![1930s Exercise Machine [Restoration] @HandToolRescue](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rPHnoOkg9LU/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This restoration is on an exercise machine manufactured in the 1930s by the Health Developing Apparatus Co. Inc., of Bridgeport, Conn. USA. Aptly named "The Seat of Health" originally came folded up in a small suitcase for some reason. I assume it was so you could discretely move it from location to location without alerting the public to your need to improve your health.
Most of this machine is made of aluminum, but the steel parts were all originally nickel-plated to prevent rust from forming due to sweat. Interestingly, some of the pulleys and bearings are made of some type of wood. I think it may be rosewood or lignum vitae, which are both fairly hard and wear resistant. The original springs were still effective enough to be reused, but several other steel parts were either broken or missing. I ended up having to either completely remake or repair those parts as no replacements are available.
Apparently, there were 20 different exercises that you could do with this machine including some where you mounted it to a wall.
I will personally keep this one around the shop as something neat and ornate to look at from time to time.
I'd like to thank @CRCAutoUS for sponsoring this video.
You can check out the products from them used in this video in the link below:
crcindustries.com/handtoolrescue
Wrenches, screwdrivers, and socket drivers are now for sale at handtoolrescue.com
Watch narrated videos and help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
patreon.com/handtoolrescue
This restoration is on an exercise machine manufactured in the 1930s by the Health Developing Apparatus Co. Inc., of Bridgeport, Conn. USA. Aptly named "The Seat of Health" originally came folded up in a small suitcase for some reason. I assume it was so you could discretely move it from location to location without alerting the public to your need to improve your health.
Most of this machine is made of aluminum, but the steel parts were all originally nickel-plated to prevent rust from forming due to sweat. Interestingly, some of the pulleys and bearings are made of some type of wood. I think it may be rosewood or lignum vitae, which are both fairly hard and wear resistant. The original springs were still effective enough to be reused, but several other steel parts were either broken or missing. I ended up having to either completely remake or repair those parts as no replacements are available.
Apparently, there were 20 different exercises that you could do with this machine including some where you mounted it to a wall.
I will personally keep this one around the shop as something neat and ornate to look at from time to time.
I'd like to thank @CRCAutoUS for sponsoring this video.
You can check out the products from them used in this video in the link below:
crcindustries.com/handtoolrescue
Wrenches, screwdrivers, and socket drivers are now for sale at handtoolrescue.com
Watch narrated videos and help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
patreon.com/handtoolrescue
![1930s Exercise Machine [Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rPHnoOkg9LU/mqdefault.jpg "1930s Exercise Machine [Restoration]
This restoration is on an exercise machine manufactured in the 1930s by the Health Developing Apparatus Co. Inc., of Bridgeport, Conn. USA. Aptly named The Seat of Health originally came folded up in a small suitcase for some reason. I assume it was so you could discretely move it from location to location without alerting the public to your need to improve your health.
Most of this machine is made of aluminum, but the steel parts were all originally nickel-plated to prevent rust from forming due to sweat. Interestingly, some of the pulleys and bearings are made of some type of wood. I think it may be rosewood or lignum vitae, which are both fairly hard and wear resistant. The original springs were still effective enough to be reused, but several other steel parts were either broken or missing. I ended up having to either completely remake or repair those parts as no replacements are available.
Apparently, there were 20 different exercises that you could do with this machine including some where you mounted it to a wall.
I will personally keep this one around the shop as something neat and ornate to look at from time to time.
Id like to thank @CRCAutoUS for sponsoring this video.
You can check out the products from them used in this video in the link below:
https://www.crcindustries.com/handtoolrescue
Wrenches, screwdrivers, and socket drivers are now for sale at https://www.handtoolrescue.com/
Watch narrated videos and help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
https://www.patreon.com/handtoolrescue")
![1900s Hay Trolley [Rescue]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rp-3nNFf4uA/mqdefault.jpg "1900s Hay Trolley [Rescue]
I decided to go with a different finish for this antique tool rescue / restoration. This is a Boomer Double Swivel Hay Carrier/Trolley made by the Milwaukee Hay Tool Company. The company lasted until 1931, but this trolley was likely earlier and possibly in the 1900s. The original patent is for 1906 and is located here: https://patents.google.com/patent/US839287A
This is one of the few antique tools I have restored that is malleable iron and not cast iron. It is really nice to deal with that instead of cast iron as I can be more rough as I am taking the tool apart. Malleable iron can also be bent and not shatter into a million pieces.
The trip took a long time to find and definitely seem to be more rare than the trolley itself. I used 3/4 natural fibre rope in this video. I also used a simple recipe of boiled linseed oil, polyurethane, and paint thinner to make a simple danish oil finish that I like to use on bare metal to preserve patina. I feel like I should have welded the metal track differently with it ending in a U shape instead of a T shape, as that would have made installing the trip much easier and allowing more strength to the track.
I hope to actually put this in my new workshop with some lights hanging down from the ropes. It would work great for some extra lighting right above the workbench.
Id like to thank Evapo-Rust for sponsoring this video.
Help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
https://www.patreon.com/handtoolrescue
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/handtoolrescue
Facebook Group - Share your restorations
https://www.facebook.com/groups/handtoolrescue
Reddit - Share your restorations
https://www.reddit.com/r/HandToolRescue/")
![Someone paid an equivalent of $2000 for this in 1914 [Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rw_8FWJuSho/mqdefault.jpg "Someone paid an equivalent of $2000 for this in 1914 [Restoration]
This machine has the most odd combination of functions Ive ever come across. It was made in 1914 by the F. Bissell Company of Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A. and combines a vacuum, grinder, buffer, blower, and pulley. The tool is so old that this would have been one of the first introductions to an electric motor that a household would have had.
These are quite rare and I had a very difficult internal struggle with removing the unique decal and having it recreated. The original decal contained only a partial image of the Bissell Frog and with no high quality images of the full decal online, I was stuck until I came across an old F. Bissell Company catalogue with a large image of a frog on the front that matched. A fantastic graphic artist was able to use it to digitally recreate the decal in its entirety. After that, I sent the file to an awesome print shop that uses modern and old methods to reprint the decal on waterslide paper, just like the original. I think its the best decal Ive ever had remade.
You may be thinking this was made by the modern day Bissell vacuum company, but this is actually a completely different Bissell, so much so that they changed the company name to National Super Suction Company, and had to specifically state that they werent related to the other Bissell vacuum company in there advertisements at the time.
The rest of the restoration showed how well built this tool was for its age and I am absolutely loving the original colour. I made a vacuum bag out of an old pillow case and I dont think what I truly needed exists anymore, but maybe I will come across something more authentic one day. This tool was sold for $67.50 USD in 1914, which is ~$2000 USD today. You can see the original design patent here: https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/ca/61/97/2d97780b0b7262/USD43837.pdf
Id like to thank @CRCAutoUS for sponsoring this video. Ive switched to a food-grade penetrating oil from them as a more safe alternative, and it as worked just as well as the usual penetrating oils Ive used.
You can check out the products from them used in this video in the links below:
https://www.evapo-rust.com
https://www.crcindustries.com/evapo-rust/
https://www.crcindustries.com/smartwasher/
https://www.crcindustries.com/qd-174-electronic-cleaner-11-wt-oz/
https://www.crcindustries.com/food-grade-penetrating-oil-11-wt-oz/
Wrenches, screwdrivers, and socket drivers are now for sale at www.handtoolrescue.com
Watch narrated videos and help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
https://www.patreon.com/handtoolrescue
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/handtoolrescue
Facebook Group - Share your restorations
https://www.facebook.com/groups/handtoolrescue
https://www.facebook.com/handtoolrescue/
Reddit - Share your restorations
https://www.reddit.com/r/HandToolRescue/
Podcast (with @jimmydiresta and Andrew Alexander) - https://anchor.fm/fitzall")
![1902 Champion Blower & Forge Co. No. 400 Forge Blower (Part Two) [Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sWNOapWrtNs/mqdefault.jpg "1902 Champion Blower & Forge Co. No. 400 Forge Blower (Part Two) [Restoration]
https://www.instagram.com/handtoolrescue for upcoming projects.
In this video, I paint all the parts and reassemble the forge blower. It is too cold here for me to put thick oil into the crankcase as it would then be too difficult to turn over. It is also too cold to seal the fan case with some silicone, so I will do that during the summer. I am sure I could adjust the bearings to make it run even smoother, but I will do that when I go to use it in its final place. Final thick greasing will be done then as well, until then, the poor lithium grease will work for this video.
Champion Blower & Forge Co. really knew how to make something last a long time and still run great!
My hope is to pair it with a forge table one day.")
![Underwater Pneumatic Reciprocating Saw [Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/t7In-zbH42I/mqdefault.jpg "Underwater Pneumatic Reciprocating Saw [Restoration]
This restoration focuses on an underwater pneumatic reciprocating saw made by the Wright Power Saw and Tool Corp. in the 1940s-1960s. The saw design was first filed for a patent in 1947 and granted in 1952 (https://patents.google.com/patent/US2598480). The decals on the particular saw in this video mention that the patents are still pending, so it may have been made in the late 1940s/early 1950s.
These saws were apparently used in bridgework, but also had different saw blades for meat or ice. I believe this one may have been used for ice as the saw blade teeth do not have any set to them.
The internal components of the saw were in great condition as they are almost all aluminum and covered in oil. The external steel components were fairly rusted. I rebuilt all the internal components and de-rusted, sanded, painted, and polished the external components. Remaking the decal was difficult as most words were missing and photos online did not give a clear example of what it should. Eventually, I found enough different photos and catalogues that let me piece together the wording (https://imgur.com/pM1qFhp). The digital recreation of the decals was done by Forma Graphics (formagraphicart@gmail.com).
There was no information whatsoever on how much air was needed to run this specific saw. All I could find was an advertisement of a similar later model smaller saw made by Wright that mentioned 60CFM at 80-100psi, so I decided to rent a 70CFM compressor and hope for the best. Unfortunately, it wasnt enough and the saw did not cut well through wood. The fact that the teeth had no set also may have made things worse. My guess is that this needs 100-150CFM to function properly.
You can see parts of the saw explode out the front of the saw during the first test. The rod that the springs slide onto snapped in two and needed to be completely remade before the saw would function again. You can see on instagram (https://www.instagram.com/handtoolrescue/) how I remade that part out of tool steel.
I also wish I could have tested this in some nice clear water like a pool, but all of those are now closed, and the saw spits out an INSANE amount of oil to function.
I am really excited to add this saw to my collection as it is not common and sounds absolutely amazing when in use!
I would like to thank Evapo-Rust for sponsoring this video.
Wrenches are now for sale at www.handtoolrescue.com
Help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
https://www.patreon.com/handtoolrescue
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/handtoolrescue
Facebook Group - Share your restorations
https://www.facebook.com/groups/handtoolrescue
https://www.facebook.com/handtoolrescue/
Reddit - Share your restorations
https://www.reddit.com/r/HandToolRescue/
Podcast (with Jimmy DiResta and Andrew Alexander) - https://anchor.fm/fitzall")
![Antique Drag Saw [Restoration] - Part 2: Will It Run?](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/t9rkPif0Oi8/mqdefault.jpg "Antique Drag Saw [Restoration] - Part 2: Will It Run?
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGGlaOozLPs
In this restoration I tackle the largest project I have done to date! This is a 1920-1930s drag or log saw made by the Ottawa Mfg. Co. of Ottawa, Kansas, USA. This is a TE model with a 5HP 4-stroke engine on it. The saw mimics the sawing action of two people using a non-powered crosscut saw. The saw blade itself is 5ft long.
I have not dealt with 4-stroke engines very often in my restoration history, so it was a lot of fun learning along the way.
The tool itself shows signs of many repairs over its ~100 years, including a lot of brazing due to large frost cracks and completely broken castings in other places. The wooden base is rotting away and is cracked in many places. The magneto does not produce spark and the piston is stuck as well!
In this video I tackle the repair of the wooden base as well as reassemble everything for testing. I decided to only paint certain parts and to leave the new wooden base rustic looking to match the rest of the saw. I plan on bringing the saw to antique engine shows, so I thought that making it look old would be the right choice.
This project was entirely funded by patrons so I want to keep this tool and show it off when I can as a way to remember everyones contributions.
I would like to thank Evapo-Rust for sponsoring this video.
Wrenches are now for sale at www.handtoolrescue.com
Help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
https://www.patreon.com/handtoolrescue
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/handtoolrescue
Facebook Group - Share your restorations
https://www.facebook.com/groups/handtoolrescue
https://www.facebook.com/handtoolrescue/
Reddit - Share your restorations
https://www.reddit.com/r/HandToolRescue/
Podcast (with Jimmy DiResta and Andrew Alexander) - https://anchor.fm/fitzall")
![1920s Maytag Washing Machine Engine [Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/t_egp4Hqc8Q/mqdefault.jpg "1920s Maytag Washing Machine Engine [Restoration]
And so begins the restoration of the gas-powered washing machine! This restoration is on a 1929 No. 92 Maytag Multi-Motor. These hit and miss engines are actually quite common with around 600,000 made between 1927 and 1937 in Newton, Iowa, USA. These motors originally powered washing machines for clothes, but were also put on things line lawn mowers and toy race cars.
The restoration on this particular motor was a lot of fun as I had a secondary motor for parts as well as access to brand new parts that are still made today. It is an excellent project for someone wanting to restore a small engine.
I decided to change the paint scheme just a bit from original, but I really like how it turned out. Obviously, I was disappointed at the motor exploding at the end, but luckily I had a replacement part! The carburetor needed the most work as it was not in the best condition. I decided to give all painted surfaces a coat of clear fuel-resistant paint, just in case.
I am super excited to put this thing on a restored washing machine, which is what I plan on doing next! The new parts were made by Flywheel Supply.
I would like to thank Evapo-Rust for sponsoring this video.
Wrenches are now for sale at www.handtoolrescue.com
Help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
https://www.patreon.com/handtoolrescue
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/handtoolrescue
Facebook Group - Share your restorations
https://www.facebook.com/groups/handtoolrescue
Reddit - Share your restorations
https://www.reddit.com/r/HandToolRescue/")
![1900s Pedal Metal Lathe [Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u71kzF1XfQM/mqdefault.jpg "1900s Pedal Metal Lathe [Restoration]
This restoration is on an early 1900s W.F. and John Barnes Co. No. 5 velocipede screw lathe. James from the @WoodByWright YouTube channel came to my shop with two of these lathes; one for me and one for him. We both absolutely love the look of this lathe and he plans on using his frequently in his workshop.
The lathes were missing many parts and James had them re-cast while I did the machining on them. The lathes were both is better than expected condition for being over 100 years old. I decided to paint mine black which was consistent with the original japanning used for a finish on this lathe. If I had sorted out my cold-cure japanning recipe, then I would have loved to do japanning on this restoration. We only had three days together, so after we put primer on the parts, James had to leave.
James kept the only 3-jaw chuck, as he plans on using the lathe on a regular basis, so I had to do some test cuts using the old drill chuck. This was a poor choice and the cut quality was horrendous. Pedalling the lathe is actually pretty fun for about 25 seconds until you start cutting and you have to start pedalling with some serious force. This lathe could easily be converted to an electric powered one and it would make a pretty nice 11 lathe.
I am not sure what to do with the lathe now as I really wont use this over my other metal lathe! I had an amazing time with James and I hope to visit his shop one day as well.
You can see an advertisement for this lathe here: https://imgur.com/hVdlVut
I would like to thank Evapo-Rust for sponsoring this video.
Wrenches are now for sale at www.handtoolrescue.com
Help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
https://www.patreon.com/handtoolrescue
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/handtoolrescue
Facebook Group - Share your restorations
https://www.facebook.com/groups/handtoolrescue
https://www.facebook.com/handtoolrescue/
Reddit - Share your restorations
https://www.reddit.com/r/HandToolRescue/")
![Antique Vertical Steam Engine - Part 1 [Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ucRF42U_ZFk/mqdefault.jpg "Antique Vertical Steam Engine - Part 1 [Restoration]
This restoration is on a 1920s Orr & Sembower vertical steam engine. It was apparently found in a river in Kansas, USA before being shipped to me. This steam engine is one of the worst condition items to ever come across my workbench. I have not worked on a steam engine before, so this will be a fun learning experience.
In Part 1, I completely disassemble what is remaining of the steam engine and start to work on remaking all the missing parts. At some point, it was stripped for bronze or brass scrap metal, so almost all of those parts will need to be replaced. This includes the bronze shoes on the crosshead, as well as all the steam fittings and fasteners.
After rust removal, I can see the steam engine used to be black and that there is significant wear in all of the babbitt bearings, so they will need to be re-poured. The piston and piston rings are damaged and will both need to be replaced. The main shaft is too deteriorated to be salvaged and the eccentric has an improperly fit repair.
At this point, if this steam engine can be brought back to life, I will be very impressed.
Wrenches and screwdrivers are now for sale at www.handtoolrescue.com
Help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
https://www.patreon.com/handtoolrescue
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/handtoolrescue
Facebook Group - Share your restorations
https://www.facebook.com/groups/handtoolrescue
https://www.facebook.com/handtoolrescue/
Reddit - Share your restorations
https://www.reddit.com/r/HandToolRescue/
Podcast (with Jimmy DiResta and Andrew Alexander) - https://anchor.fm/fitzall")
