Anybody like old tool catalogs?

[railfancwb]

I do miss the "old" machinery.  When in the Research Department I used to make reasons to use the Model shop just so I could use the Bridgeport mill and the old LeBlond Lathe among the other machines.  I love working with my hands.  It was my release from the theoretical work I did during the day.  I managed to convince my director that when I designed something I had to make it too.  Those were good times.

Absolutely! Proof of concept.


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[janice6]

5 hours ago, Cubdriver said:

I get myself in trouble on the Bay of Evil by thumbing through old test equipment catalogs...

-Pat

I used to live out of those every fiscal year when we had to get the new equipment for the next year.  I had two Pet tools.  One was an HP GHz Spectrum Analyzer and the other was an HP Time Domain Reflectometer.  

According to those, the fastest circuit I designed and built was a Picosecond pulse generator for timing.

Edited July 4, 2019 by janice6

[railfancwb]

Website for...

https://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/

Believe it is available through Tapatalk...


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[Cubdriver]

1 hour ago, blueiron said:

Hewlett-Packard test equipment... back when real engineers owned the company, ran the company, and made the best stuff available.  

Right?  The real irony of it all is that they developed the damned computers in order to create automated test stations where the computer could operate the instruments and record the readings to improve efficiency.  Now the test equipment division has been spun off twice (first as Agilent around 2000, and more recently as Keysight about four years ago), and from things I've read the whole philosophy of innovation that once had them on the bleeding edge of technology is gone.  The tail began wagging the dog.  The HP Way is dead, and Bill & Dave are probably spinning in their graves.

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

Whoops!  Double-tap.  

Edited July 4, 2019 by Cubdriver
Duplicate post.

[DrB]

1 hour ago, janice6 said:

I do miss the "old" machinery.  When in the Research Department I used to make reasons to use the Model shop just so I could use the Bridgeport mill and the old LeBlond Lathe among the other machines.  I love working with my hands.  It was my release from the theoretical work I did during the day.  I managed to convince my director that when I designed something I had to make it too.  Those were good times.

I had a Bridgeport mill and a Sheldon lathe in my shop. at work.  They closed that down a few years ago, sad for me.  I learned on a LeBlond lathe.  In college us Engineer types had to take some machining classes.  Most hated it.  I loved carving on metal.  The first CNC machine I remember used punched paper tape  Good times..

Dave..

Edited July 4, 2019 by DrB

[janice6]

6 minutes ago, DrB said:

I had a Bridgeport mill and a Sheldon lathe in my shop. at work.  They closed that down a few years ago, sad for me.  I learned on a LeBlond lathe.  In college us Engineer types had to take some machining classes.  Most hated it.  I loved carving on metal.  The first CNC machine I remember used punched paper tape  Good times..

Dave..

The best mechanical engineer we had in our research department was head and shoulders above the rest.  I asked him why.  He laughed and said that the college he went to required their mechanical engineers to spend a few semesters working in a machine shop. 

When this guy designed anything, it could be assembled and worked the first time.  When the rest did it, took many iterations to be successful.  Most of our mechanical engineers had the degree but no actual shop experience, so they had no idea if, or how, some complicated structures could be constructed.  Knowledge of what the tooling could do meant that you accounted for this in the original design.

A few time the machinists called me in to look at the hysterically funny object in the break that once bent as mandated, could not be removed from the tool.

[DrB]

1 hour ago, janice6 said:

The best mechanical engineer we had in our research department was head and shoulders above the rest.  I asked him why.  He laughed and said that the college he went to required their mechanical engineers to spend a few semesters working in a machine shop. 

When this guy designed anything, it could be assembled and worked the first time.  When the rest did it, took many iterations to be successful.  Most of our mechanical engineers had the degree but no actual shop experience, so they had no idea if, or how, some complicated structures could be constructed.  Knowledge of what the tooling could do meant that you accounted for this in the original design.

A few time the machinists called me in to look at the hysterically funny object in the break that once bent as mandated, could not be removed from the tool.

Yep... We had to take several classes.  Mine were taught by an elderly German Machinist, Mr. Wasallof (sp).  He was very particular on judging what you did.

Through all the years I can still remember the placement of the machines in the lab area we took the classes.  Good times.

Dave..

[DrB]

Can't  quite remember but I think my Bridgeport had a J Head.  I still have a couple of the drawbars around here and a bunch of tooling.  Also have a couple of cool granite surface plates I got to bring home.

Dave..

Edited July 4, 2019 by DrB

[blueiron]

When I got out of the service and decided to go to college, I saved my cash to buy a then somewhat out-of-date Hewlett-Packard 35 calculator. Yeah, it ate though a battery charge within a few hours and wasn't as capable as the then popular TI-59, but it was overbuilt and lasted me through my college years, doing income taxes, and other math work for many, many years. If I ever get around to replacing the exhausted battery pack, it will likely still work as designed. 

H-P now builds disposable computers and effectively nothing else. They've even stopped making their "top of the line" HP-50G calculator and it feels cheap and disposable compared to the ol' 35.

[janice6]

4 hours ago, DrB said:

Can't  quite remember but I think my Bridgeport had a J Head.  I still have a couple of the drawbars around here and a bunch of tooling.  Also have a couple of cool granite surface plates I got to bring home.

Dave..

I had the opportunity to buy some Granite surface plates from my company when they shut down one of the plants in this area. through our "Employees Stores" but al tempting as it was, I couldn't think of a single thing I could use them for and I had other things that were ungodly heavy already.  They're cool though.

 

I should add this:  Since I come from the (formerly) Granite State, I had all the flat polished granite I wanted for almost nothing.

Edited July 4, 2019 by janice6

[janice6]

34 minutes ago, blueiron said:

When I got out of the service and decided to go to college, I saved my cash to buy a then somewhat out-of-date Hewlett-Packard 35 calculator. Yeah, it ate though a battery charge within a few hours and wasn't as capable as the then popular TI-59, but it was overbuilt and lasted me through my college years, doing income taxes, and other math work for many, many years. If I ever get around to replacing the exhausted battery pack, it will likely still work as designed. 

H-P now builds disposable computers and effectively nothing else. They've even stopped making their "top of the line" HP-50G calculator and it feels cheap and disposable compared to the ol' 35.

I did so much Electronics at home that my company gave me a Tektronix Digital 100+ Mhz scope.  I haven't used it for years.  I do have assorted lab test gear but again, haven't used them for years.  The pride of my collection of test equipment is a General Radio Battery operated Bridge for RLC all from the analog era.

[DrB]

1 hour ago, janice6 said:

I had the opportunity to buy some Granite surface plates from my company when they shut down one of the plants in this area. through our "Employees Stores" but al tempting as it was, I couldn't think of a single thing I could use them for and I had other things that were ungodly heavy already.  They're cool though.

One of mine is a Starrett the other I would need to look.  Cool heavy things.  Mine were free so they came home.

Dave..

[janice6]

Just now, DrB said:

One of mine is a Starrett the other I would need to look.  Cool heavy things.  Mine were free so they came home.

Dave..

I forgot I also have a top model Simpson Multimeter absurdly outdated by my cheap digital DVM.  

[DrB]

2 minutes ago, janice6 said:

I forgot I also have a top model Simpson Multimeter absurdly outdated by my cheap digital DVM.  

I'll see your Simpson and raise with my Triplett 630-NS analog VOM.

Dave..

[tous]

6 minutes ago, janice6 said:

I forgot I also have a top model Simpson Multimeter absurdly outdated by my cheap digital DVM.  

So, my two Simpson 260s are just door stops, you're a-sayin?

Plus, I have the leads; harder to find than the meters.

Edited July 4, 2019 by tous

[janice6]

1 minute ago, tous said:

So, my two Simpson 260s are just door stops, you're a-sayin?

Plus, I have the leads; harder to fond than the meters.

Yes.  Unfortunately.  My cheap DVM will also measure capacitance and frequency and it cost $60.  Oh, and transistor gain.

Edited July 4, 2019 by janice6

[DrB]

2 minutes ago, tous said:

So, my two Simpson 260s are just door stops, you're a-sayin?

Plus, I have the leads; harder to fond than the meters.

Nope.... we just have some cool stuff. 

Dave..

[DrB]

11 minutes ago, DrB said:

I'll see your Simpson and raise with my Triplett 630-NS analog VOM.

Dave..

I also have a Hewlett Packard HP3400A RMS Voltmeter to add to the pot..

[janice6]

It's good to keep examples and memories of the past.

[DrB]

Gentlemen and Ladies I have to leave the table for this evening but I raise you all again with Two Vintage working Hickok 539B tube testers.  Hold them, fold them or put your meters on the table folks.

Dave..

[railfancwb]

I had the opportunity to buy some Granite surface plates from my company when they shut down one of the plants in this area. through our "Employees Stores" but al tempting as it was, I couldn't think of a single thing I could use them for and I had other things that were ungodly heavy already.  They're cool though.
 
I should add this:  Since I come from the (formerly) Granite State, I had all the flat polished granite I wanted for almost nothing.

Plate glass is sometimes used when true surface plate isn’t available.


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[railfancwb]

I'll see your Simpson and raise with my Triplett 630-NS analog VOM.
Dave..

Remember Heathkit? Bunches of electronic kits. My brother ended up building three of their color TV kits. One for his family, one for his parents, one for his in-laws. Things lasted for years.


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[tous]

44 minutes ago, janice6 said:

It's good to keep examples and memories of the past.

When I was at MCAIR, there were floors of women in endless rows keypunching.

As Hollerith cards were phased out, we could buy an IBM 029 or 129 keypunch or a 514 or 519 reproducing punch or IBM 1130 and 1800 card readers for pennies.

I was sorely tempted to get one of each, but had no place to put them.

I imagine that 99% of those hard-working machines were scrapped. 

<--- still has boxes of punch cards

[janice6]

21 minutes ago, tous said:

When I was at MCAIR, there were floors of women in endless rows keypunching.

As Hollerith cards were phased out, we could buy an IBM 029 or 129 keypunch or a 514 or 519 reproducing punch or IBM 1130 and 1800 card readers for pennies.

I was sorely tempted to get one of each, but had no place to put them.

I imagine that 99% of those hard-working machines were scrapped. 

<--- still has boxes of punch cards

The company name when I started there was UNIAC.  Some of our early tube computers eventually went obsolete and into employees stores.  I remember walking over the tops of the racks that filled a warehouse from one computer, the Univac 1107. The warehouse was so full of racks from this one computer that there was no room to walk around on the floor.   I found the control console with a scope monitor built into the top.  It was so cool that I bought it for scrap price and took it home to make it my Ham Desk. 

There was a lot of adventure and pure joy with working in science in those days.  Now is seems that you are still making breakthroughs in science, but with computers you have the feeling that you are so removed from the actual discovery process that it's depressing in comparison.  There is little to replace all the minor adjustments and tweaks necessary to make the old stuff function, and you lose the feeling that you are an integral part of the process.

One exception to my statement was when I was in Oak Ridge at the original site of the first controlled reactor.  I went into the control room that supervised the operation of the reactor and asked where all the rest of the monitoring equipment was.  The manager told me that what I saw was all there was.

They made an experimental nuclear reactor and started the first controlled reaction by  monitoring with a chart recorder, temperature gauges, Volt and Ammeters, and operators pushing the fuel into the reaction chamber by hand with long poles.  They had the instructions that if the reaction went critical, they would push the fuel completely through the chamber so that it would fall out the other side of the facility into a small creek flowing through the middle of the building.

Now I am probably stupid and more than willing to do some pretty dumb things in the advancement of science, but you wouldn't catch me in that facility even if you threatened me with death!

The people that performed this first experiment all knew that they could die if things went wrong, and they didn't know what wrong was until it was too late.  They also had the large Brass balls that were shared with the first astronauts. 

Edited July 5, 2019 by janice6