 | May 5, 2008—Ten new photos of the Stearman aircraft model now in progress
were added to the new page of model maker Ken Foran. |
 | May 2, 2008—After seeing the work of Ken Foran
on various internet sites devoted to models of WW1 aircraft, we gave him a
call. He came to our show booth at the recent
NAMES show in Toledo and
displayed a couple of his models, and they are truly works of art. After
seeing them in person there was no doubt we wanted to share them with other
craftsmen. Take a look--you will see why. |
 | April 30, 2008—A huge new exhibit was just added to the
physical museum in Vista, CA. Paul and Paula
Knapp were kind enough to put on loan for the coming year a large portion of
their engine collection. Included are over 50 engines of various designs from
singles to rotary engines to V-4, 4-8 and V-12 engines, diesels, horizontally
opposed, outboards and hit-n-miss engines. Also added was a 1/3 scale 1854
Smith & Wesson "Volcanic" lever action pistol made by 2006 Craftsman of the
Year, David Kucer. If you haven't been to the
museum lately, now would be a good time. |
 | April 10, 2008—The engine block on the Howell V4
project has has the fixture holes and extra metal removed so it now
has the classic "V" shape. The original 6.32 pound block of 7075 aluminum has
now been reduced in weight by 77% over the past almost seven months. It now
weighs just 1.42 lb. See the latest progress photos at the bottom of the V4
engine page. |
 | April 8, 2008—In addition to the clocks he is best known for,
William R. Smith is also a HAM radio operator
and a collector and maker of telegraph keys. He has recently completed some
very tiny speed keys, the "Minikey" and the "Nanokey" that push the
boundaries
of miniaturization while still offering full functionality. See his page for
details on several of his unusual telegraph keys. |
 | March 20, 2008—On the Howell V4 page, a
video of Jerry Howell's prototype engine running has been added. The link is
near the top of the page. At the bottom of the page are the latest additions
to the project—an air cleaner by Dave Eggert and the front cover that Tom just
completed. |
 | March 13, 2008—For a long time we have been hoping to add
Gary Conley of "Conley V-8" fame to the web site.
When you read his page you can see why it has taken a while. Making a living
producing a small production gas engine in your home shop is not a job that
leaves you a lot of spare time for writing and photos. Add a tragic foundry
fire that destroys years of your hard work and you have to be pretty
determined to stick with it. Luckily for those who love the sound of a 1/4
scale V-8 Gary has stuck with it, and this new page chronicles the development
of his latest V-8, the Stinger 609. |
 | March 10, 2008—A few new parts have been completed for the
V4 Engine project. Dave Eggert sent photos of
himself and the air cleaner cover he built for the engine. Also, Tom Boyer and
Fred Smittle have finished some of the timing gears. |
 | February 26, 2008—For those of you following Lou
Chenot's Duesenberg build, eight new photos of the progress on the
bodywork and interior have just been added to his page. This amazing project
is reaching the final stages and almost ready for paint. |
 | February 20, 2008—Two new photos of the completed distributor have been
added to the Howell V4 build page. In
addition, the page for Clarence "Clarry" Dawson
has been recreated in the Model Engineering (Steam
Engines) section. After his death in 2005, his tools and his large
collection of interesting engines was sold at auction. We feel the engines
themselves are interesting, and the disposition of his life's work poses some
interesting questions for other craftsmen to ponder. |
 | February 15, 2008—Will Neely just sent
photos of his latest hotrod model, and they have been added to his page. It's
a stripped down, Offy powered dry lake racer from the early days of hotrodding. |
 | February 13, 2008—Be prepared for a departure from the usual subject
matter when you visit the page of Tatjana van Vark.
Yes, you will see superb craftsmanship, but it is applied to objects that are
not your usual machining projects. They include cipher machines, an improved
version of the ancient Antikythera Mechanism with attached Hypothetical
Planatarium and scientific instruments you will recognize (and some you
won't). You will probably want to follow the link to her own site to learn
even more. Tatja was a research problem-solver for industry and the military
for many years and now builds and improves on the scientific instruments that
interest and challenge her. While some of us might restore a vintage steam
engine or automobile, she has reconstructed entire telephone/telex relay
switching complexes and bomber computer navigational/radar systems in her own
home. Her expertise extends to many areas, and you will be challenged to think
as you enjoy the beautiful workmanship that went into each piece. The unique
quality of this work has also created the need for a new section on
Scientific Instruments and Models to be added to the
museum. |
 | February 12, 2008—It is with great pleasure that we announce that the
winner of the Joe Martin Foundation's Metalworking
Craftsman of the Year for 2008 is Ron
Colonna of McKeesport, PA. Ron already has a page in the museum web
site, so his work will already be familiar to those who have visited there. If
you haven't, please click on the linked name to take a look at his work. In
honor of his selection several new photos were just added to that page
including those of his contest winning Whizzer motorbike, plus his V-twin
motorcycle engine, his Hercules and his current project, the Novi V8.
Ron will display his engines and be on hand to accept his gold medallion and $2000.00 cash award
at the Foundation's booth at the
North American Model Engineering Society Expo in Toledo, OH April 19-20,
2008. |
 | February 7, 2008—A photo of the brass distributor spark advance arm has
been added to the V4 engine page. |
 | January 30, 2008—Who makes the "World's Smallest Steam Engine?" See
Jerry Kieffer's page for photos of the latest
addition to our museum in Vista, CA thanks to a donation from Jerry. Another
donation by Denny Bevis of Oceanside, CA has added a Cox .020 "Pee Wee" engine
to our model engine collection. Along with the engine were a spare glow plug,
three props and an "Engine Starting Kit," all new in the box and unopened.
Also just updated is the Howell V4 project page to
include the photos of Tom's finished distributor housing cover. |
 | January 29, 2008—New photos of the kick start mechanism for
Jerry Kieffer's 1/8 scale Harley Davidson have
been added to his page. Also, a new photo has been added to
Michael Dunlap's page showing car
owners Jeff Gordon and Rick Hendrick with Michael and Nextel Cup winner Jimmy
Johnson as Jimmy poses with the award. |
 | January 25, 2008—Another addition to the Vista museum arrived today from
Michael Dunlap. He has sent us an
electroformed Penske/Dallara body to display along with the NASCAR Dodge body.
This unpolished body illustrates a middle step between the mold itself and the
polished, semi-finished Dodge. A photo of the finished trophy which was
presented to Helio Castroneves for winning the 2002 Indy 500 in this car is
also included so you can see the final results of Michael's work. |
 | January 23, 2008—A new was added today on
Guillermo Rivera of San José, Costa Rica. Guillermo started building
model cannons at age 14 and 50 years later is still adding to his collection.
Visit the model making section to see his work. |
 | January 22, 2008—Michael
Dunlap, builder of the Gold Car Trophies presented each year by
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company to the winner of the top NASCAR division
has recently donated molds and a sample body in progress for display in the
Vista museum. They are now on display, and a photo of the car and display have
been added to his page. Also, at his suggestion we duplicated some of the "in
progress" photos from his own site so you can better see what goes into the
making of one of these masterpieces that become the possessions of only the
world's best drivers. |
 | January 15, 2008—Two photos of Larry Simon's
Manitowoc crane have been added that include Larry himself scaled down to 1/32
scale to illustrate its size. The Links page
was also updated to include a source for extremely tiny brass and stainless
steel nuts and bolts for modelers. |
 | January 11, 2008—The page featuring the 2006 opening of the museum has
been recreated to cover all articles and press coverage of the museum and
Foundation. It can now be found HERE. Links to scans
of the articles are included. A list of other articles about the Foundation
and its craftsmen is also included. |
 | January 8, 2008—A new link was added to the LINKS
page. I won't even try to explain this one. You just have to visit
www.tatjavanvark.nl and judge for
yourself. This one's way out there... |
 | January 7, 2008—Over the weekend a nice article by Matt Rodriguez was
printed in the San Diego Union Tribune about the museum. See
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080105/news_1mi5muse.html for
a link to the on-line version. Also, Roger Ronnie's completed 1/2 scale
1910 Lefever 10-gage shotgun can now be seen on
his gun page. |
 | January 3, 2008—Two new photos of the latest progress on the
Howell V-4 engine have been added showing the
fins cut in the heads. Two photos were also added to
Roger Ronnie's page on miniature guns showing the tiny gold inlaid
lettering on the barrel after bluing. |
 | December 12, 2007—Thanks to contributions to Bill Brown historian Jack S.
Conrad, I have been able to add a number of new images to
Bill Brown Junior's engine page. Included also
is an old Brown Junior company newsletter and plans of some early engines as
well as some photos of Bill in his shop in the 1970's. |
 | December 7, 2007—If you get the Micro-Mark tool catalog you may already
have seen the work of Will Neely. One of his
race car models was featured on the cover of the Early Fall 2007 issue. Now
you can learn a lot more about him and see some of the many cars this
professional model maker has done over the years for his own pleasure. Will's
page marks the 60th addition to the museum. |
 | December 7, 2007—Several new photos of CO2 Engines designed by
Bill Brown IV have been added to his page. |
 | November 26, 2007—I had been waiting for a photo of the builder standing
in front of his model, but rather than hold up the whole page just for that,
we are introducing the work of Larry Simon, our
Monday volunteer at the museum. Larry started on a 1/32 scale model of a giant
Manitowoc Lift Crane many years ago. It took him many years to complete it,
and he recently brought it out, reassembled it and donated it to the museum,
where it is now on display. You can examine it on-line, though and learn how
he built it by visiting his new page. As soon as we can get a photo of Larry
next to his crane, we will add that too. |
 | November 20, 2007—Just in time for Thanksgiving, a historically
significant page has just been added. Bill Brown IV
is credited with being the first to build a practical gas IC engine that could
power a flying model in the 1930's. Later on, motors from the Brown Junior
Motors Company were among the first in the hobby. Thanks to a history from the
site of the Academy of Model
Aeronautics and engine photos from Tim Dannels of the
Model Engine Collector's
Journal, we have just added this new page to the section on
early model engine innovators. |
 | November 16, 2007—Two videos have been added to
Harold Manwaring's page showing the wooden
steam locomotive in action. Thanks to Veronica Cooper for sending them to us.
The links are hear the bottom of the page in the photo section. |
 | November 9, 2007—The museum has grown to the point we felt it would be a
good idea to add a page with an alphabetical
listing of all the members along with a brief description of what they
do. It's another way for you to find somebody you are looking for. |
 | November 8, 2007—Jerry Kieffer's page had
become so large we finally split it into 6 separate sections to highlight the
various areas of his craftsmanship. His page now leads to a sub-menu that goes
to the various sections. The pages have also been updated and a number of new
photos added. If you haven't been there in a while, be sure and review the new
layout. |
 | November 8, 2007—A PowerPoint slide show
has been added with a link from the home page. It will cycle through some of
the best projects in the museum to give you an idea of what you will find
there. if you don't have the Microsoft PowerPoint program, you can still
download a free viewer so you can view PowerPoint presentations. To do so,
CLICK HERE or do a Google search for "free PowerPoint viewer." We will
soon be adding additional slide shows to pages of some of the more prolific
craftsmen as another way to view their work. If you wish to view the show full
screen rather than in a web browser window, right click on the slide image and
choose "save file as" to save the file to your desktop or wherever you choose.
Then open it using PowerPoint or your free viewer program to see it full
screen. |
 | October 28, 2007—Six new photos have been added to
Roger Ronnie's gunsmithing page that show the progress of the engraving on
his 1/2 size Lefever shotgun. |
 | October 24, 2007—Jerry Howell and his work
have now been included in the Model Engineering section. Although he is
included in the Internal Combustion Engines
section, he has also built steam and Stirling engines as well. Visit his new
page to learn a little about this prolific craftsman who not only builds
engines but now provides kits and plans so you can too. |
 | October 9, 2007—Jerry Howell and his wife drove down from Colorado Springs
to visit the museum. Jerry brought by the prototype of the V-4 engine we are
building as a shop project. See the latest photos of Jerry's visit and Tom's
progress on the Howell V-4 page. |
 | October 5, 2007—Two additions today: 1. Five new photos of Roger Ronnie's
progress on engraving the 1/2 size 1910 Lefever shotgun were added to his
Engraving Page as well as his
Gunsmithing Page. 2. Six new photos of the
progress of Howell V-4 shop project were
added as Tom takes the block from a billet of 7075 aluminum to what is
starting to look like a V-4 block with the first bank of cylinder holes bored
to size. |
 | September 11, 2007—A new craftsman has been added to the
Wooden Projects section of the museum. Former
railroad employee Harold Manwaring of NSW,
Australia built a model steam locomotive from wood. It is not just a good
looking model, however. It actually runs on compressed air, the pistons and
valve gear duplicating the function of a real steam engine. Even the piston
rings are made from wood. If you appreciate fine woodworking and also like
steam engines, you will find this project satisfying on both levels. |
 | September 4, 2007—A new page has been added to document the progress of
our latest engine project. Joe and Tom have decided to build the
Howell V-4 as the museum's next shop project.
Plans have been ordered, but you can see what this good-looking engine will
look like, as we have included photos from designer and builder Jerry Howell's
web site. Like the recently completed Seal engine project, a number of the
parts for this engine will be built by volunteer model engineers around the
country (and world?). See the page for details on how you can become involved
in this project. Even though you may not have the time or tools to build a
complete internal combustion engine, you can contribute a part and be forever
associated with the eventual success of the engine that will remain on display
in the Foundation's museum. |
 | August 31, 2007—After looking further into the plans of the Hoglet
Joe has decided we would continue to look for a more challenging project.
Although we will definitely make some of the key parts in our own shop, other
parts may be available for a group build again as was done on the
Seal engine recently completed. Once we have made a
final selection on the engine to be built we will post an announcement here,
so STAY TUNED! |
 | August 31, 2007—New photos of Roger Ronnie's
latest project were just added to his page in the miniature gun making
section. Roger has modeled a 1910 Lefever 10 gauge shotgun at 1/2 size. After
about 1200 hours of work the gun is now complete and the engraving has been
started. It may take even longer than making the gun, but you can at least see
the fine job he did on the wood and metal pieces. |
 | August 23, 2007—NEXT ENGINE PROJECT. Now that the Seal project is pretty
much completed, we are ready to move on to another challenge for the museum
shop. Joe has decided that the next engine will be the Hoglet V-twin featured
in Model Engine Builder. This particular project will not be a group
build like the Seal. The group participation concept worked great, but on a
simpler engine like this Joe wanted to control all parts in our own shop both
to speed up the project and so that we can better document each setup. We will
be using tabletop machine tools on all parts possible as well to show what can
be done with relatively small and inexpensive but accurate equipment. Watch
for a new page to be started on the project as soon as we get material and get
started. We still plan to build other projects in the future that will invite
the participation of others. |
 | August 21, 2007—VOLUNTEER SOUGHT! The Foundation is looking for someone
with skills with a 3D modeling program like SolidWorks or SolidEdge to help
create 3D drawings for parts to be cast in our Z-Corp 3D printer. If you know
of anyone who would like to be involved with the museum and can contribute
time to document engines and other projects that will eventually be build by
the Foundation craftsmen, please contact Craig Libuse at
Craig@craftsmanshipmuseum.com
or call (800) 541-0735 to discuss the position. |
 | August 17, 2007—The Seal engine is now fully operational. Minor tuning
issues have been resolved and a video was just posted on the
Seal Engine Page showing Tom firing it up with a
twist of the flywheel and operating the idle adjustment and throttle. Now it's
on to the next project--possibly the "Hoglet" V-twin, the plans for which are
featured in the current issue of
Model Engine Builder
magazine. |
 | August 17, 2007—The LINKS page has been
updated to include a listing of magazines available to model builders and
model engineers. |
 | August 17, 2007—A very fine miniature lathe only 9" long has been added to
the collection of machines from the past.
Donated by pen restoration manufacturer, Peter Amis the tiny lathe is most
likely a patent model submitted many years ago along with a patent
application. |
 | July 23, 2007—The Seal "First Pop" on July 21st was a partial success.
"Close, but no cigar" is what Joe had to say. To read about the event in more
detail see the bottom of the Seal Engine Page. We
have a few details to iron out and will make a second attempt soon. As soon as
it is running better we will post more video. |
 | July 19, 2007—The newest addition to the museum was placed in the "Metalworking
as Art" section today. John Gargano found
a love for machining metal early in life but had to put off fulfilling his
dreams for many years. After 20 years as an architect he finally bought a
Bridgeport mill and started doing what he had dreamed of since architecture
school—sculpt metal into precise forms. We recommend all craftsmen read his
story from beginning to end as well. He has made some very significant
observations that will probably strike a chord with many other craftsmen. |
 | July 18, 2007—The address for the webcast of the first running of the Seal
engine has been updated. It is now
http://sherline.web2cam.com. Time is still 10 AM (Pacific), July 18, 2007.
(See message below.) |
 | July 18, 2007—A couple of updated photos of the Seal engine mounted to
it's new wooden base were added to the Seal Engine Page. |
 | July 16, 2007—FIRST POP" OF THE SEAL ENGINE will be
webcast live at 10 AM (Pacific), Saturday, July 21, 2007. Tune
to
http://sherline.web2cam.com to see the streaming video webcast from our "SealCam."
(Pacific time is GMT minus 7 hours.) This represents the culmination of a
year's work by Tom Boyer and all the other builders who made parts for the
engine.For more on the engine project, see the Seal
Engine Page. In case you miss the event, photos will be posted on the Seal
page on Monday, July 23rd. (Please note this address changed on July 18th.
This is the current address. If you made the old address a favorite, please
replace it with this one.) |
 | July 13, 2007—The Foundation has just presented a second
"Lifetime Achievement Award" for 2007. This time the
recipients are the publishing team of Robert and
Frances Washburn, who published the popular and informative
Strictly IC magazine through 84 issues. Strictly IC was an
important force in bringing many builders of MICE (Miniature Internal
Combustion Engines) together from around the world to share their hobby and
exchange information. Robert and Frances have received a check for $500.00 and
an award plaque which Robert says now hangs in the living room below his many
military awards and decorations. |
 | July 10, 2007—The Seal engine now has spark. We're almost ready to fire it
up for the first time. See the Seal Engine Page
for the latest update and a tentative time for the webcast of the "First Pop"
of the engine. |
 | July 10, 2007—Two new tools have been added to the
Vintage Tool Collection: both by toolmaker
Phil Gerrard. Phil donated a machine vise he made plus a special rotary
indexer he designed and built to do special marking projects when he worked
for Bell & Howell. (Listed alphabetically under "Gerrard.") |
 | June 14, 2007—How about something a little different? We have opened a new
section called "Unusual Projects and Skills" with
the introduction of Daniel White, who is a
maker of micro flint-knapped points or arrowheads. Daniel works under a
microscope and chips the stone points as they have been done since
pre-historic times--only MUCH smaller. We think you will find the projects in
this section both interesting and different. Miniature craftsmanship comes in
many forms, and we will be highlighting some of them in this section in the
future. |
 | June 8, 2007—The Model Engineering section gains another masterpiece with
the addition of Louis Chenot's 1932 Duesenberg SJ—a
project in progress. Rather than wait until it is done, we thought it would be
interesting to catch up on the last six years Lou has devoted to this
spectacular 1/6 scale miniature automobile and then follow along as we
periodically update his page with progress toward final completion. The
bodywork is now being pounded out and the struggle is on to get the tiny
32-valve, twin cam, 12-cylinder engine to run. Bookmark this page and keep
checking back for updates! |
 | May 31, 2007—Meet Ingvar Dahlberg of
Sweden and see the 40% scale 1910 Mercer Raceabout he built totally from
scratch. This project also ushers in a new section in the museum. The
Model Engineering section is now divided into four
parts, with "Model Engineering Masterpieces" being
the fourth section. Ingvar's project joins those of Pierre Scerri and Jerry
Kieffer, and there is another in progress that will be added soon. |
 | May 24, 2007—Photos of the latest miniature carbine created by
Antonio Rincon have been added to the beginning
of the photo section of his page. This .18 caliber rifle features a wealth of
gold high relief carving and ivory inlays. |
 | May 17, 2007—Photos of Iqbal Ahmed's
contest winning Sherline lathe and mill models have been added to his page,
along with a photo of him presenting the lathe to Joe Martin for display in
the Foundation's museum. |
 | May 14, 2007—Prolific Steam Punk inventor
I-Wei has added another incredible flight of fantasy to his growing
army of steam powered robots. The Turbine Steam Tank uses a Jensen
steam turbine and a clever set of gears to power it. A link to more photos and
a video is also provided. |
 | May 10, 2007—New photos have been added to the Seal
Engine page showing the nearly completed engine in assembled form. |
 | May 1, 2007—New photos, a video and more information about
Pierre Scerri have been added to his page in the
Model Engineering section. After spending the weekend with him at the NAMES
show, we were able to add some interesting new items to his page. |
 | April 26, 2007—On Sunday, April 23rd at the NAMES show in Toledo, the
Foundation announced a $5000 scholarship program for young artisans wishing to
pursue a career in metalworking trades. To read the rules for winning this
scholarship CLICK HERE. The
initial funds have been contributed by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous,
but the funds will be administered by the Foundation. Additional tax
deductible contributions to this worthy fund are welcomed. |
 | April 12, 2007—Thanks to the efforts of Jim Clark, a collection of
Model Engineer magazines put together by Stirling Dourghtey of
Sugarland, Texas has been added to the Foundation's library. The collection is
complete from the first issue in 1898 through 2002. Many of the years are in
hardbound form. We now have a subscription, but would like to fill in the
collection from 2003 to present. Anyone wishing to donate issues of Model
Engineer from that period please get in contact with Craig Libuse at
craig@craftsmanshipmuseum.com.
The current back issue price from the publisher is $5.00 each, so we could
provide documentation for the IRS for that amount as a tax deduction due to
our 501(c)(3) status under the US Tax Code. If you would like your issues to
be preserved as part of our library and to get a tax deduction for them too,
please keep the Foundation in mind. By the way, we also now have a complete
collection of all 84 issues of Strictly IC magazines as well.
Back issues of Strictly IC are still available from the publisher,
Robert Washburn at www.strictlyic.com. |
 | April 11, 2007—For those who enjoy the "Steam Punk" work of robot builder
I-Wei, see his page for two new projects:
R2S2, which is a twin steam engine powered version of the R2D2 robot
from Star Wars and also a new Steam Beetle with moveable wings
running on an R/C truck chassis. |
 | April 11, 2007—Kozo Hiraoka has just published
his latest book on building steam locomotives. It is entitled Building the
New Shay and is available from
Village Press. A photo of the cover of the book has been added to his page
in the museum. |
 | March 28, 2007—Seal Engine Progress! Tom
is doing final assembly on the short block. The pistons, rods, crank, valves
and camshaft are installed. New photos have been added along with links to two
short videos of the pistons and valves being run in using a Sherline lathe for
power. |
 | March 26, 2007—We've received many compliments on the fine miniature truck
models built by Joe Enriquez. Over the
winter he completed a Kenworth C-500B that has just been added to his page. It
is worth taking a look at. |
 | March 26, 2007—Roger Ronnie sent final photos of the two Bergmann
pistols—the full size restored original and the 1/2 size model. New grips have
been carved from ironwood and hand checkered to match the original pattern,
completing the project. See Roger's gunsmithing page
for the latest photos. |
 | March 6, 2007—Ron Chernich has been
added to the AWARDS page as a winner of the
Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award
for 2007. Ron has devoted a great amount of time and energy to create an
outstanding web site for model engine builders at
www.modelenginenews.org. Take a
look at the awards page for more on this energetic Australian's
accomplishments. |
 | March 6, 2007—Engraver and gunsmith Roger Ronnie
has been working on a new project: a 1/2 scale model of a rare Lefever
shotgun. To see the first photos of this work in progress see his page in the
gunsmithing section. |
 | February 21, 2007—Just added to the Model Making
section is a page on William Gould of
Fallbrook, CA. Bill came to our attention as the builder of a wonderful model
of a famous telescope from 1823, but it turned out his talents extended far
beyond that. His background was as a professional modeler in the aerospace and
model railroad industries but his interests extend from unusual musical
instruments to engines and clocks. Most recently he took up 3D CAD drawing and
has been bringing back to life in virtual form some of the great inventions
from the past. He calls it "Industrial Archiology," and he has taken his
talent in working with the program SolidWorks® from student to award winner in
a fairly short time. Check out his shop, his models, his CAD artwork
accomplishments as well as a really thoughtful essay on craftsmanship on his
new page. |
 | February 16, 2007—Here's a new page with a real "WOW" factor. Don't miss
viewing the work of Pierre Scerri of Avignon,
France if you like cars in general and Ferrari's in particular. Pierre's 1/3
scale Ferrari 312 PB is functional in
every way and took 15 years to construct. It has recently become famous on the
Internet as many bloggers forwarded copies of photos and videos of the car
around the web. In addition to adding Pierre to the musuem, Joe Martin has
selected him as the Foundations 2007 Metalworking Craftsman of the Year.
Pierre will attend the North
American Model Engineering Society Expo in Toledo, Ohio in April to
receive his $2000 award and will be bringing the Ferrari model with him. Make
plans to attend the show and meet Pierre in person and share this rare chance
to see this one-of-a-kind car in America. |
 | February 7, 2007—The Seal Engine page has
been updated to reorganize the builders and their projects to make it easier
to see who built what. |
 | January 10, 2007—We are proud to introduce a new craftsman to the museum,
and one not easily classified at that. His work actually fits into two
categories: woodcarving and gunsmithing. Robert A.
Talbot of Encounter Bay, South Australia has created quite a
collection of historically significant revolvers carved entirely in wood.
These full size replicas have functioning parts and even springs made from
wood. The models are detailed down the smallest screw and are displayed with
carved bullets and full presentation cases. They are notable for the choice of
woods, quality of carving and also for their accuracy historical significance.
Because of this the page is linked from both the
woodcaving opening page and the gunsmithing
opening page. |
 | December 13, 2006—13 more photos of the work of miniature gunsmith
Antonio Rincón have been added to his section.
These include his models of various cannons and siege weapons from history. |
 | December 8, 2006—Thanks to many more photos and related descriptions sent
in by Mr. Jim Hamer Sanchez, a friend of
Antonio Rincón we have added more photos of Mr.
Rincón's
miniature gunsmithing work. |
 | December 5, 2006—A new craftsman has been added to the
Gunsmith section of the museum.
Antonio Rincón has produced quite an extensive
collection of miniature weaponry in his studio in Bogota, Columbia. We hope to
be adding more photos and descriptions to his page soon. |
 | December 5, 2006—Seal Engine progress
photos of the gear lapping process and latest shots of the block with the
camshaft installed were added. |
 | November 20, 2006—Bill Gould was kind enough to dig though his back issues
of The Model Engineer magazine from England and come up with
three of the articles that covered the building of the Seal Engine. See The
Seal Engine page for copies of the articles. |
 | November 9, 2006—The Seal Engine group
building project is coming along nicely. Check out the 3D CAD drawings and
photos of the parts that have been made so far. The eventual intent is to try
to do a live webcast of the initial firing of the engine. Watch this page for
updates. |
 | October 27, 2006—Joe Enriquez sent in
some photos of his latest model, a Talbert tag trailer, and they have been
added to his miniature truck model page. |
 | October 26, 2006—A number of new photos documenting the progress of the
team build of the Seal Engine have been
added. Also, a video of the cam being ground using Joe Martin's specially
developed CNC cam grinder has been added. |
 | October 26, 2006—A photo from 1957 of Jaures Garofali has been added to
the Super Tigre page along with comments
from the person who visited the factory and met him at that time, Dave
Harding. |
 | October 3, 2006—Roger Ronnie has
completed both the restoration and engraving of the full size 1896 Bergmann
pistol and the 1/2 size model. Photos of the finished pair have been added to
his page on gunsmithing. |
 | October 3, 2006—In an effort to make the model engineering section a
little easier to navigate we have divided it into three sections. You can see
what they are and get to each section from the opening page of the
Model Engineering Section. |
 | September 29, 2006—Chuck Hoggarth of
Michigan has been added to the section on Wooden
Mechanical Projects (formerly wooden toymakers). Chuck's large wooden
construction vehicles impress with both size and quality. |
 | September 27, 2006—The Links page has been
updated to include other museums that craftsmen might find interesting in the
area near Vista, CA. |
 | September 14, 2006—Completed just in time to be shown at the Black Hills
Model Engineering show in South Dakota, Roger Ronnie
has sent final photos of the 1/2 scale Bergmann pistol. |
 | September 11, 2006—Joe Enriquez makes
truck models...very small and detailed ones. See his new page in the
Model Making section to view some of the models
with scratch-built trailers. Included are some shots of parts under
construction too. |
 | August 28, 2006—Multi-talented Roger Ronnie, winner of the
Foundation's 2004 Craftsman of the Year award has moved into new territory
with the construction of a miniature gun. Although the project is being
covered in addition to his other work on his engraving
page we also felt it merited a page in the
gunsmithing section, as people interested in miniature guns might not
otherwise find it in the museum. Visit either or both pages to see Roger's 1/2
size 1896 Bergmann pistol as it moves near to completion. |
 | July 25, 2006—The Seal Engine Project has
begun! We are inviting model engineers from around the world to participate in
the building of this 4-cylinder internal combustion engine. Each person who
builds a component that becomes part of the running engine will be credited in
the display when the engine is completed and run in the Craftsmanship Museum.
Click on the page link above to learn how you can be a part of the build
group. |
 | July 14, 2006—The FACILITY page has been
updated to announce the addition of craftsman and tool maker Tom Boyer to our
staff. He will be working on projects in the museum shop and hosting tours for
visitors. |
 | June 21, 2006—Links to two video clips from the 2006 RoboGames showing
I-Wei's award winning "Steam Walker" robot in
action have just been added to his page. |
 | June 20, 2006—A third gunsmith has been added to the museum,
Xu Yan of mainland China. His miniature replicas of
significant historic firearms have a difference—they actually fire accurate
projectiles, but without the use of gunpowder in order to meet Chinas strict
regulations regarding how much power a miniature gun can produce. His models
have won several awards at shows in China. |
 | June 8, 2006—A page on the Grand Opening
Celebration of our new on-site museum has just been added. |
 | June 8, 2006—A C.S. Carlstrom watchmaker's bow lathe has been added
to the machine tool collection. |
 | May 4, 2006—Young C. Park recently donated
his just-completed 1/16 all aluminum P-51 Mustang model to the museum. Ninteen
new photos have just been posted on his page. Don't miss this one! This is the
jewel of the Foundation's collection. |
 | May 1, 2006—A new project by Barry Jordan
has been added to his page, and it's not at all what you would expect. |
 | April 11, 2006—For a little something different, see the new section on
the steam powered robots by inventor and animator I-Wei
Huang. Visit the links to his own site to see some of these
imaginative creations in action. |
 | April 3, 2006—A new room has just been opened on automotive model maker
Michael Dunlap. Mike has the honor of making the
gold plated scale model of the NASCAR winner's car each year that is presented
by GoodYear at the NASCAR awards banquet. He also makes IndyCar trophy models
and other unique gold-plated vehicles. His works grace the trophy shelves of
the top names in auto racing. |
 | March 27, 2006—The Foundation is pleased to announce that we have just
received the generous donation of the second aluminum Corsair model built by
Young C. Park. The model will soon join the
first as part of the display in our new museum in Vista, CA. Photos of the
model are already available on Mr. Park's page in this on-line museum. |
 | March 27, 2006—Clock maker William R. Smith
has just created his own web site. After you have visited our page on him, you
can learn more at
www.wrsmithtelegraphkeys.com
or www.wrsmithclocks.com.
|
 | March 21, 2006—More photos of the work of wooden toy maker
Jim Balestreri have been added to his
section. |
 | March 21, 2006—The Foundation offices now have a unique phone number
separate from Sherline. It is (760) 727-9492. Please note this number should
you need to call us in the future. |
 | March 2, 2006—A new gunsmith from Paris, France has been added to the
Gunsmith section. Michel
Lefaivre is an award-winning craftsman who is an amateur only in the
sense that he builds his projects for pleasure rather than to make money. |
 | March 1, 2006—Press releases have been sent out and notices should appear
in some of the model engineering magazines before the event, but we hereby
announce that the first day our new on-site museum will be opened to the
public will be Saturday, May 20, 2006. A dedication ceremony and conference
attended by previous winners of the Foundation's Craftsman of the Year award
will be held May 19th. After the 20th, regular weekday hours will be
established. Until that time, tours are available by appointment. The featured
exhibit at the opening will be the Rudy Kouhoupt engine collection. |
 | December 9, 2005—Help us build a database of information on model sales.
If you have sold a custom made model gas or steam engine or other valuable
handmade model or know of someone who has, please send us the details. We are
starting a reference database of auction and other sales results in order to
help establish values for custom built projects. Send a photo of the item
along with details on its construction, the builder's name and when it was
made (if known) and what it sold for and when. If you are putting an item up
for an on-line auction, send us the link to the page. One of the goals of the
Foundation is to help show that custom machined items are valuable in the same
way as other works of art like paintings or sculpture and to help establish a
system of evaluation. We are mainly interested in custom made items rather
than assembled kits. E-mail photos and information to
craig at craftsmanshipmuseum.com or craig at
sherline.com. |
 | November 28, 2005—The latest video of Jerry
Kieffer's John Deere tractor has been added to his page. This 13 Mb
Quicktime Movie file may be slow to load, but it will be worth the wait once
you see how nicely it runs. Jerry fires it up and then runs it both forward
and reverse. He then throttles it back so you can hear it idle. What a
masterpiece! |
 | November 22, 2005—The smallest lathe in our collection has been added to
the Machine Tool Collection page. The SEL
lathe from England is only 4.5" long. |
 | November 17, 2005—A new page detailing the new physical
facility in Vista, California was posted
along with photos of the machine tool collection, new shop facility and an
exterior photo of the building. |
 | November 16, 2005—The official announcement has been made on this web site
that David Kucer has been selected as the 2006
Joe Martin Foundation Metalworking Craftsman of the Year. Press
releases have been sent to major model engineering and miniature gun making
magazines and journals. See the Awards page
for more on the award. |
 | October 17, 2005—Several new photos were added to
Livio De Marchi's section. These were sent as
an exclusive to our web site and offer a view of the artist at work in his
shop.. |
 | October 5, 2005—Added to the wood carving section
is Italian artist Livio De Marchi. His
craftsmanship is impeccable, but his choice of subject matter might surprise
you. |
 | October 5, 2005—Two of the latest photos of Roger
Ronnie's V12 engine-in-progress have been added to his page. |
 | September 12, 2005—Added to the Metalworking as
an Artform section is an interesting new artist and craftsman from
Amsterdam named Mark Ho. We think you will find
this newcomer's work an interesting departure from the usual things machined
in metal. |
 | August 29, 2005—An entirely new section on
Miniature Firearms Makers was opened today with the introduction of master
miniature arms maker David Kucer. See many
examples of his miniature guns and also learn how he goes about making them. |
 | July 28, 2005—Four photos of a V-12 engine Roger
Ronnie is building have been added to his section. Though not yet
complete, it is taking shape nicely and will be a "proof of concept" for a
model of a Rolls Royce Merlin V-12 he plans to build next. |
 | July 9, 2005—William R. Smith is not only
a noted clockmaker, he has also been a ham radio operator for over 73 years.
He has recently designed a unique speed key for sending code, and photos of it
have been added to his page. In addition, a new clock, the Strutt Epicyclic
Train Clock, the construction of which has been documented in book form has
been added. |
 | June 10, 2005—The Dremel 701 and Craftsman 80 lathes have
been added to the small machine tool Collection
page. |
 | June 9, 2005—A tiny "Super Adept" lathe from the 1930's has just
been added to the small machine tool collection.
The list was also put in alphabetical order to make searching easier. A
formerly unidentified lathe has been identified as a Wolf Jahn from Germany,
and two slightly different versions have been added. There is also a new
unidentified lathe that we could use some help on. It looks great, but what is
it? |
 | May 3, 2005—Several new machine tools have been added to the museum's
historical small machine tool collection.
They are the ManSon, Master, Mattel, Unimat 1 and a watchmakers's lathe of unknown
manufacturer. |
 | April 28, 2005—Two new photos of model airplane engine designer
Clarence Lee were added to his page. |
 | April 26, 2005—We regret to announce that master modeler
Augie Hiscano passed away April 21, 2005. Some
new photos have been added to his page and it has been updated to include his
passing. His obituary can be found online at
http://www.legacy.com/Herald/LegacySubPage2.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=3459020.
|
 | March 15, 2005—A new tool has been added to the
Historical Miniature Machine Tool Collection.
This small Cincinnati brand benchtop lathe has the interesting distinction of
being make entirely from sheet metal. |
 | March 3, 2005—A special "Lifetime Achievement Award" for 2005 has
been presented to Kozo Hiraoka of Japan. Read more
about this and other awards presented by the foundation on the
AWARDS page. |
 | March 2, 2005—After a visit from Gerald and Phyllis Wingrove to the home
offices of the Joe Martin Foundation, some additional photos of Gerald,
Phyllis and an Alfa engine have been added to the
Wingrove section. |
 | February 16, 2005—Francisco Pulido of
Spain builds 1/10 scale automobile models from scratch to a level of detail
not often seen. This young newcomer to the field shows great promise and
already has some fabulous cars to his credit. See his Blower Bentley in all
stages of production. |
 | February 16, 2005—A video of the first firing of Jerry
Kieffer's John
Deere tractor model has been added to his page. Click on Jerry's name to go to
his section. There you can watch a
45-second video of the tractor engine being started from the flywheel just
like the real one and running with no
external electrical connections. Congratulations Jerry! |
 | January 26, 2005—A number of new photos of his model cars were added to
the section on Gerald Wingrove. It was also
announced that Mr. Wingrove has been selected to receive the 2005
"Metalworking Craftsman of the Year" award presented each year by the Joe
Martin Foundation. Mr. Wingrove is the 9th winner of the award. |
 | January 11, 2005—A new page has been added to the Model Engineering
section on Kozo Hiraoka. Mr. Hiraoka builds
live steam model locomotives and has published three books on their
construction. |
 | January 5, 2005—Five new photos of Augie Hiscano's
latest project have been added to his page. Check out his 1/15 scale Browning
M2 machine gun on a tripod. |
 | December 10, 2004—Many new photos of Alan
Ingersol's Curtiss biplane and V-12 engine have been added to his
page. Dr. Bob Kradjian of the Bay Area Engine Modelers was kind enough to loan
us the binder of photos collected by Alan during the construction of the
museum quality model. Additional details of the finished engine were shot at
the Men, Metal and Machines Show in Visalia in October, 2004 where the engine
was displayed. |
 | August 26, 2004—NEW PAGE! Steve Lindsay
has been added to the Engraving section. His
outstanding work has been applied to the work of some of the best knifemakers
around. He has also engraved guns, jewelry, watches and other objects like
flutes and even golf clubs. See his engraving and his drawing skills on this
new page. A link to his own site will lead to even more images of his work. |
 | August 23, 2004—Two photos of a 1/3 scale Rentz spark plug have been added
to the page of Roger Ronnie in the engraving
section. Though the plugs are not engraved, they do demonstrate the
flexibility of Roger's interests and talents in metalworking. |
 | July 23, 2004—We apologize for the photos that are not showing up in the
historical too exhibit. They are stored in a separate folder on our server and
permission to that folder has been denied. We are working on the problem
through our co-location facility and hope to have it solved soon. Some photos
of Jerry Kieffer's miniature spark plugs have
been added to his page along with an explanation of their use. |
 | July 20, 2004—A link to a page on the construction of a
giant 1/10
scale C-17 flying jet model has been added for the R/C flyers. See the
Model Making section. |
 | July 12, 2004—A miniature Lunkenheimer oiler project has been added to
Roger Ronnie's page. |
 | June 21, 2004—Mel Anderson is one of
the early pioneers of model engine building. See the new page on his work.
Anyone knowing more about Mel Anderson or having photos of him or his engines
is invited to contact us so that we can add to the page. |
 | June 2, 2004—Four new photos have been added to
Roger Ronnie's engraving page. These were taken at the NAMES show in
April. |
 | May 20, 2004—Some new photos of Clif Roemmich's
latest project, an 1890 American La France fire wagon, have been added to
his page in the model engineering section. |
 | May 19, 2004—With regrets we announce that engine designer Bob Shores,
2004 winner of the Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award passed away on May
18th. |
 | May 14, 2004—A big part of what the Foundation does relates to
Awards for craftsmanship. A new page has been
added highlighting the awards and their past winners. |
 | May 13, 2004—New photos have been added to the section on
Iqbal Ahmed from India. After taking a very
respectable third place finish in this year's Sherline Machinist's Challenge
in Detroit in April, he traveled to California to visit with Joe Martin and
brought some projects and photos with him. |
 | May 12, 2004—A new section has been added on
Bill Brown in the model making section. This former body shop man
scratch builds some of the finest steel pedal cars you will ever see. Some
have been featured in the Peterson Automotive Museum. |
 | April 29, 2004—Photos of Roger Ronnie
receiving his check and award for being selected as the Foundation's 2004
winner of the Metalworking Craftsman of the Year have been added to his
page. It was presented at the North American Model Engineering Society Expo in
Southgate, MI on April 25th. You can also see more photos from the show on
Sherline's web page. |
 | March 26, 2004—The Bay Area Engine Modelers Club
has been included to introduce the "clubs" section of the museum. This section
will feature not the work of individuals but rather groups who gather to share
an interest in craftsmanship. |
 | February 27, 2004—Seven new photos of the work in progress on the John
Deere tractor model were added to Jerry Kieffer's
page. |
 | January 23, 2004—Photos of four new miniature antique woodworking tools
were added to Paul Hamler's section. |
 | January 2, 2004—The Joe Martin Foundation announces the selection of the
2004 Metalworking Craftsman of the Year Award. The 8th person to be selected
for this award is Roger Ronnie. You can see his work in the "Engraving"
section. |
 | November 18, 2003—A Drummond Type A lathe has been added to our
TOOL COLLECTION page. |
 | November 12, 2003—A new section for Engravers
has just been opened, and the first person to be featured there is the
multi-talented Roger Ronnie. His skills go
beyond engraving to include clock tools and model engines as well. |
 | November 4, 2003—Two new photos of Jaures Garofali
were added to the section on SuperTigre model engines. |
 | October 31, 2003—To see a wonderfully complicated 18-cylinder (36 piston)
model engine with three crankshafts, visit the new site featuring
Clen Tomlinson of England. This CAD-designed,
CNC machined model is a preview of the future of model engineering. |
 | October 29, 2003—Clif Roemmich was
displaying his engines at the 2003 PRIME show in Oregon when they caught Joe
Martin's eye. Now you can see them for yourself and learn how he came to be
able to build them. He is the latest addition to the
Model Engineering section. |
 | October 22, 2003—A new section on Craftsmanship Around
the World was opened with the work of Iqbal Ahmed
of India. With no opportunity for formal training and little or no support
system of fellow craftsmen, people in far-flung areas of the world use the
tools at hand and come up with their own solutions to fabricate their
creations. |
 | September 4, 2003—Six new photos have been added to
Augie Hiscano's section featuring his finished and painted 1/25
scale motorcycle chopper model. |
 | June 11, 2003—Three more photos have been added to the models of
Augie Hiscano. Shown are some shots of his HO
scale EMD 567 Prime Mover engine to super-detail a model train. |
 | May 27, 2003—More photos have been added to the section on
Jerry Kieffer. Included are shots of his 1/6
Harley Davidson Knucklehead engine, a new photo of the magneto side of his
Stover hit 'n miss engine, first shots of his John Deere "D" tractor project
and his cam grinder. |
 | May 22, 2003—Gerhard Spielmann has been
added to both the miniature machine tool section
and the model makers section because his talents
extend into both areas. A lifelong machinist who has some of the parts he made
now sitting on the moon as part of the lunar lander, Gerhard now applies his
skills to smaller but no less precise projects. |
 | May 20, 2003—Two new tools have been added to the
TOOL COLLECTION.
A Hardinge "Cataract" lathe and an old Sears AA109. Check them out along with
the other miniature machine tools from the past in our collection. |
 | April 30, 2003—Another item was added to the
LINKS page. It is a large aluminum
sculpture of a flying horse. While this site is normally dedicated to items at
the small end of the size scale, this one is interesting because of the
problems presented by its large size. |
 | February 26, 2003—Many additional photos and a more complete life story
have been added to the page on Mooney Warther,
known as "the world's master carver." |
 | February 24, 2003—Just posted is a new page for metal artist
Abrasha. He makes a unique kind of precision
machined jewelry in his San Francisco, CA studio. A link from his page to his
own web site offers a video and a photo step-by-step demonstration on how he
creates his pieces from 3D drawing to finished work. |
 | February 24, 2003—Ship modeler Andrew Green
has sent several new photos including some of himself at work in his shop, a
detail of St. Ninian and a shot of the Centaur under way. He
also sent an autobiography and some details on how he makes his ship models,
so the page has been completely updated. |
 | February 20, 2003—A Links page has just
been added with direct links to some other pages that will be of interest to
craftsmen. |
 | February 20, 2003—A new section on woodworkers and
carvers was opened with the first craftsman being
Mooney Warther, a cutlery maker whose hobby was
carving wood and ivory into highly detailed steam engine models. More photos
of Mr. Warther's work are on their way to us right now and we will soon be
adding to this room. |
 | January 28, 2003—Paul Hamler is the latest
addition to the section on makers of miniature tools.
Paul specializes in limited production runs of ornate miniature vintage
woodworking tools. |
 | January 23, 2003—Fifteen new photos of Wm. Dubin's
latest mechanamorphic sculpture, "Jenny" were added. |
 | January 15, 2003—Augie Hiscano is working on a new 1/25
scale V-twin chopper.
Three new photos of the "work in progress" were added to
Augie's page. |