Midwest Tungsten Service manufactures intricate parts of tungsten, molybdenum, or tantalum via EDM, water jet cutting, stamping, grinding, and CNC milling, drilling, and turning.

Find company research, competitor information, contact details & financial data for Idaho Tool & Equipment, Inc. of Nampa, ID.

“There are all kinds of things that would be useful to somebody that will look like a piece of junk to someone else,” Skip said last week.

BAR HARBOR—He doesn’t just wear his trademark yellow ruler suspenders to keep his pants up; H. G. “Skip” Brack wears them to let people know where his passions lie and to start conversations. Basically, they are utilitarian advertising that can spark conversation about the mini empire that Skip has built around art, preservation, and history. Those suspenders have produced both new customers and new supply caches for Skip.

But Skip didn’t rest on his laurels after creating a home, business, and entertainment in Hulls Cove. In 1986, Skip purchased the Liberty Village General Store and Banks’ Garage, which is located across the street from the Liberty Tool Company. This building was also used to house excess purchases that Skip had made until 1992 when the lower floor was leased to Liberty Graphics, a t-shirt manufacturing company.

This Tamiya 19620 Mini 4WD KNUCKLE-BREAKER BLUE SPECIAL (SUPER XX CHASSIS) 1/32 is a great addition to any RC collector's lineup.

When you step inside of the Tool Barn, you can smell the age of the items inside. Touch one of the tools and you can imagine a craftsman long ago creating function and beauty with their sweat and labor. It is literally overflowing with items that can only be described as artifacts.

The first floor is the intake area where tools arrive from the Liberty Tool Company or after having been purchased from somebody trying to sell Skip some tools in person at the Tool Barn.

In 1994 Skip purchased his fifth building in downtown Searsport, the Captain Parker Building. It was renamed Captain Tinkham’s and was used to sell antiques, books, prints, collectibles, and of course, select hand tools. Searsport has yet to become the bustling tourist stop that Skip may have envisioned and Captain Tinkham’s has since closed and was sold in 2020.

Vintagetools Maine

Soon, Skip had developed a routine. Every other week, he would go to Massachusetts to look at tools that people who had answered the ads wanted to sell him. He would bring the tools back to Maine, clean and polish them, and put them out on the shelves. Of course, when Skip was out looking at old tools, he was also seeing antiques, artistic creations, and other “treasures” that he would sometimes purchase.

When Skip was in college, he worked as a house painter in the greater Boston area, and he knew that many of the houses that he had painted had cellars, garages, and attics that were full of old tools. Desiring more tools to sell at the store, Skip took out classified ads in newspapers for the Waltham and Newton, Massachusetts,areas where he had grown up. His ads told people that he wanted old hand tools, that he would pay for them, and that he would come and get them.

It is not, however, the end of Skip’s empire. The Liberty Tool Company will continue on as it has its own staff, management, and buyer/picker. If you need that hard-to-find tool you may have to drive a little farther but the opportunity will still be available.

Back in 1970, Skip was searching for a place to store his collection of driftwood and found objects that he had been picking up on the beaches of California in the late 60s. Skip was an admirer and amasser of driftwood and used this wood and the found objects that he picked up to create sculptures. As is true for most people with similar passions, the collecting outpaced the creating.

But, just like the stream erodes its bed or the trees reclaim the roads, life has a way of forcing changes. Unfortunately, due to health reasons, Skip must retire from the Tool Barn and the adventures that it has provided for him. After 53 years as an original picker, reclaimer of loved items, and salvager of other people’s junk, Skip has to close the Tool Barn.

Tiffany said that during the sale, everything at the Tool Barn will be for sale at 50% off. If an item is not marked or normally an item that would be for sale, you are free to make an offer. It is an “everything must go” type of sale. It is also the end of an era for Skip so remember that it is a celebration as well and a time to reminisce and appreciate.

Cutting Tools for Metalworking Products, Drills, End Mills, Taps, Thread Mills, Grooving Systems, Reamers, Tool Holders, Countersinks, Deburring Tools.

Flutes - 4 Center Cut. Finish / Coating - TiAIN. Length of Cut - 3/4".

LibertyTool for sale

In 1983 Skip purchased some acreage in Hulls Cove on the Breakneck Road. This property straddles the Breakneck Road with a house and barn on one side of the road and a field that abuts Acadia National Park property on the other. The barn needed some work and Skip set to renovating it and in 1984 opened what many have come to know and love as the Tool Barn.

“But he was always on the go,” Judith said, “even when we would travel, he was never just vacationing, he was always thinking and researching. That is one of the things that attracted me to him.”

Our current capabilities include the winding of evaporation filaments, electron beam, and ion beam filaments with both single and multistrand wire. Much of our computer-controlled equipment was built in-house to guarantee precision and repeatability. In addition to winding, we form wire into a variety of shapes using CNC benders, four-slides, and custom jigs and fixtures.

Skip is also an author and he has written many books on ferrous metallurgy, tools, and history. As is true of most people who possess a passion, Skip loves to share his knowledge, and he is an oral storyteller. Amazingly, Skip’s books were written through the process of oral dictation where he would speak the words and another person would do the actual typing. The information that was used in the process of knowledge taking form as words on paper all came from Skip’s head and rarely did he read from a source unless it was a direct quote.

Jonesport Wood Company

How many people do you know that would name a museum after the original name of a community? Skip is one! Skip’s love of history lead him to know that the towns of Liberty and Montville, Maine, made up what was originally the Davistown Plantation, founded by James Davis who moved to Maine from Massachusetts in 1780.

Jul 7, 2023 — Steel is made from iron by removing impurities and adding substances such as manganese, chromium, nickel, tungsten, molybdenum, and vanadium to ...

23410 50W MR16/C PRODUCTS DETAILS No: 23410-022 Product Color: BLACK Shade / Accent Colour: BLACK Width: 3.5″ Height: 5.625″

Liberty ToolsErie, PA

On the other side of the road is a fantasy land of found article artwork. Over the years, many artisans, including Skip, have provided pieces of their personal visions, created mostly of metal, stone, or a combination thereof, to what Skip calls the Davistown Museum Hulls Cove Sculpture Gardens. A walk around the mowed paths that wind through the wild gardens is a visually and mentally stimulating affair that provokes amazement and wonderment.

Because tungsten is a very hard material, conventional machining is often difficult or impossible. We utilize Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) to overcome this difficulty. EDM machining allows for intricate cutting with tight tolerances and allows us to create holes smaller and deeper than would otherwise be possible in tungsten.

The land where the Tool Barn and Skip and Judith’s residence sits has long been a popular stopping off point for early traders and explorers and before that was a Wabanaki encampment. It is very close to the ocean and is bordered by a stream that terminates at the shore. According to Skip, this made it a popular spot because of the fresh water source and the proximity to the sea.

✔️ Secure procedures in place to handle your prints for ITAR tungsten parts, ITAR tungsten heavy alloy parts, ITAR molybdenum parts, and ITAR tantalum parts

“I worked here for about a year when they told me to just start bringing Morsel to work with me instead of leaving her at home,” he said.

Sometimes a person’s passions can lead to unexpected opportunities that change their life for the better and stay with them until the end. That’s how it was for Skip.

The Breakneck Road where the property is situated was once a carriage path and road that lead to the Eagle Lake Road. It was used by settlers and Wabanakis as a way of getting to other areas on the island. At the entry to the Breakneck Road and the edge of his property, Skip has created and erected an informational signboard that tells some of this history.

LibertyTool Co

As tungsten is difficult to conventionally machine, we often use grinding to manufacture parts with tight tolerances or fine surface finish requirements.

Banks garage Liberty,Maine

Despite the difficulty, our extensive machining experience allows us to machine materials other companies cannot. Some of the conventional machining methods we employ include saw cutting, turning, boring, tapping, threading, multi-axis milling, and grinding.

A tool holder is a device that safely provides a critical interface between the cutting tool and the spindle of the CNC machine. The cutting tool is mounted ...

Always the hustler and entrepreneur, Skip kept up with the times and created the Great Wass Island Salvage Company eBay store so that he could sell tools online.

Over the years the uses of the second and third floors of the building have changed. Currently, the second floor is rental apartments and the third floor is the Davistown Museum where Skip proudly displays his most cherished tools, antiques, and artwork. Liberty Graphics still leases the first floor.

It's always best to use masonry drill bits or concrete diamond point screws. Both are designed to grind and bite into the material.

Filled with tools, the barn also houses books, art, miscellaneous antiques, and even some taxidermy. If you are in need of a rare or hard to find tool, information about tools or antiques, or just some good conversation, the Tool Barn is the place to start your search.

Midwest Tungsten houses a complete machine shop capable of machining parts to customer specification. We can accept both small and large run jobs of custom machined parts. We also have a full inspection department to assure your parts are correct. Certification of chemistry and physical properties are included at no charge. Dimensional inspection reports can also be obtained by request.

Nov 14, 2023 — Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) is a versatile and high-performance composite material composed of carbon fibres embedded in a polymer matrix.

Is there something at the Tool Barn that you have been eyeballing for a long time? Don’t fret, your patience may have paid off! Because September 27–October 4, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. daily, you have the chance to stop by and help Skip celebrate his retirement and buy those items that you have always wanted from the Tool Barn.

When you ask Scott how he feels about the end of an era and his employment with Skip, he’ll say that he has grown to really care about Skip and his wife Judith Bradshaw Brown and has spent a good deal of the last three years being their daily caretaker as well as employee. They are really nice people he said with obvious sadness.

Bar Harbor Story is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thanks for being here with us and caring about our community, too!

Waterjet cutting is best for smaller volume parts or for parts of thicker stock. This process is relatively quick, but is not suitable for parts with tight dimensional tolerances. For parts with high tolerances, we suggest EDM cutting.

I told Skip that I was in awe with what he had accomplished in his life and asked him if he ever slept. Both Skip and Judith chuckled, and Judith told me that Skip has always slept very well and had the ability to sleep anywhere at any time.

Usedtools Maine

Choose from our selection of chamfering tools, including countersinks for screws, countersinks for rivets, and more. In stock and ready to ship.

We’re available to answer any questions regarding our products or services and provide quotes for custom projects. We look forward to hearing from you.

When I was there, Scott was busy getting ready for the upcoming retirement sale along with Tiffany Gaspar who is the business manager for Skip’s endeavors. According to Judith, Tiffany has been instrumental in helping them maintain a thriving business between the stores and also helping come up with a plan that would allow Skip to retire but still maintain a business that will carry on his passions without him having to be such a big part of it in the future.

Judith produced six books for me while I was visiting, five were about tools and one was about Native American history in the Midcoast region of Maine. I asked if these were all of the books on tools that he had written. Always the salesman, Skip said, “Are you interested in buying them?”

In June of 1970, Skip purchased the Cummings & Norton General Store in West Jonesport, Maine. At the helm, he changed the name to the Jonesport Wood Company, and the old ship’s chandlery developed into more of an eclectic store that sold wood crafts, old books and bottles, jewelry from a local artisan, and antiques. The problem was that the offerings in the store, particularly Skip’s beloved driftwood sculptors, weren’t selling well.

Midwest Tungsten Service has numerous stamping and forming presses, brakes and shears. We also have CNC punches and tack welding equipment to form refractory metal sheet into the products that you need.

When the tools first arrive, they are usually in rough shape. Making them store shelf ready is the job of Scott Farley, the Tool Barn’s only employee. In a small hallway corner of the ground floor, Scott takes the newly arrived tools and grinds the rust and dust off and then polishes and/or oils them. The rest of the ground floor is where Skip will sort and price the tools before they migrate to the retail showroom on the second floor.

LibertyTool catalog

Skip Brack is not just an artist and lover of antiques; he is a lover of history in general. Skip is one of those people that you can sit down with to have a quick conversation about one thing and find, hours later, that he has educated you and entertained you on many different subjects. Skip knows the history of every building that he has owned and the area surrounding it.

Shortly after opening the store, a resident of West Jonesport came in and asked Skip if he would be interested in purchasing her late husband’s tool collection. Skip was and he did, and he put those tools up for sale in the store and they sold. In fact, they outsold everything else in the store. The tools were purchased by craftsmen, artisans, and boat building students who were looking for old, quality-made woodworking tools that either weren’t manufactured any longer or whose modern day counterparts did not match the abilities of their predecessors.

Skip was buying more product than the Jonesport store could handle and while on a tool picking trip to Liberty, Maine, he found another building to purchase so that he could store the overflow from Jonesport. In 1976, Skip purchased the old IGA Store in Liberty and opened the Liberty Tool Company. Already having the necessary inventory, Skip was able to purchase the building the day after the tool picking trip, clean it up and paint it, and have it open for business within a few weeks.