Photos from recent visits (Click on a photo to view a larger image.)

Club or Group

The San Diego Woody Club made a day of it at the Craftsmanship Museum including a special treat for anyone visiting the museum; Jim Kipp (Woody Club member) brought in one of his scratch built Black Widow V8 engines. See the video on YouTube, https://youtu.be/972vnb68nV4

A few of our friends from the Palm Springs Corvette Club took their favorite cars out for a road trip to North County stopping in to have lunch at their favorite eatery and see the sights in Carlsbad. It’s always a lot of fun for both the visitors and our staff when car clubs come to visit the museum.

We made some new friends from the Checkered Flag Club of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles who made a trek down from L.A. to visit the museum and take in some of the other San Diego area attractions. You can visit their website at https://www.petersen.org/.

Our friends from the Palomar A's car club came to kick off the new year. Dave Belt, our Master Machinist, is a long time member of the club and has restored/owned numerous Model A's of his own.

A dozen students from The Country School in San Marcos, California visited us today. The students also got to visit our machine shop where Dave Belt, our Master Machinist, demonstrated several of our miniature engines and our world famous Do Nothing Machine.

We were visited today by an adventurous group of 54 seniors from the San Francisco Bay area. They all get together every year to travel around the country with the Joy Holiday tour company and this year, they picked the museum as one of their Southern California destinations.

Southwest Corvettes is a social club from the Cerritos and Long Beach California area with over 80 members supporting various service projects in their area. They have regular outings and events and today’s road trip destination was the museum here in Carlsbad. We knew we were in for something special when the line of Corvettes began to pull into the parking lot. http://www.southwestcorvettes.org/.

As part of their 2017 Annual Meet, more than 60 members of the Dodge Brothers Club dropped in to visit the museum. The Dodge Brothers Club, founded in 1983, is dedicated to the research and preservation of Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicles and Graham Brothers Commercial vehicles. (http://www.dodgebrothersclub.org/home) Club members spent a couple hours browsing the more than 1500 displays and visiting our machine shop to see our Do-Nothing machine and observe some of our miniature engines being run.

Car club members from Rochester, MI dropped in today during their semiannual visit to California to go to the L.A. Roadster show. Organizer Tom Stepp made the Craftsmanship Museum a destination this year for the 8 club members making the trip. Here's a link to information about the club at one of their favorite hangouts.

A group of US Marine wounded warriors from Camp Pendleton in Oceanside visited the museum. They divided up into teams and took our scavenger hunt challenge, answering questions about items that can be found in the museum. They also enjoyed a tour through our machine shop hosted by Master Machinist Dave Belt. We were happy to be able to honor their service and their sacrifices.

Local engineering company, Means Engineering selected the Craftsmanship Museum to host their catered Christmas party on an evening after the museum closed. Over 70 guests enjoyed the fancy catered meal while also enjoying a tour of the museum and our machine shop.

Over 40 people of various ages attended a multi-stop tour of attractions in the San Diego area, starting with the Craftsmanship Museum. The museum welcomes visits by all sorts of groups.

Note the custom hotrod in photos 6, 7 and 8. It has a custom welded frame, pounded copper bodywork, a convertible top made from his wife's old couch material, lights made from kitchen cannisters, custom wrought iron fixtures and a flathead engine with a custom designed fuel injection system. It was built by Phil Endicott and driven out all the way from Grove, Oklahoma. Note also the single-wheel trailer on the back with Harley-like saddle bags. Very innovative!

Up to 70 cars from all over the USA were signed up for the national Road Tour organized by Street Rodder magazine. At least 50 cars and 70 or so people arrived on a Sunday morning for a special visit to the Craftsmanship Museum. Shown to the left are a few of the cars and people in attendance that day. It is good to see that these cars are not just "show specials" but are also runners, capable of interstate travel in addition to just looking great.

The National T-Bucket Roadster Alliance made the museum one of the tour stops during the Western National Tour. Our parking lot filled up with 27 beautiful Model T based hotrods and their drivers and passengers. It was a hot, humid day (for So. Cal.) so we appreciate these hardy souls coming out for the event. At least it was cool inside the museum as they toured the displays and the machine shop.

The Model A Club has made the museum a stop on several of their tours. They always bring out a large and enthusiastic group. Dave Belt (in blue shop coat) is a member of the club and owns two Model A's. He is also the museum's master machinist and is shown here giving a tour of the machine shop and pointing out the "Do Nothing" machine.

Twenty-seven students from Taiwan stopped by Sherline Products came by bus in the morning to tour the machine tool factory. We suggested they might like to see Joe Martin's museum of miniature craftsmanship as well, and we were right. They did enjoy the tour.

From modern to classic 1965 fastback--all Ford pony-power.

A herd of Mustangs rumbled into our parking lot about 10:30 AM. There was one gold 1967 vintage fastback and a host of newer models including a Cobra 500 looking very mean in black. Dave Belt gave a special tour through the machine shop at 11 AM for the group of 21 drivers and passengers.

Quite a lineup of fine German sheet metal. A large group toured the museum machine shop.

About 15 cars and 30 people tested their air conditioning in an unseasonably warm ride from Riverside, CA to tour the museum. With temperatures in the 90's is was well above normal for March. Dave Belt hosted an early tour at 11:30 through the machine shop so they could head on to their next destination--lunch!

Indian was the first big name American V-twin motorcycle, preceding Harley Davidson by several years. The company has changed hands several times, but the name lives on.

A group of Indians swooped down on the museum's parking lot. Lots of V-twin rumble and some beautiful modern Indian bikes brought some riders who were grateful for the museum's air conditioning.

A big group of small cars descended on the museum as the Mini Cooper club came for a tour. How appropriate for a miniature engineering museum. Many of the members sported red "Bazinga!" T-shirts in honor of another Cooper (Sheldon of the "Big Bang Theory" TV show). In all about 25 or so cars graced the lot. Though almost all were "modern era" Minis, there was one tiny red original 1300 Mini made in Italy by Innocenti. In case viewers weren't sure, in the rear window was a decal that assured you it was "Actual Size."

*Starting December 1st the museum will be open Tuesday through Saturday 9-4.

Club members arriving, posing for a group photo and getting the machine shop tour from Master Machinst Dave Belt. Cool rides!

About 30 members of the San Bernardino chapter of the Over the Hill Gang car club picked a beautiful day for a cruise. They met at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside and then drove down to the museum for a tour. We split the noon machine shop tour into two groups to handle the influx of engine fans. From the museum they were headed toward Restaurant Row in San Marcos for a late lunch before heading home.

A couple of classic car club signs graced the back windows.

A rare overnight rain storm didn't stop this club from bringing out some of their classic cars for a morning tour of the museum following breakfast and before heading up to Julian for lunch. Though all are Chevy owners, one participant brought left his home and drove his 1956 Plymouth Fury. Other vintage cars included a 1955 Chevy and newer Corvette. A few classics that weren't ready to run in the rain had to stay in the garage in favor of more modern rides, but all had a good time visiting the museum.

For a car that initially came only in black, many bright colors were represented.

The San Diego regional chapter of the Model T Ford Club of America hosted several ride destinations on this sunny Monday, the Craftsmanship Museum being one of them. We expected a good group but got even more than we had hoped for. The parking lot filled up with vintage Model T Fords including models from racing roadsters to big sedans and convertibles. Some were totally original while some were restored to perfection. The show in the parking lot attracted other visitors as well, and we managed to set a new attendance record for a weekday with 122 visitors. Model T Fords were the first mass-produced automobiles available and were made from 1908 until 1927 remaining relatively unchanged in the engine and driveline department. Though many of those that remain have been turned into hotrods, the ones seen here are well cared for or restored.

     

Ford Model A's plus some hotrods fill the museum lot. A white Rambler American station wagon was the unusual choice for this Ford V8 powered hotrod.

The museum is a popular Saturday destination for the local Model A club. It probably doesn't hurt that our master machinist, Dave Belt is a member and owns and drives two Model A's himself. In addition to the old Fords a group of four hotrods graced the parking lot as well.

Guys from Jack's Garage check out Lou Chenot's 1/6 scale Duesenberg.

A group of motorhead friends and Bonneville speed trials aficionados meets regularly at "Jack's Garage," owned by a friend named Jack. Many are members of the Southern California Timing Association that helps put on the speed trials. They don't claim to be a club, just a loose affiliation of friends with a common interest in things that go fast. The group's last visit was in 2010. Welcome back!

The club members gather for a photo in the museum, plus two Pierce Arrows...

Trunks, Pakard, Cadillac, Bugatti and Chrysler Airflow. Rare stuff indeed!

What a fine collection of vintage equipment! In addition to Packards and Pierce Arrows were a Cadillac, a Chrysler Airflow and even a Bugatti! All were show quality too. It's nice to see these fine rides still taking to the roads and being enjoyed. Other visitors to the museum really enjoyed the car show in our parking lot too--an extra bonus.

Cars from the '30's into the 60's showed up with custom touches that never came from the factory.

Making the 90-mile run down from Long Beach, the Sultans Car Club brought out some interesting hotrods. They arrived right on time and got the first shop tour of the day.  These classy rods show why Southern California is the center of the car culture

Members of the North County Corvette club gather with their cars and then watch Dave Belt demonstrate some of the engines built in our museum shop.

Thundering in along with the Sultans of Long Beach, the North County Corvette Club always makes a strong showing. Most of the cars were of the newer vintage with just one mid-60's coupe in the mix. Lots of horsepower here!

Visitors enjoy the miniature firearms collection on loan from the Miniature Arms Society.

The only non-Cobra in the group was the Monster Miata in the first photo. Not your cute 4-cylinder model...this one has a big V8 under the hood. Though most Cobra reproductions favor the 427 model with its big grill and wide tires, the black one had the more graceful lines of the earlier 260/289 powered version that first hit the racetracks in the early 1960's. Read the inscription on the rear view mirror in the 6th photo. That says it all.

This many Cobras in one spot makes for quite a snake pit! Caroll Shelby's original challenge to the Corvette from the 1960's still holds a place in the heart of all hot rodders and sports car fanatics. The popularity of the marque is pointed out by the number of factories and shops still turning out complete runners and kits of the ever-popular car. There was also a locally built (San Marcos) Monster Miata. They converted Mazda Miatas with a conversion to V8 power, yielding a modern equivalent of the Cobra formula--take a small, light sports car and stuff in a big V8. You can definitely feel the ground shake when this many Cobras show up in one place at the same time.

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Retired but not retiring...these active visitors in their 90's share an interest in getting out and seeing new things.

Residents of the LaCosta Glen Retirement Community visited the museum. The 90+ club consists of members over 90 years old. Several of the gentlemen were former WWII pilots. One was a B-17 bombardier who explained using and protecting the secrecy of the Norden bomb sight we have on display. Another had piloted the real P-51D Mustang as modeled in 1/16 scale by Young Park.

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Twenty-five guests from all over the Midwest including the tour guide and the bus driver toured the museum. We opened up especially for this group who were enjoying the warm California sunshine and weather about 40 degrees warmer than back home in the Midwest. From our museum they were moving on to lunch and then to see a play in Escondido.

Jan Haring (1st photo, green dress) not only hosted the party, she helped build the dollhouse miniatures on display at the museum. Guests visited the rest of the museum and machine shop after the food was served. Professional caterers put out a very fancy spread.

Jan Haring hosted a remembrance party for her late husband Joe Haring. Jan and Joe built the beautiful dollhouse miniatures that are now featured in the museum. Retired US Marine Joe Haring was a skilled woodworker who liked building the structures, and then the two of them would search for appropriate craftsmen to make the interior furnishings. Despite the winter storm, about 60 people attended for lunch and a tour of the museum.

Photo 2: Shop master machinist Dave Belt holds up a piston for the Kinner 5-cylinder engine he is building while explaining how a radial engine works.

An outreach program for seniors is offered that takes tours to various spots of interest. The instructors are the docents at the various museum, and the active and curious members had a good time asking questions about many of the items in the museum as well as taking in the shop tour hosted by Master Machinist Dave Belt. There were so many signups the group had to be split into two days, but we managed to accommodate everyone by opening up for a special Thursday tour for the second half of the group. With both this large group of 47 and the 27 from the following group, the museum was pretty crowed for about two hours. Volunteers Harvey Rushfeld, Jan Haring, Bob Rabourne as well as director Craig Libuse and master machinist Dave Belt hosted the group and answered questions.

Visitors tour the dollhouse miniature exhibit and get photos taken in Joe Martin's 1959 Austin Healy Sprite racecar. The car is outfitted for vintage sports car racing.

Twenty-seven people touring Southern California by bus from the midwest made the museum a stop between visiting the NAMM Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad and seeing a play at Lawrence Welk Village in Escondido. They had spent two sunny weeks in unseasonalbly warm Southern California weather but got a little taste of rain upon their arrival at the museum. The next day they were scheduled to return to the midwest, right in the middle of winter storm Titan. We hope they enjoyed their west coast tour.

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An organized tour from Redwood Terrace Senior Living came by bus to visit the museum. The group and some other visitors are seen at the left getting a tour of the machine shop and watching Dave Belt run the "Do Nothing" machine.

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Fallbrook Historical Society members look on while master machinist Dave Belt explains the operation of the external combustion engines in the museum machine shop.

Fourteen members of the Fallbrook Historical Society made the trip down from the avocado capital of the USA to visit the museum. The gentleman on the left of the photo is just turning 96 years old. They also enjoyed the miniature arms collection and the dollhouse miniatures in the museum's conference room.

Team Paradox from the San Dieguito Academy met in the museum's conference room for a several hour long meeting before touring the museum. Shown are some of the drive bases they have built.

About 30 members of the local FIRST Robotics Team Paradox gathered in our conference room for a meeting that lasted several hours before taking a look at our exhibits. They brought along a couple of motorized bases used to move future robots while they compete at various tasks.

The group got to see some of our engines run in the machine shop and many marveled at the dollhouse miniatures collection. Above, docent Jim LeBlanc explains the solar powered Stirling engine before the group got back on their big tour bus to head off to Julian.

A group of 31 church members came by for a quick stop between the NAMM Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad and lunch in Julian. A special engine run was scheduled for them in the machine shop. Their coach was probably the largest to yet grace our parking lot.

The museum arranged a special Wednesday opening for a group of hotrodders touring the area. Many of the vehicles were pickups from Pickups Unltd., but other makes and models were represented as well.  Thanks to Barbara Baxter for organizing the tour and to the members for their kind donations.

Members of the senior tour watch engine demonstrations by Dave Belt in the museum's machine shop.

A group of about 15 seniors arrived by bus from the local Solana Beach Presbyterian Church at 10 AM for a tour of the museum. Several other groups of people were already present and all enjoyed a tour of the machine shop by our lead toolmaker Dave Belt. As we usually do, the engines we have produced were run for the visitors at 10 AM, noon and 2 PM. Others enjoyed viewing our collection of dollhouse miniatures.

An all aluminum rod pulls out as the group gets ready to leave. The green car is the Morris and the red one is the Sunbeam. A good mix of American stock and modified cars was represented.

Though technically not arriving with the club, when you get a 427 Cobra in your parking lot, you snap a photo of it. Fords of other eras from the 1930's Model T based rod to a 1957 station wagon were also represented.

When you get a rolling car show like this in your parking lot, others pull in just to see what is going on. The 427 Cobra was a late arrival that wasn't in the club...at least not yet.

Club members observe an engine demonstration by Dave Belt in the machine shop and a close examination of the dollhouse miniatures in the conference room.

Studebaker started out making wagons in the 1852 and an electric car in 1902. They continued making cars until 1964. One red 1963 Studebaker Avanti was present along with three others of that model produced by Avanti Motors after Studebaker closed its South Bend, Indiana factory. Included where a convertible model and a rare 4-door of which only 90 were built in 1990. The unusual and technically advanced Avanti, designed by Raymond Lowey came too late to save the company from bankruptcy. Older Studebakers from the 40's and 50's were also represented. Over the years Studebaker produced some iconic designs.

A small group came topless (their cars, that is) to visit the museum. Many came in non-convertibles, as a lot of the club member's cars are currently undergoing restoration but there were a couple of drop-tops in the lot.

Seventeen fine Ford Model-T based hotrods stopped by for a Friday tour of the museum. Note the third photo with two takes on the theme: In the foreground a Viper V-10 powered T and behind it a more traditional Flathead Ford powerplant. Inside the museum, members learn about our 1/4 scale Kinner 5-cylinder radial engine under construction in the museum machine shop.

These are not the Model T Fords your great grandpa paid a few hundred dollars for new. These have been hot-rodded to the hilt with fancy paint, lots of chrome, fat tires and engines with AT LEAST 8 cylinders (one had 10). They were on their way to lunch at a park in Escondido and then to be the featured club at that night's "Cruisin' Grand" weekly hotrod show in Escondido.

(Below left) One of the happiest faces in motoring--the "Bugeye" Sprite. (Center) Introduced in 1961, over 50 years later the 3000 MKII is still a beautiful car.

A fine collection of some of the prettiest cars to come out of England in the 1950's and 1960's made the museum a stop on a Saturday morning.

Docent Jim LeBlanc (center) explains some of the exhibits to members of The Club.

The Club is a social group of Escondido residents who meet weekly for tours of interesting spots, gatherings for people of similar interests like sewing or gourmet cooking, lunches out and a monthly potluck dinner. Today about 15 members gathered at 10 AM for a tour of the museum.

An enthusiastic group of about 18 vintage Ford Model A car owners visited the museum on a beautiful Saturday morning. These are not hotrodders, but rather this group is more interested in restoring their historic cars to their original (or better) condition and also taking them out onto the highway where they belong. Henry Ford would be proud.

Jim White (far left) and Dave Belt (blue shop coat) demonstrate running the flame licker engine and Dave talks about using the Deckel pantograph mill.

Other visitors to the museum got to see a free car show in our parking lot in addition to the museum.

Members gather for a group shot.

The Simi San Diego Asebring Assn. brought a member tour to the museum on a Saturday morning. The name stands for "All Speed Events Besides Rac-ING." That means they attend and participate in timed events that featrue one car on the track at a time against the stopwatch. That makes it a "speed event" but not a race, since they are not running head-to-head against other drivers.  You can bring just about any kind of car and have fun. A "wreck" usually means just knocking over a few orange traffic cones in a big parking lot. Don't get the impression they aren't serious about speed though. Some of these cars are purpose-built for this kind of course and are blazing fast.

A rainbow of Corvettes in the museum parking lot.

The Simi Valley Corvette Club consists of about 150 members owning 90 cars. In addition to visiting interesting places together they do charity work and send gifts to the troops. About a half dozen cars drove all the way down the coast to stop at the Craftsmanship Museum at about 2 PM. It was a great day for convertibles—but any day is a good day to be driving a Corvette.

Left to right: Jiri Klsak, Petr Bursik, Tom Hersant from the City of Carlsbad, CA, founder Joe Martin, Lord Mayor Petr Kulhanek and Dr. Milan Vodicka. The second photo shows four visitors marveling at the running of our "Flame Eater" external combustion engine while the translator snaps a photo. Lord Mayor Petr Kulhanek is seen at the bottom right while Dr. Vodicka snaps a photo.

It was a pleasure showing these interesting gentlemen around, and we hope they enjoyed the unusual exhibits we had to offer.

About 25 cars on hand for the opening day of the GoodGuys Nationals at the Del Mar Fairgrounds arrived about 11:30 on a poker run. The group included about 50 people, plus we had a few extra spectators wander in due to a recent San Diego Union Tribune newspaper article on the museum. All were welcome on what is normally one of the days we are closed. Joe Martin was on hand to greet the visitors too as was docent Jim White. Craig will be attending the GoodGuys show this weekend to get some even better pictures of these great cars.

Visitors from La Costa Glen check out the running steam engine exhibit.

The first full day of Spring brought an interesting and enthusiastic group from a local Carlsbad senior living community. They were among the first to see one of the newest additions to the museum which is not yet officially on display--the famous "Do-Nothing" machine. About 23 visitors attended on a bus outing from the community.

Members of the Ship Modeler's Guild pose for a group photo.

Expert model makers all, the model ship builders group of San Diego came up for a Saturday afternoon tour of the museum. Although we have several nicely built ship models we would certainly like to add some by expert scratch builders like these. (hint, hint.) Bob is the master model maker aboard the San Diego Maritime Museum's floating gallery, the Berkeley and the one who arranged for the visit.

Bentley club cars and members

Despite the rain earlier in the morning, a group of Bentley owners from the San Diego area stopped by to tour the museum. The day turned sunny for the rest of their stops as they traveled as a group. The museum had at least one Bentley engine to show them--a 1/4 scale Bentley BR2 9-cylinder rotary airplane engine from WWI by Paul Knapp.

Members' cars class up our museum parking lot.

Not organized as a specific hotrod club, this group of friends, many of whom are members of various Orange County and San Diego area car clubs, get together now and then for a tour to a fun destination. Today they picked the Craftsmanship Museum. Though normally closed on Wednesdays, we opened up for this pre-arranged tour of over 30 people who had the museum to themselves for a few hours before heading out to meet for lunch. Bill Story from the SEMA tour group that visited us in October arranged the tour.

(Left) Dave Belt (blue shop coat) points out features of the engines built in the museum's machine shop and (middle) describes some of the machine tools in the shop. (Right) Visitors examine model engines, cars and airplanes in the main museum display area.

An organization in San Diego provides day trips for seniors with mild impairment who find it difficult to get out on their own. Eighteen visitors and four staff members came by for a tour including a look at how small engine parts are made in the museum machine shop.

Sherline's Lead Toolmaker Pam Weiss demonstrated the running of some of our small engines in the machine shop, and founder Joe Martin talked with guests.

For the first time in our museum parking lot, we were graced with 18 Rolls Royce and Bentley automobiles as members of the San Diego Region of the Rolls Royce Club made us a stop on their tour on a Saturday morning. Joe Martin was there to greet the guests along with Craig Libuse, Pam Weiss and master machinist Dave Belt. Though rain had been predicted all week, the storm passed through faster than expected and the day was perfect for a tour in a classic car. Thanks to Klaus for arranging the tour.

Lots of hot Fords and Chevys rolled in, but also some unusual cars like a Henry J and a Nash Metropolitan were part of the group too.

On hand for the event from the museum were Joe Martin, Craig Libuse, Dave Belt and Pam Weiss. Over 60 cars and over 85 participants visited the museum. We thank all the tour members for their generous donations and hope you had a great time seeing all the miniature engines and models.

Vincent motorcycles from England were legendary for their speed and quality. A Vincent Black Shadow held the land speed record for motorcyles at Bonneville for over three decades. They were the featured marque at this weekend's concours de elegance in Del Mar, CA, and a group of the show attendees, hosted by a local Euro touring bike club,  took a local ride on Saturday to visit the museum

The unique air cooled Franklin engine in Neil Maken's car is said to run so cool a temperature gauge wasn't needed. Club members check out the exhibits and then head off down the highway.

A group of vintage American cars and their drivers enjoyed the perfect weather and cruised down the coast from the Huntington Beach area for a visit to the museum late Saturday afternoon. Included wereStudebakers, Fords, a Dodge, a Plymouth taxi cab and a lone air-cooled Franklin.

A number of British cars including several AC Cobras were in our parking lot for the tour. "Super-docent" Bob Rabourne talks with the owner of one of the Bentleys leaving the Mercedes studio parking lot. Chuck Spielman's sizzling red AMG Mercedes Benz SLS roadster was also on display during the lunch catered by Sizzler. The SLS was one of the projects worked on at the Carlsbad studio.

A weekend fundraiser featured a trip to the Mercedes Design Studio in Carlsbad in the morning and a visit to the Craftsmanship Museum in the afternoon. The following day was a British Car Show in Fallbrook, CA. Participants contributed to the Meals on Wheels program for seniors and disabled. We were proud to be considered an attraction for this fine group of donors who participated. About 50 or so visited the museum between 12:30 and 2:30 and many of them arrived in British cars that would be in the following day's show in Fallbrook. Craig Libuse from the museum was invited on the morning tour of the Mercedes Design Studio where he met some of the world's best designers and craftsmen building the clay models for future Mercedes Benz cars.

Members of the vintage truck group gather around machinist Dave Belt as he explains progress on the Kinner 5-cyl radial being built in the museum's machine shop.

These fine old trucks were a little larger than we expected, but the parking lot was able to handle them with no problems. Included in the mix were everything from semi's to dump trucks to fire trucks. Some were restored to perfection and a few are still used on the job, but all were classic vintage American iron.

The Model A panel truck could qualify as a "Vintage Truck" in the earlier group of the same day. Most were convertibles, coupes and sedans, but all were solid Ford vintage.

The Model A club is a repeat visitor having visited in April, 2011, but they always bring out a good group of classic Fords. Our shop master machinest, Dave Belt is also a member and brought out his newly restored "A" as well.

Club members tour the display area as host Paul Healy points out details. Late they watched the machine shop's tiny engines in action.

The North County Cruisers stopped by in Classic hotrods from the 1930's to the 1960's ('66 Mustang not shown) for a tour of the shop and exhibits. As always, those who work on their own cars can appreciate the work that has gone into the tiny engine, tool and model projects in the museum. Running the little engines we have built in our own machine shop is always a hit too.

The club gathers before going into the museum, then Paul Healey demonstrates some of our shop-built engines. The yellow car (bottom, center) is a Corvette ZR-1.

Lee Root's 1/4 scale Corvette engine is always a popular exhibit with visiting Corvette clubs, and Corvettes of San Diego was no exception. They even picked up a guest when another Corvette driver saw them out on a run and followed them to the museum. The museum had a lot of other visitors that morning, and all got to enjoy some fancy and colorful machinery in the parking lot.

A little dinner, a little talk and an evening tour.

About 20 local members of the National Tool Manufacturers' Association met in our museum after hours on a Thursday evening to discuss business, have a little dinner and then tour the museum. One of the attendees was with the San Diego School system and will hopefully get the word out to their school machine shop students about the museum.

It's not often you see a Hudson on the road these days, but our parking lot was graced with five fine examples on Saturday as the local Hudson club made the museum a tour destination. These are nicely restored but are driven and are not just for show. Some have quite high mileage. The owner of the gold car will be driving it to the Nationals in Pennsylvania later this year. One club member's car has 775,000 miles on the odometer! Note the massive straight eight engine in the last photo.

Two red MGB's contrast with a blue 1950's vintage MGA as club members pose with their rides shortly after arrival.

 The many local car shows combined with the fine weather on Memorial Day weekend probably reduced participation but those who did make the run enjoyed their museum tour.

Early Ford club cars in the parking lot and members in the museum...Wait a minute! How did that GMC pickup get in there?

Another rolling car show graced our parking lot on a beautiful Saturday morning as the members of the Early Ford Club toured the museum inside. Pam Weiss, Paul Healy, Craig Libuse and founder Joe Martin were on hand to provide insight into the exhibits.

1. Arrival, 2 and 3. Under the hood of that innocent looking Mercury woodie was a big aluminum block with Ardun heads. 4. A salmon pink '59 Buick lowered down to the ground. 5. Departure

A fine group of hotrod owners, many of them from Northern and Central California and around the country stopped by as part of their outing on Friday. The big show is in town this weekend at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and these will be some of the stars.

(Note: The red '66 VW at the right in the first photo isn't part of the club tour...that's Craig's)

Two car clubs picked a perfect California day to meet up at the Craftsmanship Museum. A total of about 48 people arrived in 25 or so gorgeous Corvettes. At almost 80° it was a good day for top-down cruising. From our museum they were also scheduled to visit the NAMM Music Museum in Carlsbad.

Members line up for a group shot in front of their cars.

Just after the two Corvette clubs left, the Buicks began streaming into the parking lot. The cars spanned the decades, ranging in age from a first-year 1963 model to the retractable headlight model like Patrick Swayze drove in the movie Road House to more modern versions. All were classy when new and still look good today, as did their drivers.

1. Guests check in and pick up nametags. 2. The caterers put out a delicious spread including fine wines. 3. Background violin music provided an artful ambiance. 4. Members get a tour from Mike Sheehy (by yellow boat models) and Tom Boyer (yellow shirt in machine shop). 5 and 6. Foundation officers talk to the members out in the museum.

The museum was privileged to have the members of the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation hold their Fall get-together at our facility. Members contribute to a fund that supports arts and craftsmanship in Carlsbad through grants available to local non-profit organizations. The catered affair brought out about 80 generous members and guests, many of whom had not heard of the museum before this event. As the newest museum in Carlsbad, we are grateful for the attention of such a prestigious group.

Tom Boyer (left) waits for the meeting to get started with some of the museum exhibits we brought with us. Craig and Tom talked about the museum and reminded these expert woodworkers that our purpose is to display the work of outstanding craftsmen—including the best of those present.

This is kind of a "reverse visit" in that Tom Boyer and Craig Libuse attended a meeting at Ocean Hills Adult Community Center in Oceanside and gave a presentation to this large and active woodworking club. They were one of our first group visitors in 2008 (see last entry in this section), but now have many new members who weren't aware of our museum. They are scheduling another  bus trip to the museum soon.

Gene Streeter was Ferris Bueller for the day and organized a rally that brought 25 Miatas and a lot of people out on a beautiful top-down kind of Friday. In the fourth photo, founder Joe Martin (dark grey shirt) talks with a visitor.

In the movie, Ferris Bueller talks his friends into skipping school to enjoy a wild Friday of fun and adventure in Chicago. A total of 25 Miata's graced the museum parking lot and over 40 members enjoyed a tour of the museum on this Friday off. Thanks to "Ferris" (alias Gene Streeter) for bringing the group by. (Hopefully no Ferraris were destroyed during this particular Southern California version...)

Pastel colored classics from the 50's graced the parking lot as their owners toured the museum.

Although it was bright and sunny in Carlsbad, some of the members from down south in San Diego and El Cajon were unable to drive up due to rainy conditions. As it was, the rest of the group did arrive for a weekday get-away and Craig, Mike and Joe Martin were there to host their tour of the museum. After the tour they were headed for custom built burgers at The Counter in Carlsbad.

These riders enjoy long distance touring in plenty of comfort and enjoy finding interesting places to visit along the way.

The parking lot was full of huge, mile-eating two-wheelers as about a dozen Honda Goldwings and a stray Yamaha Star and a Harley Road King stopped by for a museum tour. This is the second visit for the Goldwing club, having previously stopped at the old Vista location in December, 2009. Many of this group were members who missed the last tour, however, so it was all new to them. The return visitors also saw a lot of new items that have been recently added..

Tom warms up the green Rider-Ericsson engine for woodworking club visitors.

About 12-15 members showed up bright and early at 9 AM for a club outing. Though not strictly a woodworking museum, visitors still found plenty to be entertained and amazed with. Our staff thanks them for bringing their own coffee and donuts to share with everyone.

This is a second visit for the Palomar Model A's, but their first time at the new facility. As you can see they brought a large group of people and vintage Fords. Tom Demonstrated the running of the Rider-Ericsson Stirling engine and some of the internal combustion engines built in our own museum machine shop.

Club members get an engine demo by Tom Boyer and Pam Weiss.

With the big GoodGuys car show in Del Mar this weekend, a tour of hotrods driving down from the Pleasanton/Danville area in Central California made the museum their last stop on a two-day run. They had stopped at several other museums and places of interest for hot rodders and the hot weather had made for a long ride. We certainly appreciate those who stopped in for a tour including editor-in-chief of the GoodGuys Gazette magazine. We hope the photos he shot of our exhibits make it into their fine publication.

Engineers from JPL, Flex Partners and other area companies came by to see the examples of miniature engineering on display in our museum. Joe Martin was on hand to share his experiences in manufacturing.

A large group of historic American cars arrived with about 40 drivers, passengers and friends about 11 AM. Though rain was in the forecast, the weather held which was a particular relief to those in convertible models. Our parking lot sported some interesting cars from Model T's to Packards, Hudsons, Buicks and Cadillacs.

(1.) Tom runs the engines in the new shop. (2.) Club members inspect the exhibits.

The first visitors to our new facility held a monthly club meeting after hours in our shop area, serving pizza and sodas. Approximately 25 members enjoyed seeing Tom and Pam run the engines we built in our machine shop and then took an extended tour of the new display area. They plan to make it a daytime destination for a club tour soon.

Specializing in hotrod pickup trucks, members from several chapters of  Pickups Limited arrived with an impressive lineup of beautiful rods, mostly of 1950's Ford vintage. Thanks to Glenn for bringing the group and for supplying the photos of the trucks and the outdoor group shot. The large photo shows the group watching as Tom fires up the little Seal and Howell 4-cylinder engine in the museum's machine shop.

In the top middle photo Tom Boyer explains our two museum shop engine projects to the club members after running the Seal inline four and Howell V4.

25 Corvettes—That's the biggest collection of cubic dollars ever parked in our lot at any one time!

Our largest club visit to date, 50 people in 25 Corvettes arrived for a special Sunday opening, and no one but leader Bill Moore knew their destination until they got here. We put Lee Root's 1/4 scale 327 Corvette engine and Paul Knapp's supercharged Conley V8 out on special display in honor of the event. It goes without saying that Corvette owners appreciate fine craftsmanship, so hopefully everyone was pleased with what they found on display. They arrived together and on time and headed off a little after noon to gather for lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory. It was a beautiful day to be riding around in a Corvette—but then what day isn't?

Thirty-three members of the Temecula Chapter of the  Early Ford V8 Club made the Craftsmanship Museum a part of their tour for the day. From here they were headed to Famous Daves Bar-BQ for lunch.  Sounds like a fun way to spend a Wednesday.

Sherline's lead toolmaker, Pam Weiss helped host the Saturday tour for the "Jack's Garage" group. Pam's .22 cal. Gatling gun, Offenhauser 270 and Snow engine are on display in the museum.

They say they are not an official club, just people who get together at a friend's garage, but they are mostly gearheads and salt lake speed racers affiliated with the Southern California Timing Association. More than a dozen came down for a special Saturday tour.

This is the most horsepower to grace our parking lot in quite a while—thanks for the car show!

Photo 2—Joe, Scooter, Robert, Pam Weiss and Tom discuss Pam's Offenhauser 270 engine project in progress.

These gentlemen flew out from Florida as Scooter Patrick was one of the former F-5000 race car drivers being honored at this weekend's "Legends of Riverside" event at the nearby Riverside Raceway Museum. While out here they wanted to see the miniature engines at the Craftsmanship Museum.

March 13, 2010

Insisting they are "not a club," just a group of friends who get together for breakfast and then go somewhere interesting on Saturdays in their motorhome, they reserved a day and spent about three hours touring the museum and the Sherline tool factory. Nice folks!

February 27, 2010

Sorry, we didn't get any photos. If a member of the club took one, please forward it to mecm@craftsmanshipmuseum.com.

February 15, 2010

Sixteen or so big Honda Gold Wing motorcycles arrived on a tour, making for a colorful display in our parking lot. Though they share a lot of different interests, everyone enjoyed seeing the miniature engines and models.

Alfa Romeo club members watch as Tom Boyer runs the 4-cylinder Seal engine in the museum machine shop before starting their tour.

August 29, 2009

Mild to wild, some fine vintage hotrods  met up in the museum parking lot for a club picnic with a nice mountain view and ocean breeze plus a museum tour. Ben did the cooking (Tri-tip sandwiches) while the club members toured the museum exhibits.

Membership in the Vista "60+ Club" is open to anyone over 60 who likes to get together with others and meet at interesting places. Thanks for visiting, and we hope you found our museum both different and interesting!

Meeting up before a group ride to the museum and then lined up in the museum parking lot ready for a tour of the exhibits.

Wow! Now that's a classy parking lot!

This Los Angeles area club for machinists hosts a lot of talent. In addition to monthly meetings, they also attend shows like the Western Engine Model Exhibition in Vallejo each year. This group could really appreciate the fine examples of miniature machining exhibited in the museum.

Craig's blue Harley is parked out among a group of visiting BMW riders. Though they are made up primarily of BMW owners of the non-water cooled variety of the brand, others are welcome on their rides too. Our museum was one of a couple of stops for them that day.

March 7, 2009

Car guys love engines—big or small. Our second Saturday tour was from members of a local hotrod club.

Tom explains our current shop engine project downstairs, while Larry shows visitors the engine collection upstairs and the Manitowoc crane he built and donated.

The Ocean Hills community features a large woodshop and over 120 members in their woodworking club. Tom and Craig attended one of their meetings to tell them about our museum, and they responded with a well attended visit to our museum by their members.