sick and tired of new scrap appliances.

[Auld Edwardian]

I thought I might help this thread out, since I have also been having fun along with others getting it side tracked a little. Here is my Grandmothers 1930's electric sandwich press. It most likely would have survived the A Bomb test at the Trinity Test Site. It has a switch that will never fail. You plug it in to turn it on, and unplug to turn it off. It is built like a WW II Battleship. I would not recommend letting it drop off the counter. The only thing that is going to break is your foot!

 

[Shangas]

That vent at the front, is that to pour out excess melted cheese? Or to release the steam?

 

[Auld Edwardian]

It is to allow any juices to flow out so one does not end up with a soggy sandwich. You place a small bowl in front when using it. Did you see my previous posting on our soon to be publishing empire? You were especially mentioned in it as a critical member that is in charge of an entire continent!

 

[rjb1]

I volunteer to be the Head of the Photography Dept. for Lizzie's publishing empire. I have enough Speed Graphic press cameras to equip a squad of photographers.

 

[W4ASZ]

We could set it up in an abandoned newspaper printing plant, but we'd have to hurry before those are all bought up and turned into hipster art lofts. The Revolution Will Not Be You-Tubed.

I would want a weekly shortwave program for the latest in avant-retro advice for all the nation !

 

[Auld Edwardian]

I volunteer to be the Head of the Photography Dept. for Lizzie's publishing empire. I have enough Speed Graphic press cameras to equip a squad of photographers.

You had better tell LizzieMaine to look for a building that you can set up your darkroom facilities in, and how much room you will require.

 

[Auld Edwardian]

I would want a weekly shortwave program for the latest in avant-retro advice for all the nation !

Move over BBC!!

 

[rjb1]

"You had better tell LizzieMaine to look for a building that you can set up your darkroom facilities in, and how much room you will require."

I would trust Lizzie's judgment in that area, as I would in most other areas.

Speaking of her, I hope everyone read her previous entry concerning "Mad Man Muntz". I knew a bit about him before, but her comments prompted me to read up a bit more about him. To connect him even more to the main thrust of this thread, his "Muntzing" of his TV's to take out anything that wasn't necessary, connects exactly to the modern concept of "lean manufacturing".
Lean manufacturing is conceptually more comprehensive, and extends beyond just component parts to include workforce, raw materials, and etc., but the basic idea is the same. The fact that more and more companies are doing whatever they can to take out all but the essentials of manufactured goods is part of the reason that nothing lasts like things made in the Golden Age.
However, to give Mad Man Muntz his due, some of the parts he left out of his TV's really weren't necessary for his customers. Whereas an RCA TV set had to be designed to be used anywhere in the country, and be sensitive enough to pick up weak signals, Muntz sold his TV's primarily to an urban market where the signals were inherently strong. He could leave out a number of electronic components and still get the job done.

Another example of deliberately making a product "worse" (Muntzing) was the re-design of GM Turbo 400 transmissions in the early 70's. The transmissions as originally designed and built were all-metal internally and would take huge amounts of horsepower and last forever. The company came to an assessment, in rough terms, that since the cars lasted only 100,000 miles and the transmissions would last 200,000 miles, something had to be done.
Therefore, they deliberately re-designed some of the internal components to be made out of plastic to make them cheaper (and less durable).

 

[Bruce Wayne]

We recently had the kitchen painted & my mother didn't like the look of the ten year old toaster against a freshly painted wall so she brought an unused one up from the basement. The new one was five or so years old, but was never used. My Father went to use it for the first time this morning & went to make a piece of toast. Almost immediately broke with a loud POP!. It is now waiting for the scrap heap in the garage.

 

[Shangas]

We recently had the kitchen painted & my mother didn't like the look of the ten year old toaster against a freshly painted wall so she brought an unused one up from the basement. The new one was five or so years old, but was never used. My Father went to use it for the first time this morning & went to make a piece of toast. Almost immediately broke with a loud POP!. It is now waiting for the scrap heap in the garage.

Behold the wonders of modern technology!!

 

[jamespowers]

Behold the wonders of modern technology!!

Wonders and disappointments.
On the other end of that scale, My mother had stored a bunch of gifts that she had received as wedding gifts(1964). She gave me a brand new---in the box---Hamilton Beach hand mixer. The best and strongest hand mixer I have ever owned. Sitting for forty years didn't hurt it a bit.

 

[Feraud]

On the other end of that scale, My mother had stored a bunch of gifts that she had received as wedding gifts(1964). She gave me a brand new---in the box---Hamilton Beach hand mixer. The best and strongest hand mixer I have ever owned. Sitting for forty years didn't hurt it a bit.

Amazing! My mother also has wedding gifts she received approx 50 years ago and never took out of the box. I thought she was the only one to do that..

 

[jamespowers]

Amazing! My mother also has wedding gifts she received approx 50 years ago and never took out of the box. I thought she was the only one to do that..

Well, when they got more than one of everything, they just saved the spares. The funny thing is that the originals often lasted so long that they never had to use the spares. That was the case with the Mixer.
I suppose you could have the same thing with toasters and other small appliances. She also had some kitchen decorations and linens put aside too. I used them.

 

[Feraud]

Yes, the originals last forever and doubles were kept in their boxes.

I have a microwave received in 1992 as a wedding gift that won't die! I've been wanting to utitlize the space but it keeps on going... would it sound odd to say, "they don't make 'em like they did in the 90s?".

 

[jamespowers]

Yes, the originals last forever and doubles were kept in their boxes.

I have a microwave received in 1992 as a wedding gift that won't die! I've been wanting to utitlize the space but it keeps on going... would it sound odd to say, "they don't make 'em like they did in the 90s?".

Well, it does keep getting worse. I just turned on a laminating machine at the office that I have used about five times since buying it. It went click and doesn't work anymore.:eusa_doh:

 

[Feraud]

I agree. Electronic items made in the last 5-10 years are a great example. Gadgets with no moving parts are failing compared to items made in the past with little motors, gears, etc.? Such "progress" is ridiculous.

 

[jamespowers]

I agree. Electronic items made in the last 5-10 years are a great example. Gadgets with no moving parts are failing compared to items made in the past with little motors, gears, etc.? Such "progress" is ridiculous.

And if they have gears they are made of cheap plastic that wears out in a few years with very little use.
My friend's washing machine went out due to a "fiber gear." They replaced it with a metal gear and it wore something else out in a week. lol lol lol

 

[rjb1]

Was that toaster that broke on the first try made in China? I ask that because (I hate to admit it) I bought a Chinese-built alarm clock to be sure to get me up for an important series of meetings, since I didn't want to risk having the dreaded "blinking 12:00" problem.
The third time(!) I wound it up there was a loud clunk and the thing shuddered in my hand. Looking in through a slit in the side I could see the mainspring flopping loose inside it.
Then I went to an antique store and bought a Westclox "Baby Ben" and it's working just fine. Should have done that to begin with.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've had a 1931-vintage Baby Ben waking me up for years, and have its Big brother sitting on my desk. All they usually require to keep them working is an occasional cleaning and a tiny bit of clock oil -- and if any parts go bad, you can get any replacement part you need on eBay. Westclox supported a vast network of repair shops well into the '70s, and any part for any USA-made Ben is very easy to find.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

My vintage-inspired desk fan went kaput last year and I have replaced it with a Kenmore model, I'm guessing to be late 50's, early 60's. Been around 50 years and still works like new.