Reflections

By C. H. Wendel
Published on December 1, 1988
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23/12/27A
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23/12/29
23/12/29
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23/12/27B
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23/12/31
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RW-1
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MM-1
MM-1
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MM-2
MM-2

23/12/27 Q. See the two enclosed photos of an
Ottawa saw, s/n 17697. As the photos show, it is an upright engine,
and is rated at 6 HP. Is this a one-of-a-kind, or did they produce
a great many of these? The Ottawa name is cast into the engine
base, although the motor looks like a Wisconsin. Robert Hall, jr.,
32564 Cable Dr., Dowagiac, MI 49047.

A. Our understanding is that Wisconsin built
these engines for Ottawa. We believe your machine also included a
buzz saw blade that could be set vertically for bucking up logs,
and could be set in a horizontal position for felling. Presumably
this machine was intended to replace the earlier drag saw (and in
fact, a drag saw attachment may have been available for this
outfit), but the introduction of the chain saw quickly rendered
these machines obsolete. We have no information as to the number
sold.

23/12/28 Joe Gross, 96 National Drive, Grafton,
OH 44044 recently acquired a 7 HP Empire engine and would
appreciate hearing from other Empire owners so far as restoration,
color scheme, etc.

23/12/29 Q. See the photo (below) of our 1942
John Deere LA tractor. The rear rubber is original, and each tire
has a 1-inch red rubber ‘patch’ on the sidewall. (It is
visible in the photo.) What was the significance-possibly an
identification for wartime rationing?

On our IHC 3 HP ‘M’ engine with the early type igniter
and low tension magneto, there is no nameplate nor does there
appear to have been one. Our 1? HP ‘M’ of similar vintage
has a large nameplate on it. Was the 3 HP IHC produced during the
IHC struggle with the U.S. government? The serial number lists in
your book, 150 Years of International Harvester show prefix letters
for all the ‘M’ engines, although our 1? HP ‘M’ is
73441 with no prefix letters. Bill Loftus, RR 2, Delhi, Ontario,
Canada.

A. Oftentimes, IHC included the prefix letters
for the serial number in the original nameplate etching-only the
number itself was hand-stamped onto the plate. It’s hard to
imagine an IHC engine without a nameplate. Somehow or other, they
seemed to manage a good-sized nameplate on almost everything they
built. We doubt that the matter of the United States vs.
International Harvester Company had any bearing on engine
production. Initiated shortly after the company was formed, the
government case rested primarily on violation of the Sherman
Anti-Trust Act, unfair monopoly of the harvesting machine industry,
etc. etc. Compared to some other mergers which took place about the
same time, the case against IHC now seems preposterous, especially
when we look at some of today’s mergers!

23/12/30 George Kazio, RD 1, Box 109, Muncy, PA
17756 would like to hear from other owners of the 2? HP Leader
engine as built by Field Force Pump Company, Elmira, New York.

23/12/31 Q. See the photo given below of an
engine 1 have not been able to identify. Frederick W. Schmidt,
Jefferson, NY 12093.

A. We believe this is a Hercules.

READERS WRITE

23/9/28 Waterloo-built engines See photo RW-1
of my Waterloo-built Faultless engine as offered by John M. Smythe
Co., Chicago, Illinois. It has no cover on the hopper, nor are
there any lugs or other provision for attaching one. Could these
engines be very early types, or even prototypes and built in the
New Holland style. Dick McCartney, RD 4, Box 151, Cochranton, PA
16314.

A. Leaving the attaching lugs off of the
foundry pattern would have been a very simple procedure, and from
all appearances, that’s probably what took place when making
the Faultless (and perhaps some other) engines. Waterloo Gasoline
Engine Company was production oriented-they had to be, what with
Galloway and Associated hard on their heels, and that was just in
Waterloo! There was IHC to contend with, along with Stover, FBM,
and many others. In the case of Faultless, John M. Smythe wanted to
ride the engine-selling bandwagon, and obviously Waterloo Gasoline
Engine Company came up with the most attractive offer. It seems
entirely possible that given the activities of many other jobbing
houses who desired a piece of the action, that building to a price
was a major prerequisite, and in this case it was Waterloo. To
further support this idea, there’s simply no question that
Associated in Waterloo built the United sold by a company in
Lansing, Michigan.

23/8/27 I have an Alpha DeLaval engine, s/n
76823, and like others, I would like to know the proper color.
Cledus Stites, RR 1, Odon, IN 47562.

MODELMAKERS CORNER

This month, George G. Scott, Out look, Montana 59252 favors us
with photos of two models. The four-cylinder Holt model (MM-1) we
presume was built with a casting kit, but we know that George built
the Fairbanks-Morse ‘N’ model (MM-2) from his own patterns
and castings. Note the wrist watch lying on the base at the front
of the Fairbanks-Morse engine for a relative idea of its size.

A CLOSING WORD

Especially when attending the shows, we frequently hear the com
plaint that many of the same questions appear repeatedly, and of
course, we answer them repeatedly. These comments usually come from
someone who, like the Reflector, has been involved with the gas
engine and tractor hobby for a long time.

Curiously, we finally saw the other side of the coin at the
Mount Pleasant, Iowa show. A young collector asked us why we
didn’t have more ‘how-to’ articles, and more articles
on how these old-time engines are supposed to work. He went on to
explain that he had been taking GEM for a year or so, and really
looked forward to each issue, but he found some of the historical
and technical articles too far above his expertise to be of
interest.

We had never thought of things in this way, but perhaps this new
collector raises some valid points. If our hobby is to continue
growing, then we have to keep everybody interested and enthusiastic
in what we are doing. When a newcomer to our hobby comes along,
take a couple of minutes to answer his questions. His questions
might seem silly to you, but then, you might ask someone else some
questions tomorrow that may be equally silly. We believe
there’s a moral to our story:

Twenty-five years ago, steam was king at every show. Tractors
were seen occasionally, and gas engines seldom. The Reflector can
personally testify in regard to at least a few of the old-time
steam engineers that so far as they were concerned, anything you
learned about steam wasn’t about to come from them. The
Reflector is of the opinion that in order to prevent the same
illness from afflicting our fraternity, we have to keep encouraging
the new members of the hobby. Recent issues of GEM have seen
articles on pouring babbitt bearings and other shop arts.
Especially helpful to the newcomer was Bud Motry’s recent
article on valves and valve timing for engines. Why not take some
time and write our your experiences, your methods, or the results
of your research on one of the many engine companies. We here at
GEM will be happy to hear from you.


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