Some years ago I was working on a variety of museum guns--"conserving" in the current parlance. The lockwork on an original Sharps is a world apart from even a nice replica like the Shiloh Sharps. And when I took the case-hardened breechblock out of a still-minty 1865 Spencer the workmanship and colors took my breath away.

Another thing that is striking is to see pictures of mechanics, machinists, and assemblers from those far-off days, wearing ties at work...they obviously took pride in who they were and what they did.

I had a favorite uncle who was a tool and die man. Wish I had known him better (I was just a kid, and he lived quite a ways away).

I wouldn't have minded inheriting his '55 T-Bird, either; he was a car guy and traded it off on a '65 GTO...