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

[Dudley Rupert]

This thread on overhead line shafts has got me to thinking - are there any
businesses in existence today that still use them?

There is one still in operation in the town where Dean and I live.  The
Snohomish Iron Works is housed in an old building maybe 60-70 feet wide and
150 feet long and sits down along the Snohomish River.  Years ago they tell
me a train track ran length wise down through the center of the building.
An overhead line shaft still runs lengthwise part way down one side of the
building.  Years ago it was powered by steam and today they use an electric
motor.  Several lathes, a milling machine and a band saw are powered off
this shaft.  It is a family run business with the third generation now at
the helm but I can't imagine it will be able to survive much longer.

Aside from the line shafts in the various museums I am just wondering if
there are others still in operation today helping to do "real work."

Dudley Rupert
Snohomish, Washington



-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com]On Behalf Of David Bruce
Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2005 3:48 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] PTO-driven table saw - NOW shifter forks (LONG)

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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