I am in a tiny town called Strasburg, 36 miles (60km) east of Denver.? I was chatting to the camping ground staff about Goldmine Experience in Thames, and they told me that there is an engineering firm making scale model steam locomotives (about 19¡± gauge) just around the corner. Within walking distance.? It was 4 pm on Friday, but I ran over.? The 85 year-old owner (Marlin Uhrich) gave me a wonderful 2.5 hour tour of his private factory. ?He has all kinds of old manual machine tools (no CNC). He also has a foundry with a cupola furnace capable of melting 3 tons of cast iron. ?
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I took loads of photos and talked about Goldmine Experience, when it suddenly dawned on me that he may be able to help with replacing the displacement oilers that were stolen from our steam engines. He said he has about 18 of them. I spotted two on the shelf and offered $50 each. He said he would take $75 each. This is a bit cheaper than the quote we had from a dealer in UK at 1250 pounds each plus shipping!? So I bought them both and will ship them from Tennessee to Thames later in May.
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These are the oilers I bought.?
We call them displacement oilers, but he said they are hydrostatic Michigan oilers. ?
Our steam engines are British and this would be US terminology.
The one on the left needs minor repairs.
The sight glass is broken and it needs a new tap handle.
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Marlin and I talking with his apprentice.
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A steam locomotive they just completed and steamed up for the first time this week.
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Another locomotive he has been working on for years.
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Milling machine.
Ex US Air Force.
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Apprentice pointing out a shaper. They are not used very much these days.
We had one at our High School in Te Puke, NZ.
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A slotting machine like Nelson¡¯s.
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The foundry shop.
These days he has more artists coming to cast art work, than actual engineers.
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A large planar. Similar to a shaper but the work-piece moves backwards and forwards on the bed.
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A small steam engine used to inject water into a boiler.
It has a displacement oiler.
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The cupola furnace for producing molten cast iron for sand casting.
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The foundry with a stack of sand casting boxes called copes and drags.
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Here they are making a device very similar to a collet that is used to clamp the pipe of an oil drilling rig with an unusual diameter of 6-7/8 inches.? It was turned on a solid base, then 6 sections brazed before cutting slots using the dividing head seen in the next photo. When finished the brazing will be removed to release the 6 segments. Then hardened grippers are fitted inside to grip the pipe. (Rockwell hardness 65).
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The milling machine set up to cut the slots. Radial head on the right.
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The small hardened grippers.
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Marlin¡¯s boiler.
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A spinning lathe which he used for making oil lamps for railway carriages (see below).
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Another workshop.
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Overhead belt system driven by steam or electricity. It runs very quietly (Like Nelson¡¯s).
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Crane.
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One of the lamps he made from spun brass.
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Evan