Things haven't changed all that much ...

Description of a 1715 era woodshop:

"The chamber, into which he stole, like all carpenters' workshops, was crowded with the implements and materials of that ancient and honourable art. Saws, hammers, planes, axes, augers, adzes, chisels, gimblets, and an endless variety of tools were ranged, like a stand of martial weapons at an armoury, in racks against the walls. Over these hung levels, bevels, squares, and other instruments of measurement. Amid a litter of nails without heads, screws without worms, and locks without wards, lay a glue-pot and an oilstone, two articles which their owner was wont to term "his right hand and his left." On a shelf was placed a row of paint-jars; the contents of which had been daubed in rainbow streaks upon the adjacent closet and window sill. Divers plans and figures were chalked upon the walls; and the spaces between them were filled up with an almanack for the year; a godly ballad, adorned Page 77with a rude wood-cut, purporting to be "The History of Chaste Susannah;" an old print of the Seven Golden Candlesticks; an abstract of the various Acts of Parliament against drinking, swearing, and all manner of profaneness; and a view of the interior of Doctor Daniel Burgess's Presbyterian meeting-house in Russell Court, with portraits of the reverend gentleman and the principal members of his flock. The floor was thickly strewn with sawdust and shavings; and across the room ran a long and wide bench, furnished at one end with a powerful vice; next to which three nails driven into the boards served, it would appear from the lump of unconsumed tallow left in their custody, as a substitute for a candlestick."

"Jack Sheppard", by Willian Harrison Ainsworth circa 1840

Reply to
Swingman
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I had to look up "gimblet" and found:

"A small tool for boring holes. It has a leading screw, a grooved body, and a cross handle."

Aside from that, and the candle reference, sounds pretty much the same as most shops, 300 years later. OK, so maybe my "left hand" is a brad nailer... ;-)

Jim Stuyck

Reply to
Jim Stuyck

Looks like the 'b' has been dropped since the time of the writing.

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Reply to
Joe

Seems as if Mr. Sheppard was not a superbly moral young man, though. Hung at Tynburn when he was 23, after bouts of whoring and drinking and thieving and burglary. Supposed to have been a journeyman carpenter, though.

Reply to
Charlie Self

\ Sounds like the bench wasn't the only thing in the shop with a powerful vice (or two, or three....)

jc

Reply to
Joe

"Gimblet", a necessity in every sailor's ditty bag.

Also an absolute necessity to change out the packing in a stuffing box.

There is more to wood working tools than just wood working

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Oh noes... is that what awaits me if I continue improving my nailing skills?

Reply to
Robatoy

Whoring is a hanging offense?

Uh oh.

Reply to
Tanus

I'm staying away....

jc

Reply to
Joe

I with you. I will never show any of my favorite westerns to anyone but close, open minded friends I trust anymore.

I had no idea "Hang 'Em High" was based on racial hate crimes. How about "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", or a mountain of any other western films or period pieces. I am casting a suspicious eye on my Clint Eastwood and John Wayne movies... OK, and Errol Flynn, too. What in the world were they thinking when they made those movies 65, 70 years ago? Insensitive bastards.

I am so happy we have revisionists around now that can tell us "the real truth" about things. That way those that are unable to think for themselves will have a ready path on which to be led.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Where in hell did that come from? What revisionists? WTF does race have to do with hanging a carpenter in Tyburn 400+ years ago?

I cast out my John Wayne movies decades ago, when he started talking like he was a real hero.

Reply to
Charlie Self

"Charlie Self" wrote

I believe it was in reference to the current political correctness backlash with regard to the public, or private, mentioning of words like "lynch", aka the Tiger Woods flap, or even conjuring up the mental image of a "noose", aka Jenna, LA.

Words are extremely important to the PC ... when a "majority" marches, they're "separatist", when a minority marches, they're "activists".

Of course, certain groups are remain a "majority" even when less than 20% of a population, as in our local school district (maybe because they pay the "majority" of the freight?)

While you can argue both sides of the above, inarguably Orwell was right when coining the term "newspeak":

"It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words."

Reply to
Swingman

I also looked up "gimlet" and it does seem the "b" has been lost over the years, from the olde English. Perhaps a trip to the OED would show the earlier spelling. Anyway by adding a shot of vodka and some Roses lime juice one can make a quite pleasent Vodka Gimlet.

Joe G

Reply to
GROVER

Possibly my comment was a bit more obscure than I intended. Please see Swing's valid explanation that follows.

You take the actors too seriously. If pitched the movies I liked based on the actual personalities of the stars in them I would have nothing to watch. I am a bit of a pariah amongst my friends as I like John Wayne movies but didn't think much of him at all as a man and when the conversation of his war record and personal habits come up, I usually go get another beverage.

I am sure there are some model citizens in the mix somewhere, but I don't care.

Charlie, you might think of actors like this to get you through. Imagine the circus bear on a tricycle. He is a paid idiot with a unique talent that makes you laugh. You don't really care that he craps on the floor, will screw anything in heat, eats out of a bowl, and beats up on the smaller bears because he can. (Doesn't that sound at least like some of our sports "heroes"?)

You go the circus and watch the bear ride his trike in his funny little hat because he amuses you. End of story.

Granted, there are actors I won't watch, but it is more due to their politics than their actions.

But I do understand what you are saying about Wayne, though.

There was a great story on TMC a while back about Humphrey Bogart that could easily apply to Wayne. According to the host, Bogart used to favor going to the famous Brown Derby restaurant. The owner said that "Hump" as he was known to friends was a great guy to have as a guest, ready to buy a drink for a friend and share a meal.

But after a few drinks, he became his "Bogart" persona, and was a real jerk and almost always wound up being asked (or forced) to leave.

I have heard the same story told about Wayne more than once. Anymore, it doesn't make me like "The Man That Shot Liberty Valance" less.

Just my 0.02.

Robert Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Well, Jimmy Stewart comes pretty close. Joined the Army Air Corps a year before Pearl Harbor, flew 20 B-17 missions over Germany as pilot in command before they promoted him out of flying, also flew in Korea, and went as an observer on a B-52 mission over North Vietnam and retired from the Air Force as a Brigadier General. Then there was Audie Murphy--nobody who wears the Congressional Medal Of Honor has to prove his credentials for "heroism"--his trouble as an actor was that like most real heroes he didn't look very heroic. A lot of others served and nobody really noticed. Audrey Hepburn was in the Dutch Resistance and her health never did recover from some of the things that happened to her then. James Doohan ("Scotty" on Star Trek) left a finger in Normandy. There's a long list.

But this John Wayne bashing is silly. The people who knew him personally and who had been there and done that don't seem to have any problem with him or anything that he did.

Lot of people are mean drunks. So what?

Reply to
J. Clarke

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