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Old Steam-Powered Machine Shop

plannerpower

Hot Rolled
Joined
Jul 20, 2005
Location
Newcastle, Australia
Most of us know how truly awful YouTube videos can be but there are occasional finds of gold among the dross; this, I think, is one such;

OLD TIME STEAM POWERED MACHINE SHOP - YouTube

Even the clock is genuine; its tick tries to drown-out the steam engine. :)

This bloke has done a remarkable job of reproducing an old workshop; despite his apology for being an amateur video-maker, I think that he also does a very good job of that as well.

I've only watched a handful of the videos to date; in later episodes he shows the restoration of a larger engine to replace the small one. He gives a very good explanation of valve timing beginning at about 17.00 here;

OLD STEAM POWERED MACHINE SHOP 26 - YouTube

and I did like the "old-school" method of finding TDC.
 
Dave certainly has made some excellent machining videos. I have enjoyed his channel for some time now.
 
I've watched many of his videos.

My metalshop ogee clock (J.C. Brown Forestville Manufacturing Co. ca 1860) is older.

My wood shop schoolhouse (Spiegel 31 day) is newer.

My belting, shafting, hangers, remains in the attic of the barn awaiting installation.

Joe in NH
 
That. Is. Cool.

I want his shop. That camel back with the square table is amazing. Hoping later videos show it in action. I have a gang press of 4, a few newer ones, yet, my go to is my round table Excelsior 21". I love that thing. And, I have the same burke tabletop drill he has. Handy lil' critter.
I thank you for posting this. I love old iron.
 
I’ve been subscriber to his channel for a while. One video of his they helped another steam powered shop that was having trouble with their boiler keeping up. Dave made some adjustments to the slide valve on their engine and increased both HP out put as well as it’s efficiency of steam use by something like 50% or more.
 
I love that channel... what he's done there is amazing. Not only is it very entertaining and atmospheric, but there's a lot of knowledge to be absorbed watching his approach to projects. The guy is a whiz with a slide rule...
I really liked watching the upgrade to the larger steam engine. I was kind of amazed that the smaller one pulled its weight so well to begin with!
 
...
Even the clock is genuine; its tick tries to drown-out the steam engine. :)...

I saw two clocks, and the ticking one is old. The one on the wall behind the lathes is a newish quartz clock. Note the sweep second hand and lack of winding holes in the dial. And the high location would make hand winding a chore.

Larry
 
I'm fortunate to have been in Dave's shop. He is a great person who also possesses fantastic knowledge. The one advantage to being in the shop is you get the smell and temperature, which the video cannot provide.

He is one of those people who enrich the process of learning in life, at least for me - like some of the others on this board and a few others out in the video land of the web. Those are the people who make life truly interesting.

Dale
 
Most of us know how truly awful YouTube videos can be but there are occasional finds of gold among the dross; this, I think, is one such;

OLD TIME STEAM POWERED MACHINE SHOP - YouTube

Even the clock is genuine; its tick tries to drown-out the steam engine. :)

This bloke has done a remarkable job of reproducing an old workshop; despite his apology for being an amateur video-maker, I think that he also does a very good job of that as well.

I've only watched a handful of the videos to date; in later episodes he shows the restoration of a larger engine to replace the small one. He gives a very good explanation of valve timing beginning at about 17.00 here;

OLD STEAM POWERED MACHINE SHOP 26 - YouTube

and I did like the "old-school" method of finding TDC.

I am surprised that he did not use the two compass intersecting arc method for finding the center point. Set the compass/divider to more than half the distance. Scribe an arc from each of the two end points. Where the arcs intersect is exactly 1/2 the distance between them.

Tom
 
I've been viewing these videos as time permits and they are very interesting; one interesting feature is the old "dial" indicators.

This one, permanently-attached to the ATW lathe;




is interesting enough but this one;



is utterly delightful.

It has the graduations on both sides so that it is readable when swinging; truly ingenious.

Our resident experts will surely chime-in and tell us all about these clever forerunners of our modern dial indicators.
 








 
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