Hobo nickels: intricate carvings in coins - GIF and photos

[will52100]

Now that's just cool

[Toolmaker51]

I want to see what kind of tools these craft-persons had access to, and the occupations they hailed from.
The coins sword actuator enters a shutter, marked with a very distinctive symbol. See it?

[Jon]

Same coin from a previous post in this thread, but here we see more of how it's assembled.



I was poking around to find a dedicated hobo nickel forum (not just a subforum or popular thread from a metalworking or coin collecting site). Thought I found a good one at HoboCarvers.com Forum, especially when I saw that they had a Tools subforum, but it's a ghost town. No new posts in years, and, the worst part, it's a graveyard of broken images! I looked through all of the threads in the Tools subforum. Didn't find many good images except for some posts from a pro engraving tool maker named Steve Lindsay, at AirGraver.com, and struck gold: custom coin vises! More here: Lindsay Engraving Vises, holders and fixtures.








Also pulled the 2016 patent for his Reversible Coin Holder - US Patent #9,448,537

[mklotz]

Anyone who has made soft jaws for his lathe chuck will recognize the idea. In fact, that's how double-headed/double-tailed coins are made.

[Jon]

Had a nice email chat with Steve Lindsay (inventor of the vises above). Definitely one of us, and it turns out he loves old machines. Check out his shop: Steve Lindsay Shop Tour

Anyway, not a coin, but this fits in this thread:

[mklotz]

More on Steve from this article...

https://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Lindsay.htm

from the Craftsmanship Museum.

[Jon]

Whoa, good find, had no idea he was official Craftsmanship Museum royalty. Makes sense though.

[PJs]

Had a nice email chat with Steve Lindsay (inventor of the vises above). Definitely one of us, and it turns out he loves old machines. Check out his shop: Steve Lindsay Shop Tour

Anyway, not a coin, but this fits in this thread:

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Definitely a man of many talents and skills, his breadth of interests are amazing, from the 69' Vette, to machine restoration, Code Jockey, Author and instructor. The scraping work on some of those machines was artwork, let a lone his prowess as an engraver. His knife work is a treat for these eyes. That Knife book by David Darom on his site is on my Want list now. Some of the examples on his Engraving tool page are off the charts. The Mouser bolt knob although not his (Barry Lee Hands) was fabulous with the spherical knurling (engraved), stippling, and the gold inlay on the one face.

[Jon]

I like this style too.

[Savage11]

I like this style too.

That is really cool!