Machines and engines

I've always loved machines and engines. 

I like a bit of nostalgia too. 

Here's a 1962 Twin Tub in action - I spent many happy hours in the company of a machine just like this as a child! 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvs1aJ7ES60

Have you got a favourite machine or engine? 

  • If so, please share it! 
  • My pictures won’t upload so here’s my post without the aquamarine coloured machine included,,,

    This is my sewing machine ( if the picture uploads) it’s an alpha, not had it long, would have preferred a singer one to be honest, but it looks like it has never been used since 1940 when it was first made, has just about every attachment going, works lovely even in my hands, 

    a fairly recent acquisition as I found it difficult finding specific clothes I liked that fitted my look. My intentions are to learn and make my own garments, 

    I recently had the chance of an old singer complete with cupboard and fold out platform, it had every attachment and every receipt from new to when the motor was added. It still had the flat metal pedal that powered it inside, I had no where for it to go so passed on it, big regrets now,

    As a young boy I would enjoy watching my mum and sister make many items, you name it they made it.

    I was often used as the tailors dummy...and buttons,,,oh my hours soent sorting and playing with them, a massive box at my grans  house, 

    i have started my own collection, and just about everything needed to start sewing my style.

    The start of all this was when trying to find waist costs with lapels!

    victorian style, there are none, modern versions but they just don’t sit right, so take a very cheap jacket, remove arms, cut just below the two main pockets, ok lots more than just that but there are very cheap jackets to be had.

  • Funnily enough I don't remember them from my childhood. My mum did plenty of sewing but she had a brand new fancy machine (I think also a Singer, but a modern one). I came to them because I've never got on with electric machines, so wanted a hand cranked one .... and the only way to get one was to buy a really old one! I was enthralled when I started playing about with it to see how it worked. It is incredibly quiet. Mine belonged to the auntie of the (none too young) chap selling it, who had passed away and he'd inherited it, because no-one else in his family wanted it and it reminded him of his auntie. He said she used it all of the time, but she had been gone some years so it had sat idle, and he thought it should have a new home. I think he was genuinely surprised that I was buying it to use, rather than as a curio or decorative item!

    My mum used to have a big old tin full of buttons too, and I used to spend hours sitting on the floor, sorting them into little groups. I loved all of the different colours and textures - they are so tactile. 

  • What a lovely description "miniature Victorian beam engine" I'm going to think of that next time I look at the workings of a Singer!

    As a child I loved the spools and shuttlecocks and the little sliding compartments on the sewing machine. It had such a lovely action. 

    Tins full of skeins of embroidery thread and button boxes were lovely to play with too. 

  • They do indeed. Proof that they didn't change much over the years - the 1951 version pictured in the article you posted is pretty much identical to my 1940 model! 

    I have never been a huge fan of electric machines, as they tend to run away too fast for me. The hand crank (or a treadle) is much more controllable. If you look underneath one, it looks like a miniature Victorian beam engine!

  • You're right moggy - what an oversight! My mum had a Jones sewing machine but I've always loved Singers. Saw some being used in Kenya at an enterprise project for disabled women. The 201k has lots of fans: 

    https://sewalot.com/singer_201k_sewalot.htm

  • I can't believe it took me this long to nominate: vintage Singer sewing machines. Wonderful things, properly built and will go on forever if you look after them. I inherited another one this weekend and spent a few happy hours on Sunday giving her an overhaul. She'd been in a shed for years but cleaned and correctly oiled up, she runs as sweet as you like now :-)

    My everyday machine is a 1940 201K (best model they ever made), hand cranked, and I love it to bits. I would have 100 different ones if I had the space.

  • Hi @windscale the museum is near St Albans well worth a visit

  • I have bought myself a vintage humming top. I chose one manufactured in West Germany by the Lbz company. This one works much better than the one I had as a child. The hum is particularly good as it is made up of several different notes. Perhaps that's why it was sometimes called a  'choral' top.

    The top spins for a really long time and I absolutely love the clanking when pumping the handle. It's interesting that my dog, who is often scared of static objects like waster paper bins, likes touching the spinning top very gently with her nose. The two of us are having lots of fun! 

  • Looking at the cars you've driven, I'm guessing you like something with a lot of back end, and RWD. Definitely a thrill seeker, but you have a great strategy for flipping a bad investment, so that levels it out a little!

    I'm really not a fan of Zondas - it's just another Ferrari that crashed into a Wurlitzer jukebox and they didn't separate the wreckage.

    Lololololol, this was probably the funniest think I've heard all week. Thanks! Lol, yeah, that does make sense, I won't be able to look at one now without thinking the flywheel is an old Motown 45 logded inside it!

    Triumph Herald's are real nice looking. I liked a lot of Triumph's cars. My dad owned a Dolomite. The 2CV was a Bond car, when Bond was good, that's enough for me.

  • I ended up with a TVR because I fancied building a kit car. I looked at the market and deduced that the minimum price for anything was about 7k by the time paint, wheels, instruments etc. were added up.

    That discounts building anything difficult to sell to recover the money if I hate the end product.

    I started looking at the Cobra replicas - they are all basically Ford/Jag suspension with a V8 - the same as a TVR - and I can test-drive a TVR - and the hood works, it has a windscreen wiper that works, doors that open & close, electric windows etc. and someone has already debugged (mostly) the build.

    Logical Asperger choice.

    Mine had a straight-through exhaust - it was so loud that it made my ears ring. The clutch, gearchange & steering were so heavy that anything more than 10 miles was like being beaten up. Way too tiring to drive long distance. 10mpg sucks too.

    I'm really not a fan of Zondas - it's just another Ferrari that crashed into a Wurlitzer jukebox and they didn't separate the wreckage.

    Yes - I'm a thrill seeker. I'm so Aspie that I crave data input all then time. I'm a roller coaster fan, I've done aerobatic flying lessons, dived with sharks (no cage) - if it's a huge data-rush, then I'm in.

    For a forever car, I'm thinking a Triumph Herald or 2CV - practical, simple and maintainable.

  • Yeah, it did spring to mind. It could be a managable way of life. I gave up long ago about money, and I think that a modest living inside something I actually care about, plus can cope with is the way forward.

    That would be ideal, I'd imagine fixing Railmasters all day woukdn't be too sloppy!

  • I'm not impressed by most supercars - they all follow a simple formula. The only one that ticks my box is the Koenigsegg. Ferraris & Lambos are just fragile footballer's cars now.

    Lol, yeah, they are pretty much awful. As I said I do like the Zonda, it's got it's own thing. Koenigseggs are a unique brand too, Christian von Koenigsegg seems like a guy who is really hands on. He actually cares about his product, every nut and bolt. There's a documentary on Netflix called Apex. It pretty much sums up the Hypercar market. It's an amazing documentary. It's all about a competition where they had a gentleman's agreement for a few track records. Koenigsegg show everything they can, and invite the documentary makers in. Koenigsegg is open about everything, you can really see his passion. Porsche are pretty open too. McClaren are friendly-ish. Pagani too. Ferrari on the other hand.......well they dive to lows I didn't expect. I actually hold a bit of contempt towards Ferrari. Tossers to be honest. I do like the Ferrari FF, it's more of a Grand Tourer. Weird blend of supercar, hatchback and estate "thing"!

    TVR & Lotus were just glorified kit cars. Shocking manufacturing design. Lots of washers to pack things out to get things straight. (I had a few).

    I have the feeling you are quite the thrill seeker. You owned a TVR, which design faults or not, were real deathtraps in most cases (In a good way, lol), but a "drivers" car. Koenigseggs aren't the safest or easiest cars to drive!

    I like the stripped-down simplicity of rally cars - nothing on them that absolutely doesn't have to be there.

    Rally was the testing ground for so much stuff too. I also liked the aspect of some of the "everyman" cars of those days being turned into absolute monsters.

    With all the up-coming hassle about emissions and hybrids/electrics, I'm looking at what classic I can use as a daily driver that is exempt from everything.

    It's going to be a sad day. I'll miss seeing the odd classic on the road. It's wonderful to see one of those cars that made your jaw drop all those years ago, in perfect condition, and stiil being cared for lovingly. I'd imagine some hearts will be broken with all that.

  • Former Member
    Former Member in reply to Cloudy Mountains

    For someone with ASD, I don't think it's not a bad choice of career if you can live on the money.  Much of the time will be spent at the bench working on your own.  The guys I spoke to at the BHI said it was something you did because you loved it rather than for the money per-se.

    One of the guys at EFHC who had a few more years experience than me, plus he worked in the jewellery industry already IIRC, got sponsored by Omega I think to go to the British School of Watchmaking.

  • I'm not impressed by most supercars - they all follow a simple formula. The only one that ticks my box is the Koenigsegg. Ferraris & Lambos are just fragile footballer's cars now.

    TVR & Lotus were just glorified kit cars. Shocking manufacturing design. Lots of washers to pack things out to get things straight. (I had a few).

    I like the stripped-down simplicity of rally cars - nothing on them that absolutely doesn't have to be there.

    With all the up-coming hassle about emissions and hybrids/electrics, I'm looking at what classic I can use as a daily driver that is exempt from everything.

  • Thanks for the links Windscale. When or if my situation improves, it's something I've considered persuing. I've still got time, and a bit of knowledge beforehand, so it's certainly an option. I'd like to do high-end repairs, more than anything. I like restoring stuff.

    Looking at those Amazon links I see Breguet. Swatch swallowed that up too. I like pocket watches, but I'd only buy one as a collection piece. I'd like one of those really old Glashütte pocket watches. Germany had a pretty rich history of horology, predating the Swiss in a lot of aspects. The Nazi's and the Communists both destroyed Glashütte's industry, but since the wall fell, they have gone straight back to doing what they do best. It amazes me how what is essentially a village, has so many great watchmakers.

    Yeah, I like the Series Two probably best out of the Roger Smith pieces. It's great that Smith has started using tourbillons too, but that makes them more unobtainable, we can still look and drool though. Breguet has a lot to answer for, the invention of the tourbillon, and it's current surge in popularity puts some models way out of reach!

    I can't imagine they woukd have been Seagulls. Mind you I have seen a few nice models from Seagull. The 6497 was Unitas originally, but got sucked up into ETA. Nice movement to be looking at! Panerai have made some nice personal touches to the 6497, although it bumps up the price, and Panerai being on the dial does too! I find Panerai's designs a little brash and large. The largest watch I own is a 43mm case and that's because it's a shell case. I usually go around the 38mm to 40mm range. You've got me thinking about doing something like you did, it sounds pretty cool, and it could lead somewhere. 

  • The manufacturers are trying to blame everyone and everything for their managerial incompetence but the public now see cars like a washing machine so it's getting more difficult to shift their overpriced products.

    Living here I've seen pretty much abosolute stupidity concerning the manufacture, marketing, and design errors in cars. When my dad worked at Jaguar they sent something like 4000 cars to the US, this was in the late seventies. All XJ models. They all got sent back because they didn't fit the requirements for import. Jobs were lost. Dad swears it was all done for tax reasons, and as a ploy for lay offs. Car company *** ups are regular subjects of conversation here, well not that much nowadays, because they all self destructed. JLR will probably be gone too. They are all on a 3 day week already "until Chrismas". Looks pretty dooming.

  • Reading everything that's been said about cars here, I read the models people are mentioning (the older ones) and the comparison in design saddens me. Cars are so boring to look at now. I'm a big fan of old rally cars, Lancias, Audis, Volvos, Renault Alpines, Fords...well you get the idea. They didn't look too sleek, but the pure level of insanity that came with them was probably the most exctitng era in motorsport.

    As for supercars, they are all as boring as hell now. The only one that has any allure is a Pagani Zonda, for me anyway. The supercars of the 60's, 70's, and 80's had a far more striking look. Look at the boring uniformal trash that Maserati sell now. The Gran Turismo in comparison to something like the Bora is pretty sad.

    I do like what Singer are doing to the 911, it's really nice both on the engine front (air cooled, flat 6, 4.0L) conversion wise. They will only word with air cooled engines, and the interior is art. ECD are doing some interesting stuff with Series 3 Land Rovers, and Defenders. I love those cars. They will drop a massive Chevy Corvette engine into the Defender, and set it up right. There are some really good things going on in the restomod market.

    The ironic thing is I will never be able to legally drive....lol. I can however still admire craftsmanship, and engineering. 

  • now we're getting on to toys, I have to mention my favourite, which I still have. It was a pull along dachshund, with a spring for a tail so it wagged from side to side, and eccentric axles that made each end of the dog go up and down in turn. As I say I have kept the toy all my life, and also have a love of daxies to this day (getting a puppy in the spring - yay)

  • wow that's a blast from the past!! I'd completely forgotten the jumping frog, but I did used to have one. not sure it came from the rag and bone man, but we did have a rag and bone man, so it could have done ...

  • We had one,,, strange question for anyone, did anyone ever happen to touch the metal of a tin toy on their tingue?

    I found out by accident it tingles,,, It buzzes the tongue,,,, lovely feeling,,, the best ever were  tiny cheap tin pressed frogs,, with a strip of blue metal underneath,, you pressed down and slipped your finger off it’s back to get it to leap forwards and up...the rag and bone man would give them out in exchange for rags, if you had quality items you got a ceramic mug,,, if lots of clothing you got a gold fish,,, no one ever got a gold fish though,,,,many kids would pinch mums clothes to try and get a fish Lol. Often a clip around the ear ensued with mum running after him to get the things back, 

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