This Swiss watchmaker's micrometer, which was purchased on eBay by a CNC-mechanic for $25, is a rusty, beaten-up old thing that has seen better days. Until the mechanic restores it to a beautiful shiny tool that could pass for a work of art.

From his YouTube site:

When I was scrolling through the antique section of eBay and first saw this micrometer I wanted to restore it right away. I really like the unique look of those watchmaker micrometers. As a professional CNC-mechanic I'm very familiar with those measurement devices and I'm using them on a daily basis. The measurement range of this micrometer is from 0-25mm and you can measure exactly on 0.005mm. It was once re-painted to yellow, the original colour was black. That's why I decided to paint it black again. In the front of the micrometer there was a plate with the name and the location of the previous owner mounted with two rivets. The plate was in very bad condition and as I'm the new owner of it, I decided to make a new plate with my name and my location...I'm still very happy how this restoration turned out.

The delightful trend of incompetently "restored" art continues, though at this point one wonders if it's for the publicity. Maria Luisa Menendez of El Ranadoiro says the local priest gave her permission to restore a chapel's 15th century sculptures, so she really ran with it. Read the rest

Preservationists restoring an 18th century statue of Jesus that was hanging in Burgos, Spain's church of St. Águeda found a two handwritten letters tucked into the figure's buttocks. Dated 1777, the notes were written by chaplin Joaquín Mínguez from the Burgo de Osma cathedral. The letters will be archived by the office of the Archibishop of Burgos while copies were put back into the statue's bottom. From National Geographic:

In his letters, Mínguez paints a picture of the region's day-to-day economic and cultural activity. The chaplain first notes that the statue was created by a man named Manuel Bal, who created other wooden statues for churches in the region. He then describes the successful harvests of various grains like wheat, rye, oats, and barley and stores of wine.

Mínguez also names diseases like malaria and typhoid fever plaguing the village during this time period, but adds that cards and balls were used for entertainment.

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