Line shaft over speeding governor?

Hit Miss Engine · Mar 18, 2017

Here is a small line shafts set up that I purchased a while back... It has an interesting governor assembly with two weights and a pair of wooden shoes that look to disengage maybe if the lineshaft gets spinning to fast? I was wondering if anyone has any information regarding its exact purpose and maybe an idea on its age. Thanks

Ruston3w · Mar 18, 2017

No expert on line-shafts but I did some work for a guy with a waterwheel which had a similar arrangement......I suppose more likely to generate excessive speeds perhaps? wheel I would guess at later half of 19c.
Richard.

Monarchist · Mar 18, 2017

Hit Miss Engine said:
Here is a small line shafts set up that I purchased a while back... It has an interesting governor assembly with two weights and a pair of wooden shoes that look to disengage maybe if the lineshaft gets spinning to fast? I was wondering if anyone has any information regarding its exact purpose and maybe an idea on its age. Thanks

Are your sure they DIS engage?

Or might they ENgage? IOW a centrifugal clutch, or a centrifugally-assisted MANUAL clutch, rather than governor?

Governors were more likely to be air-vane paddles or flying-ball in that era, vanes & weirs for water power regulation, governing at source prime-mover for steam or heavy oil .

Hit Miss Engine · Mar 18, 2017

Monarchist said:
Are your sure they DIS engage?

Or might they ENgage? IOW a centrifugal clutch, or a centrifugally-assisted MANUAL clutch, rather than governor?

Governors were more likely to be air-vane paddles or flying-ball in that era, vanes & weirs for water power regulation, governing at source prime-mover for steam or heavy oil .

I actually had to go down in the shop and study this setup a little more...Although not overly complicated it was still a little brain teaser figuring out what is really going on...It didn't help that it was stiff and I couldn't get the parts to spin individually because someone (probably the person that last used it) shoved little wood wedges under one of the wooden shoes to keep things permanantly engaged?? Anyhow once I pulled the wood wedges out I got things moving and was able to see what was going on... seems like when the flyweights sling outward from centrifigual force, the wooden shoes release the metal ring that they ride in that actually turns the line shaft.... so it seems that the faster the power pulley is spun the more it releases and doesn't allow the shaft to turn. There is a hand wheel that you can adjust the tension to make the disengagement happen with what seems to be more or less speed...

Monarchist · Mar 18, 2017

Hit Miss Engine said:
I actually had to go down in the shop and study this setup a little more...Although not overly complicated it was still a little brain teaser figuring out what is really going on...It didn't help that it was stiff and I couldn't get the parts to spin individually because someone (probably the person that last used it) shoved little wood wedges under one of the wooden shoes to keep things permanantly engaged?? Anyhow once I pulled the wood wedges out I got things moving and was able to see what was going on... seems like when the flyweights sling outward from centrifigual force, the wooden shoes release the metal ring that they ride in that actually turns the line shaft.... so it seems that the faster the power pulley is spun the more it releases and doesn't allow the shaft to turn. There is a hand wheel that you can adjust the tension to make the disengagement happen with what seems to be more or less speed...

Yep. Human brain has been clever for longer than we've had much to apply it to, so seems a useful gadget.

Corrosion looked like a Brass or better-yet, even one of the Bronzes was under at least part of it, so it might clean-up right smartly.

BTW - water power is easy to regulate at the input. Same with steam, heavy oil/fire-tube, or, of course, a 'master' electric motor.

Wonder if this gadget was involved in WIND power of a lineshaft? Wind input is much harder to hold stable.

A bit of variability is not so bad for milling of grains, much less-attractive for drilling or turning of woods or metals.

wdTom · Mar 19, 2017

Are you going to use it in a line shaft driven machine? Or at least clean it up and make a display with it functioning? I hope so. A very interesting find and worth saving and displaying in some way.

Joe in NH · Mar 19, 2017

[quoteWonder if this gadget was involved in WIND power of a lineshaft? Wind input is much harder to hold stable. [/quote]

Horse-power?

Methinks his horse power woodshop is still at best an objective.

Joe in NH

Hit Miss Engine · Mar 19, 2017

Joe that video made me actually chuckle a little... I live smack in the middle of Amish country... Half all my neibors are Amish and sometimes I get to see some of their creativity but nothing quite to that extreme. Wdtom I do plan on using the lineshaft in a small lineshaft shop that I am building using all small machines from the 19th century. I will be powering everything with a Webster inverted gas engine built in 1895... This has been a project of mine for several years ... I have been collecting machines for a few years and I am finally in the process of starting to restore the machines and preping for the building. The building will be built on a dedicated trailer so I can take and show it at local shows... The whole side of the building will open exposing what will look like a period correct lineshaft shop... But with all very small machines.

wdTom · Mar 20, 2017

That's great and sounds like a fun project with fun showing it when you are done. I have a friend with a shingle mill on a trailer and we take that around to a few shows each year and have a lot of fun, (and work) showing it.

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