Peter Charles Dorrington collected and restored over 750 antique farm tools between 1985 and 2001. Most of these tools were agricultural hand implements and fenland tools that were used in England, Wales and Scotland, dating from about 1600 to 1940, for example: “chaff cutters”, “flails”, scythes”, “dibbers” and “breast ploughs”. Antique Farm Tools. On the picture: a rotary seed drill. Related: the museum of old techniques.
Illustrated Inventory of Antique Farm Tools (1600 – 1940)
July 11, 2011 by Filed Under: Farming, Hand tools, Obsolete technology
Hand Powered Apple Peelers
May 10, 2011 by Filed Under: Hand tools, Human power, Obsolete technology, Random
Hand powered apple peelers can peel, core and cut apples with amazing speed and precision. They were available in a surprisingly large variety.
The 18th and 19th century saw a growing need for apples as a winter staple for both food and drink. Apples needed to be processed for winter storage. Paring, coring, and cutting enough apples for winter was difficult and time consuming.
Farmers used their creative skills to make wooden machines that made the process quick and efficient. Industrialization and the use of iron during the 19th century witnessed an explosion of patented creativity. More than 100 patents were granted from 1850 to 1890. Apple peelers were also used as a kitchen device.
There is a full website dedicated to hand powered apple peelers, explaining in detail the use, history and workings of the devices and showing many pictures and videos.
Cameroon Blacksmiths
January 13, 2011 by Filed Under: Africa, Hand tools, Metal working, Random
“On the outskirts of Maroua, the capital of the Extreme North of Cameroon, is a place quite unlike any other in the country. Here a community of blacksmiths practice their craft in the relative cool of a tree grove. Several dozen men with specialized skills are gathered here for a single purpose: to transform piles of scrap iron into finely finished tools, stoves, replacement parts and other useful implements for sale to the local population. Young apprentices learn the craft while operating bellows or shaping wood for tool handles. The production here is performed entirely by hand and on a scale which must be seen to be fully appreciated.”
The Extraordinary Makers of Maroua, via Afrigadget. Related: Innovation in Kenya’s informal economy.
The State of Humanity
March 14, 2010 by Filed Under: Hand tool overkill, Hand tools, Technofix, Trash
Pen Shaking Centrifuge
February 16, 2010 by Filed Under: Hand tool overkill, Hand tools, Random, Wood
“Sometimes, if a pen stutters, you can get it going again by shaking it. But sometimes it seems to take a lot of shaking. So I figured, what if I could shake it really really hard? What if I built a centrifuge to get the ink flowing again? And so this project came about!”
Hand tool overkill. Don’t miss the video (and the other projects by Matthias Wandel).
Via Make Magazine.
Wovel Wheeled Snow Shovel
January 12, 2010 by Filed Under: Hand tools, Snow-tech
“Replace the intricate wheel casting with wooden spokes and it’s possible to believe that the Wovel was designed and built a thousand years ago”. Read more.
