Adams-Farwell rotary engine

 

  One of the first rotary gas engines, designed by Fay Oliver Farwell in 1896. The year before, he had joined joined the Adams Company of Dubuque, Iowa as manager. His experimenting with internal-combustion engines led to a 3 cylinder rotary engine powering what was probably the first rubber-tired automobile in 1899.  Apparently it all worked well enough that he then developed the above 5 cylinder version for the next generation Adams automobile. The company made about 200 units between the years 1898 to 1913. 

 The only real advantage to that layout has got to be the cooling aspect of cylinders whooshing around through the air. The penalties for having that much metal and machinery whizzing around near the passengers was enough that no other auto company felt the need to copy the arrangement. 

 For some reason the pioneering aircraft designers liked the idea though, and stuck the whirling mass on the front of flimsy flying machines. Le Rhône developed the idea into successful 7 and 9 cylinder engines during the WW1 years.

Images below and early rotary engine article  (including the contemporary Balzer rotary) from Hagerty. More info in Smithsonian. 

Fashion Friday, Puttees

 

  In the comments on post on the Gouldcar a few days ago, there were people lamenting the demise of  jodphurs- sorry, jodhpurs as a fashion accessory. They used to be an accepted part of motorcycling attire. honestly who wouldn't be more comfortable with weird useless leg flaps, errr... flapping in the wind at 50 mph. 

  Gentlemen, I bring to you a genuinely useful accessory for leg wear, puttees. As the ad says, they're handy for active wearers everywhere, go tramping right. I can visualize them becoming de rigeur for the 21st C businessman, perhaps in patterns that match their ties, the perfect accessory for the man who has embraced the Thom Brown suit.
 

Henry Boker tap and die set

  A reader in New Zealand sent me these images of a Henry Boker tap and die set probably dating to the early 20th century. Oddly, it has the Boker “tree” logo of the Heinrich Boker firm of Solingen on the handle but the square plate on the box indicates it was manufactured in Remscheid, Germany. In our previous Henry Boker post we have images of a similar set with an oval plate and the Henry Boker arrow logo. 

That's a bit of a mystery, some cross family pollination going on? And how old could it be? By the shape of the die handle, I'd guess it is no newer than maybe 1920 but do we have any Henry Boker tool experts in the crowd?

Punch-Lok Clamp Master

  Here's a little pressed steel ratchet wrench, fortunately with the patent number  (2507455) stamped in so I discovered that it dates to 1950. I was sure I'd found something rare as it doesn't appear at DATAMP! 

 Turns out it's a specialized tool- part of a kit for applying pre-formed hose clamps and it's still available 75 years later at Nathankimmel.

Dunelt two stroke

 Here's an interesting concept for a two stroke. The typical ported cylinder has a step at the bottom, bored to a larger diameter.  The matching piston has a matching larger diameter rim with a second ring. The larger diameter section enhances the pumping action of the crankcase providing a measure of supercharging. The engine was not really successful, probably due to expansion issues with the piston and 1920s metallurgy.

dunelt.se

Burt Munroe as a young man

  Burt bought this Indian in 1920, in 1926 it was clocked at 54 mph (with a following wind)  Not fast enough for him, he started modifying it.  A few decades later he had upped that speed to about 200mph, officially 184mph.

Enterprise Engine and Foundry

  Enterprise Foundry was founded in San Francisco in 1885 to make large castings for heavy machinery, mostly for the gold rush. The company was incorporated in 1908 and in 1917 they started producing a single cylinder 8 hp industrial diesel engine under the Enterprise Engine and Foundry name. Image of an early engine here.

  A merger with the Western Machinery Company made the new company the premier internal combustion manufacturer on the west cast. They were well placed to become a major supplier of marine and generator engines for the US Navy during WW2. In the musical chairs of company ownership changes, reader Terry discovered they merged with Adel Aircraft Fasteners in the mid-fifties, why it seemed aircraft fittings and marine diesel engines were somehow related is a mystery. But larger and larger industrial engines were being produced, now up in the 8000 hp range. 

 The next next 30 years were not good for business as the shipping industry and export markets shrunk, ownership changed many times during that time.  The company has survived currently owned by Cooper Machinery Services of Houston, Texas, supplying large industrial and backup generator engines all over the world.  

Monday Mystery, March 2 Round metal thing. Updated, jet engine hush kit

 Displayed at a local antique market, this intriguingly shaped thing wasn't identified. It's all metal and about 3 feet in diameter. My overactive mind pictures it as the outlet portion of a jet engine but what is it really? Ideas?

 Long time reader Drew identified this piece of sculpture as part of an airliner jet engine hush kit possibly a Boeing 737.  Below are a couple of inages from patent 5,592,813.

Manufacturing processes, Deep draw metal stamping

Cyril Donaldson and George LeCain, Tool Design, Second edition, McGraw Hill, 1957

 Hard to believe that the process can start with a simple hunk of metal and after a number of forming steps, 14 punch steps here, a long narrow shell casing is produced. This process would have made WW1 artillery viable.

Monday Mystery, another airplane part?

 This looks like an air intake of sorts, about 3 feet wide and maybe 42 inches tall. Ideas? Best thing is there's more than one!