Hi MMDers;  I got to thinking the other day that a fun topic for
discussion might be the interesting things that are discovered in
some of these old machines.  I'd love to hear stories about what other
technicians might have turned up over the years.

What prompted this is a discovery I made in a Stoddard Ampico drawer
I was working on a few weeks ago.  (I could tell the story of the
Wurlitzer style 153 band organ and the two cats but, ... well, it's
a bit difficult to even think about!)  Back to this drawer.

This thing had the strange lead-screw device that allows you to repeat
a section of roll over and over again.  (Can anyone tell me why you'd
want to do that?)  Anyhow, the two tubes to it had been disconnected
and plugged.  It must have been a long time ago, since the tubing had
become petrified since the plugs were put in.

Well, curiosity, you know.  One plug was a metal eraser cup from a
mechanical pencil and the other --  Well, I crunched off the hard
tubing to discover it was a rifle bullet, brass case and all!  It
had turned quite black over the years.  I was told it was a .22 caliber
size.

Yikes!  And here I was worrying that old tubing off with a pair of
pliers.  Danger lurks everywhere, even in Ampicos!

Mike Kitner