Merit Jersey Pattern Felling Axe 4-1/2 lb. Pre-1927

 Personal Updates, Refurbishing Stuff  No Responses »
Dec 232017
 

Merit Jersey Pattern Felling Axe
Date: 1927
Weight: 4-1/2 lb.
Markings: “Merit \ Hand Forged” and 42 on the bottom of the poll
Pattern: Jersey Pattern or a Virginia Pattern

History: Merit was a Sears “brand” and Craftsman bought them in 1927. The scripted “M” in Merit was suggested to be a early stamp, but that’s from an unreliable source.

Here is a great find rescued from Harry’s Barn. This axe head was rusted up badly, but no chips. The axe had not been used much, the poll was in good shape, not much mushrooming. Harry said it belonged to his grandfather on his mothers side and that he has not used it much he preferred the other axe (a Collins commander for chopping wood).

Because of the age and the history I chose to leave this axe with as much character as I could.

The new handle is a 36 inch Link from Nichols Hardware Purcellville a wonderful old time hardware store. When I removed the varnish from the new handle I left behind some so when it was oiled and stained it would show some splotches (my hope was it would look warn from use). It didn’t come out exactly as I planned but I like the look .

Post about the “haul” here: Free Rust (May Contain Some Old Tools)
Facebook Post (private group): https://www.facebook.com/groups/AxeJunkies/permalink/1633658086672752/

Free Rust (May Contain Some Old Tools)

 Painting, Refurbishing Stuff  No Responses »
Dec 202017
 

Lately, I’ve been working on my spare time refurbishing some old garden tools I got from a friend. The majority of them are nothing special, but they are mostly American steel with years of character and they deserve to be used as intended. It’s always sad to watch old tools rust away.

FREE RUST (MAY CONTAIN SOME OLD TOOLS)

A friend of mine and ex-boss moved out of his old house of 20 years. He decided it was time to downsize and get rid of some of the collections of stuff that not only he no longer uses, but that he was tired of stepping over, moving and trying to find a cubbyhole for. Among the collections–which there where many–was some old gardening tools from when he had a brief interest in gardening 20 years back. He mentioned that many of the tools were from his mothers’ house and were used by his father or mothers father before being gifted to him.

The tools were stored in an open, dirt-floored barn that was filled with leaves, wet soil and in some areas exposed to afternoon sun. The tools were all in poor condition. Handles, resting on the soil, buried in years of decaying leaves left to rot away.

THE FIND OF THE DAY

After digging out some of the many layers of tools in one corner deep below the leaves I strut metal. Under the pile was an axe head (Merit Jersey pattern pre 1927) and an old grub hoe (unknown age or maker). Both of their handles had long since been lost or rotted away. They were the prized finds of this archaeological dig.

PROGRESS SO FAR

It’s been cold lately so working on there has been slow. A little work here and there. I tried removing rust with vinegar but it turns out it doesn’t work well when it freezes solid. Navel jelly also is pretty ineffective at temps below 40f. A good old wire brush and sandpaper seem to work just fine in these conditions so I worked my magic the old way.

I’ve so far removed the rust from most of the items found and have painted all of the rusty metal with a coat of primer. I’m now working on sanding and rejuvenating the handles that are salvageable, replacing the rest. I was not able to find a grub hoe handle locally so I’ll be reshaping a railroad pick handle to fit. If it ever warms up again I’ll be painting the primed surfaces and even though the paint will wear off rather quickly on cutting surfaces it will serve to keep them in fine condition through the winter months.

WHAT WAS IN THE HAUL

I haven’t identified makers for most of the tools. It’s actually unlikely I’ll ever know on most of them. Paint, stickers even makers marks have long since been lost to the elements. Some items have clues I just need to track down.

Among the oddities was a JC Penny spade one that I cannot find any record of ever existing. I’d love to find out who was contracted to make them, but that may not happen for a while.

WHAT WE FOUND:

 

Notes:

Digging Shovel (long handle)
Markings: USA / Tempered / O

Garden Spade (D-Handle) – Blue Paint
Markings:
On the socket (neck) it is marked: Heat Treated / USA / 2
On the sides of handle it is marked: U-D” / 2075277
Brand: Probably Belknap Bluegrass (based on research)

Utility Shovel & Drain Spade (Plastic D-handles)
Brand: Ames
Markings: Made In China 🙁

Spade (D-Handle)
Markings: 2 / Heat / Treated / Made / In / USA

3-Tine Garden Cultivator – Blue Paint
Markings: USA / A32
Brand: Blue Grass

Pick Mattock – Red Paint
Markings: 5 / Forged / [Japan?]

Cutter Mattock
Markings: EASTCO B-H / Drop Forged / Heat Treated

Pick Axe – Black Paint
Brand: Ludell
Markings: 6

Railroad Pick
Markings: N&W / 7 / [makers mark]
Makers Mark: H in center of route crest
Brand: [[Maybe: Charles E. Hall Company / Probably: Hubbard and Company]]
Notes: Could N&W stand for Norfolk & Western Railroad?

Logo as it appears on the tool.

 

 

Reference from: http://alloy-artifacts.org/trademarks-and-logos.html

H-Shield - Charles E. Hall Company - "H" in a shield

Dog Beds From Old Bedspread and Pillows

 Making Stuff, Personal Updates  No Responses »
Dec 102017
 

Simple DIY ultra-plush dog bed from old bedspread and pillows.

Jess and I cleaned out one of the closets and found that we had a couple of pillows and a bedspread that we were no longer using. I really don’t like throwing away usable items so I thought perhaps some dog begs would be the order of the day. After measuring everything out I found I had just enough to do three beds with 3 neck pillows. One for each dog in the office, and one for downstairs near my sewing machine (the floor gets cold down there).

Considering that all of the materials were heading for a landfill, I’d say the project was a huge success.

The fabric is medium weight duck cloth in the Next Geologic Camouflage Pattern. I did a similar set of dog beds using this pattern for their crates about a year back and they have performed and laundered well.

The bed is pretty simple, a padded bottom is attached to a heavily padded ring (for structure). Then a full-width pillow top is inserted into the ring. This makes the bed easy to clean, just pop off the pillow and wash. In the event of an accident, the entire bed can be laundered since it’s cotton with polyfill. Both the pillow top and padded bottom are semi-quilted in 6 places so the fill will not shift even in machine washing.

Size-wise our dogs are medium sized. They weigh around 60 lbs. each and the beds are about 38 x 24 providing more than enough room for them to curl up and get cozy. They are still a little small for stretching out. That being said, Jess proved that there is even enough room for a Jess plus a Muffin with room to spare!

If anyone wants to make one, let me know, I’ll post plans below.