The Home Machinist!

Does any one know where I could get a hit-n-miss
I'm in the Vancouver B.C. Canada area.
My brother'n law has 4 and he won't share

Thanks

Keith

Here would be a good place to start:

http://www.enginads.com/classifieds/

You will want to look in the "Medium Flywheel Engines" section.

The "center of gravity" of antique engine interests in North America is east of the Mississippi River; but, from time to time you'll find ads posted from along the Interstate-5 corridor.

Another outstading resource for you would be the Western Antique Iron Trader (W.A.I.T.). It caters to folks along the left coast. It is published by George and Kathryn Best in Beaverton, Oregon. At $22 (US) for Canadian subscriptions, it is a bargain. The e-mail address is:

irontrader@verizon.net

The URL:

www.irontrader.com

The novice tends to think of all flywheel engines as being hit and miss; however, many are throttle-governed. If you see an engine that piques you interest, you should ask whether it is one or the other. Personally, I like the smooth and soothing rhythm of throttle-governed engines.

Regards,

Orrin

Thanks, Orrin

I Just love the old Iorn. I think for the first couple of engines for me, I would be happy with both.

Here is a picture of one of the engines my brother in law has.
He does not have it running but we hope to get it going.

Thanks for the Links

Keith

Keith, I have an engine that is nearly an identical twin to your BIL's. A farmer/blacksmith in my home town designed it. His name was Jeff Knowlton and he invented the concept of hopper cooling. He eventually allowed the Waterloo factory to use his design. Seeing as how Waterloo built many engines for re-badging under different names, you'll see engines similar to it quite frequently.

Is there a nameplate on the engine? It appears as though it could be an Eaton. For a while, Knowlton made engines for Eaton.

Regards,

Orrin

Orrin,

The Engine does have a plate.

The T. Eaton Co Limited
Winnepeg Canada.

You are bang on!! How do you Know. Is it the Design and color?
Do you think we could get it running?? It moves really smooth.

Thanks for the help.

Keith

KBURK,

Go for it man!!!!! I have seen start of projects in much worse condition that that one! It looks real Good.

I know you didn't ask for advice but here is a couple of cents worth:

Patience on Dis-assembly! Don't force anything!

Liberal quantities of your favorite penetrating oil, I don't want to start the best one debate AGAIN, so I'll just say mine choices are Kroil and PB Blaster.

There may be times when you are just gonna have to tap it some, first locate and run a scribe along the parting lines, free up any paint or rust that you can. Use a Deadblow hammer and a nice piece of 2 x 4 or 2 x 6, spread the impact, judge your blows on the thickness of the metal where it wants to part; a couple of taps and a few more days soak, Repeat.
Also refer to step one!!

There may be times when it will separate at places other than you had hoped, refer to step 1 & 2.

And Face it, there may be a few times you may have to sacrifice something. Analyze what ya got, and drill or cut the least major/important piece.

If it is already moving smoothly, consider NOT disassembling it just clean, clean, clean, Mask, Paint and enjoy!!

Orrin, anything to add??

Good Luck! Take Care, Ken

Ken, your advice is sound. In regard to painting, however, there are two schools of thought, especially when so much original paint remains.

One school is to restore the engine back to "factory" appearance, or better. The other school says to clean off the grime, make any needed mechanical repairs, and leave the rest as-is. I've recently heard of several well-known collectors who have gone to great lengths to remove re-paint jobs and return an engine to a well-used appearance. Wayne Grenning and Lauren Langdon come to mind.

Here is an engine that we left in original condition:

http://users.moscow.com/oiseming/lc_ant_p/pic_SE.htm

Note that it looked very grimy when we got it. I used waterless hand cleaner to soften the hardened grease. It took a number of applications and soaks, but eventually we got down to the original paint.

To put a bit of "zap" back into the faded, oxidized paint we used a 50-50 mix of boiled linseed oil and paint thinner, wiped on with a lint-free rag. It takes a week or two to dry, but it is worth the wait. Its best to do the linseed oil treatment in hot weather when the cure time will be shorter. The linseed oil treatment also helps preserve bare metal and it gives "character" to whatever rust there is.

Whether to do a cosmetic restoration or leave as-is is a matter of taste. I'm dazzled by nicely repainted engines; but, I also respect folks who like them wearing their "working clothes."

There are two things that turn me off: Garish, off-colors and sloppy paint jobs. As far as I know, no antique engines came from the factory wearing bright pink or metalflake paint!

Keith, there were many clues to suggest it was an Eaton: 1) The flared water hopper; 2) It's in Canada; 3) The overall design, especially the shape of the flywheel counterweights.

Regards,

Orrin

Orrin,

Thank You, Point taken, there are differing "Schools of Thought."

I'm with Keith here, what led you the way of Eaton? It's covered above but vaguely. { We are trying to pry your knowledge and thought process out of you! } Soon we are going to send the "Suits with Sunglasses" talking into their cuff links!!!!!

Did Eaton just have a general influence on the rest?

I was thinking Stover when I saw the dark paint and that Hopper.

Take Care,

Ken

I'm with Keith here, what led you the way of Eaton? It's covered above but vaguely. { We are trying to pry your knowledge and thought process out of you! } Soon we are going to send the "Suits with Sunglasses" talking into their cuff links!!!!!

Ken, as I said in an earlier post, I have an almost-identical twin. Almost every component is identical. Mine is proven to be from the Knowlton factory. Seeing as how Knowltons were shipped to Canada to be badged with Eaton nameplates, it was safe to guess it was an Eaton.

Regards,

Orrin