Brace yourself. This issue of Work is one of those extra-special, jam-packed affairs. For starters, there's a folding bench on the cover. I don't care how many hefty, freestanding workbenches someone has. A design that permits cramming yet another work surface into one's basement, cabin, truckbed, houseboat workshop, is liable to turn heads. For the bench bereft, this little gem from David Denning might be your Lucky Bench.
Interested parties of the audio electronic engineer persuasion will no doubt enjoy the section that covers the telephone and microphone. Personally, I found myself tickled to learn that microphone was dependent on an initial accidental discovery resulting from broken wiring.
Most pleasing, however, was the inclusion of a section on metal spinning. Having previously worked in trades relating to and about antique lighting, spinning is a technique about which I must confess an equal portion of familiarity and unfamiliarity. I've certainly incorporated countless spun parts into projects. I'm aware of the nature of their fabrication. At the same time, to see it done gives the impression of sheer witchcraft.–TIM
Disclaimer: Articles in Work: The Illustrated Weekly Journal for Mechanics describe materials and methods that would not be considered safe or advisable today. We are not responsible for the content of these magazines, and cannot take any responsibility for anyone attempting projects or procedures described therein.
The first issue of Work was published on March 23rd, 1889. The goal of this project is to release digital copies of the individual issues starting on the same date in 2012, effectively republishing the materials 123 years to the day from their original release.
The original printing was on thin, inexpensive paper. There are many cases of uneven inking and bleed-through from the page behind. Our copies of Work come from bound library volumes of these issues and are subject to unfavorable trimming, missing covers, etc. To minimize harm to these fragile volumes, we've undertaken the task of scanning the books ourselves. We do considerable post processing of the scans to make them clear but please bear with us if a margin is clipped too close, or a few words are unreadable. We would like to thank James Vasile and Karl Fogel for their help in supplying us with a book scanner and generally enabling this project to get off the ground.
You are welcome to download, print, and pretty much do what you want with the scan for your own personal purposes. Feel free to post a link or a copy on your blog or website. All we ask is a link back to the original project and this blog. We are not answering requests for commercial downloads or reprinting at this time.
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