Hey Old Timers.........remember this?

**Leo Hadley Jr** · 10-11-2005, 07:17 PM

If you do you may want to consider retirement:D

**mshimp** · 10-11-2005, 07:58 PM

I have two of them hanging around my lab. put the old steel pattern on the bottom with the layout of the glass lens on top hold the chuck ,turn the crank and score the lens ,after cribbiing and hand edging , there you go a finished pair of lens. Oh I forgot you need to mark them to be drilled in the shuron diamond drill. I've got one of those too.

**optowalt** · 10-11-2005, 08:36 PM

I have one too. Drill also. And watch that old timer crap. I don't think you could drill a glass lens but I still can. Still a skill.

**For-Life** · 10-11-2005, 09:05 PM

I had one. I think we lost it when we moved

**Leo Hadley Jr** · 10-12-2005, 06:45 AM

Oh yes i can, I could also fine and polish the glass by hand if i could find my old slurry bowl. lol
Seriously though, this is a bit before my time but 20 years ago i had a real old timer teach me how to do all that glass work on antique equipment. It was a great learning experience.

**Jacqui** · 10-12-2005, 11:31 AM

You're talking about the kind of equipment that I used when I first started in this business.

**CME4SPECS** · 10-12-2005, 12:24 PM

You sure got your exercise lugging that ole dinosauer from the shop, to the laundry room and then the parking lot.

**lguess** · 10-12-2005, 12:48 PM

I have 3 cutters: One of them, the oldest, requires that you remove the lens table, place a pattern on the spindle, replace the lens table, then score the lens. I also have the Shuron model shown and a "more modern" AO model that had the spindle on the top of the unit for easier placement of the pattern. Have a bunch of cribbing pliers. Also have the Shuron drill mentioned plus one that is even older than the Shuron. I even have the riveting gizmo (kind of looks like a Shuron Uni-Chuck Drill) that was used on some B&L Rimless frames in the 1930's and 1940's, and of course the little grooving machine for B7L Bal-Grip Rimless. Most of this stuff was my dad's- he started his optical shop in 1944. Mentioning all this stuff brings back a lot of memories- but I'm grateful for our modern equipment: Edging, drilling and mounting a -6.00 glass lens with a 1.0 CT wasn't a lot of fun!

Larry

**finklstiltskin** · 10-12-2005, 12:57 PM

Good LAWDY! I thought we had some ancient equipment in our lab.

**Shwing** · 10-12-2005, 07:22 PM

I've got one- should I put it up on eBay?

:}

**CME4SPECS** · 10-13-2005, 12:14 AM

Originally Posted by Shwing

I've got one- should I put it up on eBay?

:}

Sure put it in the sporting goods section. It would make a great boat anchor!

**Chris Ryser** · 10-13-2005, 03:44 AM

Originally Posted by CME4SPECS

Sure put it in the sporting goods section. It would make a great boat anchor!

I think that instead making an anker if it the items should either be kept for educational purposes...............given to an optical museum........ created and financed maybe by some of the large optical corporations.

**Shwing** · 10-13-2005, 10:53 AM

Chris, that is exactly why I have one. Several years ago, we were cleaning out our lab, and found all kinds of cr*p. I am a bit of a pack rat, but didn't want all the junk, er, I mean artifacts at home, so I started a modest museum. I've got a 60+ year old phoropter, 60+ year old retinoscope, all kinds of stuff.

**Chris Ryser** · 10-13-2005, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by Shwing

I am a bit of a pack rat, but didn't want all the junk, er, I mean artifacts at home, so I started a modest museum. I've got a 60+ year old phoropter, 60+ year old retinoscope, all kinds of stuff.

A quick question to Google came up with one museeum in the optical field:

Optical Museum
Optical Museum Jena Maintained by the Ernst Abbe Foundation, Jena ... Optical Museum
Oberkochen Carl-Zeiss-Strasse 22 73447 Oberkochen Germany ...
www.zeiss.com/C12567A100537AB9/ InhaltWWWIntern/F116B21501BB9B3141256A7800404226 - 6k - Cached - Similar pages

Optical Museum
BRITISH OPTICAL ASSOCIATION MUSEUM ... In 1980 the BOA Museum was passed into
the charge of the newly established College of Optometrists (of which the ...
www.spectaclemakers.com/pages/museum.html - 11k - Cached - Similar pages

Optical Museum / Optisches Museum, Jena
Optical Museum, Optisches Museum, Jena, Thuringen, Thuringen, Germany, contact
information, tourist access details, map, photo, nearby attractions, ...
www.planetware.com/germany/thuringen/ jena/optical-museum-optisches-museum-d-th-jenom.htm - 14k - Cached - Similar pages

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As there is no such thing on this continent,

where do you want everybody to send you their old stuff ?................from generators to screwdrivers ?

:bbg:

**Shwing** · 10-13-2005, 01:04 PM

Well, at risk of being inundated with the aforementioned cr*p, you could send me a private message or just e-mail me with what it is you wish to donate.

E-mail me at home: shwing@shaw.ca
E-mail me at work: ianm@nait.ca

**Ed_Optician** · 10-15-2005, 09:51 PM

You obviously have not looked into the laboratoriea of the colleges that offer AAS degrees in ophthalmic dispensing. When I was at NYC Technical college we had all kinds of museum pieces. We had a Shuron generator the one with the bombsight used to set base and cross curves, old fashioned sphere and cylinder machines and even cast iron laps. I used the plano lap as a refeence for checking lens clocks for accuracy

Students regularly edged on original model Edgemasters, Essilor MBX, Briot U2000 edgers. We had a B&L Balgrip notching machine a number of ancient drills and still used AO project-o-markers

Another school even had a fully functional grollman fitting device

Talk about learning the old fashioned way

Ed

**rbaker** · 10-15-2005, 10:15 PM

There was a wonderful museum located in the main administration building at the old AO plant in Southbridge, MA. I was last there in the early nineties. You had to call ahead for admission. It is my understanding that the museum is in storage and will soon be moved to a new location in Southbridge.

Dick Whitney has a web site with lots of info and I am sure that a communication to him will bring you up to date. For those of us old timers who grew up in the shadow of AO it is sad to see the old plant now in other hands. Nearly everyone who lived in southern Worcester County had family and friends who worked at “the AO in Southbridge.” For most of the 1900’s AO was the largest employer in New England.

Check out the web site at http://www.opticalheritagemuseum.org/ .

I also believe that the University of Rochester holds many of the early artifacts of both American Optical and Bauch & Lomb.

**Chris Ryser** · 10-16-2005, 04:03 AM

Originally Posted by rbaker

There was a wonderful museum located in the main administration building at the old AO plant in Southbridge, MA. I was last there in the early nineties. You had to call ahead for admission. It is my understanding that the museum is in storage and will soon be moved to a new location in Southbridge.

I have been there in the mid 60s. It would be nice to have soemthing like it re-opened. They most probably could collect lots of old equipment to bridge over the 70's and 80's for what is missing presntly to make a full historic setup. WEould be nice for educational purposes.

There is so much the newer generations in the optical trade have no notion about and could benefit tremendously.