[AT] PTO-driven table saw - NOW shifter forks (LONG)

charlie hill chill8 at cox.net
Sat Mar 5 14:08:08 PST 2005


Hi Greg,

If you ever get up to the Wilmington Delaware area check out the DuPont 
Powder Works Museum.  They have a similar machine shop running the same way 
on line shafts from steam.  I'm not sure if they still power the line shaft 
from the steam engine but it's all there and the line shafts are running all 
of the machines.  I was there about 5 years ago and the place was run the 
same way as you mentioned.  They had a roped off area for spectators but if 
there were any shields on anything I don't remember seeing them.   I was 
amazed at some of the technology they had that long ago.  Things like power 
feeds and automatic thread cutting settings on the lathes, ( I'm not a 
machinist so forgive me if my terminology isn't correct) variable speed 
drill presses.  Lots of neet stuff.

I was in that area for nearly a week and went to all sorts of museums, 
restorations and art exhibits and that machine shop adn the rest of the 
powder works was the ONLY thing I can honestly say I'm glad I saw.   The 
rest was ok but I could have done without it.

Charlie


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Greg Hass" <gkhass at avci.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2005 2:50 PM
Subject: RE: [AT] PTO-driven table saw - NOW shifter forks (LONG)


> Little late getting back in, but here goes...
>
> First of all, we are not talking about shifter forks in a tractor 
> transmission, but those used to shift flat belts from one pulley to 
> another.  For many years, at an auction sale I would see old drill presses 
> or power hacksaws that were flat-belt driven by what would appear to be 
> two pulleys.  One pulley would run the machine and the other would just 
> "free-wheel" on the shaft.  However, no one could explain to me why they 
> were this way.
>
> About 25 years ago I visited Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan (a 
> suburb of Detroit) for the first time.  It is about a 2-1/2 to 3 hour 
> drive for us.  For those of you not familiar with it, Greenfield Village 
> was established by Henry Ford and covers more than 90 acres.  It includes 
> a working steam locomotive which pulls a tour train around the grounds. 
> It also includes Thomas Edison's Meno Park, NJ laboratory, Edison's 
> workshop, the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop, Noah Webster's home, Stephen 
> Foster's house, several different types of machine shops, and many other 
> historical and interesting exhibits.  These are the actual buildings which 
> were disassembled at the original locations, moved to the Village and 
> reassembled.  They are the actual buildings.
>
> My favorite was the machine shop (approximately 100 ft. long) with 4 rows 
> of machines run by 2 jackshafts which ran the length of the building. 
> Both shafts were run by a steam engine located at one end of the building. 
> The jackshafts were running all day, and during the tours they would start 
> many of the machines for half a minute or so.  (You don't have to take a 
> tour. You can just pay your entry fee and wander around all day as you 
> want.  There is even a picnic area.)  This is where I finally learned what 
> the two pulleys were for.
>
> As you walked through, all of the flatbelts were running on the pulley 
> that was just "free-wheeling".  When the one doing the demonstration 
> wanted to start the machine, he would use a shifter fork to do it. 
> Basically it was just a 1-1/2 inch piece of hardwood on each side of the 
> belt fastened together at one end and it had a wooden handle on it.  I 
> don't remember exactly where it pivoted, but the operator would reach up 
> about shoulder high and move the lever sideways.  The flatbelt, being 
> between the forks, would be forced over to the other pulley, thus starting 
> the machine.  To stop the machine the process was reversed, forcing the 
> belt back over to the "free-wheeling" pulley and the belt would just spin 
> on it.  I can remember thinking to myself at the time how functional yet 
> simple this system was and how ingenious our forefathers were.
>
> We were also told that if any equipment used in the demonstrations in the 
> village broke, they use the equipment in this machine to repair or make 
> new parts because, as old as it was, it was the type of equipment that was 
> originally used to make the other machines in the Village so it was an 
> authentic way of doing things.  Most of the people actually running the 
> steam engines and the other machines were in their 80s, as they had 
> originally run this type of equipment for a living.  My next paragraph is 
> NOT political, just plain facts.
>
> Unfortunately, about 15 years ago, for some unknown reason, one of these 
> 80-something men broke a cardinal rule and wore a longer length bandana. 
> It got caught in one of the belts and he was killed.  MIOSHA came in and 
> mandated that any running equipment had to be shielded.  Village officials 
> tried to get an exemption as a special because these were antiques as 
> shielding would destroy the purpose and function of the displays, which 
> was to show this antique equipment, how it was used, and how it 
> functioned.  Unfortunately, there was no talking with the bureaucrats, and 
> when I was last there about 8 years ago they were no longer running the 
> steam engine or the jackshafts.  The two machines they did demonstrate 
> were so heavily enclosed in plexiglas and shielding that it took the fun 
> out of watching them.  To the mechanical person like me, it was obvious 
> that the machines were now being run by electric motors hidden up in the 
> rafters of the building.  Every machine there that runs, including a 
> couple of old printing presses for their sample newspapers, are also so 
> heavily enclosed that it's really no fun to watch them operate.  BTW, the 
> public was always blocked from being close enough to be endangered and the 
> operators were trained.  However, if one makes a choice to break the rules 
> you really can't protect everyone against everything.
>
> I am just happy I was able to see everything when it was running as it was 
> mean to be run and feel sorry for the millions of people who will never be 
> able to see things as they originally were.  However, if any of you 
> trractor people are ever in the Detroit, the Village and the Henry Ford 
> Museum next door all include many agriculturally related items and are 
> well worth seeing.  Be forewarned... it takes a day for each to see and 
> explore everything.  The Museum is open year-round seven days a week 9:30 
> AM - 5:00 PM, but the Village is open only April 15 - Oct. 31 seven days a 
> week from 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM, and Nov. 1 - Dec. 31 Fri-Sat. only.  (They 
> are closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas days.)  The Village is also open 
> late (until 9 PM) on Saturdays from July 9-Aug 20.  The website for info 
> is:  www.greenfieldvillage.org
>
>
> Greg  Hass
>
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