old woodworking tools display

[LCHIEN]

while on vacation last week I saw these WW equipment in a museum.
Beautiful belt driven table saw, planer, jointer, bandsaw and lathe machines.

Any guesses what museum I saw them in?

[goslin23]

Is this not a miniature display? If not I'm stumped.

[cgallery]

Some sort of maritime museum? I can't imagine any other industry where they'd use machines like that which would have a museum devoted to them. I was thinking something to do with Edison but are those machines too new?

[germdoc]

All I can think of, is where are the safety guards and protective equipment on these workers? I guess they were more expendable back then...

As far as where it's at, I'm going to guess somewhere in New England. Connecticut?

[dkerfoot]

I'd guess that would be an Amish workshop - No electricity! Not much different than they are now. The one I saw actually had all the belts running under the floor, so it was marginally safer.

[LarryG]

Greenfield Village? I don't know why I think that, other that it being somewhere I've always wanted to go, and the period clothing and the factory building look about right.

[Stytooner]

Aviation museum?

[cabinetman]

It all looks like a miniaturized working scale model.
.

[LCHIEN]

Those are full size actual machines, and the mannequins, too. 12" TS. 24" Thickness planer, and 12" Jointer maybe bigger than you are used to make the men seem small.
The power source is that green thing visible in two pictures (between TS and jointer) driving the belt distribution system. Its an electric motor.

[jking]

Aviation museum?

Yes, although I don't know where. You can read the text on the display sign for the table saw. It indicates this is aviation related.

[crokett]

Yes, although I don't know where. You can read the text on the display sign for the table saw. It indicates this is aviation related.

Maybe not. The sign also says something about boats. So could be a shipyard.

[ironhat]

The TS brought to mind the thread a while back on the use of a 'half-fence'. I wonder when and why that all changed to the current standard?

[LinuxRandal]

The TS brought to mind the thread a while back on the use of a 'half-fence'. I wonder when and why that all changed to the current standard?

Why, I believe we can help with. Plywood.
Once manufactured sheet goods started being used, the longer fence was a benefit for ripping the sheets down.

Another factor, may have been the manufacturing costs. (accuracy and cost of one point squaring, verses the adjustments/squaring on a full fence).


These shops, with the old leather belts, could be run on various things. Waterwheels, (riverfront districts), Horse powered (two words, like the Amish/Mennonites, and I believe I read somewhere on the east coast, one may have been windmill driven.
I have a hot rod builder friend, whose shop has/still uses some of these old type machines, although, now run via an electric motor. The same principles were used when they started selling more home WW equipment, with those one and two spindle motors.

[Bill in Buena Park]

That looks like the Boeing Museum of Flight in Seattle, second floor of the Old Red Barn where Bill Boeing started building airplanes. Been in there several times, and am always impressed what they were able to do with those large belt-driven tools.

[Bill in Buena Park]

The power source is that green thing visible in two pictures (between TS and jointer) driving the belt distribution system. Its an electric motor.

Loring, are you sure that's electric? That looks alot like an old (now considered antique) single-piston large-flywheel gasoline engine, such as was used to power farm equipment.

On this antique farm engine webpage, http://www.enginads.com/, you'll see displayed, "For Sale: 6hp Stover X, nice original" - very similar to what you have displayed.

These things would really "chug-chug" when running - imagine having to be the guy on the machine working right next to the engine.