Rich-Cincy Kid
Gotta love my 5 Ampeg/Bruce J. Scroll Basses
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Inside The Secret Underground Laboratory
- Thread starter Bruce Johnson
- Start date
Rich-Cincy Kid
Gotta love my 5 Ampeg/Bruce J. Scroll Basses
Gold Supporting Member
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Just what I need: Another strange old piece of antique machinery has found a home in my shop......
What the???? This strange old contraption looks like some kind of early Go-Kart, but it's not. It arrived here via my friend Scott, who runs the podcast studio/computer lab across the hall. His grandfather spent his life managing a farm, and gave this machine to his son, Scott's dad, who passed away recently. Cleaning up his Mom's house, Scott wanted to save it from the scrapyard. And he knew this crazy old man who collects antique machinery......
This is a fuel oil powered air compressor, approximately 1920's vintage, mounted on a cart with iron wheels. Apparently it was towed all around the farm and used for various spraying and blowing-off jobs.
The engine is a Fairbanks, what's now called a Hit 'N Miss engine. Single cylinder, runs on a missing-beat cycle. We don't know if it's capable of running, but it appears to be complete, and it turns over mechanically. Nothing's obviously frozen or broken. I don't know much about this type of engines.
At the back end is this Decora air compressor, 2 cylinder inline, inside a cast housing. It's driven by a roller chain from the engine. There's no pressure tank, just an output line with a water filter and a gauge.
Obviously, this cool old machine is way down on my priority list of things to spend time on. But it's here and safe in my museum.
These Hit 'n Miss engines were a common general power source around farms and boatyards, circa 1900-1930's. This one is roughly 3 horsepower? They would commonly have a big flat belt pulley on one side, and you could use a leather belt to power whatever needed to be powered.
For example, my big 1929 Hendey lathe right behind it. The electric motor mounted down low on the back side isn't original. It would have had a countershaft with a big flat belt pulley down there, from the factory. And if you had one of these fine old lathes out in your shed in the 1920's, you could wheel up your trusty Fairbanks engine, slip a leather belt over the pulleys, and fire it up. This engine would run this lathe just fine.
Gradually, the Hit 'n Miss engines were replaced by small diesel engines. More horsepower and better fuel efficiency. Then later, electric motors when the power grids extended out to rural areas.
What the???? This strange old contraption looks like some kind of early Go-Kart, but it's not. It arrived here via my friend Scott, who runs the podcast studio/computer lab across the hall. His grandfather spent his life managing a farm, and gave this machine to his son, Scott's dad, who passed away recently. Cleaning up his Mom's house, Scott wanted to save it from the scrapyard. And he knew this crazy old man who collects antique machinery......
This is a fuel oil powered air compressor, approximately 1920's vintage, mounted on a cart with iron wheels. Apparently it was towed all around the farm and used for various spraying and blowing-off jobs.
The engine is a Fairbanks, what's now called a Hit 'N Miss engine. Single cylinder, runs on a missing-beat cycle. We don't know if it's capable of running, but it appears to be complete, and it turns over mechanically. Nothing's obviously frozen or broken. I don't know much about this type of engines.
At the back end is this Decora air compressor, 2 cylinder inline, inside a cast housing. It's driven by a roller chain from the engine. There's no pressure tank, just an output line with a water filter and a gauge.
Obviously, this cool old machine is way down on my priority list of things to spend time on. But it's here and safe in my museum.
These Hit 'n Miss engines were a common general power source around farms and boatyards, circa 1900-1930's. This one is roughly 3 horsepower? They would commonly have a big flat belt pulley on one side, and you could use a leather belt to power whatever needed to be powered.
For example, my big 1929 Hendey lathe right behind it. The electric motor mounted down low on the back side isn't original. It would have had a countershaft with a big flat belt pulley down there, from the factory. And if you had one of these fine old lathes out in your shed in the 1920's, you could wheel up your trusty Fairbanks engine, slip a leather belt over the pulleys, and fire it up. This engine would run this lathe just fine.
Gradually, the Hit 'n Miss engines were replaced by small diesel engines. More horsepower and better fuel efficiency. Then later, electric motors when the power grids extended out to rural areas.
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Hit 'n Miss engines have a very unique sound. They run at relatively slow speed, and they miss beats somewhat randomly. It's like Putt-putt-miss-put-miss-put-putt.
My dad had an old belt-driven flywheel air compressor that I think was inherited from his dad's sawmill, where I guess they would've used it on their lumber yard trucks and to blow sawdust off things in the mill and woodshop. Single-cylinder compressor, it made a distinctive chugging noise. It might've originally been powered by a hit-n-miss engine, maybe by a shop belt drive system (Granddad's mill used to run off a big old steam tractor engine), but Dad added an electric motor when he brought it home.
Ultimately it was usually more convenient to use a T-handle bicycle pump for bike tires, basketballs and the like. The compressor could pop a bicycle inner tube in under a minute and that really limited its usefulness around the house even after Dad added a gas grill canister to the air line to serve as a tank and regulate the airflow. We didn't have any trucks around and woodworking debris was handled with a broom, so it was way over-spec for a suburban household.
I still remember Dad explaining why the pulley wheels had convex surfaces, it was an early lesson in mechanical engineering for me.
Not sure where it is now, I think one of my siblings might have it.
Ultimately it was usually more convenient to use a T-handle bicycle pump for bike tires, basketballs and the like. The compressor could pop a bicycle inner tube in under a minute and that really limited its usefulness around the house even after Dad added a gas grill canister to the air line to serve as a tank and regulate the airflow. We didn't have any trucks around and woodworking debris was handled with a broom, so it was way over-spec for a suburban household.
I still remember Dad explaining why the pulley wheels had convex surfaces, it was an early lesson in mechanical engineering for me.
Not sure where it is now, I think one of my siblings might have it.
Would be a blast to record it and create a loop with as a drum machine, to compose something on it.
Another use for a hit-n-miss... I saw this at a local summer festival a couple of years ago, this one was connected to a large ice cream churning machine. The festival was for the local peach harvest and this man shows up every year and makes fresh peach ice cream with the old churn. The two heavy flywheels keep the belt turning at a smooth speed while the engine decides if it will hit or miss.
Rich-Cincy Kid
Gotta love my 5 Ampeg/Bruce J. Scroll Basses
Gold Supporting Member
Supporting Member
This reminds me of me of my teen years (the wild 70’s) living in the Thumb of Michigan! Lots of festivals throughout the 3-4 county region and all based on some major crop grown there (ie sugar beets, dry beans, dairy products). I saw several of these in action as well as hold old steam tractors used for plowing, sawing and just cool to hear and look at while in action!
So Bruce, too bad you don’t have some gentlemen’s farm with a large barn/warehouse to set shop in and show off your many talents and equipment!!!!!
We have an entire association here for those.
I have been going to this event since 71 with my dad.
Used to see one powering a compressor to power an entire pipe organ mounted on a trailer. He doens't come around anymore.
Some of them sound regular. Others have a 7/8 beat to them.Would be a blast to record it and create a loop with as a drum machine, to compose something on it.
Well, that's kind of where I am. Fillmore is in the middle of California's Ventura County, still surrounded by orchards and farms. And my shop is in a 1914 packing house building which, in its day, was packing and shipping oranges all over the US. Many of my old machines are the right age and type for this building. And I've built up my shop in here to play with my machines and show them off to anyone interested. And sometimes, turn out a Scroll Bass.
Would be a blast to record it and create a loop with as a drum machine, to compose something on it.
A few years back, a bluegrass band did a fun music video recording in a barn. They fired up an old antique tractor nearby, dialed in the idle speed, and then recorded a song with it as the background percussion. It was fun and enjoyable. The old engine kept pretty good time.
Exactly ! This is this exact vidéo i was thinking too for this idea. And if the beat can be irregular, it can be funny to create a loop with this irregular beat. I dig strange metrics
I had an amusing thought. I could build a matching iron cart to pull behind it, and mount a really old trap drum kit on it. Pneumatic cylinders swinging the sticks, and some kind of a rotary spool valve directing the beat pattern. A gasoline-powered pneumatic drummer! Cheaper per hour than the real thing!
I don’t know, a lot of the drummers around here run on Pabst or Narragansett, probably cheaper than gasoline. I won’t claim they taste better, though.
Some maintenance and repair on one of my prize antique machines:
My beautiful little 1925 Avey Sensitive Drill Press snapped its belt a few weeks ago. For the second time....From the factory, a hundred years ago, it would have been fitted with a very thin 1" wide leather belt, running down to an idler pulley where the electric motor is now.
When I bought it a few years ago, it had been fitted with a modern 1" wide thin rubber belt, joined with a little mini-Alligator clip. I never liked that metal clip, because it made the machine go clack-clack-clack as it ran. About a year ago, the belt broke, right at the Alligator clip. The crimped end of the clip ripped out of the end of the belt. So, I re-joined the belt with a skive joint, using West Systems epoxy. It seemed okay for a while, and much quieter running. But then it let go a few weeks ago.
So, I ordered a custom made-to-length Butyl rubber belt, already factory joined. From McMasters, about $130. But this sweet old machine deserves it.
It took a bit of disassembly to get the new belt threaded in there correctly......
And some adjustment of the alignment of the roller pulleys to get the belt to track down the middle of them.......
But it's in there, and it seems to working fine now. Smooth and quiet. Ready for another 100 years of drilling teeny holes.
It's amazing to think of how many hundreds of Machinists must have used this drill press, and how many millions of holes it must have drilled. And it doesn't have any significant wear. It was designed to run forever.
I'm proud to be its current owner and caretaker. It's got a light duty assignment here in my shop. I use it to drill all the 2 mm holes for the pins in my truss rods.
My beautiful little 1925 Avey Sensitive Drill Press snapped its belt a few weeks ago. For the second time....From the factory, a hundred years ago, it would have been fitted with a very thin 1" wide leather belt, running down to an idler pulley where the electric motor is now.
When I bought it a few years ago, it had been fitted with a modern 1" wide thin rubber belt, joined with a little mini-Alligator clip. I never liked that metal clip, because it made the machine go clack-clack-clack as it ran. About a year ago, the belt broke, right at the Alligator clip. The crimped end of the clip ripped out of the end of the belt. So, I re-joined the belt with a skive joint, using West Systems epoxy. It seemed okay for a while, and much quieter running. But then it let go a few weeks ago.
So, I ordered a custom made-to-length Butyl rubber belt, already factory joined. From McMasters, about $130. But this sweet old machine deserves it.
It took a bit of disassembly to get the new belt threaded in there correctly......
And some adjustment of the alignment of the roller pulleys to get the belt to track down the middle of them.......
But it's in there, and it seems to working fine now. Smooth and quiet. Ready for another 100 years of drilling teeny holes.
It's amazing to think of how many hundreds of Machinists must have used this drill press, and how many millions of holes it must have drilled. And it doesn't have any significant wear. It was designed to run forever.
I'm proud to be its current owner and caretaker. It's got a light duty assignment here in my shop. I use it to drill all the 2 mm holes for the pins in my truss rods.
My son trained to be a Marine Engineer at Mass Maritime, and they had an old 60's era steam engine training ship called the Kennedy. Everything about it was built like a tank, now a very rusty and worn out tank, but it lived a hard life for a full generation. They finally replaced it a couple years ago. It had a small onboard machine shop with some original American Iron tools like yours, really high quality, bulletproof tools. After graduation, he worked on brand new container ships that are specifically engineered for something like a 10 year life span, every nut and bolt picked for that span and no more, in other words, a flimsy piece of crap destined to be recycled on a beach in Pakistan. When I was a kid, my parents had a late 50's era Frigidaire that we owned up until we moved in 1975, and it was still working, just too heavy and cumbersome to move, I think they sold it with the house. Same with our washer and dryer, we had (1) set my entire childhood, now I'm lucky to get 5 years out of a dryer. Nothing beats that post war manufacturing quality, unless you spend some serious money. I managed to fix my Grandfather's old Craftsman/Seeley drillpress, circa 1947, that thing will easily outlive me.
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