belt driven shop

I just watched a recorded Roy Underhill show. It was made in a wood working shop in a small New York town. The shop is entirely old belt-driven tools. They make windows for restoring old victorian style houses. The old tools are pretty fascinating things. Some are capable of multiple tasks. All are designed with incredible ingenuity. Just 'cause folks lived 100 or 200 years ago doesn't mean they were stupid. Some of the machines are downright incredible. However, they all had one major feature in common. Very dangerous. All cutters and blades were exposed, as were moving parts. The slightest inattention would be certain to result in horrible injuries.

I saw that episode a while back. Really neat setup! It's a production shop too, if I remember correctly!

There was an episode of This Old House a few days ago that turned on the "Way Back Machine" and showed Bob Villa at a factory building shutters. The machines were also belt driven, if I remember right. Pretty cool, but as Frank said...a bit dangerous.

i don`t watch television frank.....but your discription reminds me of a sash shop i once worked in....it was originally powered with a water wheel driving a line shaft. when i worked there it still had the ol` line shaft only it was coupled to an electric motor. every morning and after lunch we oiled and greased whatever equipment was being used....just a little different from todays stuff.

tod evans said:

i don`t watch television frank.....but your discription reminds me of a sash shop i once worked in....it was originally powered with a water wheel driving a line shaft. when i worked there it still had the ol` line shaft only it was coupled to an electric motor. every morning and after lunch we oiled and greased whatever equipment was being used....just a little different from todays stuff.

Click to expand...

You shoulda been on TV.

Frank Fusco said:

You shoulda been on TV.

Click to expand...

the only way i`ll be on a tv is if i happen to stand on one at the dump.

I have been around quite a few old belt driven shops. The Maine State Museum, the Maine Maritime Museum and a few others all have belt driven shops that are just endless in scale. I enjoy looking at the belting and gearing to no end, but generally the wife doesn't have the same affinity for the machinery and thus I get hurried along.

A few years ago my father-in-law, the owner of a lobster pound was telling me about the "old lobster boat shop." He talked about it without much respect so was I ever surprised when he handed me the key to the shop. It was a full-built boat building shop. Old wooden handplanes, compass planes, forge, foundry and all manner of woodworking tools, all belt driven. It was like they built their last boat, walked out in the 1950's and never returned. There was coal in the forge, gloves placed by the tongs, and wood halfway into a cut on the bandsaw.

I told him all that was probably worth some money. He shrugged his shoulders in indifference. "Yeah I don't think I know what I have sometimes."

I got pictures of the place somewhere. It was a long time ago now, and a divorce has taken place since then. Oh well, it was cool to see in any case.

Travis, FIND THOSE PICTURES!

Hi Frank. If you go over to Wood Central, and scan down the WC store, at the bottom is a DVD of a boiler and belt driven shop. It is narrated by Bill McCarthy. I bought it last year, and found it interesting, and I was sorry to have it end after 40 minutes.