Gizmortiser [Restoration]

This restoration is on a 1912 door lock mortising machine called the Champion Mortiser by J. Leukart Manufacturing Co. of Columbus, Ohio, USA. The original patent can be seen here: patentimages.storage.googleap...
Mortising machines are among some of my favourite tools to restore as they all seem to have high levels of gizmosity. The amount of mechanically moving parts that all seem to do something and nothing at the same time makes this tool so mesmerizing to watch.
The restoration itself was fairly straight forward, except for a few broken castings and annihilated fasteners. Instead of replacing the fasteners, I decided to remake my own so they could match perfectly with the unique style of each one. I also truly thought this entire machine would be japanned, but apparently it was coated in some early form of enamel paint, which would not be too common for the time.
I'd like to thank CRC for sponsoring this video. You can check out the products from them used in this video in the links below:
www.evapo-rust.com
www.crcindustries.com/evapo-rust/
www.crcindustries.com/smartwasher/
Wrenches, screwdrivers, and socket drivers are now for sale at www.handtoolrescue.com
Help secure more tools for future videos (if you want):
/ handtoolrescue
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Facebook Group - Share your restorations
/ handtoolrescue
/ handtoolrescue
Reddit - Share your restorations
/ handtoolrescue
Podcast (with @jimmydiresta and Andrew Alexander) - anchor.fm/fitzall

[@jakesmerth1919]

The fact that he doesn't do shady things like make a piece of equipment dirtier before working on it (looking at you, rug cleaning videos) or pull any other shenanigans is very underappreciated around here. He has legit skill and talent, he is legit creative. No clickbait titles or thumbnails. This guy is solid in my book.

[@Happy357mag]

He really is the best on KZbin. I tried watching others but they fake so much. The way I see it, it's not a restoration if they did the damage themselves just to make a crappy resto video.

[@FuccoTheClown]

i would die if he did a skit with him pretending to rustify something and got busted by the forbidden nutella

[@jp18449]

Agreed! No shitty music, no "hahaha look how hard I can hit this with my hammer". Just a man doing something he does well and sharing it with the internet.

[@BarafuAlbino]

Somehow it is not easy to find items that fit, that are neither trivial to repair (and basically require a power wash), nor so far gone that you will essentially be making a new item while looking at the remains of old one.

[@bayadere8308]

...or wandering aimlessly along the jungle path, only to come across an extremely rusted chainsaw which has somehow pitched up in a tree. (Also of course, being followed by an equally aimless, yet propitious, cameraman.)

[@tobus71]

Years on and you still do the best and most unusual restorations on utube.

[@bambambundy6]

That is no kidding. He must have large network to get ahold of some of this stuff.

[@powertoolsrepair]

I agree

[@moneymanjoe9639]

Let's all appreciate the fact that there is no uncessary music, just a man renovating a tool. That's all you really need.

[@DownhillAllTheWay]

*YES!!* The "no music" on a KZbin channel is worth a lot!

[@TheHatHareAcademy]

As a master locksmith, this is one of the coolest tools I have seen you restore. I have hand mortised my fair share of doors and when it comes to antique locking hardware, this would have been a game changer for some of my jobs. Great video! Love it!

[@diditbreak]

Hmmm.. As a master locksmith myself, I'd like to say that this would be better used as a reference tool which shows how much harder things were in the past. LOL!

[@shopshop144]

There are 'modern' versions of this type of mortiser made that come with either a router or an electric motor.

[@fkutube933]

​@@shopshop144if its not a hammer a drill and a chisel youre as fumb as they were back in the victorian age when this monstrosity was invented.

[@chrismayer3919]

I didn’t realize this mecha carved slots into doors for handle/lock systems. Gizmotiser; What an odd name for such a specialized device! 🤔

[@SmokingMan26]

I would have never guessed it was for making pockets in doors for knob/locks. That is amazing

[@kindablue1959]

Giz-mortiser. I guess you need to know what a mortise is though.

[@smartman123]

not every body no that​@@kindablue1959

[@radeakins]

As a former carpenter, I appreciate this tool.

[@1BigBen]

looks like the mordent days equivalent for a drills is smaller, but with more manual input when it comes to depth and side to side movements. but I bet you could DIY portable cnc with inside of the formfactor of this tool. but cost justification analysis, would be on personal basis but this were cool tool for its time

[@Julian_Hopf]

Ok jesus.

[@HealingBlight]

Yes, he makes great videos.

[@jp18449]

As a current nobody, I also appreciate this tool.

[@erickleinwolterink3524]

You're never a former carpenter! 😊 Once and always.

[@scottwarner1733]

I have been following HTR for years (before I discovered Jimmy Diresta or Pask Makes). HTR never fails to deliver and is one of my top 3 channels on KZbin. I also appreciate the humor you bring to your work. It's a lot of fun to watch and I love your work!

[@HandToolRescue]

Thank you!

[@CaptainTwitchy]

I was his first subscriber, almost 15 years ago. He’s still using the same jar of Nutella

[@juanaq]

he got me with the head banging sandblasting. instant subscription.

[@keithagn]

Wow! All new equipment! Sand blaster, solvent washer, painting booth/area, Evaporust, new shop facilities... You deserve it!

[@perazeru9421]

that blowtorch welder was insane too

[@krsanth-4142]

Aside from the amazing results of what you do, it's amazing that someone sat down and began thinking "if I put this here and if it turns this here, then this will....." All without a computer, other than maybe a slide rule.

[@TheLegendsmith]

Yeah. Slide rules got us to the moon, they're so powerful.

[@zephal]

@@TheLegendsmithalmost too powerful….

[@rc-daily]

Necessity is the mother to every invention

[@davidhelmuth6654]

I think this piece is pre slide rule! We got to the moon and built the SR-71 with a slide rule! 🤯😱

[@mile13]

​@@davidhelmuth6654slide rules have been around since the mid 1600s! 🤯

[@jamesbarisitz4794]

The today price of a unit with all those castings would be outrageous! Great find and condition. Nice to find something like this that wasn't stored outside.

[@LittleGreyWolfForge]

for real. I just restored my bench vice, and someone had taken an angle grinder and a chisel to the screw cover.🤦

[@aaronshapiro2542]

Not only was this an amazing restoration of an incredible tool, It is making me feel a lot better about the price of the domino tennon tool I was looking at.

[@chrthiel]

I doubt it would have been cheap back then either

[@peacenow42]

and knowing how it was stored and how it was found would add so much to our delight.

[@normanbuchanan9710]

I appreciate the naturalness of the work scene no ridiculous music drowning out the sound of the tools or dramatic innovations, just the man his tools and his project.

[@floridag8rfan]

When I first started watching his videos, the lack of narration was jarring. Now it's preferable. I wouldn't mind it, but since I'm mechanically minded and generally don't need things explained to me, talking over the whole thing isn't necessary. His hand gestures and occasional captions (and the very occasional howl of frustration) are plenty. Oh, and the thump as his forehead hits the window on the blast cabinet.

[@normanbuchanan9710]

@@floridag8rfan OH yes the forehead on the window is epic 😂.

[@sageDieuvids]

The man, the tools, his project, and one very horny cricket.

[@jasongarland3165]

It amazes me to think what the old timers came up with without the benefit of modern design technology. Machines like this that are both relatively simple and mechanical complex - somebody envisioned this machine in their head, sat down at a drafting table and drew it out, then developed casting patterns, machined it on far simpler machine tools, etc. Absolutely amazing.

[@peacenow42]

The ancient tech that predated this was pretty amazing.

[@Closechannel231]

And those tools were made to last a lifetime.

[@peacenow42]

but that was when the average lifespan was much shorter@@Closechannel231

[@DownhillAllTheWay]

@@peacenow42... but here we are - a bit of TLC, and this machine is still working!

[@peacenow42]

and all one needs is our advanced knowledge and tools to make it so! Love these restorations.@@DownhillAllTheWay

[@thomasvnl]

I just smile every time I see the HTR opening 🎉

[@klmbuilders5385]

Well Shucks! When I added on to my 1920s home I mortised all the doors by hand with spade bits and chisels. Took an extraordinarily long time. While it was "fun" and fulfilling, this machine would have been the tool my grand-carpenters would have reached for! I'm happy you restored and demonstrated this beauty!

[@lawrencefine5020]

This is Fractal Vise level stuff You get the coolest, and the gizmoziest tools I ever seen on KZbin. I can watch this this thing mortise doors for hours and hours. The thinking it had to take to make a tool like this in 1912 is mind boggling. Fun stuff. Thanks HTR

[@HANKTHEDANKEST]

I didn't know CRC made a ONE THOUSAND LITRE jug of Evapo-Rust. I have never known such biting, acerbic envy as this. HTR is living the greaseball's dream, folks. You can't even BUY this stuff in the big bin in Canada yet, so the CRC people must really like our man here. Congrats on one million subs, duder. Women want him; men want to be him; *rust fears him.*

[@amicojeko]

The engineers that made this marvellous contraption would be very proud of you

[@waynetrain8033]

Whenever I watch you restore an old piece of equipment, I’m amazed with the fact that someone thought and built this long before computers, and high tech machines to make the parts 🤔

[@vadimbellous8313]

Yeah, and somehow how those tools were cheaper to produce then some of the garbage they come up with today

[@MushookieMan]

I love these old mechanisms. They have all the stuff you learn about in engineering, cams, cam followers, acme screws, rack and pinion, all types of bearings including babbit metal, etc.

[@LucasBuilds]

no bullshit, no making things dirtier just to clean them, just Legit restorations of absolute goddamn Contraptions. unequivocal best restoration channel out there.

[@verdatum]

About damned time. I've been trying to figure out how to restore my mortiser for YEARS. At last, I have something to go on.

[@jrmintz1]

Very cool. You are unquestionably the world's greatest expert in Gizmology!

[@d00dEEE]

A veritable Gizmaster.

[@SteveJaeger]

Is it pronounced giz-mology or jiz-mology?

[@KR-hg8be]

​@@d00dEEEthe gizmeister

[@iteerrex8166]

Which makes him a Gizmologist lol

[@ColdArbor]

the foremost expert in gismotology! @@iteerrex8166

[@Highlordratick]

That is what I like about your show: none of the endless, want to be cute or showing off chitter chatter. You just get down to business and fix whatever you are working on. Nor do you try to see how many videos you can put out you choose quality over quantity. Keep up the good work.

[@floridag8rfan]

This mechanism seemed to need far less restoration than the ones I've watched in the past, but watching you disassemble and reassemble it allowed me to see into the mind of the person that created it. It's truly amazing what is possible in the analog world with the right combination of gears and levers.

[@jeff1176]

Just goes to show that even way back then, there's a tool for that. Nice work Eric

[@caodesignworks2407]

I was literally just about to go to bed and you have to drop a new vid? I guess I'll go to bed later, it's only 7am here

[@vthokie4lyfe]

Same!! LOL

[@Youspoonybard1]

7 AM no sleep gang!

[@ScanianDude]

Been working night and just needed to pee after sleeping 5 hours, must see this before sleeping again

[@talbertuhlir9370]

Florida? 7am here

[@caodesignworks2407]

@@talbertuhlir9370 Nah, Michigan

[@georgejones3526]

Every other repair or restoration channel I have to play at 2x speed to watch, but never on this one. He has perfect pacing.

[@deathreus]

The engineering that went into this thingamabob is insane

[@bradcrossman5068]

I often wonder how this and other contraptions (gizmo's ) you restore were received back in the day. I keep imagining some salesman demonstrating and touting these gizmo's as the latest time and labour saving device while perspective buyers looked on in amazement and wonder and possibly fear. Oh the stories. Cheers from Sussex, NB.

[@peacenow42]

I like the story of how the original engine the Wright Brothers had built was built from scratch by a friend. Out of necessity.

[@LouJustlou]

I was worried that the "Smart Washer" would wash away some of the gizmosity. Glad to see it is Gizmo safe. 😊 Great video thanks!

[@Happy357mag]

I ain't too gonna lie, I had to fast forward to the end to see what this contraption does. It's awesome. Growing up, we lived in a couple of houses with that style of door locks. Ok, it's time to go back to the beginning to watch the whole video. 😁

[@badmonkey3669]

that is a really slick tool for the day it was made I like it

[@FromtheSoultotheFretboard]

Love your trade, my friend!! Your videos are one of the few I click "like" before I watch it. It was great to see another project from Ohio. Much love and respect for your channel!!

[@criomat]

it seems the strangest gizmos always come to you. great like ever.

[@ryanwilson_canada]

Ive always loved the 80/90's tool time intro reference. Cheers mate. Hope everyone is taking care.

[@Mopar46]

Sure glad you demonstrated the machine in action, at the end. For the lifec of me, I had no idea how it functioned, up to that point. Pretty amazing contraption, for its time.

[@861LJ]

I always look forward to your videos and the humor you inject into them! Interesting watching all the movements and gears on this. I guess routers took its place.

[@TheLOD2010]

This restoration is so lovely. A purely mechanic device. I love those old machines. They where build to last and do their job. Not to have tons of senseless features and die within two years, to sell another one.

[@peacenow42]

Right? How long did we have the abacus?

[@richardwarfield7386]

Seeing it in action quickly explains the complexity of the whole mechanism. The large mickey mouse eared wing bolts are exquisite

[@werwesdvoisdjvoj]

God what a racket that thing makes. And it works really well from the looks of it!

[@krissteel4074]

Glad there was a demo at the end, the sorcery of such woodworking things is beyond me. But it does look like it would be immensely satisfying to use, maybe not so much after being an underpaid and impoverished carpenter having to do it 100 times a day. Beats using something like a chisel or however they did it in the pre-Gizz days

[@copperneck1]

I appreciate that when you dismantle something, you just take it apart normally . You don't treat every screw, pin, gear and whatnot like its a priceless artifact made out of glass. To me, that just makes it slow and boring. Keep up the good work!

[@TheCoffeehound]

I know exactly the thing you're talking about! Those channels drive me up the wall.

[@nortyfiner]

I remember some of my Navy shipmates doing that "everything is so fragile" crap on our gear. Me: "It's made of steel, not glass!"

[@vincentrobinette1507]

I'm glad you demonstrated that tool, I had no idea what it was, or what it was used for. If you install doors, this would be a handy thing to have! Just imagine what your co-workers would think, if you used this at a construction site.

[@donparker1823]

Among the top KZbin channels in history.

[@jtjjbannie]

That thing was way more complicated than I would have thought. I’d have gotten it apart and probably would have stayed that way 😁

[@jandrewmore]

Pretty sure that's half the reason he makes these videos.

[@L3monSqueezy]

​@@jandrewmoreI asked him that a really long time ago. He said that is why he started recording, it was so he could go back to remember how to put it all back together again.

[@mikegentry9082]

Even with the video to help........

[@Nemesis_Zer0]

All the engineering and time that went into this is amazing, to think, this is how they sharpened pencils 100 years ago, incredible.

[@paulcooper9135]

Very cool piece of equipment... I almost expected to see some Japaning happen .. Thanks for sharing 🇨🇦

[@aussiebloke609]

That blasting cabinet faceplant always gives me a chuckle. Mostly because I've done that sort of thing too many times, trying to see just that little bit closer than is possible. 😁

[@Mrthegeeman]

That's such a beautiful machine, one of your best ones!

[@maggs131]

A hand cranked milling machine. This took one smart cookie to think of this and design it. Simply brilliant mechanical artwork. ❤ On a side not I love the shop upgrades especially the sandblasting apartment you've acquired. 😎👍

[@randogame4438]

"sandblasting apartment" I LOL'd at that. It is the biggest cabinet I've ever seen :)

[@johnzaccagnini8317]

@HandToolRescue, absolutely loved the 80's/90's family sitcom intro! Genuinely genius my friend!😂😊

[@pickletreewoodcraft7858]

That is such a spectacular example of ingenuity, over engineering, and madness lol. I love it.

[@darrinswanson]

I'm always impressed with your brazing

[@MC-tn9fz]

What a clever machine. You tackle the most complex restorations, on you tube. The production quality of this video is so much better than previous ones.

[@kencarlile1212]

That is an incredible amount of complexity to avoid having to chop a mortise with a chisel!

[@microstorm]

Thank god you thudded your head against the sandblaster plexiglas (was worried for a minute when it wasn't you normal blaster). That has always brought a smile to my face in the older videos where you went all out ^^

[@suzil7687]

I remember the first time I saw him do that. I had to rewind 5x to be sure that’s what I saw. I look for it every time! Cracks me up!

[@microstorm]

@suzil7687 haha, yeah. Also the time he worked on the "flame thrower", him testing it out always leaves me in stitches!

[@edl5074]

Nice work!!! it amazes me how incredibly detailed that was.

[@miroslavmarsal6842]

New workshop, new tools... congratulations!

[@bobtherat99]

I used to fix old door locks and I always wondered why the back of the mortis was curved. Thanks for clearing this up for be.:)

[@scottnyc6572]

What an incredible invention for the time!! This mortiser could be used not only for installing lock assemblies but would be great for just about any mortise joint especially for furniture.Great job on restoring it!! Thanks!!

[@hurarrei]

Another awesome project 💪👍 Thank you!!👏

[@SciPunk215]

It never occurred to me to swing the bit like a pendulum. Brilliant!!

[@StevenEverett7]

I'll bet Mr Chickadee would love to own that. He loves old woodworking tools.

[@bebel6874]

Incroyable, toujours aussi patient et talentueux. Et puis, cette petite dose d'humour qui ne gâte rien.

[@philipB31]

I always enjoy your projects, you produce brilliantly edited videos of each rebuild/resto., but I’m often amazed at how overly complicated or unnecessarily engineered objects find their way to your workbench. Regardless: thank you, as always, for sharing.

[@1978garfield]

Amazing resto as always! Glad to see CRC on board as a sponsor, hope they hang around a while. They make so much good stuff, Weld Aid, Sta Lube and of course EvapoRust. Not to mention all the great products made under the CRC brand like everyone's favorite open wound detector, Brakleen!

[@normanlongthorp8763]

I have restored many beautiful old doors retrieved from the side of the road on “big garbage day” to re-use in our house, and I’ve always wondered why the mortises for the locksets have rounded ends. Mystery solved! Thank you HTR 🎉 and bravo once again on a beautiful job 🙌🏼✨

[@tomswindler64]

I’m amazed at how intricate this thing is.way ahead of its time. Great restoration of course.you put some work into it.great video as always.just continue doing what your doing and on to the next project.👍👍👍😎😎😎

[@user-iu8fq9lp4j]

Amazing job, absolutely beautiful

[@danielrobinson7872]

Ever-present cricket was a nice guest appearance. Very knowledgeable. You should invite him more often. 👍

[@Whatsinanameanyway13]

Beautiful work as always. Love these old complex mechanisms.

[@danielmoss2394]

Best sound editing to date. Fantastic.

[@cranefly23]

I find it incredible how many parts went into making a tool such as this. I wonder how many were actually sold. Great to see you restoring this one.

[@cavemaneca]

The function of this tool is genius, i can't imagine how they come up with it.

[@Evilslayer73]

Man this mechanism is pure beauty for this era amazing!

[@Tarman85]

That intro kills me every time 😆

[@rpercifieldjr]

This is a very interesting and practical machine. Nicely done.

[@broxy55]

You're rapidly gearing up for one of the weirdest industrial museums in Saskatchewan! I'll visit for sure!

[@fransterhorst3694]

what a gem! a true historical piece. Love what you do and how you do it. cheers!

[@davidepperson2376]

Outstanding!

[@si1entdave]

Fascinated that you did the Evapo-Rust before the parts cleaner - I would have thought you would want to get the dried grease and grot off first so the Evapo-Rust can get to the metal.

[@haydenf1353]

Maybe he can’t get the solvents from the parts washer into the evapor-rust? Idk actually just a guess.

[@HandToolRescue]

I always Evapo-Rust first since any washing might remove some delicate features like pin-striping.

[@CatNolara]

@@HandToolRescue interesting. Then again, does it make sense to use the evaporust on parts that get sand blasted anyway?

[@si1entdave]

@@HandToolRescue Thank you! That makes perfect sense.

[@jennessalynam7682]

That is so freaking cool. It's amazing how you make something that looks so badly rusted and trashed to making it look like it's brand new! Thanks for sharing. Absolutely Love watching your videos

[@BubbleWrapPerson]

The sandblaster bit absolutely killed me!

[@gregorythomas333]

That is a seriously cool machine...I would have loved to see the previous iterations to see how they worked out the final product!

[@Raisopod]

Honestly I was surprised at how functional it was before you started working on it. Normally the stuff you get is either completely seized up or broken in some manner that prevents it from moving, but this was pretty gizmunctional right at the start.

[@gripperb52]

Absolutely enjoy watching you restore stuff technique and why along with humor.

[@baconfarts3211]

Always excited for your vids because you find the weirdest tools I've never heard of. That and when you educate us how the tool is used is awesome. As always, can't wait for the next one.

[@gutsngorrrr]

Lovely restoration of a very interesting old tool. I also noticed you have a few workshop upgrades.

[@panaphobic1]

it looks like a completely new shop to me.

[@haphazard1342]

@@panaphobic1 Yes, he moved. This is a new shop.

[@sdavifcom]

Just noticed you went over the 1 million mark. Fully deserved. Congrats.

[@stanthurman9008]

Awesome piece of yesteryear equipment , congratulations on cleaning this piece of History ! Thank you .

[@the_cheese]

That thing offers a plenitude of ways to crush the user's fingers. Great video, HTR!!

[@steveferguson1232]

This is an amazing tool. I knew Festool had to get their idea for the Domino from somewhere. Lol. Amazing job as always. Question have you ever been asked to restore a piece for a museum. If not they should

[@hamaljay]

You beat me to it. As soon as I saw what this thing I thought of a festool domino. I've seen somebody make one out of an angle grinder.

[@GuildOfCalamity]

The turntable scratch got me.

[@wrongfullyaccused7139]

So pleasant to see someone repairing cracks in cast iron correctly. Thank you.

[@hamboneneurosis995]

This is probably the coolest tool I've seen from your videos.

[@petercolquhoun2086]

And there goes Festool's patent on the Domino.

[@leadboots72]

Your advice on step 69 is unclear. My gizmortizer doesn't work after following your instructional video. Now my wife left me and my dog has cancer. Thanks a lot HTR, you ruined my life!

[@krazyredhead]

sounds like a you problem😅

[@chrisbradley20]

@@krazyredheadso true 😂

[@GeneralSulla]

A swift tap or two with a hammer should work well. It'll work on your Gizmortiser too!

[@associatedblacksheepandmisfits]

Please could you come collect yr wife ,she keeps digging up my daffodils 😡

[@fredk.2001]

You forgot to account for the gas clouds on uranus, and neglected to stand on your head. That's what gave poor doggo cancer...

[@tomcatfoolery]

There is some real gizmo stuff here. I'm enjoying the journey.

[@krraai]

You've got a new rust bucket! and fancy gloves. Also, how do you keep track of where all the bits go? Or is that your brilliant mechanical memory

[@nortyfiner]

"Keeping track of where all the bits go" is why he first started making videos of his work. Then later on came KZbin, and the rest is history.

[@grilnam9945]

Remember to put nipple clamps on Christmas list. 1:52