Miniature Tools

[Art Rafael]

A little progress Today.   Ralph

[OilyRascal]

I sit here in awe viewing this latest art of yours, and day dream of what it would look like full scale on the farm.  Amazing work.  Thanks for choosing to share it with us!  I don't think that can be said enough.

[Art Rafael]

Thanks, Oilyrascal.  I do believe that nostalgia drives my hobby taking me back to earlier moments that I cherished.
And when a project is done it feels like I've captured the moment permanently.

Here it is with a lacquer finish.   Ralph














See the action video on Youtube:   http://youtu.be/v8zn_SdTnFk?list=UU-GXI1Wp8qMJcEsSWF5Eu5A

[turnnut]

Hi Ralph,  we were up in Maine when you finished the hammers, my wife brought her laptop
computor, but where we were staying near the water in Rockland, we had no internet service.
the lodge we stayed in was a 1/2 down a dirt road off of RT #1 (peaceful)

back to the hammers, nice job, I hope they liked them, but the one you made for yourself,
now thats a classic, very nice work on the handle.

then the wheel barrow ?  what can I say about that ?  beautiful creation,  I can picture that
at Christmas time with pieces of white birch piled in it, next to a miniture fireplace created
by you.

it is interesting to see the differant types of material that you pick for your projects

just checking out your projects makes my day. thank you,  Frank 

[john k]

I can see that barrow filled with miniature pumpkins you have carved, or one big one!   My miniatures seldom come out this square and proportioned.

[oldtools]

WOW!! Awesome work!!

[Art Rafael]

Thanks, guys. 

Part of the fun of building miniatures is imagining and remembering how they were used and impacted our lives.  It is interesting to hear the memories that they conjure and stories that they prompt.  Most of us of certain age, culture and persuasion are drawn back to a time when we experienced the article with reminders of the events that surround it.  I just love sharing my stuff with my dad (and with all of you) and hearing recount of memories stimulated and related accounts.   Thank you all for the accolades you offer and for the stories that you share.   Ralph

[turnnut]

Ralph, talking about memories from the past, did you ever make a miniature horse drawn
drag scoop ?  they had two handles on them.  I have an old one behing the garage in the weeds.

when I was a little tyke, my Dad needed a way to move stones when we were making an area for a garden,  he took an old automobile hood and welded braces on it and installed branch limbs for handles,
He would pull it with his home made tractor that he made with a crosley engine and two transmissions,
I would ride on it to scoop stones and dump it at the end of the row.

that is one memory from the 40's.   Frank

[bear_man]

Just two notes: the "horse drawn drag scoop" w/ two handles is a Slip  A bigger/longer variety for a team of 2 or 3 is a Fresno.

[Art Rafael]

Hi.  No, I have not built a scoop / slip, but I have a rear scoop in my back yard that hooks up to the three point hitch of my 9N Ford tractor which I used to level out a spot to build my barn.
I might consider building a miniature version. 
Fresno?  I'd heard the word but didn't know what it referred to.   Ralph

[john k]

The bigger Fresno, I have usually heard reference to in the early days of railroad building.   My father worked for a highway construction company in Southern Illinois in the 1920s.   Drove a water wagon, handled teams, and was pretty accomplished with a slip, he was 15 and big for his age.  This was near Watson, south of Effingham.    Okay, Art, if not a Slip, how about a horse drawn grader, on steel, that should keep you busy for a few weeks. 

[Art Rafael]

Hi John.  At first when I started working with the rear scoop on my Ford 9N tractor It (I) was not all that effective,
but it quickly grew on me, and I became very handy with it.  It worked only when it was dragged / pulled forward.
Some years later I saw a model that was reversible and could scoop backing up.  I still want one of those - full size.

I actually have seen one of those horse drawn graders and still know where it is.
As I remember, the blade was lowered, raised and tilted by use of crank wheels but can't quite remember just how.
I think that I will go and take a better look at it and take some pictures, even though it seems beyond my level.   Ralph

[OilyRascal]

There are two early versions of the grader on my grandfather's place.  I found a few pictures in the archives.  I'd be happy to take better pics of either if you wanted them.









the second:

[john k]

Oily, you got to get that out of the trees, sand blast it, paint her up, and use it for yard art by your new house!    Never saw a grader converted to rubber tires.   Still want to come down there and dig thru the trees and bottoms. 

[Art Rafael]

Nice pics, Oily.  I like those exposed gears -- and all the rest of it. 
But I still think that project is beyond my abilities being loaded with wheels and gears which I am not good at.
I'll study it more.   Ralph