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269671 Michael Suwczinsky <nicknaylo@g...> 2020‑01‑14 Old Tools signage
Every now and then I'll meet up with the lovely wife at her office and
we'll drive past this sign
https://www.flickr.com/photos/10735775@N.../48822614571/

and I'll think 'i should look that up' and then forget till the next time.
Well the next time we pull over and I get out to take some
not-from-a-moving-car pictures and note the address. (and note the lovely
wife for stopping)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/10735775@N.../48822771132/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/10735775@N.../48822771112/

and armed with he address the Google machine provides insight

*Pacific Saw Works* was a saw business at 4401 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way
<https://localwiki.org/oakland/Martin_Luther_King_Jr._Way> (formerly Grove
Street), founded in the 1930s by an Italian immigrant, Alexander J.
Ponchione. Today the building is home to artists' studios, and is owned by
the granddaughter of the founder.

The 1930 directory lists Alex J. Ponchione, 4538 Grove Street, "Saw Filing
and Grinding, Lawn Mowers Sharpened and Adjusted, All Work Guaranteed." The
family lived not far away at 820 - 40th Street.

The 1967 Polk's directory lists William Allara (the Ponchione's
son-in-law), president; M. C. Ponchione, vice-president; Mrs. V. C. Allara,
secretary; B. H. Ponchione, treasurer.

Based on advertisements, they were selling chainsaws and lawnmowers from at
least 1950 to 1976. The word 'lawnmowers' is faintly visible on the
saw-shaped sign.
with a sign like that, I'd need a bigger shop! and a neon bending course to
restore it!
-- 
Michael
269672 Thomas Conroy 2020‑01‑14 Re: Old Tools signage
There used to be two or three businesses in Oakland with "saw orks" in the
name, back in the 1980s oor 1990s. I used to go by one in the area vaguely
between Laney College and Downtown, a few blocks south of 14th St. I'm aware of
them because they were where you took the three-foot or four-foot blades of
board sheers and guillotines to have them sharpenedd. "Pacific Saw Works" sounds
familiar, but I think that's just the similarity to  something like "Oakland Saw
Works" or "California Saw Works," which may or may not be names of actual firms.
These were very much industrial firms,s not anything artsy-crafty.Tom

    On Tuesday, January 14, 2020, 8:56:10 AM PST, Michael Suwczinsky
 wrote:
 
 Every now and then I'll meet up with the lovely wife at her office and we'll
drive past this signhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/10735775@N.../4882261
4571/">signhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/10735775@N.../48822614571/
and I'll think 'i should look that up' and then forget till the next time. Well
the next time we pull over and I get out to take some not-from-a-moving-car
pictures and note the address. (and note the lovely wife for stopping)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/10735775@N.../48822771132/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/10735775@N.../48822771112/
and armed with he address the Google machine provides insight

Pacific Saw Works was a saw business at 4401 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way
(formerly Grove Street), founded in the 1930s by an Italian immigrant, Alexander
J. Ponchione. Today the building is home to artists' studios, and is owned by
the granddaughter of the founder.

The 1930 directory lists Alex J. Ponchione, 4538 Grove Street, "Saw Filing and
Grinding, Lawn Mowers Sharpened and Adjusted, All Work Guaranteed." The family
lived not far away at 820 - 40th Street.

The 1967 Polk's directory lists William Allara (the Ponchione's son-in-law),
president; M. C. Ponchione, vice-president; Mrs. V. C. Allara, secretary; B. H.
Ponchione, treasurer.

Based on advertisements, they were selling chainsaws and lawnmowers from at
least 1950 to 1976. The word 'lawnmowers' is faintly visible on the saw-shaped
sign.
with a sign like that, I'd need a bigger shop! and a neon bending course to
restore it!
-- 
Michael 
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269673 Bill Ghio 2020‑01‑14 Re: Old Tools signage
> On Jan 14, 2020, at 12:00 PM, Michael Suwczinsky  wrote:
> 
> Every now and then I'll meet up with the lovely wife at her office and
> we'll drive past this sign
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/10735775@N.../48822614571/
> 
> and I'll think 'i should look that up' and then forget till the next time.
> Well the next time we pull over and I get out to take some
> not-from-a-moving-car pictures and note the address. (and note the lovely
> wife for stopping)


Reminds me of a place in Baltimore — a blacksmith shop dating to 1810. I pass it
several times a year and always thing sI should stop and take a picture, but it
is not a street I really want to stop on. Here are a couple of articles and a
short You Tube about it:

http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2014/10/g-krug-and-son-ironworks-in-
business-since-1810/for-story-on-g-krug-son-ironworks-need-shots-of-the-shop-
and-the-exhibits-that-are-part-of-the-museum-tour-conducted-by-
appointm-13/">http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2014/10/g-krug-and-son-ironworks-
in-business-since-1810/for-story-on-g-krug-son-ironworks-need-shots-of-the-shop-
and-the-exhibits-that-are-part-of-the-museum-tour-conducted-by-appointm-13/

https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-bz-krug-
nonprofit-20141007-story.html">https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-
city/bs-bz-krug-nonprofit-20141007-story.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FLqY5WIiMk

Bill
269674 Thomas Conroy 2020‑01‑15 Re: Old Tools signage
Standard is the one where I remembered walking past it from time to time, and
drooling over the tools in the window. But I think there was another one thaat
the binders went to for board shear blades. My memory, my memory..... but I've
never had board shears or a gguillotine, so it has nenver been nencessary
information for me.
Tom

    On Tuesday, January 14, 2020, 11:41:00 AM PST, nicknaylo@a...
 wrote:
 
  Tom, you are thinking of Standard Saw Works in Oakland. Still in business,
with a front window full of old tools.  I get custom sized Neaderbuddy blades
there for my late 1940's saw.  They have at least one Foley machine there, as in
years past I've brought handsaws to them for sharpening, mostly just to support
the business and out of curiosity.  One backsaw, a very old backsaw came back as
too brittle to sharpen, by machine anyway. They are a couple of blocks from the
Laney College BART station and a workable lunchtime excursion from San
Francisco.  I mean to post about that Old Tool business as well, the front
window tool collection is dastardly hard to photograph with light reflections
and wire mesh.

Michael

From: Thomas Conroy wrote: 

 There used to be two or three businesses in Oakland with "saw orks" in the
name, back in the 1980s oor 1990s. I used to go by one in the area vaguely
between Laney College and Downtown, a few blocks south of 14th St. I'm aware of
them because they were where you took the three-foot or four-foot blades of
board sheers and guillotines to have them sharpenedd. "Pacific Saw Works" sounds
familiar, but I think that's just the similarity to  something like "Oakland Saw
Works" or "California Saw Works," which may or may not be names of actual firms.
These were very much industrial firms,s not anything artsy-crafty.Tom

     M ichael Suwczinsky wrote:  
 
 Every now and then I'll meet up with the lovely wife at her office and we'll
drive past this signhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/10735775@N.../4882261
4571/ts">signhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/10735775@N.../48822614571/ts

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