20/8/17 Q. My dream is to run my restored Chase
Turbine Co. Shingle mill (ca. 1910) with a small steam engine.
Meanwhile, can anyone supply information on a Buda 4-cylinder
engine, Model HP217-11507A, s/n 285687. Does anyone publish a
newsletter for shingle mill enthusiasts? Rexford van Norman Baker,
316 Oxford St., Auburn, MA 01501.
A. We haven’t heard of a newsletter dealing
with vintage sawmill equipment or with shingle mills specifically.
Regarding the Buda engine, write: Customer Service Dept.,
Allis-Chalmers Corp., Box 1563, Harvey, IL 60426.
20/8/18 Q. We have restored the Gibson tractor
shown in an adjacent photograph. It uses a Wisconsin Model AEHS-BA
(3×3) engine. It is either original or similar to the original. We
would like to add an electric starter, but suspect we need a new
flywheel. Also we need more information on this tractor as might be
found in operator’s or parts manuals. Robert I. Naidis, 60677
Riverbend Dr., Bend, OR 97702.
A. First, we question whether a new flywheel is
required. Some years ago, an electric starter kit was available for
these engines, but we do not recall that any major modifications
were required. Perhaps a Gibson afficio-nado might be of help.
20/8/19 Q. We need information on a Whitney
9-18 tractor. It uses a Gile 2-cylinder opposed engine. We will pay
for copying charges and postage. Rex Andrews, 1113-C Fleetwood, Sun
Valley, CA 91352.
A. Perhaps someone has some information on a Whitney 9-18 to
share with Mr. Andrews.
20/8/20 Q. We would like to know the original
green color for a 16-30 OilPull tractor? Charles W. Pierce, RR 1,
Box I-A, Decmsboro, NY 13328.
A. Last spring the Reflector attended the
Rumely convention at LaPorte, Indiana. At that time, several former
Rumely employees indicated that while the dark green remained
almost till the end of production, it varied somewhat from batch to
batch. Apparently, the low bid prevailed, so when changing from one
paint company to another, the color changed as well. Mr. Pierce
would like to know the proper shade of green, and the Reflector
will be happy to share this information if it becomes
available.
20/8/21 Q. We have an Eli engine made by Moline
Pump Company, Moline, Illinois. It is of 2-cycle design. The engine
appears to have been red with dark green flywheels. Is this the
correct color? Harry Cook, 1724 Hillcrest Drive, Wilson, NC
27893.
A. We would suggest that the green and red
combination might be correct. Some help from those who might know
the answer would be appreciated.
20/8/22 George A. Burns, 7343 C. R. 18, Butler,
IN 46721 would like to know the years of production and proper
paint color for a HP Sattley air-cooled engine.
20/8/23Quirin L. Braun, RR 2, Box 119, Wheaton,
MN 56296 is restoring a John Deere No. 7 combine. The galvanized
sheet metal has a lot of iron stains on it. How can this be
removed?
20/8/24 Bruce Gates, 241 Allegan St.,
Plainwell, MI 49080 has located an Otto like that shown on page
369, top-right-center of American Gas Engines. It carries s/n 3773
and has Schleicher, Schumm & Co. cast into the water jacket.
Mr. Gates would like to correspond with someone relative to this
engine, and further inquires if an ‘Otto Engine Club’
exists.
READERS WRITE
20/3/35 John Rex, who posed a question above,
notes that regarding the Webster magneto Master Manual, he has thus
far had no success in locating this material. Likewise, the
Reflector, among several others has been looking for service data
on these magnetos, but with only limited success. Mr. Rex notes
Webster sold its line to three different companies, but the
subsequent happenings remain a mystery.
20/3/12 Tom Crozier, RR 1, Ailsa Craig, Ontario
NOM 1AO Canada writes that his replies to the problem of making new
cork carburetor floats included the suggestion of laminating thin
sections together. Some writers suggested the use of large
fisherman’s floats as a source of cork.
20/3/22 Regarding the comments on Deering Blue,
Rev. John Bondy, 1220 Birch Lane, Cody, WY 82414 notes that he
recently acquired a 1939 F-14 Farmall tractor which was obviously
blue with red wheels. The original owner confirmed that the tractor
was blue when he bought it. (This raises another interesting
question, especially since International Harvester repeatedly gives
1936 as the changeover date from gray to blue to the familiar IH
red).
20/3/8 Enoch S. Cook, 95 S. High Street,
Bridgton, ME 04009 writes that he has an AG-6 Cletrac, s/n 3X434.
It is known from the bill of sale to be a 1946 model. Since Mr.
Miller’s question in regard to his AG-6, s/n 3X8090 inquired as
to the age of the machine, this information may be of help.
20/3/48 The Reflector is attempting to trace
the owner of the marine engine pictured on page 10 of the May, 1985
issue under the above number. We omitted the owner’s name in
writing this one up.
20/3/36 Regarding the Adriance binder, Albert
J. Ruhland, 8290 W. 280th St., New Prague, MN 56071 again replies
that his 6 foot Adriance was bought new in 1916, has always been
shedded, and is in excellent working condition. He would like to
hear from anyone else with an Adriance binder, and will attempt to
answer all letters in this regard.
20/3/14 John B. Mulford Jr., Penrith Farm,
Lodi, NY 14860 writes that the ‘Leader’ engine from Field
Force Pump Co., Elmira, NY was dark green in color. It had no pin
striping. Field built most of these for use on orchard sprayers.
Mr. Mulford also notes that he has located one of these engines,
and after digging it out of the brush surrounding it, will bring it
home. Another noteMulford’s 1929 Case 25-45 cross-motor was
battleship gray with red and yellow pin striping around the fenders
and hood. So said the Case people, but Mulford’s was a dark
blue color when it was new. Any explanations for this one???
June issue, page 12, FBM Eclipse Regarding the Fairbanks Eclipse
engine of Mr. Van Keirsbilck, are nameplates for this engine
available? Leandre Nadeau, Box 133, Deauville, Quebec JOB 1NO
Canada.
Hercules engine color John K. Stringham, Stringham Ranch,
Belgrade, MO63622 sends us a photo of his Hercules with the
original paint. It very closely matches John Deere green. (See
photo on the following page.)
Oldest John Deere Tractor Frank Hansen, Rollingstone, MN 55969
writes in response to Ken Layher’s recent letter regarding his
JohnDeere Dain tractor. Mr. Hansen won a 1983 court suit against
Deere & Company in which Deere was enjoined from claiming the
Model D to be the first to bear the company name. In a detailed
letter to the Editor, Mr. Hansen maintains his claim that his Dain
tractor, s/n 191879 is the only complete John Deere Dain tractor in
existence. As is a common occurence with this column, a simple lack
of space precludes us from including Mr. Hansen’s letter in its
entirety.
20/3/18 Mr. Cook, noted in the previous answer,
states that the Empire engine was blue. Notice the color
illustration of this engine. Mr. Cook graciously loaned the
Reflector a copy of an Empire catalog. Although undated, it
illustrates these engines in 1, 2 3 5, 7, 10, 12, and 16 horsepower
sizes. Low tension battery-type ignition was standard equipment,
but a Wizard oscillating magneto could be furnished on special
order. All sizes through 7 horsepower used a double weight flywheel
governor, but the 10-16 HP sizes featured a gear-driven, 3-weight
flyball governor.
Ron Kindred, 9560 Wellington Drive, Martinsville, IN 46151
inquires whether production of the John Deere ‘A’ began in
1937 or 1938. The book from Deere & Company entitled John Deere
Tractors, 1918-1976 indicates that 1938 was the first year,
beginning with No. 1,000. Mr. Kindred is restoring a small radiator
Model A, s/n 3699. Some people say it is a 1937 model, and others
claim it to be a 1938. Who is correct?
A CLOSING WORD
Sometime ago, the Reflector obtained a copy of From the American
System to Mass Production, 1800-1932, by David A. Hounshell and
published by the Johns Hopkins University Press.
Hounshell begins with mass production technology of the federal
armories in the early 19th century. Subsequently he deals with the
sewing machine, the woodworking machine industry, the reaper, the
bicycle, and finally, the automobile. Throughout, the thread of
continuity attempts to show that mass production and accurate
duplication of parts really did not occur until Henry Ford and the
Model T came along.
Particularly in dealing with the reaper industry, we are almost
led to believe that McCormick, Deering, and other reaper men were
hardly more than country rubes, barely able to complete a machine,
much less make them uniformly alike so that parts were readily
interchangeable. The Reflector totally disagrees with this notion.
Granted, Ford pushed the idea of mechanized production lines and
the like, but in its own way, the reaper and grain binder industry
was highly mechanized and certainly was able to reproduce
interchangeable parts.
With many thousands of grain binders being sold during the last
twenty five years of the nineteenth century, it takes little
imagination to guess the outcry if parts were not interchangeable
in the field. Farmers have a way of becoming impatient during
harvest, and having to spend a week waiting for a part, then having
to spend another couple of days hand fitting it seems absurd to us!
Had this actually happened, we suspect that farmers in droves would
have descended on the various reaper companies and their owners
with the wrath of a swarm of July grasshoppers.
Having spent many years in an intensive study of the farm
equipment industry, the Reflector suggests that had it not been for
the pioneer manufacturing innovations of the McCormick’s, the
Deering’s, William A. Whitely, and others, neither Ford nor
anyone else would have been successful in adapting their
manufacturing to a true mass production system for many years. We
further suggest that far too often in today’s historical tomes,
the depth of research into farm machinery development is far too
shallow for an accurate assessment. Anyone who has ever worked with
a grain binder fully understands the idiosyncracies of the knotter
mechanism. That it works at all is almost miraculous, even with
today’s technology. That it worked a century ago, and was
actually able to work days on end with missing barely a single tie,
is even more amazing when it is remembered that the farmer of a
century ago knew as much about a grain binder as today’s
farmer
knows about bionic cattle. Having stated our position, we rest
our case, strongly prejudiced in favor of the farm equipment
industry as a leading force in American industrial development.
