Other Vintage Stuff

Vintage Drill Bit Holders

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Letter Holder 1950s          10.12.12

Got this little guy at an Estate sale at Gordon Buehrig's old residence in G P Shores. 

Brass plated steel wire with wooden end fittings.

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The Bates Model C  

So while rummaging around some old guys basement shop at a local estate sale I came across this unusual looking stapler. The Bates Model C. They were in production from 1936 to 1968.

The Bates company was apparently obsessed with creating the worlds best WIRE FEED STAPLER. a wire feed stapler takes wire from a roll and makes one staple at a time... amazing! You can get about 5000 staples from a single roll of wire, not only that the wire is solid brass so they don't rust.

 The wire roll is loaded in the back.

 It makes a beautiful little staple 5/16" wide; smaller was liked by many. I am going to use it where applicable for sewing leather; many times the best way to hold thins together while sewing is to staple them.

Sad to say it finally jammed and had to be retired, I am very disappointed; it was a brilliant design that was just too finicky. 

  Frigidaire  Custom Imperial

While its not a sewing machine it fits squarely into my vintage obsession. A 1964 Custom Imperial; a friend of mine had it in their modern kitchen when it truly was the most modern appliance on the market.

 For our tiny kitchen it is ideal. Frigidaire's concept kept all of the cooking at eye level. I use the small oven 99% of the time; at about 1 cubic foot its all you need for everyday cooking.
Awesome 60s styling; space age shapes everywhere, back lit control panel, and automated features. You can still get all of the critical parts so I was able to get it all working (except for the clock.) You can see it in a few episodes of I Dream of Gene :-)

 All closed up

 1st two burners

 All four burners

 Small oven open... note the fantastic opening mechanism (4 bar link)

Both ovens open

Yes its impressive however, being in product development for as long as I have I can see certain issues with the design and concept.

1. It must have been very expensive to make.
2. It was clearly designed by men.
3. There is an issue in that the ovens vent directly into the small lighted hood and thus clouding and clogging everything above.
4. The clock on everyone of them stopped working a year after it was bought.
5. The old style of big coils are slow to heat up.

Having said all that I love it! You can see the influence of General Motors ownership in the technically advanced engineering and clever solutions to everything.

1. Incredibly well made
2. Easy to clean
3. Easy to use
4. Bullet proof
5. The small oven bakes quicker than anything you have ever tried