever want another upstairs there are plenty out there to be had (not to mention a couple in the basement).

Official Launch of the Crater Ranch Blog

2009-08-16T20:04:00.008-04:00

With our son on the way, and free time soon to be in short supply, I decided to give in to this blog fad and get one of our own. Like it's namesake, we'll use the Crater Ranch blog to post updates on our life, and for the immediate future, on the new member of the Crater Ranch staff, the as-yet unborn Keiran Ferguson.

So is this the end of CraterRanch.com? No! We'll still use that to post some more permanent posts, pictures, and projects. The blog will just allow us to post more things more quickly. Feel free to subscribe, or just check in often for news, entertainment, and distraction.

-K