REFLECTIONS

By C. H. Wendel
Published on June 1, 2000
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35/6/22A
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35/6/22B
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35/6/23
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35/6/24
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35/6/29
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35/6/25
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MM-1
MM-1
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35/6/20 Maytag Cost?

John M. Edgerton, 27 Loon Lake Rd., Bigfork, MT 59911 would like
to know what the selling price was on the various Maytag engines.
Can anyone help?

35/6/21 Huffy Mower

Stan Agacinski, 1411 Burkett Ave., Verga, NJ 08093 found a Huffy
mower, Model 4665. It has a Briggs & Stratton engine, Model 5S,
Type 700132, and s/n 1487706. The reel mower is very complete. Stan
would like to hear from anyone having any information on it.

35/6/22 Guiberson Radial

Bill Betts, 18230 SE 315th St., Auburn, WA 98092 recently
acquired the nine-cylinder Guiberson radial engine shown in the
photos. It came out of a military tank. He would like to hear from
anyone having further information on this engine. You can also
email Bill at bjbetts@foxinternet.net.

35/6/23 Paradox Again Revisited Q. Woody Sins,
3 Edna Terrace, New Hartford, NY 13413 or email to:
hitnmiss@juno.com, sends along a photo of a Paradox running on
acetylene. The engine belongs to Wayne Grenning. The large flame in
the picture is the ignition flame. As the piston moves back in the
cylinder it draws in a mix of air and fuel from the brass doohickey
seen at the front. A needle valve controls the mix. As the piston
continues moving back, it uncovers a port next to the flame, and
draws in some burning fuel. This ignites the charge, and the piston
finishes the stroke as a power stroke. The flywheels carry the
piston to the front of the engine, pushing the burnt gases out of
the ignition hole and the air inlet hole on top of the engine.
Flareups in the front of the engine are a common problem, but it
actually pops along quite well.

A. Various discussions about this engine
disclose that it was built as a child’s toy at the beginning of
the 20th century. Oh my goodness, oh my soul . . . wouldn’t
those child safety folks have a virtual conniption over this outfit
showing up in the Toys-R-Us and similar places around the country.
It’s hard to imagine what might happen, and surely it ought to
be worth at least 2 or 3 special Congressional investigations, and
probably even one of those Special Prosecutors that we got tired of
hearing about!

35/6/24 Some Questions

George Lane, PO Box 285, New Boston, MI 48164 has a two-cylinder
Novo, Model UF 3×4, s/n FU1O285. He notes that the distributor
looks like an old Atwater-Kent four-cylinder with two wires
grounded out. George would like to find an instruction manual (or
copy) for this engine, and would also like to know the correct
color scheme. George also has a Fairbanks-Morse Z with ignitor.
From the mixer the fuel pump is brass with a ? inch fine thread
fitting. He would like to know where he could find this fitting and
how it is plumbed from the mixer to the tank for both supply and
return. Any help would be appreciated.

35/6/25 Ottawa Q. See the photo of what I think
is an outfit made in the early 1950s by Ottawa Mfg. Co., Ottawa,
Kansas. The assembly of the drive system has me stalled, and I
would appreciate any help I can get. Any pictures or information
would be helpful. Les Moll, 117 Woodland Rd., Wyomissing Hills, PA
19610.

35/6/26 Witte Diesel Q. I am looking for
information on a Witte single-cylinder upright diesel of about 5 HP
with a 110 VAC generator. It is radiator cooled. It also has a 12
volt DC generator and a 12 volt electric starter. Any information
on this engine would be appreciated. Bill Sherlock, Box 144,
Maymont, SK S0M 1T0 Canada.

35/6/27 Rock Island Engine Q. What is the color
for a Rock Island engine? Dale Haddix, Rt 1, Box 1315, Schell City,
MO 64783

A. It is DuPont 24590 Brown.

35/6/28 Information Needed Q. What is the year
built for the following engines: Fairbanks-Morse, s/n 721540; 1HC
LA, s/n LAA39841; Sandwich, s/n A4981; Stover, s/n TB235779; Alamo
Type A, s/n 58194; and McCormick-Deering Type M, 1? HP, s/n AW
103927. Roland G. Olthoff, 704 S. Water St., FOB 645, Warren, IL
61087-0645.

A. The numbers are in order: 1929, 1937,
don’t know, 1936, don’t know, and 1931.

35/6/29 From South Africa

Wilfred E. Mole, PO Box 8667, Centurion 0046, Republic of South
Africa sends along a photo of a Petter engine that his colleague,
Charles Viljoen recently discovered abandoned on a farm. If anyone
could provide him with any help or information on this engine
please contact Mr. Mole at the above address.

Modelmakers CORNER

William Gorman, 3609 Brentwood, Independence, MO 64055 sends a
photo (MM-1) of a running model of the French Loyal engine. This is
referenced in 35/2/12 A & B of GEM. The Loyal was first built
in 1871 and was two-cycle with an open crankcase. All cycles are
completed above the piston. The flat on the side of the cylinder is
the pad for mounting the exhaust valve cage. Mr. Gorman built the
model shown here.

A Closing Word

Continuing our series on lathes, we came across an interesting
piece from South Bend Lathe Works. This company probably did as
much or more than anyone to put lathes into automotive shops back
in the 1920s and 1930s. Although the South Bend was not a heavy
machine like a Bradford or a LeBlond (to name a few) it
nevertheless was quite capable within its capacity.

This issue we are showing two illustrations from a 1933 South
Bend brochure devoted entirely to special service equipment for
machining differential cases. Special centering supports were used
to hold the differential case, and a special driver was attached to
the faceplate. The whole idea was to test and/or true the ring gear
flange. South Bend actually offered a 13-inch Differential
Servicing Lathe. It was furnished with all the accessories needed
for this work, but of course, it could be used for any other lathe
work as well. Many other jigs and fixtures were available for this
lathe, such as hub servicing, connecting rod boring, commutator,
valve servicing, and piston finishing.

Ye olde Reflector has at some time or other owned three
different South Bend lathes. The biggest one, a 16-inch model came
into our shop about 35 years ago. It was cheap, but it also was
badly worn, the spindle hole taper was shot, and the shaft was
scored badly. All in all, a new spindle would have been the answer.
Fortunately, a fellow came along who wanted it worse than me, and
so I took the money and put it down on an old Fifield. That one
hung around for a few years, and finally I got the Bradford
Metal-master about 20 years ago. Ignorant operators had messed up
the innards of the carriage, sheared off some keys, and knocked 3
teeth off the compound gear. That all happened when some rocket
scientist tried to engage the half nuts while the feed rod was in
gear. The company that owned it decided it was no longer any good,
and that’s when it came to my shop. A few days of work gave me
a machine that has been a joy to operate.

Thanks for the many nice letters we have received about our
series on machine tools. John Edgerton at Bigfork, MT 59911 (see
his query earlier in the column) sent me a nice letter and some
photos of his old Blaisdell lathe (18 x 36) that he has owned for
40 years. Eventually we will get to some of the nuts-and-bolts of
running a lathe in hopes we can pass along something or other after
spending over 40 years around machines.


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