What's old, still have and use?

[Consumer Products Guy]

OK, how many out there still have OPERATIONAL old stuff at lab or home?

At lab, we have a Sorvall SS-4 high-speed centrifuge about 50 years old that Sorval doesn't even claim as their model, and we still have the manual.

At home we still have two working turntables, stereo cassette recorders, and my two VWs I purchased used in 1972 and 1976 (the 1976 purchase was a 1971 Convertible). Convertible and '88 B2200 truck (my usual wheels) have cassette players. Also have all my LP records.
I also have a vise-grips I've had since 1962 that I actually "lost" twice (once on a rental VW clutch cable when I worked as a mechanic, and once underneath my convertible on a bolt for a month), a metal Stanley hammer from about 1962, a 1962 metal stapler, my 1960 Rawlings Trapeze TG-12 HOH glove, even a miniature golf free pass from 1959 (wonder if they're still in business, proabably a high-rise there now). My original metric combination wrenches are Penncraft (J.C. Penney) from 1971, the lifetime-guarantee lower cost alternative to Craftsman, and metric wasn't that common then. I have an electric drill with metal case, 3 prong plug, from before plastic double-insulated was invented and a soldering gun, and hacksaw, all about 35 years old and obtained with trading stamps from grocery store. I'm sure I'll remember more....

[juddc]

Old stuff?

My house was built in 1929, so it's getting old. It's been in my wife's family since about 1950.

I have my great grandfather's vice on my workbench, which was actually his workbench. I'd guess it's about 90-100 years old. This workbench was used in his custom hardware business - he made custom decorative brass items for the Vanderbilts and others. I still have a few Vanderbilt doorknobs.

Dad has his great granfather's Springflied "Trapdoor" rifle from about 1872, which is operational and was acquired approximately when he was given his 40 acres in Nebraska after his service during the Civil War. He also has some silver spoons that have been in his family since the mid 1700's (they have the names of his antecedents, the original owners, inscribed). I've scooped potatos with them.

My daily driver is a 1991 BMW.

Oldest thing in the lab? A Waters 600e pump from about 1990-1 and a Hitachi Fluorimeter from about 1988.

[gcguy]

My house was built in 1876, and my sons seem intent on breaking it. Still at least it keeps the rain off my head....almost.

GCguy

[WK]

I've still got some persimmon headed golf clubs with steel shafts which I will try out again for fun one day soon - good chance they'll crack though!
Dug out an old HP programmable calculator the other day (HP 33E).
Haven't got the adaptor to power it up though.
WK

[Schmitty]

I've still got some persimmon headed golf clubs with steel shafts which I will try out again for fun one day soon - good chance they'll crack though!
Dug out an old HP programmable calculator the other day (HP 33E).
Haven't got the adaptor to power it up though.
WK

Haha, that reminds me - I just threw out my old Titleists (1-3-5). The wood inserts in the 3 and 5 fell out, and the driver was soooo heavy.

[WK]

Schmitty,
I have 2 sets.
Ben Hogan (1&3) and MacGregor ("keyhole" inserts 1&3).
The MacGregors are great looking - I think Jack Nicklaus played them certainly 1970s possibly 1960s.
I hope they will be collectors pieces in years to come although a company in Wales were producing them again.
WK

[Consumer Products Guy]

The clubs I used after HS team, and for 15-20 years, were Dunlop Maxfli pro set, as flat on the back as on the hitting surface, long after most players had moved on to Ping-style heel and toe weighting; did shoot par twice with those, though. Then I updated to Tommy Armour irons, birdied first hole I used them and one other that day, but my rate of playing went way down due to commitments to my children. Currently, haven't played for four years, but did hit balls once in 2007.

Back to the old, still use my 1977-purchased cassette stereo recorder, turntable, and receiver, and of course still run my 1971 VW Convertible (purchase in 1976). That and my truck have cassette stereos.

[tom jupille]

I hope my wife thinks I fit that description.

[bob]

We are still using a Turner Flourometer from 1976. A HP GC from 1983 and a Fisher oven from 1976. The only thing older is me.

I Still use a screqwdriver pat"d in the late 1800's and bought in the 20's

[wave_man]

Pipe wrenches from the Plumb Company, ca. 1930's, now Plumb evolved to Rigid in the 40's or 50's I believe.

Live in a 1909 Craftsman in Spokane, pretty common age here on the lower South Hill.

Miss the root cellar in my last rental before buying, that was also a turn-of-the-century house. That is a feature rarely built-in by modern (read:crappy) developers. Apples bought in November would stay fresh into January, no problem.

Happily retired a bunch of 1907 (house took a while to finish building apparently) knob and tube wiring last month. Some antiquities I can do without. Found the original 1907 inspection tag that one of the past owners had plastered in (hid the panel essentially, to avoid upgrading). Sleeping better now, with a little less risk of burning down my mortgage payment.

What else... at work most stuff is fairly new in the context of this discussion. Company formed in 1996. Quality of stuff is what you would probably expect. I doubt anyone will be having this conversation about any of it in 75 years, not even my beloved MacBook Pro. Could be wrong.

wave_man

[gcguy]

I am still using the Fortieth Edition of the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (The Rubber Handbook) dated 1958. Boiling points haven't changed at all in all that time.

I would like to point out that contrary to popular belief I have not had it since new!!!

[Jade.Barker]

When I worked at the American Red Cross we had a "blood washing machine" that is from the early 70s. It actually has to be programed with pins in a grid of holes. It is used to break some proteins off of blood cells to make it sort of hyo-allergenic. Get this, it is an IBM... back when they made medical instruments.

It basically has a donut shaped centrifuge, and an area with 4 pinching valves. You use a speciality blood bag that looks like a donut with a belly button attached to a spider of tubes, plus a tube to a waste bag. You put the donut portion in the centrifuge, keep the tubes out, then hang the waste bag on the side. Then spike the free tubes into blood unit and saline bags. The tubes are placed in the pinch valves, the full bags are hung up high.

Basically the blood drains into the donut, then some saline. It swishes back and forth for a while. Then it spins to pack the blood cells against the side. The center liquid is pushed out into the waste, but stops before it throws the "baby out with the bathwater". This repeats a few times then you seal the donut belly button tube shut and remove the donut. Then you spike a transfer bag on and drain the washed blood into the actual bag that goes to the hospital for transfusion.

This is the process for blood transfused to babies in uetero. Plus some other very ill people. Who ever invented that contraption should get an award. I'm amazed it works at all. They bought a newer machine that has a built in computer controller, but honestly? The units fail the quality control much more often.

[oncoming storm]

You want old stuff you can take a look at my lab.
We have:
A waters 625 system that I'm expected to use and it takes me an entire day just to get it running well enough to have a stable pressure. We won't talk about the injection system
An HP 5890 GC (manual injection) that I love . These things seem to run forever.
A Buchi 320 distiller that is literally held together with rubber bands, currently in use.
An Alltech 528/550/1000 conductivity analyzer that I don't think anyone has ever really used.
A 4 slot IEC centrifuge
And waaaaaay too many chemicals that are beyond their expiration dates. I've found stuff from 1973.
The problem our lab has is we have a couple of senior chemists who can't throw stuff away. The company has made us start getting rid of it and they are not taking it well.
Anyone know what to do with several dozen hollow cathode tubes for an old AA instrument?

[Peter Apps]

Oncoming Storm,

You will know that you have a real pack rat if you find in a drawer, as I have, a container with a neatly hand written label saying "busted lamp, to be thrown away" .

Peter

[oncoming storm]

Peter,

I have found a few of those. I also spent 2 months scanning data from as early as the 1970s onto disks. One of my coworkers told me "you never know when someone wants to look at data from 1974" and he was serious!