I went to the home page of the "Internet Craftsmanship Museum" and ogled around a bit, I thought that George, Mike and Tracy, Victor and some of the other machinists here might enjoy this (and anyone else for that matter, I'm not a machinist and I was interested, heck, I was more than interested, files are all that I have to shape metal).
"Who made this project and why?
The project shown above exhibits mastery in metalworking. Each hand-fitted piece is machined and filed to such close tolerances that you can barely see the joints when assembled. It does not appear to have any function other than to be a test of a craftsman's skill, perhaps at the end of an apprenticeship program or in order to qualify to be hired for a particular job. The sad part is, it was purchased for $.50 at a swap meet in Clairemont, CA by Tom Boyer's wife and given to Tom as a curiosity. The name of the original craftsman is no longer identified with the project, and his family obviously had no appreciation for its history or the high level of skill needed to create it. It was sold off as so much junk. This is one of the reasons the Joe Martin Foundation was started; that is, to honor this type of work and the craftsman who created it.
Don't let this happen to your work. If you have projects that exhibit a high level of skill, don't assume that members of your family or your friends understand or appreciate what went into making it. It may end up on eBay or at a swap meet like this beautiful project. We ask that you consider donating your work to the Craftsmanship Museum while you are alive and can take advantage of the tax benefit for the value of the donation, or add a codicil to your will specifying it be donated to the Foundation upon your death. That way, a record of your skill will be preserved to inspire future craftsmen, and your name and your story will be forever identified with your work. Do a search on eBay for "steam engine" and see how many projects that are for sale there identify the builder. The answer is, almost none. It is our goal to reverse that trend and to honor the most skilled and creative people in our society—the craftsmen".