Miniature tools and shops interest Al Osterman

Al Osterman was born in February, 1925 and has been making a living working in metal since 1949. Though he was raised in farming and nursery work, a change in the direction of his life and a love of working in metal caused Al to decide to make his living in his own shop. His shop now consists of lathes, milling machines, drill presses, welding and heat treating equipment. He also has a broad range of hand tools that relate to his chosen field.

Al’s main interest is machine designs of long ago. Most of his work is made to order for customers. Occasionally he will make a machine that really catches his interest on a freelance basis with the plan to sell it later on when he finds a buyer. Recently, he made a “Little Giant” power hammer that falls into this category. He generally builds to the scale of 2 inches to the foot, or 1/6 size.

When it comes to authenticity, Al is a stickler for detail. He insists on making all parts in the original material in which they were built. If a part was brass, it is brass in the model. If the original part was cast iron, it is cast iron in the project, and so on. Parts are not actually cast, as it is not practical to make molds for one casting. To duplicate the shapes of what were originally castings, parts are machined from solid cast iron stock and built up to match the shape of the original.

Al learned his craft by attending night school and observing work in progress at local machine shops while asking “a zillion questions.” He started working on miniature models late in his career and has no firm plans for the future. He still works full time in his shop and says he never tires of the work at hand.

The late 19th century machine shop project displayed on this page was built for Ralph Koebbeman and is now in his proud possession in Illinois. All the machines are functional, although the small scale makes demonstration difficult. Mr. Koebbeman says the shop most likely would have been powered by a gasoline engine, but he had a nice steam engine of the proper scale already on hand, so he fitted it up to power the overhead shaft and leather belt drive system. The steam engine sits outside the shop and is not visible in the photos submitted. Many small details also make the shop more lifelike. Study the details and you will see not only beautiful machines, but barrels for trash and scrap, hammers, vises, drills, a clock on the wall—all the things that make a shop look real. This shop took about a year to build. An article about it by Mr. Koebbeman appeared in the Miniature Arms Society newsletter in July, 1998.