Toyman, I walked next door to the museum and shot some photos of old lathes and such. The line drive system was a beauty! You'll see in the turn of the century apprentice shop that no one wore safety glasses and generally ignored everything we know today.
Take care of that 1946, you couldn't afford to buy that kind of workmanship today.
This summer we celebrate our 200th anniversary.
Dan
16 inch round.
These are Gunnel Guns. Notice the bottom is pointy like an oar lock? Keep this near your feet as you chat up the boat coming along side, "No, we haven't seen any Pirates."
Then you drop it in the lock and hit 'em below the waterline.
This belt driven beastie has a 5 ft. chuck.
This is on the third floor!
This is the back side of a drill press. Dr. Suess belts are whizzing around and you have to reach between the two near the column to turn the thing on and off.
Now you know why we had OSHA?
Amazing pictures!! Where were they taken?
Beautiful stuff. So much old machinery is truly art as well.
Wow! The floor must have been littered with severed limbs and appendages!
Well, that or the workers actually knew what the Berk they were doing.
Taken at the Watervliet Arsenal's museum. Notice the rafters in the overhead shots, this whole building is cast iron. The August place to be!
I started at Watervliet in 1978 as a machinist, to a tool maker, then QC inspector. Now I'm with Benet Weapons Lab. We had a demo video describing what we do, but I can't fine it. There's also one on the Bunker buster, GBU-28. From inception to paint and loading it on a jet for Iraq - - 23 days. The nose is depleted uranium, harder'n hell's bells. Put it on a rocket sled with mo propellant and it went through 14 two foot thick pieces of reinforced concrete, hit the desert 1/2 mile later and disappeared. That's what we dropped on Saddam Heussin
http://www.wva.army.mil/
http://www.ardec.army.mil/benet/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtqwlgEC-bg
Nice pictures. I've been in some old textile mills that had a similar drive system that ran off water power.
Heck, I know of a company here in Pittsburgh that still uses the overhead belts. Modern AC electric motor powers the whole thing, but belts drive the lathes to this day.
That belt drive system was largely responsible for destroying the American Indian population. The demand for belts made from buffalo hide led to driving buffalo virtually to extinction, which the Indian population lived on. The buffalo belts were much stronger than cow hide belts.
Different kind of Hot Rod there.
Very cool! (from an old Army Ordnance officer)
At Rock Island Arsenal, they used the Mississippi to power those belts ... 
Cast iron rafters! That is amazing.
1988RedT2 wrote:
Wow! The floor must have been littered with severed limbs and appendages!
Well, that or the workers actually knew what the Berk they were doing.
To be fair a lot more people (as a percentage of the working populace) were injured, maimed, and killed at work back then. OSHA didn't spring up wholly unneeded.
Remember Rita Hayworth, Veronica Lake? Big hair etc. When all the boys were off fighting, the women worked in the factories. To enhance safety, I think it was Ginger Rogers first, but Hollywood women tucked their hair into a rolled inboard style. Women in the shops are now cool.
Worked.
http://www.youtuberepeater.com/watch?v=LMcSNAUzDIk&name=Veronica+Lake+gets+the+1940s+victory+roll+hairstyle+WWII
That is some really cool stuff. I know where a drill press like the one you pictured is. It's a 1920s era that was converted to electric some time in the 50s or 60s. It actually has a power down feed. The problem is I think it's too tall to fit in my shop.
I would really like to find an old Bridgeport knee mill or something similar.
Thanks for the pictures. I love looking at that kind of stuff.
These were taken in the back room of the museum where they have an 1880s machine shop set up.
If you'd like specific pictures or need to research your item, lemme know.
There are two or three retirees that spend time refurbishing old machines and setting up the shop you saw above. I can pick their brains.
There's also a E36 M3 load of blue prints up in the attic!
Is the museum open to the public? I might be up that way toward the end of the summer.
Open 10 - 4 weekdays. When I get back to work I'll get a phone number.
In reply to Dr. Hess:
The way I understand it, its more like the Buffalo were all ordered to be killed off to destroy the American Indian population, nice leather was a side benefit. If you have to go there.
Toyman01 wrote:
Is the museum open to the public? I might be up that way toward the end of the summer.
Open Sunday through Thursday 10am - 3 pm.
518.266.4772 PM me if you get to the neighborhood.
Dan
This is the back room that I photographed, the museumy stuff and bling is up front.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2CH3QdADZw
Kenny_McCormic wrote:
In reply to Dr. Hess:
The way I understand it, its more like the Buffalo were all ordered to be killed off to destroy the American Indian population, nice leather was a side benefit. If you have to go there.
+1. That and the small pox infected blankets the govt passed out.
