Thread: My 1930's Farm Shop

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So are you running the master jack shaft up high, or along the wall? In the old reproduction shop they had the master shaft running across the beams at the open ceiling level about eight to ten feet up, with belts dropping down to equipment, or to smaller jack shafts mounted at floor level. One or two of the long, leather belts ran with a twist, to reverse the drive for proper cutting. Cool stuff!

Hi Roger. The line shaft (the long shaft with the pulleys that drive the tools) will be about 8' off the ground and 18" out from the wall. I plan on making the hangers L shaped and attaching them both to the rafters and the wall studs.

Basically the shaft will be directly above where the grinder and post drill are located (I still have to build shelves for the compressor and generator).



The whole 2 pulley jackshaft /tensioner arrangement is really there just to provide a way to engage-disengage the main shaft. The tensioner pulley will be lever activated to take up the belt slack and engage the upper shaft. 100 years ago they made some really neat clutch pulleys for use on the engines and line shafts. The problem is when you do find them they currently go in the $750-1500 price range (which is far more than I have tied up in the entire line shaft).

I’ll be using 4” wide belts from the engine to the jack shaft and from the jack shaft to the overhead line shaft. If I ran the belt directly from the line shaft to the engine (say at a 45 degree angle) even with a lot of slack in the belt it’s weight would be enough that it would either still try to turn the line shaft, or worse would allow the belt to sit on top of the turning engine pulley and burn up. Positioning the driven pulley directly above the drive pulley allows the belt to fall free when there is slack and eliminates both problems.

This arrangement allows me to hand crank the engine to start it while only turning the small jackshaft instead of the entire line shaft. I’ll also be able to run the engine for extended periods of time without engaging the line shaft if I wish.

I think I’ve got most of the rearranging done and stuff is where it’s going to sit.






The part I think I’m happiest with is the corner where I spend most of my time when I’m not actually working. I pulled out the built in shelves where I had my laptop so I could use the roll top desk that had been my Grandfathers (from my mom’s side of the family). He had used it in his business in the 20s-30s. The chair is actually pretty comfortable….and on cold mornings just the right distance from the stove



The stove has been converted to burn waste oil so it actually serves 2 purposes. I’m waiting on a heat reclaimer (hopefully it will be here next week) which should help warm the rest of the area.

I guess it’s now on to actually hanging the line shaft.

Silly question?? But.. any concern(s) over the exhaust from running the engine in the room?

".....Silly question?? But.. any concern(s) over the exhaust from running the engine in the room?......"

OOOOH YEAH. I'll be piping the exhaust out thru the wall.

It's all in the details! LOL..

Maybe you need to find a old style windmill to power the shop.

Wow Mike what a cool shop setup. Love all the old tools, it's like stepping into the past!

I ended up making an unexpected trip back to Illinois a few weeks ago as Mom had had a stroke and was hospitalized. She’s currently convalescing and we hope she will be able to go home in a month or so.

My brother’s the type who really doesn’t care about the old “rusty junk”, so my sister and I decided to clean out the old storage shed while I was back there so our youngest sibling wouldn’t decide one day to just have all the stuff hauled off as scrap. We came across a few more things that my dad had saved when he and mom moved off the old family farm almost 40 years ago. Unfortunately I didn’t think to get any before pictures on some of the stuff before I restored it but mostly it was just a rusty mass.

This is an old fruit press/lard press/sausage stuffer. I went ahead and cleaned and restored while I was back there and gave it to my sister who also loves this stuff .



This is my dad’s old vice. This was around the farm as far back as I can remember when I was growing up. I can remember dad using it a lot, besides using it myself all those years ago. I’m planning on putting it back in service but when I no longer have a use for it I think I will pass it on to my great nephew (dads Great Grandson).




I had grabbed an old pail that was in the shed to throw some odds and ends into. After I got it unloaded when I got home I noticed for the first time the raised letters on the side CB&Q RR CO (Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Rail Road Company). My Granddad had worked for the Rock Island and CB&Q railroads in 1920-21 so this is likely about the age of the pail.



Mom surprised me and said I could have the old bell in the basement and that I might as well take it back to AZ with me (I’m glad now I took the EL Camino this trip). It’s history as far as I know it is; Granddad got it after he left the Railroad and went back to farming (sometime in late 1921). It came off one of the steam locomotives that was scrapped in Galesburg Il during that time frame. It hung on a 12 foot tripod on the family farm and was used as a dinner/alarm bell until they started farming with tractors. Dad took it down in 1975 when he moved off the farm and it sat in my parents basement for the next 38 years.



I really debated whether to clean or leave it and cleaning finally won out as I wanted to see if I could find any serial numbers on it to tie to a specific locomotive. I did find some stamped numbers but no luck so far deciphering them.




I’ve got to build a carriage for it so I can try to yell at the Grandkids with a straight face for ringing it.


Finally this is an old Inland running board mounted tire pump I found in a corner. As far as I can tell these are close to the original colors. The seals are about shot but it will still move a little air.





Of course everybody’s a comedian, while Cade and I were putting the pump together his mom took this picture and later commented she couldn’t decide which caused more glare, the bell or the top of my head.







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Hope you're Mom comes through this okay! Some neat "old things" from the day too.

Some really neat old stuff and great resto work Mike!!! As for the glare, the bell is a close 2nd IMO!!!!!!

Gotta love old stuff, maybe that's why the wife has kept me...lol
Love all the old garage equipment & the line shaft powered equipment reminded my of O'man Hayes's blacksmith shop back when I was a teenager. He used a huge electric motor connected to a Model A transmission to power his shop via line shafts.. I was amazed at how it worked & ran everything in his shop, canvass belts running everywhere throughout his shop....joe


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Mike - just a thought: would the leathers from a 'bulldozer' type water pump fit the tyre pump?

I don't know if that's what you call them over there . . . they're a double acting reciprocating water pump that used leather washers as seals.
They were also common in windmill pumps.

These washers are still readily available here in N Z in sizes ranging from 1" to about 6".

( They're also pigs of things to fit . . . the second one goes in easily, but the first one . . . Oh boy!)

Wow what a treasure trove of stuff. I'm also into old stuff for the shop. Thanks for sharing. My wife's Mom passed away last summer. This week we had a family vacation on the coast. Monique's Dad surprised us with her mom's old grain mill. It's a Magic Mill with a 3/4hp Dayton motor, stone grinding wheels and steel drawer for the flour. here are a few pics, thought you might appreciate it.(hope I'm not side tracking your thread)

"....the bell is a close 2nd IMO!!!!!!......"

Thanks Dave

John, I know the washers your talking about but I don;t know if I could find any big enough....might be something to check into at some point.

"....hope I'm not side tracking your thread...."

Not at all Steve. The industrialization of America from the turn of the century to WWII and the items associated with it are very interesting to me. Besides the items themselves, the manufacturing processes that evolved and flourished at that time that made these items available to the general public is fascinating. It’s also a good reminder of how self reliant our ancestors were during that time compared to where we are now.