I have a little model Stirling engine that sits on my desk at work, something I built as part of a machining class in college. It still amazes me how lathes, drill presses, and mills, machines that perform such simple tasks, can transform raw materials into complex parts with tight tolerances.
I'd love to have a workshop outfitted like that.
Our local hackerspace is amassing a nice collection old machine tools and recently acquired a hand-cranked forge.
I had no idea that the power grid in LA was 50Hz during WWII!