Overhead Belt Driven machine tool help thread?!

Like I said last night Z, already looking into it!

 

This grist mill completed in 1858 is just a few miles from my home. It is in restored working condition and has five stories of leather belt driven equipment all run off a 20 foot water wheel. Really neat to see it run.

http://www.pickwickmill.org/

 

While you're kicking this around, you might check out Lindsay Publications for books from their "lost technology" series. They also have lots of cool stuff for casting your own parts, old automotive generator technology, etc.

 

Sorry I spaced it on the address. www.lindsaybks.com

 

RK McKee's shop was featured in an issue of the Smithsonian
Quarterly maybe 20 yrs. ago. Automotive machine shop that
catered to the 20-30's race cars and HOT T&A bangers. I'll
see if I can find it...

 

The correct term is "line shaft". When I took machine shop in high school in the late forties and early fifty's we had a line shaft settup. Lathes, mills, shapers, and a bank of drill presses. 1 lathe had an electric motor and had 3 transmissions with a lock put so that all 3 couldn't be in high but you could knock that out of the way and that thing would moan. Most belts were leather but there were a couple of ropes used for the longer runs. The lathes had wooden levers hanging down parallel to the belts and they had 2 long pins that straddled the belt that you would change the belt with. I recently sold for scrap a 3 1/2 " capacity Cone 4 spindle automatic screw machine that was originally settup for line shaft operation. At one time I had a 7/8" 4 spindle that was making machine gun parts for WW1 It was a line shaft machine shipped to Saginaw Gear works in 1917. All of these old machines had a double taper spindle bearing and were desirable be cause the parts made were perfectly round. .

 

Anyone ever hear of Steptoe?
I have a belt drive that was updated to a Bridgport head back in the 60's

 

There are far better belt slices now than there were back then, John Deere uses a rivited type splice on their round baler belts, I have used these on vintage type flat belts on machinery here, they are alot better than the crimp style.

 

found these on an old tools site http://www.nawcc.org/museum/nwcm/galleries/early/earlytools.htm

 

I went to Mother Earth News Village in the 1970's.

Located in Hendersonville,N.C.

They had a full blown cabinet shop there,powered by a water wheel,which drove a WIDE leather belt,which powered a BIG ass air compressor,which powered a pneumatic power source on every woodworking machine.
Quite impressive.

I am with the "zman" on this one.

Wind power!

Do some searching on "s rotors" and "savonius rotors and turbines"

 

Yup, Zman and i were talking about that in the Chat the other night. We plan on adding a wind turbine to our place in the future. 13 acres with a steady wind out here!

 

Hey Tman I grew up with my dad's machine shop in the 40's n 50's with that kind of equipment also there was a mining assayers shop in back of building that used the same motor for running there rock crushing machines I still have a 6 inch alligater belt splicing machine for those belts a little rusty but yours for the postage if ya need it
also on a different note I think what your doing is ok but some of the posts from a few people kinda hit me wrong every body is entitled to their opinion (opinions are like assholes everybody has one and ya dont need some one else's) I think the negative responces to sawracer are uncalled for he only made a comment which I thought was funny
some of you guys need to lighten up no need for derogatory posts on anything in this forum
I think his wife drives a volvo not a camry and he runs the shit out of his Model A not his mouth or his keyboard Enuff said
Ken

 

Well, we all need to use more smilies Sarcasm is hard to read online. Thanks for the offer on the machine, I will waait until I get farther along in this project.

 

Ditto

 

Socal is touchy today!

Anyone ever run some form of a speed control on a 'letric motor instead of a pully and or transmission system to control tool speed?

 

Some machinery, including hand fed machines like printing presses, had a provision which enabled the operator to move a third brush on the motor to vary the speed. So naturally you would be tempted to nudge it up slightly and then watch the guy try to catch up. There were also vary drives with expanding pulleys to change speeds by simply turning a hand wheel. And a 4 speed gear box, called a Turner Drive that could be adapted to a variety of machines with single or step pulleys. I had a 1915 Brown and Sharp single spindle 1 5/8' capacity "G" with such a drive and ran thousands of parts on it. It was slower than the current #"2"'s at that time but just ran and ran. Take that, you young whippersnappers!! By the way, the proper term for machines with the large step pulleys or sheaves for flat belts were called cone drives.
Another thought, the small lathe, first in the series of photos of antique machinery would have been called a hand screw machine!

 

Hey thre are lot's of old early 60's motors electric that had a variable speed drive incorporated in them had a spring loaded pulley on the bottom side of gearbox system that was regulated by a belt and a variable speed pulley off the moter to the gearbox

dont remember the exact name but used them in early sixtys on a lot of equipment for b
variable speed they had like 1n1/2 belt that went between the pulleys like an old salsbury scooter setup
Ken

 

Thanks for that info!

 

Hit Miss Line Shaft Flat Belt Drive Systems & Machinery Info

I'm seeking information on Hit Miss Line Shaft Flat Belt Drive Systems & Machinery Information.

As a Friend has asked me to assist him with a Collection, that his Late Father acquired over many years and now has to sell it off.

Photos available upon request.

 

Go to Clauser's Machine in Sperfish...I think the old man there could probably answer some ???'s, Go to Chubby Chipmunk in D-Wood and get a couple belt driven fans like they have there for the shop as well...

If you see any Threshing Bee's nearby that might be a good place for info as well...

 

We have a show on the Eastern Shore for steam and tractors. No hot rods but they built a machine shop with 8 or 9 belt driven machines. Some waiting their turn for restoration. It was very interesting to talk to the guys that restore the equipment and the drive system itself. I must have spent an hour in there just studying it. They are into that as much as we are into our cars.

 

i just found a bunch of ceiling fan parts that run off of flat belts.came out of a bobby pin factory. seems like i have enough parts for 10-12 fans mike