These guys have a YouTube channel primarily dedicated to Urbex type videos showcasing interesting buildings, structures and machinery which has been abandoned and documenting them before they are demolished or repurposed.

This video is quite different from their usual ones as it is much longer. It covers an old steam engine formerly used by the Water Dept. in Woburn, MA to provide water to its residents.

The video consists of a tour of a working steam engine and a long form interview with the extremely knowledgeable and passionate person largely responsible for its restoration and maintenance.

I didn't plan on watching this video in its entirety but was quickly drawn in by the beauty of the various components of the engine and the accessories needed to run and maintain it.






Link

A. E. Karnes seems to be an interesting chap. A bit eccentric maybe but he appears to be quite knowledgeable about what he's doing, the history of what he is working on, etc.

I found that he has his own YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AEKarnes/videos

If y'all love the restoration of old stuff, check out My Mechanics...



He's currently working on a Datsun 240Z restoration that will probably interest several on this forum.

Very good!

Thank you for posting.

RMD

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rduckwor,

Near Davis, CA (known best as an ag school historically) there is a museum and at least one organization of folks who restore and show antique mechanized farm implements. Thinking about it makes me homesick a little.

I really enjoy seeing things restored. Great thread!

And thanks for the links - more rabbit holes for me to travel down.

Edit to add:

Here's my contribution - especially for the watch aficionados here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1lvm_20Qu4

Watching this guy fix/restore watches is mesmerizing.

The Curta handheld mechanical calculator:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curta

Adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides. An amazing device. No batteries required.

Thanks for all the links! ejr_pilot, I follow that channel pretty regularly but somehow hadn't noticed his Datsun project. I'll probably check that out when I get time.

Speaking of time, I too follow various watch restoration channels, marksman41. I've done some work on old clock movements but haven't tried a watch movement yet.

Pipe Smoker, the link to the Wiki for the Curta is fascinating. I've been aware of different Babbage devices and similar but I've never heard of the Curta. In taking a cursory glance at links for all things Curta, it seems to be popular with 3-d printers since obtaining a genuine item can be rather costly today. Here's a short video I came across which gives a demonstration of several of the Curta's functions.




Link

^^^^^^^
I lusted for a Curta when I was younger, but couldn’t afford it then. By the time I could afford it the HP-35 was available.

But I really appreciate neat mechanisms. And not just mechanical such as the Curta. I do a lot of programming, and I’m always pleased to write a nifty function that simplifies my programs. My latest is a circular buffer that makes it easy to capture the last ‘n’ of a long sequence of items.

Here's a really good in-depth one for the watch guys interested in repair/restoration. This one goes beyond mere disassembly/cleaning/reassembly. He provides rationale for when and how he does various things and provides some interesting history along the way. Long but well worth the time if you have any interest in this very unique Hamilton watch.





Link

I'm fascinated by non-electronic mechanical devices, though I can't claim to be able to repair or restore. But I do appreciate them.

Guns of course, but also...

Typewriters, adding machines, watches, clocks, pianos, locks, etc.

Tractors are a "thing" around here and some of the farmers prefer to retire old cars and trucks.

The Internet has revolutionized tractor and auto resto for them.

It used to take four to six years to resto a Deere 730.
Now ! 2 or three.

quote:

Originally posted by Fenris:
I'm fascinated by non-electronic mechanical devices, though I can't claim to be able to repair or restore. But I do appreciate them.

Guns of course, but also...

Typewriters, adding machines, watches, clocks, pianos, locks, etc.

Did you see my Curta handheld mechanical calculator post above? Super nifty, it is!