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mikalius
2nd Feb 2019, 04:15 AM
Hi everyone, I'm new here but was encouraged to share some pictures of a museum at which I volunteer. The site is in Kinzer PA (between Philadelphia and Lancaster in Pennsylvania, USA) and is the Rough & Tumble Engineers Historical Association. It's a great collection of mainly agricultural machinery and engines, steam, coal, a blacksmith, threshing, a sawmill, shingle mill, line shaft machine shop, etc. I know most of the members here are Down Under, but if you're ever in this neck of the woods, we'd love to show you around.

https://www.roughandtumble.org/

We all strive to have WORKING machinery and actually use it on demo days making useful things (not just chips). It's been a pleasure learning at the proverbial knees of some really really smart and experienced people.

Brown & Sharpe #2 horizontal mill circa 1912 I believe (we have the vertical head for it too), and a small Buffalo drill press
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View through the shop from one end:
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Brown & Sharpe automatic screw machine which was literally pulled out of a scrap yard by one of the founding members of the shop in West Chester PA - we use this on operating days for visitors to make their own souvenirs (machinists' jack this year and last, a brass whistle, etc.)
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Three Reed (I believe they're all Reeds) in about descending vintage from newest to oldest:
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A Champion Blower & Forge drill press built about 10mi away in Lancaster PA:
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Another old treadle-powered Reed. This machine was rebuilt by a local teen for his Boy Scout Eagle project. Behind it is a Bullard vertical boring mill that we are the 2nd owner of - it's in the process of being rebuilt.
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Horizontal boring machine (being put back together)
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Tolman shaper (I believe this one was a Boy Scout project too, but might be wrong)
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Monster Whitcomb & Blaisdell shaper
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View from opposite end of the shop showing the overhead works:
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BRADFORD
11th Feb 2019, 03:03 PM
I love all this old stuff, it must be great to be able to work on it and get it operational.

Abratool
11th Feb 2019, 06:01 PM
I also like these old machinery & tools, & overhead shafting.
Particularly the Brown & Sharpe Mill with the "Dont Touch" sign on it, which means if I visited, I would have to touch.
The Capstan Lathe is also a nice collectable, & the Travelling head shaper looks to be in pristine condition.
A very nice collection, well done !
Bruce

kwijibo99
11th Feb 2019, 09:00 PM
I'm not sure how I missed this the first time around but thank you for the great photos.
I love line shaft workshops and if they are still operational then all the better.
Keep up the great work.
Cheers,
Greg.

caskwarrior
13th Feb 2019, 10:10 PM
That oldest reed lathe is really interesting, I wonder what that big thing hanging under the carriage is?

mikalius
13th Feb 2019, 10:43 PM
I wonder what that big thing hanging under the carriage is?

Hi Cask, that's just a big hunk of iron; the thinking is since that carriage is so small it just lends some needed heft to the works.

Abratool, I spent three days this summer 'running' that B&S horizontal mill during the ling show weekend. We're using it to make a new table for a Brainard mill we're restoring, just like this one:
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I'm really lucky to have such a great shop at my disposal; like I said it's the guys who work there with me that are the most amazing part. The amount of knowledge there is truly impressive.

Mike

Abratool
14th Feb 2019, 02:19 PM
Mike
Thanks for the input on your activities. Glad you enjoyed working & demonstrating the B & S Mill.
Wish you were a bit closer as I would be visiting your workshop frequently !!!
Love the Scraping Marks on the Brainard mill, & no guards.
A lot of those blokes (Australian for Guys) would have heaps of knowledge.
All the best
Bruce

malb
14th Feb 2019, 07:03 PM
Nice collection of tools. The Monster W&B shaper is actually a planer. On a shaper the work is fixed and the tool moves along it to cut, on a planer the tool is stationary (apart from feeds and depth of cut) and the the work moves under it to cut. The give away is that the shaper has a moving ram for the tool, while a planer has a moving table for the workpiece.

mikalius
15th Feb 2019, 04:21 AM
Nice collection of tools. The Monster W&B shaper is actually a planer. On a shaper the work is fixed and the tool moves along it to cut, on a planer the tool is stationary (apart from feeds and depth of cut) and the the work moves under it to cut. The give away is that the shaper has a moving ram for the tool, while a planer has a moving table for the workpiece.

Thank you malb; I DO know the difference but it just seems my aging brain decides to swap the terms around at the wrong times! When that big boy is running you'd best stay clear of the table, it won't think twice about putting a hurting on your unsuspecting leg!

mikalius
15th Apr 2019, 09:39 PM
The first Saturday of each month is a work day at the organization. My buddy and I spent most of the day machining a casting we got back. It's a replacement arm for the 1905-ish Bullard vertical turret lathe. We're the 2nd owner of the machine; it was salvaged from a shop in Arizona. We have pictures of the machine being loaded in AZ with both counterbalance arms in place as shown in this picture (this isn't our machine, FYI):
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BUT... somewhere during the 2000mi trip, when the machine arrived in Pennsylvania, the left-hand arm was gone; three sheared-off half bolts were in the trailer bed. No idea where it was lost but its a miracle no one got hurt -- it's a good 45-50 pound hunk of cast iron. Fortunately, the machine shown above is nearby in Maryland at another museum and one of our members is involved with that shop as well. They were nice enough to donate their arm as a pattern for the foundry and away we went.

So, we had two faces to machine on a VERY strangely-shaped part. Took a good 2 hours of setup to get clamped and dialed in to our satisfaction. Then the cutting began -- here's a link to the fun:


https://photos.app.goo.gl/6Coy1DRbp2Dx4M2a9

StrayAlien
17th Apr 2019, 09:13 PM
Mick, wow. thanks for the great pics. Just great stuff. You are lucky to be able to work and play on such machines.

Greg.