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

[David Bruce]

On old textile looms powered by a line shaft the "shifter fork" was 
called a "shipper handle".  When I was at N C State in the 70's they had 
a loom set up with a belt drive powered by an electric motor - good for 
a demonstration I guess.

David

Greg Hass wrote:
> 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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