I Finished My Home Theater Just In Time For the Derby

[Inner Dirt]

1982 on the fire extinguisher, that was about the same time I lived in a town full of retirees. Had some good finds at garage sales. I got a portable kitchen cabinet that was loaded with those heavy cast iron cake molds. There were a whole row of antique dealers on a street 70 miles away. They would give up to 50 cents on the dollar what they figured they could sell it for. I just used that as a second income, the only old things I collected were coins.



I am sure now with the internet a garage sale rare item find at a steal of a price is not happening very often. I am kind of surprised how some antiques aren't even worth what they were 40 years ago. Those old cake molds have appreciated a lot, a lot of the furniture is worth less.

[BettinBilly]

If anyone is interested (and to test the scale button on my photos), one of the horse/western decorations in the room is my only existing toy from my childhood. A Marx toy company "Johnny West" horse and rider circa 1968 ish. I lost the rider many decades ago, but the horse and tack survives in my new room;

[BettinBilly]

Originally Posted by Inner Dirt

1982 on the fire extinguisher, that was about the same time I lived in a town full of retirees. Had some good finds at garage sales. I got a portable kitchen cabinet that was loaded with those heavy cast iron cake molds. There were a whole row of antique dealers on a street 70 miles away. They would give up to 50 cents on the dollar what they figured they could sell it for. I just used that as a second income, the only old things I collected were coins.



I am sure now with the internet a garage sale rare item find at a steal of a price is not happening very often. I am kind of surprised how some antiques aren't even worth what they were 40 years ago. Those old cake molds have appreciated a lot, a lot of the furniture is worth less.

Absolutely. I collect antique clocks. Garage sales are far and few between for a clock that is even in repairable condition. eBay is my best bet. I recently got this Seth Thomas Adamantine you see in the photos above specifically for the new room. 1890 - 1910 ish. Incredible shape, easy to get in running condition, and a rare original Seth Thomas face. Most have had the clock faces replaced with aftermarket. The finish looks spectacular. A very reasonable price on eBay;

[Inner Dirt]

Originally Posted by BettinBilly

Absolutely. I collect antique clocks. Garage sales are far and few between for a clock that is even in repairable condition. eBay is my best bet. I recently got this Seth Thomas Adamantine you see in the photos above specifically for the new room. 1890 - 1910 ish. Incredible shape, easy to get in running condition, and a rare original Seth Thomas face. Most have had the clock faces replaced with aftermarket. The finish looks spectacular. A very reasonable price on eBay;

Is that original face? If so that is pristine. I like antiques, I have a few,
a writing desk from the 1880's that was my grandmother's, and a early 1900's cookie jar. Since I am a small machine shop owner I appreciate the craftsmen ship looking at antiques knowing what they had to work with in the era they were made.


I have a customer who sells replacement parts for antique foreign rifles.
I make all his round parts or do the lathe (round) work and he does the mill work (square). A lot of guns were hand fit so it can be challenging to
determine the size range of parts that will work. Trying to duplicate a 150 year old screw from a sample that has been through hell is no easy task.


I could probably make clock parts, but I don't think the battered sausage

fingers and carpal tunnel would allow me to work on them. It probably requires brain surgeon hands.

[BettinBilly]

Originally Posted by Inner Dirt

Is that original face? If so that is pristine. I like antiques, I have a few,
a writing desk from the 1880's that was my grandmother's, and a early 1900's cookie jar. Since I am a small machine shop owner I appreciate the craftsmen ship looking at antiques knowing what they had to work with in the era they were made.


I have a customer who sells replacement parts for antique foreign rifles.
I make all his round parts or do the lathe (round) work and he does the mill work (square). A lot of guns were hand fit so it can be challenging to
determine the size range of parts that will work. Trying to duplicate a 150 year old screw from a sample that has been through hell is no easy task.


I could probably make clock parts, but I don't think the battered sausage

fingers and carpal tunnel would allow me to work on them. It probably requires brain surgeon hands.

Yes, that's the original clock face. The photo is hiding a few imperfections. If you saw it in person, you'd believe it was original. Not that it's bad. For the age of the clock, it's superb. But it does show the wear of 130 years of use.

I am an amateur clock repair person. I can do basic clock repair. For the really hard repairs, I have a Master Clock Repairman that I have repair clocks that are beyond my capability. He's the professional. I cut my teeth on a turn of the century 1900 era Waterbury Tambour mantle clock. I literally found it in a dumpster at my storage facility. It was covered with contact paper and missing the gong, a crystal for the face, the bezel was broken and needed to be repaired and silver soldered, and the pendulum adjustment mechanism was totally destroyed. It took me over a year to restore that clock, learning as I went.

Today, it lives out in my three season sunroom that I have decorated like a hunting and fishing cabin. If you could have seen this clock when I first found it in the dumpster, you would have told me, "Billy, let it lie there." It looked beyond hope. Getting the contact paper off without totally destroying the original finish was a real trick. A distilled spirits product called "Goof Off" really saved the day.

[The Arbiter]

Nice! You've got a great place to take in some races

[Inner Dirt]

Do clocks like you collect have similar parts or are they all unique? What I am getting at can you scavenge parts off one to fix another, even if they aren't identical? I am pretty good on keeping things alive, long past when most people had to toss them. They are not pristine 100 point restorations, I just worry about function. Anything that finally has to go gets stripped of anything useful. They closed the in town hardware store and Home Depot and Lowe's are 30 miles one way on back country roads, as my grandma used to say I have more hardware and tools that you can shake a stick at. I have even made my own nuts and bolts. Usually I can modify something I already
have if I don't have it.

[BettinBilly]

Originally Posted by Inner Dirt

Do clocks like you collect have similar parts or are they all unique? What I am getting at can you scavenge parts off one to fix another, even if they aren't identical? I am pretty good on keeping things alive, long past when most people had to toss them. They are not pristine 100 point restorations, I just worry about function. Anything that finally has to go gets stripped of anything useful. They closed the in town hardware store and Home Depot and Lowe's are 30 miles one way on back country roads, as my grandma used to say I have more hardware and tools that you can shake a stick at. I have even made my own nuts and bolts. Usually I can modify something I already
have if I don't have it.

It depends on the part, and how "Modifyable" the part is for your application.
Gears might work from one clock to another IF they are the same diameter and have the same number of teeth. You can make certain parts work through fabrication or by finding a similar item that will do the trick if you adapt it to the application you need it for. I have even used things found around the house to fix a clock, sometimes temporarily, sometimes permanent. Once, I used a large paper clip as an extension for a pendulum arm. It worked perfectly. I almost hated to replace it with a genuine part once the real part arrived.

For that Waterbury clock I found in the dumpster, I had to find certain parts so it would look and sound authentic in the gong sound. It took me a while to find a genuine Waterbury gong that was made for the clock. But if you knew how the gong device was designed and how it was supposed to fit, and/or had a picture and rough measurment on the gong module, you probably could fabricate one. The issue would be, how would it sound when the striker hit the gong? You want a majestic full gong sound even for a mantle clock. It has to resonate through the clock body and have the correct note as it is struck.

Too bad you can't find one in a dumpster like I did, and then you could have fun and eperiment without any worries about ruining the clock, beause it already in disrepair. I have seen eBay "For parts or repair" clocks that are sometimes very low priced.

[Inner Dirt]

Originally Posted by BettinBilly

Too bad you can't find one in a dumpster like I did, and then you could have fun and eperiment without any worries about ruining the clock, beause it already in disrepair. I have seen eBay "For parts or repair" clocks that are sometimes very low priced.

Probably would be something I could not do because of carpal and sausage fingers, my left hand isn't too good it is 1/2 numb and my fingers are stiff and hurt. I sometimes I have to make small screws. I hate those things and they would probably be big for a clock part, like about 10 could fit on a dime. I always
make extra to compensate for dropping too many.

[Michael]

Originally Posted by BettinBilly

That's an easy one, Michael. I like Wild Turkey Kentucky Bourbon. I like other brands as well, but I always seem to come back to REGULAR Wild Turkey, 81 proof. I don't drink Rocket Fuel. Nothing over 90 proof. Too volitile for me.

Classy! so, I only mention this because it would fit perfect in your house.
https://shop.claibornefarm.com/colle...nt=21459054023

I had purchased one after reading "Bred to Run."

Also, if you enjoy Oak... I high recommend Tin Cup 10 year. It's a low proof oak bomb that's fantastic. https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/am...ey/p/183373750

[CheckMark]

Sweet setup!

Feeling warm inside looking at the setup that you have worked on

Good luck tomorrow for the Derby should be a good one!

[Inner Dirt]

Originally Posted by Michael

Classy! so, I only mention this because it would fit perfect in your house.
https://shop.claibornefarm.com/colle...nt=21459054023

I had purchased one after reading "Bred to Run."

Also, if you enjoy Oak... I high recommend Tin Cup 10 year. It's a low proof oak bomb that's fantastic. https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/am...ey/p/183373750

Click on the rest of the American Whiskey , look at some of those oddball flavors, peanut butter, WTF? 100 proof Old Grandad or Wild Turkey for me.
What does ageing 10 years do to the taste?

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Inner Dirt

Click on the rest of the American Whiskey , look at some of those oddball flavors, peanut butter, WTF? 100 proof Old Grandad or Wild Turkey for me.
What does ageing 10 years do to the taste?

I'm a Rye guy... so I love Old Grand dad in general. That was the only low proof pour that I enjoyed... the tin cup 10 year is super Oak'y but very well balanced drink. It's a bit over priced but If I didn't own so many bottles I would buy another bottle for casual times. It's like a super oaky wild turkey... I enjoyed it

[ranchwest]

Nice! The stuff dreams are made of.

I just upgraded from my dead Fire stick to a ROKU. Hope your ROKU brings you as much joy as mine is giving me!

[BettinBilly]

Originally Posted by Michael

I'm a Rye guy... so I love Old Grand dad in general. That was the only low proof pour that I enjoyed... the tin cup 10 year is super Oak'y but very well balanced drink. It's a bit over priced but If I didn't own so many bottles I would buy another bottle for casual times. It's like a super oaky wild turkey... I enjoyed it

I must agree with you, sir. I do like Rye. Even Rye Vodka. I have a bottle of Belvedere Rye Vodka for just such an emergency.

For a while, I was really into Makers 46 French Oak. I still enjoy it, but always seem to go back to classic Wild Turkey for general Bourbon drinking.

For today, I do have one small travel bottle of Woodford Reserve that i bought for the Derby. I will do one Mint Julep and sprinkle in a few shots with water chaser AFTER I finish handicapping around noon. Looking forward to that;