26/10/8 Unidentified Engine Q. I have acquired
a single cylinder engine with no identification except for ‘J
Comer Jones Power and Water.’ The only other clue is the hopper
casting number of J 101. Any help will be appreciated. Robin
Lewis, 1820 No. County Rd 23, Bellvue, CO 80512.
A. A couple of photographs would be most
helpful, and if this is a vendor engine that was built by another
company, it would be imperative. Send us a couple of photos when
you can, and we’ll see what we can do.
26/10/9 Brown & Cochran Thanks to Rich
Howard, Hysham, MT 59038 for sending along the before and after
photos of his Brown &. Cochran engine.
26/10/10 Sandow Engine Q. Can anyone supply the
proper color for the Sandow engines? Al Hain, 352 South Dr.,
Rochester, NY 14612.
A. It is a deep blue, similar to Sherwin
Willliams No. 1374.
26/10/11 Empire Cream Separator Q. Can anyone
provide the correct color for the Empire engine from Empire Cream
Separator Co., Bloomfield, New Jersey? Stan Davis
,Rt.8,Box 112, Live Oak, FL 32060.
A. If you can help on this one let us know, so
it can go into the reference book!
26/10/12 Lauson-Lawton Q. See the photo of a 2?
HP Lauson-Lawton engine, s/n 1956. Can anyone tell me the year
built, and the correct color scheme? I will appreciate hearing from
anyone with one of these engines. Mike Nebosis RR 2, Box 167,
New York Mill, MN 56567.
A. As with the previous query, let us know the
proper color scheme so it can be jotted down for future
reference.
26/10/13 Dates Needed Q. What is the year built
of the following Stover engines: 86669, 27052, 58703? Also, is
there a way to date a John Lauson engine, s/n 11827? Is there
someone with information on these engines? Daniel B. Thomas
Jr., 495 Dustin Tavern Rd., Weare, NH 03281.
A. 1916, 1911, and 1914- There is no way we
know of dating Lauson engines from the serial number.
26/10/14 IHC Victor Vertical Carb Q. See the
sketch of the IHC combination gas and gasoline carburetor. I would
appreciate hearing from anyone having one of these carburetors so I
can obtain dimensions, etc. for completing mine. Any information
will be appreciated. David Hawkins, 414 Oak Place, Crestview,
FL 32536.
26/10/15 White & Middleton First of all,
thanks to everyone who called or wrote concerning my earlier query
about a White & Middleton engine. After I found out where to
look, the date was stamped behind the water funnel of 725-04.
Here’s a photo of the completed engine. Charles R. Snider,
HCR, 26161 Box 35, New Martinsville, WV 26155.
26/10/16 DeLaval Engine Duane Sauter, 4850
Mallard Way, Missoula, MT 59802 needs information, paint color,
etc. on a DeLaval Type D37, 1? W horsepower, s/n 47939. If you can
help, drop Duane a line…he’ll appreciate it.
26/10/17 Unidentified Engine Q. Can anyone
identify the engine in the two photos? It has no nameplate of any
kind. James P. McHaffie, Box 38, Georgetown, PA 15043.
A. Who can identify this one?
26/10/18 Ignition Tubes
Thanks to R.H. Stein, PO Box 319, Pemberville, OH 43450 for
sending us the following information on hot tube ignition:
The following is taken from a ca. 1896 S.M. Jones Catalog. In
essence, the slower the engine speed, the shorter the hot tube.
They recommend the following lengths for various speeds:
100-150 r.p.m.-5 inches
150-165 r.p.m.-5 ? inches
165-180 r.p.m.-6 ? inches
180-200 r.p.m.-7 ? inches
200-250 r.p.m.-9 inches
The length of the tube is critical to the timing. If the tube is
too long for the speed, it will cause preignition. If the (natural)
gas contains hydrogen sulfide, it is better to use wrought iron
than nickel alloy tubes. If a new tube has to be made, I would
suggest using a solid bar of cold rolled steel, and bore hole
within 3/8 inch of the end, and thread in the
lathe so the tube will set straight in the chimney. Do not look
into the chimney while the engine is running! Use a hand mirror to
check the temperature of the tube.
26/10/19 Root & Vandervoort Vertical Q. I
need some detailed information on a 4 HP R &V vertical engine
built prior to 1917. If anyone can be of help, please write. Ed
Kahlie, 7632 Vicki Dr., Whittier, CA 90606.
A. You don’t mention any specifics, and we
haven’t a thing that would be of help. However, we may be able
to answer some specific questions, or at the very least, refer them
to our readers.
26/10/20 Coil Condensers Several comments have
come in recently regarding the proper size of condenser to use on
coils and magnetos. This originally involved some fine tuning on
the part of the engineers to get the condenser matched to the coil.
Condensers break down and start leaking, especially the old style
ones. When they leak, the result is arcing at the contacts, and
particularly for magnetos, this can quickly fry the points. Since
condensers are much easier to find than contact points, it is a
good idea to match things up in the first place. We’re not sure
that buying a condenser with a 600 volt rating will do any harm, as
compared to buying one rated for 300 volts. If there is excessive
arcing at the points, chances are that the condenser is leaking;
Perhaps we’ll see some more in-depth discussion of this matter
later on.
Model maker’s Corner
Norman Brockelsby is at it again, this time with a half-scale
washing machine. Norman sends us photos every so often of his
models, and apparently he decided that he needed to put some of his
little model engines to work. Norm lives at 1127? North Sherman,
Grand Island, NE 68803.
In Photo 21A the aluminum square tub washer is shown in
construction. Photo 21B shows some very young homemakers washing
clothes.
A Closing Word
By the time this issue is in your hands, the main thrust of the
summer show season will be past us (already). This is truly a great
hobby, and one that has the immense practical value of helping to
preserve our past. Ye olde Reflector has collected lots of
different things over the years, but it seems to mean a lot more
when you take an old hunk of iron, spend many hours of TLC, plus a
few more of utter frustration, and then finally see an old engine
come back to life, hopefully to enjoy many more years in
semi-retirement. It’s fun to look at a coin collection, or a
cupboard full of beautiful old dishes. But nothing talks back to us
like an old engine. Every one of them has its own personality, and
each one talks in its own distinctive voice.
We were reminded of all this awhile back when we bought a 1929
A-C United tractor. This one has been in the locality all its life,
and ye olde Reflector is only about the third owner. About 25 years
ago the engine was completely rebuilt from stem to stern, and since
that time it has done very little. However, for the past ten years
it resided in a shed, never turning a wheel. After a couple hours
of cleaning all the crud out of the carburetor, and other
unpleasant duties, the old girl came to life again, and this
instantly stirred memories of when it was used for serious work
instead of being a plaything. So, next summer we’ll begin on
the United, in an effort to restore it to its original condition.
Ask us what’s next on the agenda, and we haven’t the
faintest idea, except to tell you that there are enough engines
laid back to keep us busy for several years. Let’s keep those
flywheels turnin’. See you next issue!
