We used to make things in this country #351 Perfect Machine of Galt, Ontario
The Perfect Machine Company was in existence from 1914 to only 1923 on Main St. in Galt, now part of Cambridge. During that time they manufactured metal-working machinery and various cast iron parts.
In re the hacksaw description, is it generally understood (me excluded) what "tight and loose pulleys" signifies? Would running on a loose pulley provide some insurance (slippage) against breaking the machine if the blade encounters a chunk of carbon in the workpiece, or overheats and seizes? Does that guess miss the mark altogether?
The hacksaw description also calls out "automatic shut-off." It does this by shifting the drive belt from the tight pulley (attached tightly to the driving shaft) to the loose pulley (free-wheeling on the drive shaft) to stop the machine while the rest of the line shaft system keeps running to power the rest of the shop.
Greenfield Village used to, until a docent got sucked in and decapitated in 1988. Last time I was there they had a few belt-driven machines running from an overhead pulley powered by an electric motor but you couldn't see much through the chain-link guards they had added. I was lucky to have seen it before the enclosures and it was pretty cool.
American Precision Museum in VT has the setup but I doubt they run it anymore...insurance is expensive enough as it is.
There are a few colonies of Amish near me and in their practice of a simple life they use horse powered farm machines. No machine lasts forever so there are (though it sounds like an oxymoron) Amish machine shops in operation using belts and lineshafts (usually powered by a small gas or diesel engine outdoors) running vintage and modern tooling to rebuild centuries old machines. It is literally like stepping into a running 1920's era shop. There are also large furniture and cabinet shops using modern table saws, drill presses, lathes, etc all with electric motors removed and replaced with belt pulleys. ...and not a belt guard in sight.
In re the hacksaw description, is it generally understood (me excluded) what "tight and loose pulleys" signifies? Would running on a loose pulley provide some insurance (slippage) against breaking the machine if the blade encounters a chunk of carbon in the workpiece, or overheats and seizes? Does that guess miss the mark altogether?
ReplyDeleteIt's been my sad experience that when I find a "perfect" something, it gets discontinued.
ReplyDeleteJack from Illinois
The hacksaw description also calls out "automatic shut-off." It does this by shifting the drive belt from the tight pulley (attached tightly to the driving shaft) to the loose pulley (free-wheeling on the drive shaft) to stop the machine while the rest of the line shaft system keeps running to power the rest of the shop.
ReplyDeleteI'd really like to see the inside of an antique belt-drive factory, especially one that is working. Are there any industrial museums doing that?
ReplyDeleteGreenfield Village used to, until a docent got sucked in and decapitated in 1988. Last time I was there they had a few belt-driven machines running from an overhead pulley powered by an electric motor but you couldn't see much through the chain-link guards they had added. I was lucky to have seen it before the enclosures and it was pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteAmerican Precision Museum in VT has the setup but I doubt they run it anymore...insurance is expensive enough as it is.
There are a few colonies of Amish near me and in their practice of a simple life they use horse powered farm machines. No machine lasts forever so there are (though it sounds like an oxymoron) Amish machine shops in operation using belts and lineshafts (usually powered by a small gas or diesel engine outdoors) running vintage and modern tooling to rebuild centuries old machines. It is literally like stepping into a running 1920's era shop. There are also large furniture and cabinet shops using modern table saws, drill presses, lathes, etc all with electric motors removed and replaced with belt pulleys.
ReplyDelete...and not a belt guard in sight.