# Hello from SW Ontario



## LeakyCanoe (Jan 16, 2022)

Gents - it's a little cold in the shop today to be playing with old cast iron so I thought I would do some arn surfing online instead.

I actually found this site almost 2 years ago now and tried to join then but ran into membership affirmation issues.  No acknowledgment email would ever come back as promised (yes, I checked my junk folder) ...  And so I would drift off and play elsewhere and occasionally come back and try again (to no avail).  Then this last time I tried it finally came - so voila !

Although I've always flown a desk for a living (hope to retire soon and join the _Big Quit_) I am a long time woodworker.  Loved the hand tools there and chasing and refurbing/refinishing antiques back in the day when that was all the rage and a couples thing to do.  That pulled me into woodworking machines, and of course that got me into machinery refurbing with a particular love for the vintage stuff.

My late father was a Millwright and I admit that I once thought that the grease and grime of metalworking was not for me.  But then over the last decade I've been pulled into it.  _Why ? _ Probably because the machines and the operating functionality of them are just so damn cool, for starters.  Especially the vintage ones.  While I have a full appreciation for CNC, 3D printers and code, etc. and how that is where you need to be to make a living, I have pure old-school leanings and DNA (although that won't stop me from considering a DRO on an old machine, etc.).  

So far, I've been in the accumulating phase of vintage machines and associated tooling.  I've bought and sold many pieces on the journey, and refurbed along the way.  This harkens me back to my antiquing days, and the quest for parts and missing accessories, etc. is all good fun to me.  The churn has also helped me fund this hobby.   It's way cheaper than restoring old cars. IMO.  Just not seen as cool by as wide an audience.  And my wife could care less and is worried about my plan if I clutch my chest and expire suddenly.  Joining this forum is probably a step in mitigating that risk, truth be told. Anyway I have friends and acquaintances all over North America through this hobby and have sourced a motor from Montana and sold a Rivett speedbox transmission to a buyer in Oregon.  All coming and going with the buddy system of "pottering and ruckering", as it's called over on the OWWM site where I think these things first became an organized thing.

On one machine fishing trip I ended up hooking a tuna and got pulled around central Ontario for about 5 years before getting most of it in the boat finally. Just getting my metal shop together now in the fall-out of that and with retirement looming I look forward to spending more time at this, and to sorting out just what I will keep and why.  Currently 5 metal lathes and 3 mills reside here with me now, along with 2 tool and cutter grinding machines, 2 metal shapers, a jig borer and many drill presses, a die grinder, etc, etc. Some of the heavy iron was originally line-shaft stuff converted over to single-phase.  I'm lucky in that I have gobs of tooling for most machines.  I learned early on that the spend on a machine can easily be doubled otherwise.  I also have a welder and torches and want to reclaim some of those fab-related skills, with have been dormant since high-school. Until just before the pandemic this was spread out across a couple of "ratholes" and that made it hard to gain ground.  Now it is all repatriated here, and the bones of my metalworking-specific shop is almost fleshed-out and nears completion.

So I look forward to interacting with you fellas and spending some more time on here as that unfolds.  For now, I'll probably mostly lurk and get a feel for how this site supplements the rest of the many forums and what it is I am looking for.  Being Canadian in focus, with many of you nearby, will certainly be a factor in that.  My love affair with the vintage machinery and refurbing those will certainly be an itch I am looking to scratch, and I haven't put the time in here yet to assess how many others here are into that.  

*What do I want to do with all this ? *   I get asked that all the time and it is hard to answer, since there are so many rabbit-holes to go down.  For now, I have considerable refurb and restoration ahead of me, along with a monumental sort-out and assessment of tooling and what to keep ultimately.  It may be just hobby machining or it could go into the model engineering side too.  I have a buddy who has made his own rose-engine lathe and ornamental turning and engraving interests me too.  If the machinery is cool, the product likely is too !

     cheers !    Leaky


----------



## ThirtyOneDriver (Jan 23, 2022)

Awesome read - I'm not sure how I missed it when you posted.

I used to rent a shop on the edge of Bright so I have some familiarity of the area; on of my groomsmen is still in Bright and he's only 20 or so minutes away (I'm in Cambridge near Klotz Automotive).

Welcome to the forum @LeakyCanoe!


----------



## LeakyCanoe (Jan 23, 2022)

thanks John - yes, we're not too far apart - I'm likely 35 mins. or so NE of you up and diagonally across the 401.  I've enjoyed following your posts so far and seeing the pics of you shop, etc.

I almost bought a home-built airplane based out of the small airfield near Bright awhile back.  My son was in air cadets and got his pilot's licenses (glider + power) and so we were exploring the neat scene there.  Much like with you & race cars, only a little more highly regulated and with more barriers to entry !

     Leaky


----------



## YYCHM (Jan 23, 2022)

Welcome from Calgary.


----------



## ThirtyOneDriver (Jan 23, 2022)

Mark - I was an air cadet at one point - I went the survival route but my peers went the flying route - it's an awesome opportunity to get power and glider licenses through but 20 years later I don't think any of those guys flew much (one exception but he tragically lost his life young so he's an outlier).  My sister has a friend somewhere around St. Agatha that has a plane and get's decent time in the air - I think he's been able to get some part-time contracts for government departments that need access to planes (dropping rabies tablets, taking pictures, using sensors to measure changes in terrain features, etc.).

I look forward to following along on some of your projects @LeakyCanoe.


----------



## Chip Maker (Jan 23, 2022)

Welcome from Peterborough Ont.!


----------



## LenVW (Jan 23, 2022)

Hi Mark.
I was a pilot back in the 1990s but have not flown since.
Home built Ultra-Lites have caught my eye in the past year.
I was an apprentice machinist 1980-84, but then the recession took me back to college and studying mechanical design. Many years of machine shops, process design and equipment building has brought me to the CHMW in 2021.
Many interesting people in this group.


----------



## deleted_user (Jan 23, 2022)

LeakyCanoe said:


> Gents - it's a little cold in the shop today to be playing with old cast iron so I thought I would do some arn surfing online instead.
> 
> I actually found this site almost 2 years ago now and tried to join then but ran into membership affirmation issues.  No acknowledgment email would ever come back as promised (yes, I checked my junk folder) ...  And so I would drift off and play elsewhere and occasionally come back and try again (to no avail).  Then this last time I tried it finally came - so voila !
> 
> ...





LeakyCanoe said:


> And my wife could care less and is worried about my plan if I clutch my chest and expire suddenly.  Joining this forum is probably a step in mitigating that risk, truth be told.
> 
> My love affair with the vintage machinery and refurbing those will certainly be an itch I am looking to scratch, and I haven't put the time in here yet to assess how many others here are into that.
> 
> cheers !    Leaky


Welcome Canoe... I can't go with leaky since it conjures up a different image for me...

We had very similar experience with this forum and share many things in common. I have been involved in wood working all my life, did the whole restoration thing. I got into machining both because my brother was a machinist but also because I got a few opportunities to restore old cast iron. I love it, but I never have the space to retain most of my projects. So good for you that you can.

My father in law was a Millwright and then wood working in his retirement until this past year, at 90 he decided he had to slow down. Now he just carves birds.

Finally I am sure that we all have spouses that worry about what to do with our toys when we pass away. I share my shop with my brother so for his GF things will be even more complicated.  We have made a lengthy inventory of our tools and included the values of each, and what MUST be sold only as lots in order to avoid having orphan accessories that only fit certain machines. 

We've gone so far as to provide detailed instructions in case an auctioneer needs to be hired and of all the forums and places we think the sale notices should be posted.  We have a list of a few close associates who share metalworking and live steam to offer deals too as well.  

We want to assure tools go into hands of users who appreciate them and that middle men and dealers dont scrape off all the cream and return a fraction of the value of our tools. I recommend everyone does something similar


----------



## LeakyCanoe (Jan 23, 2022)

hi Len,

We were looking at a used Challenger (the ultralight...not the business jet).  A 2 seater, powered by a prop-pusher Rotax snowmobile engine behind the cabin.  They are quite popular, and you can put floats and/or skiis on them too.  Not much to them at all, but the glide ratio is such that if the engine conks and you have to land-out your options are much better than being in a Cessna !   The guy who imports the new kits and sells/distributes them here in Canada is based up near Barrie at Edenvale airfield:

https://www.challenger.ca/

The airfield near us is run by the Lubitz family and it is pretty close to you over in Kitchener, and caters to these sorts of aircraft and that home-built scene.  These are also the same people that head-up the national UPAC association.  They are all very friendly folks and I encourage you to just wander over some day and take in the scene and the vibes.  You can start by checking them out a bit online first...their aerodrome is chronicled on their website:

https://upac.ca/who-we-are/

Thanks for reaching out...yet another handy guy to know here locally.  I think we may have enough here from the looks of it for our own little local gaggle down the 401 and west of the big-smoke Len !


----------



## deleted_user (Jan 23, 2022)

LeakyCanoe said:


> hi Len,
> 
> We were looking at a used Challenger (the ultralight...not the business jet).  A 2 seater, powered by a prop-pusher Rotax snowmobile engine behind the cabin.  They are quite popular, and you can put floats and/or skiis on them too.  Not much to them at all, but the glide ratio is such that if the engine conks and you have to land-out your options are much better than being in a Cessna !   The guy who imports the new kits and sells/distributes them here in Canada is based up near Barrie at Edenvale airfield:
> 
> ...


I looked at Challengers back in the day... when I went to uni in SK there was field I'd go to watch ultra lights fly that sparked my interest.


----------



## LenVW (Jan 23, 2022)

Lubitz Field is about 15 minutes from our house.
I stopped in there about 18 months ago and Ed Lubitz told me that Covid had shut down the ‘Saturday Morning’ meetings for local aviation enthusiasts.
I have not been back out to check on them lately.

Are they meeting up again now ?


----------



## LeakyCanoe (Jan 23, 2022)

Not sure Len - you've been there since I was last in there a couple of years pre-COVID.  Good you know about them though.  Maybe check out that website more ?

I did join UPAC and got their emails and magazines for a few years while my son was full-on into air cadets and aviation, etc. and we were exploring a father/son build project vs. buying a used UL aircraft but then life marched-on, he left home, and it fell off for him... and so it did for me too.  He is the pilot...not me (except he can't afford to fly) !  Should he fall back into it all someday, I'd love to re-explore some kind of joint-venture like that again.  I'll have a much better equipped shop too.


----------



## ThirtyOneDriver (Jan 23, 2022)

My buddy that owns Moto86 (near Wingham, just outside of Whitechurch) was selling Ultralights - I'm not sure if he still is.


----------



## LenVW (Jan 23, 2022)

There are a few ‘metal heads’ in the Kitchener-Cambridge corridor.
A few of us have mentioned about meeting up, 
With the lathes, mills and shapers you must have a large shop.

Are you near the Aberfoyle Mill Restaraunt ?

What is with the ‘Leaky‘ call sign ?  Are you a pump guy too ?


----------



## LenVW (Jan 23, 2022)

ThirtyOneDriver said:


> My buddy that owns Moto86 (near Wingham, just outside of Whitechurch) was selling Ultralights - I'm not sure if he still is.
> View attachment 20209


Hey, I have not been in Whitechurch since high school. We used to ‘gravel run’ the back roads North of Blyth all the time. High School was Central Huron S.S. In Clinton. 

@ThirtyOneDriver - John, seems to be quite the guy for acquiring equipment lately, and he is in the South of Cambridge.
Maybe he can check with his buddy and his ultra-lites.


----------



## LeakyCanoe (Jan 23, 2022)

LenVW said:


> With the lathes, mills and shapers you must have a large shop.
> 
> Are you near the Aberfoyle Mill Restaraunt ?
> 
> What is with the ‘Leaky‘ call sign ?  Are you a pump guy too ?


A)  they don't all fit in nicely...the herd is being culled now.  When you go fishing and hook a tuna sometimes things change fast on ya.

B)  not too far from there indeed

C)  It's actually *LeakyCanoe*.  "Leaky" for short.  _Why shorten it ?_  It suppose it Depends    !    It comes from a limerick ...  

_One night a young amorous Sioux

                    Had a date with a maiden he knioux;

                    The coroner found

                    The couple had drowned

                     Making love in a leaky canoe_

*Sioux Tools* (now part of Snap-On) was a vintage machinery outfit back in the day.  No special affinity for pumps ...


----------



## Susquatch (Jan 23, 2022)

I don't know how I missed your post either. Our forum software isn't bulletproof yet (as you already know) but the members are! 

Welcome from farm country south of Chatham Ontario. 

And thanks for the story. I enjoyed reading it!


----------



## LenVW (Jan 24, 2022)

LeakyCanoe said:


> A)  they don't all fit in nicely...the herd is being culled now.  When you go fishing and hook a tuna sometimes things change fast on ya.
> 
> B)  not too far from there indeed
> 
> ...


A scholar and a poet, who knew !!

I used to work for SIHI Vacuum Pump Systems in Guelph and there was a standing joke about piping 
circuit assemblers being LEAKY and designers being WETHEADS.

You are lucky to have some space, my basement room is limiting but cozy.


----------



## 6.5 Fan (Jan 24, 2022)

Welcome from SK. I also never saw your post till this morning.


----------



## trlvn (Jan 24, 2022)

LenVW said:


> Hey, I have not been in Whitechurch since high school. We used to ‘gravel run’ the back roads North of Blyth all the time. High School was Central Huron S.S. In Clinton.


Small world!  I went to high school in Wingham at F.E. Madill.  At one point, I was well-acquainted with gravel running on way too many of those back roads!

Craig


----------



## Susquatch (Jan 24, 2022)

LenVW said:


> You are lucky to have some space, my basement room is limiting but cozy.



Woah - an old fashioned drawing board! I love it! 

I can use CAD just fine but still prefer pencil and paper.


----------



## Susquatch (Jan 24, 2022)

6.5 Fan said:


> Welcome from SK. I also never saw your post till this morning.



I think the forum software burped again.....


----------



## LenVW (Jan 24, 2022)

trlvn said:


> Small world!  I went to high school in Wingham at F.E. Madill.  At one point, I was well-acquainted with gravel running on way too many of those back roads!
> 
> Craig


Craig - Were you from ‘Swinging Wingham’ ?
Everybody gets more familiar when they communicate.

I mention ‘gravel running’ to people from the GTA and they ask me . . . 
          Is that like track and field on a non-asphalt surface ?
Those were the days !!


----------



## trlvn (Jan 24, 2022)

LenVW said:


> Craig - Were you from ‘Swinging Wingham’ ?
> Everybody gets more familiar when they communicate.
> 
> I mention ‘gravel running’ to people from the GTA and they ask me . . .
> ...


"Swinging Wingham"?  No one ever described the town in those terms that I knew of!  There were some cute girls that went roller skating at the Howick Community Centre, though...

And, no, my hometown was Lucknow.  Which is on the dividing line between Huron and Bruce Counties but technically part of Bruce.  Nonetheless, Wingham is a lot closer than the high schools in Walkerton or Kincardine so they sensibly shipped us there.

Thank God that kids are a lot more sensible these days about driving drunk.  Kids that I knew died in car crashes at least 3 different times and yet we still did it damn near every weekend.  Hard to believe that we couldn't put 2 and 2 together.

Craig


----------



## LenVW (Jan 24, 2022)

I hear you Craig.
We could be pretty stupid as well, in our younger years.
I think we were just trying to keep up with the other kids.
I knew a couple of Central Huron S.S. acquaintances who also departed too early.

‘Swinging Wingham’ was the nickname for the FM station - 102 CKNX .   LOL

Hey did you get your mill out of the garage or is your wife’s car still in the lane ?


----------



## trlvn (Jan 24, 2022)

Yup, my round column is in the basement:






This picture is a couple of weeks old.  I've been trying to get going on a little project that will need the rotary table I picked up before Christmas.  That turned into making tee-nuts for the RT as well as studs to attach the RT to the mill's table.  With a sidetrack into a better tapping system for the lathe.  But I've actually made chips with both the mill and lathe!

Craig


----------



## LenVW (Jan 24, 2022)

trlvn said:


> Yup, my round column is in the basement:
> 
> View attachment 20279
> 
> ...


Looks good - Craig !!
Bright lighting and lots of elevated storage reduces the chance of small tooling being kicked under other pieces in the workshop. 
I am a strong supporter of an organized, well lit workshop.
A dingy space does nothing for the creative utilization of the tools you have on hand.
”Innovation shines in the light of day”


----------



## Chicken lights (Jan 24, 2022)

LenVW said:


> ‘Swinging Wingham’ was the nickname for the FM station - 102 CKNX .   LOL



THANK YOU!! Nobody’s ever been able to explain to me how Swingham got it’s nickname!!


----------



## trlvn (Jan 24, 2022)

I did listen to CKNX during high school.  In fact, I won two tickets to the premiere of Star Wars (the first one) plus a sound track album when I was the correct caller!  The radio/TV station was right next to the high school so I just walked over at lunch to pick up my winnings.  Pretty sure I still have the album.

Craig


----------



## LenVW (Jan 24, 2022)

I am pretty sure that I saw the original STAR WARS at the Park theatre on the Courthouse Square in Goderich. 
We might have been at the same show.

May the FORCE be with you !!


----------



## Degen (Jan 25, 2022)

LenVW said:


> A scholar and a poet, who knew !!
> 
> I used to work for SIHI Vacuum Pump Systems in Guelph and there was a standing joke about piping
> circuit assemblers being LEAKY and designers being WETHEADS.
> ...


I sure miss my old track arm, that was an old ONT Hydro unit from a friend of mines mom University days.


----------



## LenVW (Jan 25, 2022)

Degen said:


> I sure miss my old track arm, that was an old ONT Hydro unit from a friend of mines mom University days.


When Kellogg’s in London switched to Integraph CAD I was able to buy the track-arm.
Prior to the switch Kellogg’s laid out all their equipment designs on the board. There used to be 10 teams of Engineers, Designers and Procurement agents working on process flow (P&IDs) and planning schematics that were used as models for Kellogg’s plants all over NA.


----------

