Oatey Pipe Thread Sealant
Decades ago while hand-threading five stories of 1″ steel pipe, a gas company employee shared a great product with me. His fancy blue pipe dope to apply to pipe threads before screwing everything together. Back in those days, I used grey pipe dope, or more often, white dope with teflon. The blue stuff? An expensive specialty item.
That gas company guy said they used only the blue stuff. It was the best. Pipes never leaked. You did not have to tighten pipe like Hercules to get a good seal. After my gifted can was empty, I bought another. Two decades later I still buy the same pipe dope, Oatey MEGALOC. Sometimes an even stronger product, Oatey Block, for larger or irregular pipe as well as specialty applications. Made in the USA for professional plumbers worldwide.
MADE IN USA / HECHO EN EE.UU.
Even if you are not a professional, just a guy who knows a lot about pipes, do yourself a favor. Get an edge on every project. The upper hand on potential issues. Oatey MEGALOC and BLOCK, their Blue Wonders.
MEGALOC cleans up with water. BLOCK requires isopropyl alcohol.
Bass Ale
MERRIMACK, NEW HAMPSHIRE is home to a smaller of the dozen Anheuser-Busch breweries. With their world-touring Budweiser Clydesdale team also in residence, you’d think the town has its share of glory. But within the dizzying array of acquisitions and mergers, AB InBev ended up with one of the United Kingdom’s best exports, Bass Ale.
For the American market, Bass Ale, once the best-selling beer in the world, is made in this country. AB InBev have pledged funding to support the Bass brand in America, and since June 2012, Bass has been brewed in Merrimack, New Hampshire at 5% ABV for the American market. – wiki
Long one of our favorite imports, Bass, a smooth bitter English ale, was a bit out of reach. But as a domestic, this niche beer with the oldest registered trademark in the world is now as affordable as a mass-produced choice! Great decision by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Make it where they drink it. A global company reacting locally!
Bonus trivia: Budweiser Clydesdales began their stomp in 1933 to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition.
Boylan Bottling
When I come off trail, nothing kicks the dust out of my throat like an icy cold refreshing root beer. Not high fructose sugar water hawked by corporate America. The real thing. Boylan’s root beer has it all – flavor and kick.
A rich sassafras flavor derived from cinnamon, sweet birch, vanilla, and wintergreen oil. – Boylan
As Saba’s Jerry Hill famously taught us, hand-crafted is nearly as good as it gets. Boylan’s, with cane sugar and natural flavors, handcrafted since 1891, is the pinnacle of our highly competitive American soda market.
After knocking back a bottle or two, I had to know their secret. Was it ginger? Where did the tang come from? Boylan Bottling was characteristically silent. I tried multiple departments, running through all the extensions of their telephone system. No one would share their secrets.
“The ingredients are on the label”, Samantha sweetly explained. Yeah, I could be as nice with an unlimited supply of Boylans for private consumption. Rumors abound. Unconfirmed reports mention the addition of anise and that master spice, black pepper …
Barkeep, get me a Sarsaparilla!
alcoholics anonymous
SINCE ANCIENT TIMES grain and fruit have been allowed to ferment into alcohol. Fermentation is the process in which yeast breaks down sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Whether your pleasure is okolehao, scotch, or makgeolli, every culture has a drink to cure ills, relax nerves, mark occasions, and calm stomachs.
When things get a little too calm, alcohol works the other way. So it seems. Then there’s the “Thank God it’s Friday” excuse to consume mass quantities.
After all commercial exaltation is exhausted and peer pressure ignored, an acceptable vintage port by a crackling fire with a nice book is probably good for the mind, body, and soul. But when this (almost) all-natural beverage becomes a destructive force? Who do you call?
Since the 1930s Americans have turned to Alcoholics Anonymous. An approach to manage an addiction through abstinence. Now an international fellowship, membership is one of America’s more constructive exports.
Surrounded by creative types all day, every day, we see eight sides of the issue. In the end, one phrase sounds more true than all the others. Sobriety brings clarity.
Nelson Wood Shims
In today’s iPhone age most forget simple tools which make our lives comfortable. Lever, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, wedge, screw. Archimedes got it. A few millennium before him with these simple tools Pyramids were build. Two+ million years ago stone scraping tools, precursor to the wedge, were made and used before humans were around to criticize its design.
Banging pipes within a wall had me turn to this tool invented before humans roamed the land. With a wedge of wood I cured a sick installation, relieving stress and worry from countless users of this plumbing system. A simple shim of wood inserted between pipe and metal stud eliminated an issue which existed for decades. I made sure to “reconfigure pipe within wall” when no one was looking. Can’t share all my trade secrets.
When it was time to shim, I turned to Clyde. He in turn points me to the rear of his store, where both loafer and curmudgeon gather around a re-screening table for coffee and lies. Just past these antiquarians lies a trove of shimming choices. Six flavors of Nelson Wood Shims. Today, a thin package will satisfy my needs. Plus a few extra for the toolbox.
A Slant of Light • jeffrey lent
Aisle L. Always a joy. Two years have passed. People browsed, flirted, exchanged glances. Plans made, advances ignored. There is always love in Aisle L of our local library. Requited, engaged, spurned, savored.
Since my last visit Jeffery Lent has published another book. Mr Lent is a time traveler. He closes his eyes, fiddles with levers and dials in his imagination, arrives at his destination and time, then opens his senses to new surroundings. And writes. Beautifully. We see, smell, and hear small town America a century ago. Before automobiles, electricity, or telephone.
The Lenten tornado of imagination plucks me from my routine and drops me within his world. Late 1860s in rural New York. Small town courthouse. Country lanes. Hard farm work. Simple murder, anything but simple. You are not reading. You’re an observer, tagging along, wondering what will happen over yonder hill?
Mohawk Leather Protector
When you buy well made items and take care of them, they will typically last. A mid-1990s leather jacket makes good example. Lands End, expert stitching, made in Korea, a solid product. I had to have one! At $157, the most expensive article of clothing I’d bought to date! Who would have known I’d still have it? Glad I ordered a size larger!
After two+ decades my coat remains perfectly serviceable. Garnering accolades from all, the well-worn leather garment has been a solid investment. Life, however, is not without maintenance. A button resecured. Pete expertly replaced pocket linings ~ I scratch my head over his magic. The leather? Dry here, cracked there, discolored in areas.
I tried a few reconditioning products. Foam had its chance. Expensive and uneven. A couple of years later, liquid spray. Well, that was a mess. Oversaturated, gummy, plus the spray gets everywhere!
Pete inadvertently provides the solution. I repaired his bouzouki and was most happy with Behlen’s nitrocellulose spray finish used on the instrument top. An American Toolbox article ensued. Behlen parent company Mohawk became aware. Their social media guru reached out with thanks and offers of sponsorship and product. Banner ad? Sure! Product? You bet.
I chose products for which I had use. Mohawk dropped them on my doorstep. No strings, no expectations, no editorial review. Except badgering from their legal eagle, who wants me to stress I received FREE PRODUCT FROM MOHAWK. A subtle reminder I pass on to you.
Mohawk leather products come different ways. Leather Protector Wipes are chosen. At this point, keep it clean and let it age. The protector is delivered via pre-moistened towelettes. Easy to apply, good coverage, nice smell. Perfect amount of wetness. Very neatly done, Mohawk!
Wow, WHO KNEW the leather was so filthy! My jacket gratefully sheds misapplied waxes, dirt, grime, and oils. Absorbs the Magic Mohawk dose of goodness. I’m GENUINELY pleased with the reborn look and feel of the leather. Maybe I’ll wear it one more time this season. Soon my beloved coat shall pass to the next generation. My nephew will look so cool in it!
By popular request, a few words about Pete the tailor:
Pete the tailor has been a friendly acquaintance for years. The first time? Bringing in a treasured garment for repair, I politely ignore his “No new customers, please” sign. We share bonds of musicianship and craftspeople. I fixed an old guitar his kids trashed, two hours on a $5 guitar. He was ecstatic. He’s Greek, from Greece, and owned a genuine bouzouki bought in the home country decades ago. I was asked to fix his treasured bouzouki after years of hinting and delay.
So Pete, he finally let me give it the old college try. Unlike college, I did finish the bouzouki. With its cracked top requiring a new lacquered finish, I tried a nitrocellulose spray made by Behlen. Parent company Mohawk came into my orbit while I spread the word on social media. Then came more product after, actually, I wrote a second materials-related piece, Behlen Hide Glue. Then came Buffer’s Polish, Fingerboard Oil , and now, the leather conditioner.
ATB’s coveted “Six Thumbs Up” is proudly bestowed upon Mohawk. 
Mainline Plumbing Products
“Jed, gimmie two toilet seats, elongated, open front, less lid. Please.”, I tell the shuffling counterman at our venerable plumbing supply. He reaches under the counter and PRESTO there appears before me one of America’s finest. All plastic, ADA compliant, stainless nuts and lock washers, ready for my 9/16″ hollow shaft nut driver to bring it all home.
Nothing says “I love you” to a new toilet like a new toilet seat. Some customers want a newish old seat swapped onto a new toilet. I am not a “seat jockey”, but I keep that to myself. Easier to explain of buggered threads, damaged hinge, unsanitary practices, or if all else fails, It’s on the bill already. I can leave it here for later if you like.
With features I want and an American flag on the box, I know I’m installing a great product as well as keeping our economy rolling. For an item which gets as much use as this, buy the best. Mainline.
Sudal’s Scottsdale
His world is clay. But to us, he is rock. Rock Star of the pottery world Jim Sudal continues to amaze. While other artists rest at their benches, content to watch understudies handle production and reproduction, Jim continues to design and produce.
Careless for my own safety, I venture another visit. Pushing into hordes ten deep, from screaming jumping teenagers to powdered octogenarians, I secure two tables for local friends. Perfect for the patio, outside or in.
A few wall tiles completes my purchasing experience. There is something for everyone. It is always a pleasure giving my hard-earned money to Jim. Because he earns it!
Jim Sudal Ceramic Design 7037 E 1st Ave Scottsdale
Gibson Acoustic Guitars
There is always a story behind the story. Smells of clean sweat and grass at twilight on the ball field. Echoes of Widow Baxter next door reciting her daily Rosary. Seeing the bent man uptown most days as he stops to gaze wistfully at an old mansion just off Main Street.
Every guitar tells a story. One glance at an old guitar speaks volumes. Years later, a 
few strums can recall times past. Adolescence. High school. Slow afternoons at the feed depot. Waiting for an infant’s birth, dropping your guitar by the fence to run inside at the newborn’s first cry.
Even before high school, I knew my cousin’s Gibson was special. It sounded better than guitars on the records he played. Jeff claimed he bought his guitar from Keith Richards; Aunt Joan said it was her father’s guitar.
The clocks’ century hand has now completed a quick four decade sweep. I find myself before a WALL of Gibsons! At the finest music store this side of Planet Earth, Acoustic Vibes Music. Some of these sound exactly like Jeff’s guitar. But that was years and years ago …. How did Gibson make a new guitar sound like an old guitar? Investigation time!
Repeated visits to AVM, I enter Room Gibson and sample each of twenty-two on display. A plush Cadillac with the sleeper screaming motor, the soft cowboy crooner, a punchy piece that looks 80 years old … and sounds it! The Vintage series Gibsons receive a proprietary Thermo Cured top – well worth 25% more. No doubt, Gibson has made an amazing return to top-flight build quality from near bankruptcy in the 1980s.
After playing all these guitars, to which do I return? An unlikely mating for a man convinced a smaller-bodied short scale acoustic would be his one and only guitar love. The Super Jumbo body of the SJ-200 is a perfect fit, with curves in all the right places. The SJ-200 Vintage has the tone I can grow old with.
The SJ-200, like all my favorite artists played from the ’40s to now. Now with a premium Vintage top. The Adirondack red spruce top is Thermally Aged giving the look and sound of a seasoned SJ-200. The SJ-200 Vintage is my pick!
Tight body, no doubt. In the silent Gibson Room, I can feel the guitar coming to tune via harmonics between adjacent strings. As tones oscillate closer toward unison, Gibson build quality becomes unmistakable. Solid guitar, solid tone. With sound so clear, so crisp and exact, you’ll think you’re in a studio atop two million in equipment, recording your next Platinum Record. The one that should have been.
Ray Whitley went to Gibson in 1937. He asked Gibson to create their biggest acoustic guitar. It was given the name Super Jumbo or J-200.
Gallagher Guitar
Wartrace, Tennessee Stephen Gallagher’s 2002 GMC Duramax ignored the horse trailer behind it. 368,000 miles, and just getting started. Another customer delivery for Mr Gallagher. Grandson of J.W. Gallagher and heir to a guitar-making dynasty, Stephen splits his time between family, horses, pushing livestock with Waylon, and building some of this country’s finest guitars.
J.W. Gallagher, with only a 7th grade education, was the smartest man in the country. When the Army gave him an intelligence test in the 1930s his result was so high the Army gave it to him again. J.W. scored perfect the second time. He went on to spend his military hitch learning everything he could about everything. Engines, construction, woodworking, machinery, everything.
Slingerland, the percussion company, asked J.W. to set up a guitar production line in 1963. J.W. had a history of reproducing any bit of woodwork necessary; he promptly cut a dreadnought in half to figure it out. J.W. soon applied a second element, that of physics – sound and vibration. He went on to build his own line of acoustic guitars.
J.W. Gallagher never intended to own a large guitar-making concern. Family lore has it that 1,000 units was his goal; he had so many other interests, he once plainly told a customer a special order guitar was not done because there was a river full of fish nearby just waiting to get caught.
But continue and prosper it did! The famous Doc Watson received a Gallagher early on; in 1974, Doc made a request for a different shaped neck. The result is a guitar named after him, and a Gallagher best seller.
What brought on my new fascination with Gallagher guitars? After spying an image of James King on the D’Addario twitter feed, I ask the bluegrass circle of his attractive guitar. Turns out, Gallagher guitars have been nearby all my life, as close as my turntable and stack of Doc Watson records! I had to find one of these guitars …
We visit the finest music store west of our Atlantic seaboard, the inimitable Acoustic Vibes Music. Jeff Looker has two Gallagher guitars in stock, including a Doc Watson model. Over several visits I become acquainted. First impressions? Very solid. Durable. Not a dainty boutique guitar; rather, built for tone, year after year. Decades of on-the-road touring? This is the guitar you want. Reminded me of an old Gibson I played years ago …
A guitar of persuasive warmth, the Gallagher is a picker’s delight. A clear, mellow bass, uncluttered of unpure tone, accompanying a punchy upper end. As J.W. Gallagher’s website puts it, you get a deep bottom end perfect for playing those hard G runs. Which I love ❤ to do! From Tyler Grant, flat picker extraordinaire, the Gallagher is a perfect country guitar … not pop country, but an old country blues.
I begin with a typical bluegrass rhythm, an alternating bass in front of a strum. With clear full tone, the room disappears, I’m on stage, the Gallagher is doing all the talking.
“Gallagher is a builder in the great tradition of independent luthiers, that were way ahead of their time. Before Taylor and Collings and Santa Cruz hit the map, Gallagher was building guitars that rivaled the mainstays of Gibson and Martin. Notables such as Doc Watson were early adopters of the Gallagher “mojo” that still provides an appealing choice for guitarists around the world.” – Jeff Looker
With little keeping me from a custom Gallagher order, I email 3rd generation Stephen Gallagher to enquire, “Can you make a 000 short scale Doc Watson model?” I’m surprised to get a call back so quickly, not about the order, but with additional information for this article. Thanks, Stephen!
A few tidbits: On the headstock is a stylized “G” for Gallagher? That Olde English G came from the Shelby Times Gazette newspaper … pre-internet. The Gallagher headstock design is called a French Curve. J.W. was looking for something original. This simple design spied on an obituary spawned another weekly installment of American Toolbox!
Hicks Original Leatherwork
As happens, a company discontinues a great product in pursuit of profit. A Bosca two-pocket bifold card case I acquired in new condition at a rummage sale twenty years ago? No longer made.
At the time, it was unneeded by me. In a drawer it sat until my decades-old wallet was deconstructing. Out of the drawer, loaded with a thin stack of plastic and business cards, with cash folded between, this Bosca became the perfect minimalist wallet. Fine leather, super thin. Easily a $90 bifold card case.
But when this “wallet” can no longer take daily abuse, I find it is no longer manufactured! Bosca now does all their assembly in Asia. Thank you, no. My American cash is more comfortable in an American wallet.
Michael Hicks Design
Within the orbit of American Toolbox the right craftsperson enters. Michael Hicks Design, starting up his leather craft business in ernest, listens to my needs. Offers multiple combinations of the finest ¾ oz Horween Chromexcel horse leather. Sends a couple sample card cases for comment. In no time, the finished product. How timely!
The USA-made Bosca, no longer available, gave a final rip along the seams mid-week. Without hesitation, my gear slipped into the Hicks. A perfect fit. This card case / wallet will work forever. Plus, it is completely recraftable. Like my Aldens.
Uvex Safety Googles
In 2010 Honeywell, the American multinational conglomerate, made one of its best business decisions. They acquired the French firm Sperian Protection, thus adding to the portfolio of Honeywell superiority an amazingly designed and constructed set of eye protection, Uvex Safety Goggles.
Tough enough for the professional, inexpensive enough for Harry Homeowner, Uvex Stealth go into every house-warming gift I give, a stocking stuffer at Christmas, and an anytime gift for the masses of kids in our extended family. Mud-flinging games, Tinker-Toy battles, tobogganing with reckless abandon, favorite kiddie pastimes made more safe with Uvex.
Digging out a crusty wall to expose fractured cast iron pipe, dropping a weak ceiling, Estwing demolition or Craftsman grinding, none would be complete without Uvex safety gear. After all, we live by the motto – and Rule #3 of Plumbing:
Safety Is Not An Accident
Along with North respirators & Hoppes ear protection, a trilogy of safety always with me. This bag of protection with spares, easy to store and carry, treated with as much importance as any tool in the box. Replacement Uvex lenses always available, new eyes, not so much …
Boonton Ware / Melmac
Long before Mr. McGuire gives young Benjamin unsolicited career advice in the 1967 movie The Graduate, plastics were making their mark in American manufacturing. Six decades earlier, Bakelite made its world debut. This synthetic plastic was invented in New York by Leo Baekeland, who coined the term ‘plastics’.
A few years later melamine formaldehyde was discovered. Plastic had arrived to the dinner table. Nicknamed Melmac and churned out by the ton. Cheap, durable, 
colorful, just what a growing nation wanted and needed. Highly fashionable in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Melamine resin kitchen utensils are a favorite rummage sale find. Durable, functional, lightweight, perfect for a generation or longer.
Every childhood meal was eaten on Melmac. This
collection made its way to an attic for a few decades, but it is back in the cabinet, my first choice for sandwiches and snacks.
Not safe in ovens or microwaves, but that barely dampens the utility of vintage Melmac! The name Boonton Ware? Melmac was made in a small New Jersey town, Boonton, for many years.
Y.M.C.A.
Pre-dawn, water in the kettle halfway to steam. It’s New Years Day. I’m waiting to pour 195˚ water over somewhat fresh coffee grounds. Standing before the hob in a quiet kitchen, the flame, the gathering water, my cat happily crunching through breakfast. When a ghostly voice rises from the folds of my robe …
Message from 692- … It is my credit card company, telling me there has been activity in excess of $0.01 … The first CC charge & text of 2017 is from an institution overlooked, ignored, forgotten, and rediscovered. Part of the daily schedule three-four times a week. Our local chapter of the Young Men’s Christian Association.
Their short story? Industrialized London was a bleak mess in 1844. A farming lad went to the big city to work. This 22-year old and eleven friends organized a refuge of bible study and prayer, an escape from the streets.
Years later, retired Boston sea captain Thomas Valentine Sullivan, working as a marine missionary, noticed a similar need to create a safe “home away from home” for sailors and merchants. Inspired by the stories of the Y in England, he led the formation of the first U.S. YMCA at the Old South Church in Boston on December 29, 1851. ∆
Todays schedule includes 30 minutes in the pool. The YMCA pool. YMCA staff will receive special thanks for providing a reduced 9am-3pm schedule as the rest of the country rests.
Youth Development Healthy Living Social Responsibility
Prime-Line Products
Every lustrum or so, I need change. I want change. Something to stir my imagination, make every morning a new experience. I want my shower door to again roll smoothly upon its nylon wheels.
MADE IN / HECHO EN / FABRIQUÉ AU U.S.A.
Nothing beats the luxury of fingertip effort in rolling aside glass shower doors for a steaming hot morning shower and shave. For a few bucks every five or ten years, I can restore my rolling shower door operation to new condition. A trip to the BigBox home center, a few minutes installation, and DONE!
Each door takes two rollers, but upon return from a few years abroad and regrettable renting of my abode, I discover a shower door off its track, one of its wheels shattered. I then decide to use four wheels per door. The engineers will shed tears of joy. Nothing beats redundancy.
Research for this article uncovers the truth about my door roller choice. Not only are they American-made, but the company, Prime-Line Products, is North America’s Largest Supplier & Manufacturer of Window & Door Replacement Hardware!
Keep it rolling, Prime-Line!
Mueller Industries • Memphis
Ah, Memphis . . . Barbecue & Blues. Birthplace of Rock’n’Roll. Home of the world leader of premium components for HVAC, plumbing and industrial solutions. – mueller
When the weekend call echoed through our cavernous studio workshop, we dropped our tools of invention and focused. An ice bin drain had to be installed right away! I turned to the leaders in copper fittings, Mueller. A quick trip to the BigBox home improvement center later, I was in direct ownership of a small expensive box of precision copper parts. Exactly what we need to look again like the pros we profess to be.
An hour later, Joanna’s brand new ice bin sports a brand new melt-water drain. The copper tubing is L-grade, far heavier than we need for this application. The fittings? Pressure-grade. All for a gravity drain of 18″ developed length. The entire assembly we will give a 1,000 year warranty.
Dunlop Ultex Picks
Dunlop Primetone Sculpted Plectra
THE SEARING HEAT OF molten lead. Wintertime ditch digging with frigid blasts from Arctic Artie. All SOP. Decades of plumberly fun have shaped my hands. The finger tips, they are hardened sheets of callus.
Lately, my biggest worry has been picks slipping out of my fingers when playing for popes and presidents. These frequent occasions were marred by callused fingers which can’t seem to get decent pick grip. Grumpy Biker customized a few .88mm Dunlop Tortex picks, but while working out the kinks, I discovered a new product – the Dunlop Primetone pick with raised grip surface.
Primetones are large, textured, and sculpted. Yes, they sometimes rotate in my fingers like other picks, but with three picking surfaces, I’m good. Dunlop’s Tortex is still a great choice. But this larger pick with a grip surface? Until a sticky pick comes out, I’m adding Ultex to my pocket full of Dunlop.
Behlen Fingerboard Oil
All good things come to an end. The 18 month loan of Hugh’s mandolin reached an inevitable conclusion. Lavish attention restored his battered and worn mandolin to a memory of factory gleam. Even more hours, summer picking under the old oak tree in Hockessin, returned some dirt and dullness to its finish. Time for spa treatment.
Strings into the rubbish bin. Gentle wipe-down with a hot damp slightly soapy cloth, first the body, then the neck. Extra attention to the fret board. Looking a little dry, methinks. Time for Behlen!
When Mohawk sponsored a banner ad in July 2016, they sent me a box of product to try out (actually, I sent a list of stuff I wanted). Included? Their fancy Behlen Fingerboard Oil. Not just a step up from mineral or boiled linseed oil. Far beyond, it turns out. A crisp hard finish. A Zamboni treatment for my fretboard, without the ice.
First I used it on the ’70s Conrad banjo. Then the Framus cello. And now, full circle, we have arrived at Hugh’s mandolin. The product has proven itself. A professional-quality sealer applied on instruments I own, use, and sell.
An Indonesian-made 1990s Hohner guitar and a 1970s Japanese-made Madeira (by Guild) guitar both received this magic elixir. Fan-TAS-tic results. One’s finger’s literally glide along the fingerboard. Moments ago, my newly returned and beloved 1996 Guild D4 fingerboard was refinished. Tomorrow, with D’Addario Bluegrass Mediums carefully wound, we’ll be flat-picking a lively homecoming!
Luthiers discuss the best treatment to an instruments’ fingerboard with cantankerous zeal. Only among cat food debates will you find more acrimonious opinions. There are generally two old-school options: mineral oil and boiled linseed oil (“BLO”). Almond oil is another, which I classify similar to BLO.
Turning to National Finishes Expert Phillip Pritchard, I ask, “What makes Behlen’s product so good?” Our Fingerboard Oil contains a resin binder that hardens in the wood to give a more permanent finish than a non-curing mineral oil or boiled linseed oil alone. Our product applies and looks like an oil finish but has a crisper feel and doesn’t require the maintenance of a non-drying oil. “What is its base? How does it smell to you?” It contains mineral spirits and has an oily hydrocarbon smell.
Fast curing, crisp finish. Odor? Not really. –editor
Ridgid Plumbers Tools
It was a dark and stormy night. We had been digging for two days. The water main was exposed, its pit shored and braced. A lovely, plumber-friendly trench ran from our customer’s foundation wall to the pit. Shiny heavy-walled copper had been rolled along the trench floor in two directions from the curb cock: into the basement and to the municipal water main. All that was lacking? City water department employees to make our final connection. A little background, we give you …
The crew of American Toolbox last week enjoyed their favorite hobby, plumbing. We chose a cold autumn day with constant drizzle and wind. For further enjoyment, a 3:30pm water main tap time was chosen. Knowing these things run late, a dark muddy trench awaited us when the work got hard.
Hard it did get! City employees arrived predictably behind schedule. Everyone was hungry, tired, chilled to the bone. Wrestling K-copper in a narrow muddy trench? Not my idea of a relaxing evening. But one constant, the one thing I can depend will go right?
Ridgid hand tools. We had between us five Ridgid pipe wrenches, six tubing cutters, and the all-important pipe flaring tool. When it was time to cut, ream, flare, and wrench tight, Ridgid was there. Nearly indestructible, Ridgid tools may wear out, but they seem not to break.
The cold #15 cutter was familiar in my hand as I tightened and sliced copper in semi-darkness. After reaming my fresh cuts, the E-47 Hammer Tool created flared ends one uses in underground water piping. Tightening the flared copper to the water main tap and the curb cock, Ridgid pipe wrenches. Even one of the shovels was Ridgid. This was a Ridgid job start to finish. Everything except my aching back.
Democracy In Action
Aug 11, 2015 – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Five Guys Burgers
Twice a year or possibly a dozen times more, a hamburger and fries are necessary to balance the universe. Make everything right. American Comfort Food at its prime, protein and starch.
No one does it better or more consistently than Five Guys, even hobbled as they are by the All-Powerful FDA. Most impressive, the fries are burningly fresh. If I’m going to subject my body to fried food, it better be well-prepared fried food. That’s why I save up my fat-intake points for a Five Guys visit. The potatoes are labeled with the grower’s name – Five Guys makes a big deal out of that, the kitchen is wide-open, and the manager is constantly circulating, cleaning, adjusting the work flow.
After visiting a few franchisees across the country, I’ve yet to find one with lower standards than perfect, a great testament to Jerry Murrell’s philosophy. Keep It Simple, Simon.
If we could get the FDA out of our business, I’d like my burger medium-rare. Condiments? Salt and pepper only, please.
Most health reviews place this restaurant chain’s food as among the most unhealthy on the planet, which means even the experts acknowledge it must be good! Everything in moderation. I’ve moderated to a small fries with my burger . . .
Rule of thumb? For each visit to Five Guys, I visit Agno or Pure Fare thirty times.
The American Road Trip • Part IV
Labor day brings burgers and corn on the grill. Kids straining for school’s resumption. Perhaps commencement of well-laid vacation plans. A favorable time of year. Crowds are subdued, winter beckons, leaves begin to change.
If piloting a 30′ box mounted on Ford’s E-450 chassis along narrow State highways does not sound vacationary, careful what you promise. Years after your words are spoken you’ll be parking in spaces meant for vehicles a third shorter, braving hand-dug tunnels driving a vehicle twice your height, squeezing past oncoming traffic through scenic rocky gorges. Expecting the RV to peel open upon an outcropping at any moment.
It was not that bad. A flat $1,000 deductible on full-coverage insurance, included with every rental, eases my mind. Fuel economy was predictably in high single digits. The toilet worked. Our RV experience was a success.
7am, the perfect start time for our trek towards the Colorado Plateau. Driving from Phoenix allows one to detour through Sedona, famous for its red rocks – the Schnebly Hill Formation – valleys, and shopping. Continuing north along US-89 to Flagstaff, a super-hip college and observatory town close to the Grand Canyon. Through pine, Douglas fir, and spruce. We rejuvenate souls and lungs.
From Williams AZ the North Rim is visible twenty miles away. A couple of days in Grand Canyon, famous for exceptional dining at El Tovar, more shopping, unparalleled views. Back on the road to desert, rock, and scenery. The mellow peace of driving your home ensues. Kanab, then Zion. Zion National Park, of the narrow tunnels and inspirational rock formations. RV parking and an excellent shuttle system.
We visit Cedar Breaks National Monument. “Great choice”, a Zion ranger insists. More beautiful driving, Duck Lake surrounded by aspen, more canyons. It was in the 50˚s at this elevation near sundown. Windburned, sunburned, layered in nearly all the clothes I brought, our road trip approaches conclusion. From the furthest point we turn and head for home.
Through Iron County along SR-14 we come upon dense aspen with bright yellow leaves, autumn reaching this forest a little early. Onward to an excellent Comfort Suites in Cedar City UT. Tap water cleaner than the bottled water stowed on the RV. South to my favorite spot, Kolob Canyons, Zion’s western edge. Back through Zion, and a day of pleasant driving along US-89 Alternate. The San Francisco Peaks appear closer for over an hour as we approach Flagstaff.
A few miles west, along Rt-66, the second highlight of my trip (after the aspens). The Arboretum At Flagstaff. Parked beneath towering ponderosa pine, my cousins take to their trails. I put on the kettle, set up a camp chair, and relax under the morning silence and majesty of this forest. After 1,200 miles in six days, everything stops. I could live here forever, with trips into town for books, beans, and beer.
In the end, it is all about people. Vacationing with friends. Sammy, an Allentown transplant keeping a B&B running in Williams AZ. That colorful beef jerky guy beside the highway miles from any town. Professional waitstaff within a dozen restaurants and cafes. Fellow tourists. Artists selling their wares, sharing their dreams. We all wanted the same thing. Everyone got it.
Although I packed my lucky tee shirt and grass-stained mitt, looking for the perfect small town diamond, this trip did not see any baseball. Jerry and Fred must have been grabbing one last game in the next town over. Before the dinner bell rings.
L.S. Starrett Company
L. S. Starrett Company is an American manufacturer of tools and instruments used by machinists and tool and die makers. The company was founded when businessman and inventor Laroy Sunderland Starrett bought the Athol Machine Company in 1905. –wiki
Wait, what about luthiers? Machinists, tool and die makers, and luthiers, they mean to say. This particular Starrett tool is the only one I found of domestic manufacture which has end graduations in metric. Metric, because that is the language of violin luthiers when expressing measurements.
Where the C635E-150 is exceptionally helpful is in measuring violin bridge height above an imaginary line projected from the fingerboard – the projected height. Especially important, I can measure projected height while the instrument strings are under tension, and pencil corrections directly onto its bridge.
Equally useful, when shaping a bridge from scratch, I can get a fairly accurate idea of how much material to remove before initial fitting.
Previous to this tool, I first set up each violin and measured string height at the fingerboard end. The bridge was then removed, carved or filed lower, new string slots cut, reinstalled, and re-tensioned with strings. Whew! A lotta work! Measure again and likely repeat!
With this Starrett ruler, I can quickly do more accurate setups, and get the strings right where Steve wants them. And he likes them low when he goes ripping into Floppy Eared Mule on Stinger, his favorite fiddle!
Money is always tight running this USA-products online resource. Yes, this is an appeal for you to hit the SPONSORSHIP button and zip us a few bucks. There are also other ways to help. After a few years of amateur luthier work, it became apparent this Starrett ruler would be handy. While inquiring upon Starrett manufacturing locations (my C635E was made in Athol Massachusetts) and methods ∆, a Starrett representative offered to donate this ruler “to the cause”, without promise of review or compensation on our part. It has helped our luthier work (100% of the proceeds are used to support the blog). It’s also a fantastic product and has made a worthy article. Six Thumbs Up!
∆ Markings on the steel rules are produced through photo engraving. As a last step in the manufacturing process, there is a light-sensitive coating placed on the rules. A mask is applied to protect the surface that should not be marked. Light exposure removes the coating where the markings should appear. Then they go through an acid etching process. One of our long-term employees believes that we took country of origin off the design, because the photo-engraving process is the highest risk for imperfections in the manufacturing process, so limiting the markings should help minimize scrap. – Starrett
Collings MT2 O Mandolin
Among the dozens of fine mandolins waiting patiently in Jeff Looker’s acoustic instrument emporium hang a couple of the most beautiful specimens one can imagine. With perfect, almost luminescent ivory-like finish across the top and sumptuous walnut-stained flame maple back and sides, two Collings mandolins captivate the eye – and ear. One an f-hole model, the other an oval hole. Amazing Jeff would have one of each!
Usually I introduce my punchy bluegrass style to the f-hole variant. But with its rare one-piece back, the oval hole model beckons. Designed for celtic, old-time, classical, and jazz styles, I none-the-less rip into bluegrass and fiddle runs. The oval hole top brings out a new complexity, a surprising openness of depth, sustain, and overtone. More expressive? Probably, but I’m no expert. Regardless, I am a convert, and can imagine playing this Collings in the bluegrass circle, where plenty of fiddle and folk tunes cross over into the celtic realm.
Instruments get better with age. So can manufacturers. Hugh Mason’s 2003 MT2 sounds and plays a certain way. The latest offerings from Collings? At times I’ve got to admit, even better!
Weber Charcoal Grill
One does not imagine a marine buoy manufacturer as far inland as 
Illinois (geographically challenged people like myself specifically). But that is where it all started. A Chicago guy with an idea. George Stephen Sr. was working at Weber Brothers Metal Works in Illinois. The lightbulb went off. In complete secrecy he filched a buoy from the scratch’n’dent pile, cut it in half, and made a barbecue grill out of it. The dynasty of American-made quality charcoal grills was born.
Webers last forever. They look good, year after year. And functional? George wrote the book on it. Still privately held, Weber is estimated to have 35% market share selling PREMIUM grills. Impressive!
Recently I upgraded from a 14″ Smoky Joe to an 18″ Jumbo Joe. Finally, I’ve begun to understand searing and indirect heat, versus previous plop’n’pray grilling techniques. Excellence and mastery has its price, as several inedible meals can attest. And George’s company? Their premium grills are tortured to durable perfection before they hit retailers. Weber can afford to offer a fantastic warranty because their grills are so good!
An excellent Weber article written by Joe Cahill for Crain’s Chicago Business is linked here.
Saba’s Western Wear
The VFW in Gardiner Montana greeted my first wearing of cowboy boots, borrowed from Pete. A memorable small-town wedding made unforgettable from a new vantage point, 2″ higher. A few decades later, horseback riding occasioned buying a pair of these useful boots.
Not until venturing into Saba’s to duck ovenlike temperatures of Scottsdale in August did my knowledge come full circle. Within this establishment resides the former general manager of Saba’s Western Wear, selling, educating, and enjoying the people who make up the boot chain’s success.
Three days a week the spry and smiling Jerry Hill brings it all together for hundreds of clients. His understanding of the American boot history, materials, tanning, construction, and especially fitting, make every browsing experience remarkable. Handmade vs handcrafted finally understood, my favorite boots are about the same price as a decent pair of Aldens. “Handcrafted means I had a machine assisting me in doing some things in building this boot … a handmade boot is unique in its own right.” Ask Jerry about lemonwood pegs, 1880s-style!
What is Saba’s known for? Fitting boots, shaping hats, and the quality of the merchandise. Shaping hats? Yes sir. The hat is easy to fit us if certain things are covered. A thumb high above my ear and a finger above my eyebrow. I don’t want to be Deputy Dawg but I don’t want it touching my ear either. And then across the eyebrow? That’s a cowboy thing, a little social thing. No man can see what I’m looking at unless I want him to see my eyes.
Basic Hand Tools
Tools Of The Trade are chosen without thinking. Not the fix-it tools, but the “check it out” tools. Not knowing what is broken, I grab a few of the most common hand tools an amateur or professional can use when poking about the mechanical systems of a house or restaurant.
A 4-in-1 screwdriver. I’ve managed not to lose my Craftsman 6-in-1 for over a decade. Although well qualified for free replacement, with a shaft collar which pops out of the handle, I’ve refrained from enjoying Craftsman’s Lifetime Warranty. With occasional replacement of the reversible bits, the screwdriver has gotten me into problems and out of trouble countless times.
Channellock 430 pliers are perfectly sized for tightening compression nuts on a 1 ½” trap under most sinks. It doubles as a hammer. Punches holes through drywall with ease. A digging tool? You bet! Anything that needs squeezing, Channellocks will make quick work of it.
Lastly, a good flashlight. Some years ago this super-bright Surefire was gifted to me. Surefire has since developed brighter LED handlights, but the Executive E2E has proven both indestructible and handy. Small enough to conceal in a pocket, bright enough to expose the issue at hand, in the darkest of crawl spaces.
As the chain-smoking plumber taught me decades ago, I do know need to know what we are doing. “Plumbing” was often the only answer I’d receive. Whenever reprieve was given to hauling his 80 pound toolbox, it was in response to my question, “What do I need to bring?”
* Channellocks * Screwdriver * Flashlight *
Triscuit • Wheat Thins
Even before I could count past eleven, I knew there was a difference between “adult snacks” and the stuff pawned upon non-voting kittle. Within the latter group I waited. Better nibbles would have to wait until I could see over the kitchen counter.
Eventually counters lowered. I saw what I was missing, and began to appreciate. As the Art of Cooking took hold upon my imagination, I marveled at the Triscuit ingredients: “Wheat, water, salt”. That’s it. Amazing. Simply amazing.
When calories consumed surpass necessary, appreciation of a good snack increases. If you’re gonna snack, go for the good stuff. Triscuits and hummus. Maybe some Cracker Barrel Asagio, olives, a few pepperochini with your Wheat Thins? Don’t forget the pickles! WHEN is our Vlasic article coming out!?! Product testing calls ~
Editor’s note: From the very start AmericanToolbox has endeavored to present entertaining, positive, and non-political articles on American products, people, and companies. With sadness we learn Mondelēz, parent company of Nabisco, is laying off half their Chicago workforce. Associated production will be performed at an upgraded plant in Mexico.
I stopped purchasing York Peppermint Patties when production moved from Reading PA to Mexico. The days of buying four or five packages of Oreos to take to the kid’s birthday parties may likewise be coming to a close.
Support American Nabisco workers in the following ways:
1) Check the Label: There are two ways to know if your Nabisco snacks are made in the U.S. or Mexico:
- Check for the words “Made in Mexico” under the ingredient list
- Check the plant identification code, which is part of the expiration date code: do not buy if the initials “MM” or “MS” are listed. The initials AE, AH, AP, AX, AZ and XL all indicate American-made products.
AlohaLand Hawaiian Shirts
Ray King had me in his studio to install copper irrigation pipe. A noted sculptor in glass and optics, metal and light, Ray had his mojo working. He wore the coolest linen batik shirt. I immediately bought one and wore it everywhere. After eight sweaty summers my shirt began to revert, shredding back to thread. The vendor was long gone.
Never one to be without a “favorite shirt”, I began the search two years ago; AlohaLand.com came into my orbit. Among dozens of fabrics, I choose “Mauve Island” with its earth tone reds, browns, and greens. A fantasy land on fabric.
A few months ago, discretionary funds appeared while the linen batik shirt fell to rags. An AlohaLand order was placed. My two year ordeal ended just in time. Judi tells me vendors usually discontinue patterns every few years.
My shirt came after ten days. Made to order and a perfect fit. I marvel at the quality of Judi’s sewing. I have a shirt to last another decade, at least! Judi, care to comment on an upcoming article?
Here’s what I say: The best Hawaiian shirts in the world made right here in Oregon. I match up the pocket so some people ask to have a pocket. They can’t see it. I do a flat felled Levi seam on the side so they never fall apart (I noticed !!! ❤ ) The fabric is pre shrunk so it will not shrink with washings. I use great buttons, some coconut shell, some agoya shell and some very high quality plastic that looks like shell. (Like mine ❤ ❤ ) I also reinforce the collar, the center fronts, and the top of the pocket. I hope this helps. Thanks, judi
The school bus print shirt below? His shirt is made by Richard Tison, Paperhorse Creations, Leesburg, GA. It is a cool shirt and a great photo. ATB’s “Six Thumbs Up” Honorary Mention Extravaganza Award. – editor/publisher
Sloan Flushmate
WITHIN THE CAVERNOUS Lutheran Church at 5th & Olney, a huge renovation was ongoing. It was there I first witnessed the genius of a Sloan Flushmate.
A solitary basement powder room, undiscovered (and unused) by the faithful featured a toilet without handle. It had a round metal button on top. Taking the lid off the tank, I found no water. There was a metal and plastic cylinder instead, with an actuator on top activated via the lid button.
In response to conservation concerns in the early 1990s, low water consumption toilets entered the market place. Early gravity/siphonage designs were poor •••. In response, Sloan designed a revolutionary flush mechanism which harnessed municipal water pressure. Water entered a closed cylinder from the bottom, compressing a quantity of air trapped within. When one flushes the toilet, the compressed air forcefully propels the water into the bowl. Hence the term “power flush” or, as Gerber says, “pressure-assist” toilet.
In the later 1990s a commercial customer trusted her plumber. Instead of traditional gravity toilets which rely on siphonage, she agreed to purchase a dozen of the new, more expensive “ULTRA-FLUSH” toilets. Savings were dramatic. No more weekly service calls for damaged handles or misaligned flappers. No more ballcocks to replace. Two decades later, about a third of the original tanks remain in service.
••• The pros & cons of low-water consumption toilets since the 1992 Energy Policy Act have been tabulated. Municipalities note water savings but increased sludge within their sewers.
BelMetric • Tyngsboro Massachusetts
Over the weekend a buying decision coalesced. The 
banjo refurbishment had come to a halt. Made by an obscure Japanese company in the 1970s, it appeared someone had used an automotive threaded pin instead of a lag screw to attach the neck. A threaded pin screwed into the hardwood heel of a banjo neck will not work. Yup, you guessed it. Pulls right out.
To complicate matters, while a new hanger bolt is easily obtained, the banjo connecting rod was metric. Without a solid fix the neck wobbles at whim. Its wavering notes bring to mind a Theremin. The solution is to find a piece of hardware virtually unused in the United States. A “wood screw by metric machine thread hanger bolt”. To whom do I turn?
If it is metric, you turn to the experts. Second-generation masters of all that is metric, Bel-Metric. Owner and founder Ralph Lomando incorporated Bel-Metric in 1976 after four years of apprenticeship in the metric field. He named the company after his mother Bella and set to work selling automotive hardware to dealerships and automotive repair shops from a re-commissioned mail truck. The rest, as they say, is history.
Delivery was prompt and amazingly well packaged & labeled. The banjo has regained full musical health! Next project? My Lamborghini head gasket replacement. I’ll have Bel-Metric on speed dial, in case I strip out another threaded stud.
Behlen Buffer’s Polish
Slowly, cello refurbishment inches to completion. With as much time spent correcting my mistakes (learning 57 ways NOT to mix varnish) as with actual progress forward, months have galloped along. Mindful always of Shakespeare’s words: “Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well”. I’m learning to back away and contemplate. All good things, however, come to an end.
The top and back, after varnish, I treated with a slurry of wool lube and rottenstone. Experimentation with a fine scratch remover formulated for plastics followed. But what is perfect for nitrocellulose lacquer is not right for varnish. There was a better choice for final polishing.
To internet research I turn. Clues point to North Carolina’s Mohawk Finishing Products. The undisputed expert, Phillip Pritchard, Mohawk Finishing Products Technical Service Representative, is again enlisted. Without hesitation he suggests their own Buffer’s Polish. The product is ordered, shipped, and received.
Upon the cello sides stray marks of top removal, scraping of glue, various blemishes and blisters of a 65 year life, are examined, exfoliated, and finally exit before my eyes. Hand-polishing is not easy work, but with effort comes reward. No need to rush as the cello is so close to completion; half today and half tomorrow. Behlen Buffer’s Polish has a nostalgic smell – reminds me of a bowling alley – maybe a similar polish is used on the hardwood lanes to maintain their gloss?
So with the sides looking ship-shape, I try a little elbow grease on the top. Stunning! I may go ahead and remove the strings/bridge/tailpiece and buff the entire top! And why not? Behlen Fingerboard Oil was shipped with the Buffer’s Polish. This mature cello could use some professional refurbishment of her fingerboard. We’ll keep you updated!
Oatey Epoxy Stick
A customer’s desire to spend no money had succumbed to relentlessly dripping water. The leak which had slowly destroyed expensive plaster would finally be addressed. First I had to find the pipe.
A century after this opera & vaudeville theater opened, as spaces became repurposed, pipes tend to run in unpredictable directions. In this case, the offending pipe was not buried in a wall, but above a newer ceiling. A horizontal offset taking rainwater from the roof into the basement sewer, it was. Cracked along the top, one piece spewed water like a clam when thunderstorms and flash flooding occurred. How old was the pipe? A plumber had shoved a few risqué handbills into a dark corner for me to find sixty-five years later.
Getting another piece of cast iron service weight pipe 14′ above the floor into this area would be difficult; a second plumber, a helper, tools, lights, it was to be a festival of plumberly noises and smells. For now, a quick fix would protect the ceiling, walls, and floors from further damage.
I turned to the leader in plumbing materials, Oatey. Decades have I used their blue MEGALOC pipe dope after endorsement from the gas company. Oatey Plumbers Putty sets every kitchen sink within my hands. Had they a repair material for cast iron?
Sure enough, along with all the Oatey products I’ve used for years I found Fix It Sticks. Two part putty epoxy rolled together. I cut the stick in half, kneaded and rolled the epoxy into a consistent color, and began pressing the putty into the crack as the epoxy was heating up. Wow, I should first have read the instructions! It is ready to go 2~5 minutes after mixing!
The second half of the stick was all it took to complete temporary repairs. The epoxy will probably outlast the pipe, but being a concealed location, we’ll swap out the pipe in a couple of weeks when the weather is more cooperative. Perhaps another article on Charlotte cast iron pipe?
Cabot Hosiery Mills ∆ Vermont
Kenny is a consummate booster of American products. With the family’s 3rd Generation retail chain of stores, Kenny specializes in the finest shoes made in America. While visiting to inquire of his health, he saw me perusing a rack of biking socks. “Made in Vermont. Guaranteed for life”, he quipped.
“Impossible”, I thought. Socks that will either last forever or be replaced? But sure enough, right on the packaging are Ric Cabot’s words. With endurance bicycling one of the painful pleasures among my vices, these socks look a natural for me. Especially the lines: “Fine Gauge Knitting. High stitch count ensures a foot hugging fit. Less bulk. More comfort.”
A little pricy? All is relative, Kenny again points out. Earlier this week I chose the hottest, most humid day Philadelphia can offer for R&D. The new socks went on.
WOW, Ric’s endorsement is not an exaggeration. Firm fit, like a thousand tiny angels surrounding my feet with love. Into my sneakers and onto the Raleigh. Ten miles later, cooling off, I remembered I was product-testing. Humm … An hour later, at home, I realize how comfortable my feet are.
These socks cost more that other bicycling socks I own. With wicking, deceptive body, and comfortably snug fit, I see the value. Add Ric’s 
guarantee, and we honestly access this product Six Thumbs Up, our highest rating.
Editor’s note: I am upon the cusp of sizing. Mediums, sized to 9 ½. Large, Size 10 and up. 9 ½ I am, went with the Large, and they are PERFECT.
Milwaukee Super Sawzall
ARCHIMEDES famously said, “Give me a large enough saw and a perch on which to stand. Into halves I shall divide the earth”. He was speaking figuratively. Ancients’ quest to separate Good from Evil would get nowhere without the right saw.
Two thousand years later we have just the tool. Take mine, for instance. Near two decades young, still zalling along. The ultimate confidence builder. No stubborn pipe dare refuse its persistent bite when matched with the correct blade.
Last weekend we cut and dropped several tons of radiator pipe with nary a whimper. About the only service it has required is a good cleaning of the Quick Loc Blade Clamp, a relatively new option twenty years ago, at that time found only on Milwaukee’s upper tier sawzalls.
There are now models with higher amperage ratings, built all over the world, as Milwaukee has gone global. Clyde’s has a Milwaukee sawzall in stock labeled, “Assembled in the USA with domestic and foreign parts”. Some of the other Milwaukee power tools are labeled, “Hecho En China”. With care, my Milwaukee Super Sawzall will make a buying decision moot.
But I do want a cordless drill. Battery technology has advanced; Milwaukee’s battery warranty is 3 years, with 5 years on handheld tools … far longer than the 90 days or one year I remember back in ’00. Let look into percentage of domestic content and get back to you.
Near Vintage Milwaukee Super Sawzall
Park Tool – St. Paul, MN
It is always the last place you look! A perfect complement to our 97˚F / 82% humidity would be a sunset bicycle ride along historic Kelly Drive. The Art Museum Loop, we call it. As the day before, hitting a trail of somewhat smooth asphalt as Rush Hour hits its finest knuckle-whitening tension.
Yesterday everything was perfect. Pedal, sweat, hydrate. Using my E.U.-Approved water, I did not resolve my dehydration, but satisfied my thirst (no wonder the Brits Brexited). My 1980s Technium had performed like a champ.
But today? Its front wheel sounded like my back after cutting out three tons of boiler pipe. Once again, the spokes want service. Our local bike shop would have suggested -again- new rims, but until the wheel completely collapses, I’ll use the original Rigida wheels Raleigh installed three decades ago in Kent, Washington.
After searching everywhere, the Park Tool spoke wrench I’ve used for years is found. In, naturally, my Executive Tool Bag. An hour of tranquil “tuning” of my spokes returns the rim to true. The clatter is no more.
BisonDesigns Coyote Pattern Belt
Purchasing decision has been made.
30mm - Millennium™ Black Buckle - $19.75
Pattern: Coyote (COY)
My nephew turned 13 today. That is a tough age for which to buy, now that kids speak a different language than my generation. Fortunately, good looks never go out of style. Who cannot use a nice belt? One strong enough to save their lives, if need be?
We turned, last Monday, to our favorite designer of nylon belts, Brian Kelleghan. Pictorial weaving with nylon? Brian was the first. When his suppliers said it could not be done, Brian figured it out. The results? Pages and pages of designs, enough to find something a 13-year-old will think is cool. We chose, the belt was made to order, shipped, and arrived in time for the party. Yipeee!
Additional information was requested and answered:
Brian,
Have you recollections into how the design came up? What you were thinking when choosing the colors? How about the “Millennium” buckle? Was that a Y2K idea, and the name stuck?
The Coyote pattern is filled with colors chosen from all of the “Docker” style pant manufacturers. That is an easy call. Weaving the colors into an attractive pattern is always the big challenge.
The buckle pattern is an echo of a popular climbing harness design from the 80’s. It communicates that the wearer is an active outdoors enthusiast. – Brian
Estwing Leather Grip Hammer
An opportunity to present a housewarming gift came up. It turned into a bit of a head scratcher, though. Casserole dish? Toaster? Bath towels? Not really. What do you give someone who has everything they need?
Something I’d love to have myself, naturally. New house means new picture hooks to install. Paint cans to tap shut. Shelves to knock together, perhaps. Estwing has the perfect gift. A 12 ounce hammer with leather grip. The same hammer we pictured in our Executive Tool Bag.
She’ll have this hammer for forty years. Her daughter’s daughter will have it a lifetime as well. Assuming none of the kids loses it at college or a camping trip.
Trader Joe’s Coffee Filters
BLINDED BY SUMMER SUNRISE, I move with half-closed eyes, by feel, to the Technivorm. With luck the night before I’ve set up the coffee maker with filter, grounds, and water. Joe’s Dark Roast is my usual.
Trader Joe’s is a relatively new event in my life. We go back a decade or so. I’ve noticed some products are fair rather than good. Packaging can be insubstantial.
Trader Joe’s is where I get fresh dairy. Coffee. Hummus. Bread. Maybe salmon jerky. Staples, like baked beans, Saltine Crackers, ammonia, coffee filters, these are usually purchased from the regular grocers. But one day I threw TJ filters into the basket. For two bucks, I’d give them a try.
Several years later, I’m still a believer. Price, quality, and consistency. After noticing a competitor’s filter coming apart when wet – certainly makes a mess when dumping out, I didn’t bother with any more market research. When something works, why look for anything better?
Charlotte Pipe
Some things change. Others stay the same. Our local plumbing supply is a bit of both. Old-school methods and materials tested over generations, some unchanged since Roman times. New ideas to save time and expense now, some destined to fail yet introduced to a hungry public. The spawn of change? Entire developments of luxury homes with Tinker-Toy waste pipes, flexible water lines secured with hose clamps, already springing leaks not one lustrum after completion.
All that new stuff, proven in manufacturers labs but unproven in the final test, Time. Not for me. Copper and cast iron is what I learned and how I stay. Lead and oakum, a centuries old method of pipe connection, or the “new” method of No-Hub® cast iron pipe attachment – now decades old and proven durable.
When the call for multi-generational durability goes out, I head to the same supply house patronized as an apprentice. To the same stack of cast iron pipe I drew from as a lad. The same brand, Charlotte (or Tyler. This is almost a “Skippy or Jif” comparison).
When the builder asks, “Plastic or iron?”, they are talking about the horizontal waste pipes dropping through your home. Perhaps your dining room or den walls. Nothing beats the quiet serenity of cast iron pipe.
Chapman Manufacturing Co
Last weekend I acquired several special chairs at auction. One has a cracked frame and looks beyond salvage – a wintertime project?. The others will be recalled to life with deep cleaning, some frame tightening, and a donated seatback from the fractured chair.
While performing this nostalgic refurbishment – these mid-1950s chairs recall earliest memories – three flathead screws were in need of removal. My new Chapman Master Set was ideal for this task. Previously I have never NOT had a flathead slip upon a tight wood screw. Chapman’s squared edge precision flat screw-bit fit the screw head perfectly, transferring full torque. Definitely the right tool for the job!
Some Mid Century Goodness for your viewing pleasure:
Craftsman Garden Hose
Two winters ago we wrote of our beloved Craftsman garden hose. Pulling the hose from a snowdrift during a daytime thaw of 44˚F in January. Treating my truck to a quick wash-down before temperatures again plummeted (it dropped to 8˚F that night).
This hose is still going strong, does not kink, no splits, perfect performance with every use. The price, double or even treble a vinyl hose, is forgiven. Rather than endure mediocre performance of a cheap one-season hose, I went with the best. The investment has paid off handsomely.
With Father’s Day around the corner, I’ve thought about a second hose for Dad. A quick internet check shows Craftsman 50′ hose prices starting at $20, nearly half the usual. Shopping for Dad was never easier, with quality like the Craftsman hose a few clicks away.
Vintage Peavey Power Mixer
In garages across the land, adolescent dreams of rock and roll continue. Bluegrass jams, gospel groups, punky papas play. One thing tying them together is the staple of amplification in America, Peavey. Most everyone 
who plays has had a Peavey at one point. I started on one. Our group used their power mixer for the big speakers. Even now, barely able to call myself a performing musician, I turn to Peavey when the call comes.
PAUL KEARSLEY, farmer and musician, sounded the alarm! His power mixer blew up a few months back when a cocktail tumbled into the heat vent. Paul is limping through four solo gigs a week, and here comes his Summer Three with The Woodman.
There are few buying opportunities in his Eastern Shore community, but right up the street I found Paul this near-vintage gem for under a day’s pay. Mid-1990s production, a few models up from the basic version I used in high school. Still consistently durable, still a winner.
Another sunset starts another gig. Reggae & ska powering over the calming waters of Chincoteague Bay, bringing our souls back to Mother Earth. Thanks, Peavey!
D’Addario & Company
An errant New Year’s resolution beckons. Caught up with hobbies as a gentleman plumber, waiting for varnish to cure with the luthier practice, my attention turns to dead strings of forgotten manufacture on Hugh’s mandolin.
Nine long months since refurbishment, these strings have since lost their zing. Yes, the mando still plays wonderfully, resonance issues unnoticed or politely ignored. The pairs of wound G & D strings especially call for help. Since borrowing this Collings, along with further research into violin and viola strings, my shop now installs D’Addario strings exclusively.
Pete’s bouzouki has them. My Guild D4 and Hugh’s Santa Cruz wear the Bluegrass EJ19, light tops and medium bottoms. D’Addario’s Orchestral String Social Media Specialist was instrumental 🙂 at a critical juncture, after we received a mini-viola which required Extra-Small scale length strings.
This mandolin is now back to factory specification, wearing new EJ74 strings as originally installed by Collings. Highs are brighter and resonate longer, more sweetly. Lows power their vibration through the flame maple back, into my ample belly. Wow, hard to figure why I waited so long to replace my strings!
D’Addario goes way back to the Old Country in the Italian province of Pescara. There you’ll find a baptismal form filled out by Donato D’Addario in 1680, his occupation stated simply “cordaro” – the Italian word for “string maker.” ∆ In the early 20th century, the family began making strings in America. The rest is their modern history. The entire D’Addario Brand History cannot be condensed; I invite you to their website to read the entire story!
acoustic vibes music ~2016~
OVER ONE YEAR HAS PASSED since our seminal article on Acoustic Vibes Music of Tempe AZ. What has Jeff Looker been up to? “I need to order more mandolins”, says he, standing in front of the largest selection of high-end mandolins in North American. Right next to the new Gibson display. His agenda, to the layman, seems to be Buy Buy! BUY!
Direct from manufacturers, Jeff Looker continues to purchase the finest acoustic instruments made in America. Supporting smaller shops by giving their product exposure. A steady turnover of production from the larger players. First name basis with all the owners. Familiarity with his competition, which they are not. Not competitors, but friends, mentors, peers, proteges, fellow enthusiasts in the tradition and innovation of American guitarmaking.
Where else could one find three custom Collings MT2 mandolins? SIX Martin 000 guitars may be uncommon to stock. Except FIVE of these are from the Martin Custom Shop, special-ordered by Jeff himself. Everything is ordered by Jeff. He’s running the train. It keeps pulling into the station with more and more inventory from American manufacturers.
A goal without a plan is a dream. Jeff’s goal is to have the finest acoustic instrument shop in America. What started as an order for six Santa Cruz guitars almost a decade ago has become the best-stocked high-end acoustic guitar shop in the Western Hemisphere. Add in mandolins ∆ and banjos, and you’ve got the premier Destination Music Shop of The Americas.
Filson Duffle Bag
As editor/publisher of this USA-products online resource, I’ve had the pleasure to discover American manufacturers previously unknown to me. Liking stuff that lasts and a strict adherent to “Buy once, cry once”, I’ve periodically scanned the Filson website.
Past middle age but not yet in retirement, I own nearly everything I want or need. With the possible exception of a rugged travel duffle. Large enough to pack -sparsely- for ten days, airline carry-on approved, durable, and functional.
Filson manufacturers many such bags in the wonderful Pacific Northwest. Some with enough brass and leather to compliment the most fastidious among us. Not wanting to broadcast my great wealth, I focused on their nylon-lined Tin Cloth small duffle with integral nylon shoulder strap. And waited . . .
Eventually funds and opportunity aligned, the bag ordered and delivered. Joy, joy, joy! Well worth the investment. Far superior to my nylon-only model the Filson replaces. No questionable seams through which an important item may disappear. Rugged enough to withstand 180 mph airborne flight off the roof rack of my Maserati onto rough asphalt. Ready for a lifetime of use and above average abuse. My heirs will fight over Uncle Jimmy’s duffle.
- Made of abrasion-resistant, water-repellent 15-oz. oil finish Tin Cloth fabric
- Solid brass zipper closure custom cut at Filson
- 2 stow pockets
- Fully lined with matte nylon
- Meets standard airline carry-on size requirements
- Sturdy, quick-drying nylon webbing shoulder strap and handles
- 18″ W x 10″ H x 11″ D
Collings MF Mandolin
Collings MF Gloss Top Honey Amber Finish
Chance brings me back to Acoustic Vibes Music in Arizona, home of the finest collection of high-end acoustic instruments for sale in the Western Hemisphere. Today I choose for examination a Collings MF. “Simplified appointments” is how Collings described the absence of fancy binding, purfling, and perhaps finish. I call it clean and functional.
In hand and eye, this MF exhibits perfect craftsmanship. The hidden quality is quick to exhibit itself. Within just a few notes, clear pure tone reinforces the Collings workshop pedigree. The MF plays perfectly, with all attentions possible paid to feel as well as sound.
With a fully carved Adirondack spruce top and maple back and sides, the MF is built with the same quality construction as our fully-appointed models. These instruments produce the rich, woody tone that one would expect from a professional quality mandolin at an affordable price. – Collings
Thanks again to AVM employee Kathryn Butler for these beautiful images! You have a future as a fine arts photographer! Lets not forget Jeff Looker’s interesting observation. Jeff and I were standing in the mandolin room for photos (an upcoming feature). Tidying up the display, he remarked, “I’ll have to order a few more mandolins”. There were about eight each Weber and Collings – $60,000+ worth. How’s that for dedication to the American acoustic instrument tradespeople?
American Toolbox 
