Popular Woodworking 2004-10 № 143, страница 41
i. PS | V * i This Fay & Egan 16" jointer from 1912 is the machine that started Batory on his road to self-discovery and historical conquest. One of the most difficult tasks when rehabbing Batory's John A. White planer was finding reproduction leather pulley belts. It was a lot of work, but the belts are one of the coolest aspects of the machine. from a wide variety of woodworking machinery manufacturers. Throughout the years, he has cultivated contacts with other machinery collectors. Some of the manufacturers are still in business, while others are long gone. His impressive collection now numbers about 3,000 catalogs and manuals. Batory has turned his avocation of collecting catalogs and manuals into a business. His first book, "Vintage Woodworking Machinery" (Astragal Press) covers the history and machinery of Fay & Egan, Yates-American Machine Co. Inc., Defiance Machine Works and Oliver Machinery Co. It also includes chapters on buying vintage woodworking machinery and restoring those machines once purchased. A second book covering Crescent Machine Co., Parks Woodworking Machinery Co., Boice-Crane Co. and Baxter D. Whitney & Son is scheduled for later this year. But you don't have to wait for Batory to publish to benefit from his collection. He shares his hard-found information by selling photocopies of any catalog he owns for a modest fee. That fee is channeled back into further research and acquisition (see "Need Info on a Tool?" on page 40 for more information). A Personal Collection Batory, a woodworker who enjoys reproducing Shaker furniture (often built from pallet wood), has a surprisingly modest collection of machinery. If he rehabs a machine, it stays in his three-car garage shop. He doesn't resell. Although small in number, the machinery he has is impressive. The aforementioned 16" jointer is the jewel of his collection. He also owns and uses a two-speed, 24"-wide John A. White planer made in the late 1870s. Batory purchased the planer for $350 with a friend 15 years ago. Because of Batory's space concerns, the planer was stored at his friend's shop. The motor wasn't included in the deal, so the planer was powered by a take-off pulley on the friend's Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. tractor. Six months ago, Batory added a phase converter to his shop, picked up a surplus motor and bought out his friend's half of the planer. Getting it to his shop took some considerable effort. It involved taking a wall down to get the planer out of the friend's shop and onto the truck. Another planer (this one is 20" wide and more than 50 years old) is from the Buss Machine Works (shown at right). It required slightly less work to get it up and running, but Batory spent some extra time trying to get the new coat of green paint to match as accurately as possible to the original color. One unique non-powered woodworking machine in Batory's shop is a combination mortiser/tenoner made by Parks Ball Bearing Machine Co. in the 1890s. By switching the cutting head, this handy machine will cut mortises or tenons. A foot treadle means your legs provide the power. Scattered about the rest of the shop are a Delta contractor saw from the 1970s and an early 1940s Craftsman tilt-top table saw (purchased for only $15) that was manufactured by King-Seeley Corp. To make bevel cuts with An interesting juxtaposition from the White planer, the Buss Machine Works' planer (purchased for $400) shows a design transition from appearance to utility. While it's still a good planer, it doesn't evoke the same emotional response. this table saw you angle the tabletop - rather than the saw blade. Other fun machines include a homemade wide-belt sander and a spindle sander. The wide belt was made from odds and ends, while the spindle sander used to be a ring-joint machine. With a little tinkering, it's now a serviceable woodworking machine. Batory also has bought a number of j igsaws, which today's woodworkers call scrollsaws. "I'm a sucker for jigsaws," Batory says. And popwood.com 39 |
