My newest challenge Part 4--Mission Accomplished

Mike Mathieu

Member
Messages
116
Location
Midlothian,Va
When I first took on this project I had my doubts whether or not I could get it to work. After doing a bit of research and finding some good photos of the original corn sheller it was obvious to me that this was going to be a fun little project which would test many of my skills. The only thing that my client wanted was for me to make it functional but I did talk him into letting me do the original paint job as I thought would really add a lot to the over-all looks of the project. These are a couple of pics of what I had to work with. Most of the original wood was either rotted away or was missing completely and what was left is full of post beetles, but I did have enough to get most of my measurements.
HockingValleycornsheller003.jpg


HockingValleycornsheller004.jpg


I began by building the frame using the same mortise and tenon joinery as the original paying attention to every detail knowing that tolerances were very tight on the original.

hockingvalleywip011.jpg


Dry fit frame

hockingvalleywip020.jpg


Because all of the parts for the sides were a full 1”thick I bought a nice piece of 5/4 poplar that I used to get all the pieces to complete the rest of the woodwork.

hockingvalleywip004.jpg


I ordered square headed nuts and bolts like the original and even had to order the flat head slotted wood screws.
Between the original pieces that I had and some photos that I found I had enough information to do the paint job.
Photo of an original Hocking Valley Corn Sheller

cf52_3.jpg


So Here is my version of a restored ” Improved Hocking Valley” corn sheller. I haven’t tried an ear of corn in it yet. but the mechanics seem to work pretty good.

hockingvalleywip013-1.jpg


hockingvalleywip014-1.jpg


hockingvalleywip018-1.jpg


hockingvalleywip017-1.jpg
 
You did a superb job on the restoration, Mike. :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Between the woodwork and the paint job, I can see how you really did get a chance to test a variety of your skills. Looks like they held up just fine. :thumb:
 
The paint job turned out wonderful!

I looked, but I didn't find any videos of one of these things actually in action.

Can't wait to see it actually operating. Any plans to do a video?
 
I operated one as a kid. Very noisy as I recall. My uncle put an electric motor on one. Upon reflection, its a wonder I didn't loose an arm to the thing! But it was awesome to drop in an ear of corn and hear the "noise of destruction" as the kernels were separated from the cob. Could fill a pail in no time. My Grandpa's had to be turned. Took much longer to fill the pail and wasn't nearly as much fun.

Do a video. it would be wonderful to see it in action. Great memories.
 
Thanks everyone for the comments. This was a very challenging project, the most challenging of which was the paint job. Using the parts that I had,I hand drew the stencils for the logos and the lettering then had to go back and clean up the over-spray to make all of the lines crisp. Very tedious to say the least.
To Stuart--I cleaned all of the iron parts with a wire brush to remove all of the flaky rust then sprayed the parts with PAM cooking spray . This will prevent any new rust and makes the metal look good for a long time. I plan on talking with my client to see if he will let me do a video of the sheller in operation.
 
Top