| One fine day I
was riding my old buckskin mare down a leafy Connecticut country lane and there beside the
road, someone had discarded an antique two-part apple press. I dismounted,
dropped the reins, and squatted for a look. It was all there, and save for the wear and
tear of maybe a century's use while the golden juice of many vanished harvests oozed out
between its slats, none the worse for wear. Determined to "recycle" this
artifact of another age into something useful, I swung it up on top of Missy's
saddlebags and secured it in place. (Missy and I often returned from our junkets
with strange things swung aboard her rump). Back
in my shop, I opened it out and the two halves (one shown here) suggested something to me:
I would convert them into chaired magazine racks - and give one to each of my kids.
Here's what I did. |
 |
First I
kindled up my old coal forge (I am a traditionalist smith only). Then I took a
"heat" on a couple of rusted iron straps pulled from an old Yankee's barn
back in the woods. I liked to use rusted, pitted stock since "age"
is the effect I am usually after. I forged up eight pairs of old-looking,
heavy "fishtail" feet and later hot riveted them old-style to the sides of the
press halves. Then I drew a "heat" on some old rodstock and quickly
hot-twisted it in the post vise and finished up with a nice eye formed over the horn
of my anvil. (I still have that anvil somewhere: it is an original English Peter
Wright wrought anvil with the weight given in "stones". . Eat your heart
out those of you who know what this means. Lol. Swapped it from guy all the
way from up to New Hampshire once. They still do that up there you know. Here
in South Florida folks just steal what they want. No comparison, really).
Next, I forged up the hook plates on which the handle was to swivel.
Not much to it
really. Puss watched me whole time… Missy, sweat rubbed down on old coal sack
for her contribution to the project, chomped hay in her stall. But I remember that
afternoon.
Then I banked my coke,
washed, and went up for supper. |