TwistedCustoms Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 6 hours ago, MC Hammer said: I sort of collect eccentric facts like that and store them until just the wrong moment and then bore everyone with them. Me too! I was a collector of 18th and 19th century carpenters tools long before I got interested in forging so I have amassed some interesting tidbits connected with the use of lots of them. Some of my favorites are "regional names" of tools. In some parts of the US that is called a carpenters hatchet and people look at you funny if you ask if they have any half-hatchets for sale. Thomas I can relate to the jam/jamb mix up. A lot of the tools and building techniques I was introduced to as a young man were taught "word of mouth" on the job leaving me at the mercy of the regional dialect of my upbringing. We built "tupelos" on top of barns for years before I found out they were cupolas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Would "tupelos" be a type of roof tree? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedCustoms Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Hey, when you're sixteen years old and that's how everyone on the job pronounces it you take it for granted! I was always pretty good with angles and reading prints so by the time I joined the Army I already had several years of building dormers, cutting rafters for hip roofs and yes, building tupelos :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Joyce Kilmer might disagree;l but of course if you were building Tupelos in Tupelo it might creatively confuse the issue... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedCustoms Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Tupelo Egypt or Tupelo Mississippi? Since I'm in Dixie probably the later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 See confundus in action! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted July 27, 2018 Author Share Posted July 27, 2018 Hey we joke, but the old time tools and crafts just have so much character. The life blood of each craftsman can be seen in their tools. Roy Underhill from the Woodright's shop once showed a plane that had finger marks on it from the German woodworker that used it so much. I have a tin smith's wooden mallet that has scrapings, dents, and scratches where his wedding ring knocked into it for decades. Newer tools don't show this kind of wear in the same way. The old tools made it hard to tell where the craftsman's hand ended and the tool began because they were like extensions of their own bodies. This was all back in a time when people took time to make things and the idea was that they would be durable and last - outlast the maker. One of my flatter heads is all pitted and I can tell it was found by someone buried in the ground as it has that look. That thing was made long ago most likely, forgotten about, buried, and now it's back in action after touching up the face to make it smooth again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedCustoms Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: See confundus in action! I had to look that one up and I'm still not sure.....Harry Potter reference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 obliviate! Yes I have 8 grandkids and so have read the books and seen the movies a large number of times... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedCustoms Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Thomas,I bought the complete set, seven or eight of them all boxed together last year and put them up for my nephew. He's four and not quite ready to sit still for a feature length film but when he's ready I'll watch them with him. I haven't seen them but I'm not judging mind you! I re-watch LOTR and The Hobbit every couple of months since they came out :-) MC Hammer, I'm a longtime fan of Roy Underhill! Best thing on PBS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted July 28, 2018 Author Share Posted July 28, 2018 Me and my wife watch LOTR & the Hobbit extended versions at least 3 times a year. We love them as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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