Weird collections - Number plates etc. Show us yours too.

[Grizz1963]

I collect various things, mostly mad and senseless, and mostly endorsed by Nicola, my wife...... but then, she collects too.

I am always looking for more plates from around the world to add to my mad collection and on www.garagelournal.com there is an active number plate swopping and also a showing thread.

Thought I would post up a few pics taken today, and also some pics of Nicola's collection.

Today was not a good day for me, so rather than rip a head off, or sit in a corner crying, I thought I would do some woodwork in the shed, but before I go there, I ended up in the garage, sorting out and grouping my "newest" number plates for my collection.



Then I took some of the plates that did not "fit" off the rafters



Followed by a significant change, including removal of all the metal signs.
They will be refitted later when I have revised the current layout of the garage interior.
This includes removing the up and over single door, and boarding up that side and fitting a large hardwood door, or a door and a half if I can find one.

After a few hours I was happy.

One side....



And looking from the other side.



I have some more room to fit some of my traded plates, and will look out for some special ones in the mean time to add.


Next up, a section copied from a thread I started in 2011

Had to go to the Post Office to get a motorbike spares parcel out to South Africa urgently.
Stopped in the carpark and found this plate there against the fence in the weeds, It had been driven over and there was a bunch of oil on it too, thought it would add to Micky next doors pile of brass that he sells on.

However, when I picked it up, I noted the picture on it.

Nicola has been collecting old smoking pipes of various vintages for some time now, since we went for a "romantic" walk on the Medway riverside one low tide.



Note her grubby paws tightly holding all the bits of clay pipe in a small bag that we had found in an hour of walking the shore.
Keep in mind, the Medway had a load of wooden hulled Prison Ships years ago, and many of these clay pipes were disposable "penny pipes"



Brass plate as found.



Straightened out, polished and now wrapped up for Christmas.... ;D



And there I was worrying that I did not know what to get her for Christmas.

Unfortunately many of these pipes are very fragile, and some get here via courier/postal service, broken. Which is a pity.
Yesterday she got a couple of rare, Order of the Buffalo ceremonial pipes and one was broken in 2 places, problem is the money is not the issue here, its the fact that they are pretty much irreplaceable.

Today, this one which she had been looking for, for a long time came..... bad packaging, resulting in multiple breaks, so worthless in the investment market. I will try to fix is and the Order of the Buffalo pipe. Unfortunately the seller did not know what he had, did a BIN for £5.00 which Nicola grabbed, but his packing was atrocious.

Anyway, what do you have or collect that is slightly, or very "Left Field" ?

Worth a lot more before it was broken.



Some of the collection.
Also the tobacco jars and some other paraphernalia are part of her search, some Victorian ones like the blue on the top right shelf are worth a bit.






Last pic, the two ceremonial pipes. Nicola's favourite, the revolver , a traditional "Penny pipe" her dad found for her, a dope pipe my brother sent her and a Chinese pipe off Ebay.

Digestive biscuit just for size persective at about 85mm diameter.




Please feel free to add pics , comments and opinions of your own weird collections.


After posting the weird collection thread recently, I had a PM from David aka PodBod on the UK Teardrop site, to see if I was interested in buying some Meerschaum pipes.... pics followed and a very reasonable price agreed, he also very generously threw in 3 pipe stands.
Interestingly, Nicola had just started looking for another pipe stand for some of her better clay pipes, so these were perfectly timed.

I let her unpack the "late Christmas/early Birthday" prezzie..... and the look on her face was worth the price.

Pics to tell the story.



Turban guy, used, very nice.



Pattern, new, unused, very nice.



Indian head/Native American chief head, used, lovely.



Used, magnificent detail, my favourite.




Weird collection, undoubtedly, value to me having a happy wife? Priceless.

I guess this posting will straddle two different threads as it comes from one place and passes another toward an outcome.

Recently Nicola has been helping her mum clear up their house of the clutter one collects over a lifetime (mum is 80 )

This week she found an old tobacco jar that dad used a looooong time ago, but it had no lid, Nicola says she remembers it from a long time ago, never having a lid, so maybe it was porcelain and got broken.

When I saw it, I loved the ships on it, and decided to have a go at making a wooden lid for it, so that she could add it to her collection.





There are three different ships around it.

Enter a bit of wood, measured, cut and mounted.



Not sure how long it took, but happy with the result.

I had planned on putting something on top of the lid, like a small handle, but while I was rummaging for something, Nicola surprised me with a cuppa and some biccies, and of course saw the surprise I was making for her and asked me to leave it plain and simple as it was at that point.

This was the result, also good to be back on the lathe for a change, as I have not done a thing for some time.



I also burned the top of the lid to create some contrast, and it was meant to focus ones attention on the small handle/item that was going to go on top.

A rather special pipe I found last year while touring around Europe on my motorbike..... brought it home and found a happy wife as a result.



Nicola had started collecting Victorian hatpins for a while but pulled out of that to focus on her pipes and bits that go with smoking pipes and cigars.





Please do add your own collections and descriptions onto this thread if you feel like it.

[PAWS 72]

The old tobacco holder with the ships is beautiful and you done a good job on the top.Looks like it came on there.

[ssapach]

Oh the ol' NWT polar bear plate is always my favourite. You can never mistake it for a plate from another area!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by PAWS 72

The old tobacco holder with the ships is beautiful and you done a good job on the top.Looks like it came on there.

Thank you.

I wanted it to be slightly understated and also "heavy" to go with the age of it

Very pleased with the outcome
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[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by ssapach

Oh the ol' NWT polar bear plate is always my favourite. You can never mistake it for a plate from another area!

It was one I soooo desperately wanted for years, but was not prepared to pay for, so I traded three English for two Polar bears.
I like my plates used and worn, so they were just perfect.
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[special-K]

Those are some interesting things collected. The smoking collection is something I never gave thought to really. What a nice collection. I like collecting a lot of things but am keeping it all fairly small. There was a time when I'd go overboard with it.
I'm sure you are familiar with the Players cards? I have a collection of chickens

[doubleb's69]

I have a collection of smaller budweiser stuff because of my nick name. I also collect bottle openers (only if they have some type of advertising on them) and old pocket knives.

[special-K]

Smokey the Bear and motorcycles,small machine oilers,watch fobs for heavy equipment with Matchboxes,& odd iron stuff

[fun in dirt]

Cool stuff!

[flashed]

I mostly collect dust ,junk and truck parts .

[rambler]

nice looking collection.. it took me awhile, but a I searched and searched for a Vermont 1928 plate for my Dad's 80th BD, that was a surprise for him, he collected beer steins,, my Mom is still keeping them, which I am glad as he passed last year, and i feel it is better for her to have them as a memory..

[Grizz1963]

Well, today I sent off some plates to the USA, and some were sent my way.

They fit perfectly into part of my focusing on specializing a bit in what I collect.

Disabled plates, Vet plates, and specialty relating to services like the National Guard will make it a bit more challenging.

Today's trade.



Looking forward to getting these and fitting them up in the rafters.

[Grizz1963]

Well, after the last update, I can say that a whole load of changes have gone on in the various spaces Ashley has created.
I get the feeling he prefers to do stuff, rather than just talk about it. So posting updates are less important than actually getting out there and doing stuff.

HIS FULL BUILD THREAD HERE

http://retrorides.proboards.com/inde...=115116&page=1

I had a job interview in Portsmouth yesterday, about 5 minutes and less than a mile from his place.

So I took the torches I had made for him for the "manspace" over.....



When I got there at 10.15, I found the man busy in the kitchen.



Making some Bacon Butties.... and coffee.

These were quickly dispatched, Thanks a lot mate, they were rather good, in fact, very good.



Of course we went and had a good look at the garage, its contents, and his games room.

I have to say, the photos do not do any of the stuff he has made, any justice. It is as good as you can imagine.






While out there, he produced this book and gave it to me..... just how much better can a day get?



Ashley has also been collecting some number plates for me while doing his day/night job, and gave these to me before I left for the interview.



Included was this mini cab taxi license plate.



And possibly the most important sign ever.....

It will be going down the end of the drive at the garage, so then I can leave a sign on the house front door to say I am at the "back-END" if people come knocking.




So a great day out, meeting a cool guy and getting to feed both my belly and my hobby/habit.


Today the postman knocked and delivered this old sign, liberated 30-plus years ago by a certain Andy, member on various forums.

So another great sign to add to my slowly growing collection of random signs.



Once I have re-arranged the garage and created some new spaces, all my signs will be going up again.

[NONHOG]

Nice work! I have many "mini" collections. I find it less overwhelming that way.
(another way of saying I'm not that good at collecting)

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by NONHOG

Nice work! I have many "mini" collections. I find it less overwhelming that way.
(another way of saying I'm not that good at collecting)

I think the most important thing is that these collections should give you pleasure when you see or touch them.

[Grizz1963]

Look what landed in the post today.

[flashed]

Those will look good with your collection.

[Grizz1963]

In other news, I have recently decided to start collecting plates with a slightly more defined theme.

So Disabled, Disabled Vet, National Guard, Fire dept, Police etc is what I will concentrate on, while still collecting random plates that appeal to me.

These landed today from a real neat trade I made with a Texan.

Plates came from his Grandfather.




Really pleased with these.

Included is my first ever "dealer plate" another one of those silly things I have always wanted.

The rest of the plates fall straight into my specialized collecting.





Before I forget, another surprise I got was this Intercourse item, and a pair of return to sender key tags.








All of these went up today, also did some rearranging.


Now I still just need a truck to go with it.

[Grizz1963]

As many of you know, Nicola collects smoking pipes and smoking paraphernalia so at some point the space has to run out.

Interestingly, the last few months has seen the price of pipes go up a whole load.

On Sunday she asked me if I could make her a pipe rack. They are usually big enough for 4-6 pipes.

For those of you who saw my BBQ build, you will have realized that I like to go large.
So with the pipe rack I decided to make a decent sized one.

She has this small rack downstairs, and then also has 5 book case shelves upstairs on the landing that are 1200mm long.

Current over crowding.





So in my typical style I started gathering some bits that I had laying about.

Started with a length of 90mm x10mm and cut that to two 900mm lengths, that way there would be 150mm space on each end of the pipe rack for some of her various tobacco jars.



Found a nice bit of fire wood with a multitude of knots that would be just right for the upright supports.

Note the gnawing marks where the field rats had taken off all the bark while the wood lay drying the last two years.



Trimmed loads of knobs etc off to make it reasonably straight for the lathe.



After quite a lot of turning I was left with this core with lots of interesting coloration.

Split into 3 as I needed three supports, detail to be added as I went along.



Inbetween I had some coffee and went for a second rummage in the garage loft as I had not yet found a top bar for this thing.

Then I found these Space ships and UFO's strips of dado rails at 1800mm, they fitted the 900mm sizes I was working with.



Cut, marked and drilled the top supports where the pipes mouth pieces should fit into.





Next up was the base plates on which the pipe bowls would rest.

I used a router bit in the drill press to create these bowl rests.


Job done.





At this point I went back to turning the supports which by now had been on the lathe for over 24hrs.



Resulting in this.


Cut up on the bandsaw to form these



Put together without the front strip that covers the space ships and UFO's



I then had to make the uprights for the second rack....

Cut 13 inches off the handle of Mickeys yard broom, he is short so does not need a tall broom.




Resulting in these.

I loved them for their simplicity personified







Final product...... 22 pipes per rack.

Happy ? You Betcha.




Ohhh, and the boss thinks I am a clever old stick.

[flashed]

Those look great ,cant wait to see them loaded with pipes ,also love all your tools .

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Those look great ,cant wait to see them loaded with pipes ,also love all your tools .

Thanks mate. I am happy if my wife is happy.

The tools are an eclectic mix of old and new.

All bought for sensible money.

Bandsaw is industrial size and cost £100 on Ebay, collection was "Free" about 160km from here as I had a business meeting less than 10km from there and had a company car. It came from the Harry Potter movie set building company when it was wrapped up.

My Vintage Coronet Major lathe which also has a circular saw and planer attached was another Ebay purchase for about £260 plus £50 to use the neighbour AND his Sprinter van and moving tools. It is a nasty heavy old thing and worth so much more than I paid for it. Came with loads of extras and tools. I also make my own tools for it from old Steel files bought at swap meets and boot fairs at 50p to £1 each.

My sheds table drillpress is a three man moving experience. Possibly early 50's vintage, converted at some stage from three phase to single phase for donestic use, bought off Ebay for £62.50 and fetched near Dover on a Saturday shopping outing with the wife, Dover is about 70km from us. The old guy was selling all his stuff as he had terminal lung cancer and actually died ten days later. An amazing artisan, he wanted his machines to go to people who would use and appreciate them.

My large linisher/belt sander has to be the best Ebay strike ever. Bought while sitting in a Southampton hospital, waiting to see a customer who was running late for our 11.00am appointment, I sat surfing the web and Ebay while waiting for him. I was in the market for a belt sander but had got outbid on quite a few. I saw a new listing with a bad description and sent a message to the seller to see if she ( yes a lady) had a Buy it Now price. She replied that £45 would buy it if I collected same day..... Needless to say, from Southampton I drove after work to Folkestone, she helped me get it out of a basement with me still dressed in a suit and tie from work. I got home after 8pm that night to a very impressed wife. That machine sells for over £400 new.

I tend to only buy on reduced, I buy certain tools only in top brands, like my belt sanders will always be Makita, but cordless drills, I am happy with mid range on house brands.

I also love "dumpster diving" and if you see some of the tools I have retrieved, you will understand.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SEE A THREAD I RUN JUST ON MY BEST "TIP TREASURE " SCORES.

http://www.retrorides.proboards.com/...y&thread=89875



I do not recycle or re-purpose for the environment, but rather for my pocket.

It releases money for stuff like buying an early 60's C10 Short Fleetside
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[Grizz1963]

Went to Surrey Street Rodders Wheels Day today.

Decided impulsively to go when we got up this morning, and I can honestly say, one of the nicest days out in a long time.

We dressed and wrapped up warm, so it was a good day.

I managed to find some signs, badges and a really special numberplate.

It came off a Ford Escort in Belgium that had belonged to a British soldier stationed there, hence the strange configuration.

The seller had the fairest prices I have seen in a long time. The plate, large bus stop and badges all cost me only £6.00

I also managed to find a couple of 12 meter rolls of stick on pinstripe at £1.00 each.

A great day out, photos are uploading, postin later.

[Grizz1963]

Right, I was asked to update with the pipes in the racks on one of the forums I frequent, so thought I would post the pics here to show where some of the stuff I make, ends up at.

Hope you guys approve of my wife's little habit/hobby

The collection started small and actually this was the first rack, bought for £3 at a bootfair two ears ago..... "No, it is too big, I only want a few pipes" weird how I knew it was not the end.

Looking from one side, some traditional African pipes with beadwork, there is one on the one shelf that is over 100 years old.

Tobacco was the first cash crop grown in North America.

Due to the extreme cost of tobacco, early pipe bowls were very small compared to today's average pipe bowl size.

Pipe smoking continues to be a habit/hobby of many today, but cigarettes tend to be more convenient.

Washington Duke started rolling cigarettes in 1865 and sold them to soldiers returning from the Civil war.

James Bonsack invented the cigarette making machine in 1881 and it could make 120000 cigarettes in a day.

He then went into business with Washington Duke's son, and they made 10 million cigarettes in their first year.



Looking from the other side

Some German pipes with decorated porcelain bowls



Front view. Some interesting Meerschaum pipes, including a £48 skull pipe on the bottom left shelf.



Upstairs on the landing, bookshelves have made place for the collection of pipes and also pipe smoking paraphernalia including tobacco jars, some Victorian and one even made of some of the timber off the original Waterloo bridge.

The new pipe racks, almost full as well.







All together now......




I trust you enjoyed that quick trip into my wife's mind.

[flashed]

Hey ,I like that journey into her mind ,very nice collection she has .

[rambler]

nice work on the racks..