Thanks Dave. You are recording the historic era of the industrial revolution that are the roots of our current times. Not only the technology, but also the human aspects of education, efficiency, safety, and caring about one another. I observed some of the old shops with line shaft driven systems. I operated machines converted from line shaft to electric motors back in the 1950s. We didn't get to these days by magic, but by imagination, blood, sweat, and tears. I really like your shop, the steam power, and history.
@@davidrichards5594No new vids in 4 months? ,,not that you don't deserve a break and time off but i'm kinda missing you! and glad your comment is only a month old, HA! I know we never met,, but still.
People who think your shop is dangerous need only run a mounted corn picker for a season. You have a wonderous shop there, good that you know the history. Best regards from Indiana.
This channel has been an unending source of pleasure for me. I really just light up when I see a blue dot next to "David Richards" under my subscriptions. I'd be happy to support you on Patreon, if you decide to participate. Keep up the great content!
Back when line shafts were more prevalent, common sense was also more prevalent. Brains were engaged and self worth was higher. Thanks for sharing the history and tips of your upbringing. May you continue to produce videos and products for as long as you have the desire to share.
There is a world shortage of common sense today. I spent the last 30 plus years using common sense to run a successful business. Without it I would be out of business. Every young person that has worked for me I tell them if you're not sure use common sense and you will succeed. A lot of training as well.
I think there is one thing you may have failed to mention. People were warier in line-shaft driven shops because everyone knew several people who had lost fingers or arms or lives in machinery accidents. Nothing like bad examples to keep you alert. I'm not all that old at 78, but I've known at least a dozen people who have lost at least some part of their anatomy to machines. (I was almost scalped, myself, by something as innocent-seeming as a 1/4 inch electric drill. Those tiny cooling fans can really suck hair in.)
Dave, the people worried about the belts and other safety-related things have grown up in a time where they rely on others to look after their safety instead of using good common sense and the idea of looking out for yourself. technology may have gotten smarter but as a society, we have gotten dumber. love what you do and love your channel
II was raised in a time when you were always expected to use your best piece of safety equipment -- your brain! It's still your best protection; you need it when you're driving and skiing and cutting chicken and mowing the lawn and... a pretty long list of other things considered either necessary or desirable in this modern era! And somehow we do okay.
When I was a kid, we took responsibility for our own safety. We walked to school and never got killed. We knew crossing streets was dangerous, and we took care.
When you put out a new video, I immediately stop everything to watch. It's informative and you have such a warm and welcoming manner that it makes watching pure pleasure. Please accept my thanks and I hope you keep it up.
I remember that you gave me a real good piece of advice decades ago which I have strictly adhered to. You told me to never approach, interrupt or distract a man operating moving machinery as it could ruin their work or cause an injury. Smart words indeed.
Oh Dave, If you could shoot a little video at Fort Mead during the show for us folks not able to get there, that would be a real treat. Thanks for the look back, always enjoy your work. Regards.
Gday Dave, I really don't know how I missed this video, the history behind your workshop is amazing, I really enjoy learning the history of how things become about, this was a great video and its good to look back at jobs and projects you've done before, I really appreciated the safety tips, thanks for sharing another brilliant video, Cheers
I worked as a machinist for 45 years. My #1 to remember. "Every one of the metal chips is... out to get ya" don't touch. Love the G&L horizontal boring mill...sweet
Hello Dave Richards from Australia. Love your work, love the line shaft era of machining and I’ve always loved steam powered machines. I have an old Alba metal shaper which was originally line shaft driven. It is now powered by a 3 phase electric motor. Please keep this channel going for as long as you can young fella.
David this is Tim Main and I wanted to let you know how much I have been enjoying these videos from your steam shop. Though not my field of interest I find that I am learning a great deal watching them. I am 62 now and you have been doing work and selling me parts and equipment since I was 14 years old. You were always an honest hard working man and I never had one single problem with the work you did for me or the advice you gave on my projects. You spent a lot of time scrounging through old parts just to keep my bikes up and running. Looking back I realize what a pain that must have been when you were in the midst of more important things. Just to let you know, I still appreciate it and look back fondly on those days.
It just doesn't get any better than this great simple steam generator I'm from England 77 years old truck driver back in uk in sixties I had the pleasure of picking up a load of cotton bales from a old factory dating back to the 1800s still in operation today apart from couple of machines that were extremely loud the majority of machines were relatively quiet what really amazed me was a later visit to the office that was ran just as it had been for some sixty seventy years in the office were probably a hundred bloody typewriters all at work the noise was deafening I guess different pitch sounds I just couldn't imagine working there
It is true, security in the workshop is put by one, and choreas are not dangerous. In the cnc era, seeing this steam workshop is a dream if I start everything. greetings from Argentina
Thanks Dave for reminiscing. Your shop has got to be a monument in time. If I was 50-60 years younger would have loved to work in shop and learn from you. Thanks for all the good tips.
Great video David! I was told one thing about shop safety by my Father, "Machines don't make Mistakes, People do" He would then hold his hands up displaying all fingers and say see this I have still got all of them. He did till he passed and I have still got all of mine, moral to story you are in control of what machine does and also includes CNC! We are all masters of our own destiny. John, Australia.
Thanks for another great video; here in the middle of winter I wasn't expecting it, so I'm watching it rather late! Here's an extra safety thing about filing in a lathe which is perhaps obvious - you really don't want the chuck jaws, as they come around, to hit the *end* of your file, because they'll fire it right at you. So use the file left handed as you say, and make sure to introduce it a good way along its length - don't go anywhere near the far end. You can show yourself it's safe there in the middle by sliding right onto the jaws, where it'll just rattle. Near the end, if you hit the jaws I wouldn't want to be there! cheers Mark, Manchester UK
Hello from the frozen North, Great video, thanks for the time you take to put them up for us to enjoy. interesting history of your building, I am going to make it out there some day. The big planer sounds just like my wife when she gets to snoring. I was always told the number one safety tool is located between your ears.
Your shop is the only one I know of that has the lovely heart beat of the past. I remember working in an old steam powered wood working shop on the RR. when I was a Machinist apprentice in 1963. When I walked into that shop for the first time I was mesmerized by the rhythm of the the sounds from every corner of the shop. Thanks for the memories!,,,,,
Dang looks like this old man is a day late🥵 again David.....I really enjoyed this video very and it is very good to see👀 you my friend good and warm down in Florida 🌞🌡...WhoooHooo.....Thanks again take care...👍
I agree with you on the tips, the first thing I remember as a young man being shown was the how to left hand file, like you it gives me a fit when I watch a video and see someone reaching over a chuck to file
The first time I ran a lathe it was jack shaft powered, over 60 years ago. Today I own, and can run some of the most high tech machine in the world. I must have been hooked.
Hi Dave, Love your videos. Great stuff and great shop. As a tool and die maker for over 55 years, I grew up in shops that had a lot of that old machinery. Of course, it was converted with special flat belt drive motors rigged somewhere on each machine. It is nice to see some old time machining on these machines I learned on as an apprentice. Also nice to see someone giving the hobbyists great tips on safety. Something that was stressed in the toolrooms back then. One thing I need to add so all can take heed, is that you should never wear long sleeve shirts when working around open and running machinery. The chance of a sleeve (even if it is buttoned) caching on a moving cutter or chuck or pulley is very big and can likely to happen in a thoughtless moment. Especially when someone is tired at the end of a long day. I just thought I had to add that point of safety to all. Again I watch all your videos as I get the time to do so. Great work and keep them coming. Marty the Machinist
You are a genius at work. It's a gift and a privilege to watch you work and see the inner workings of your incredible machine shop. Pure precision and and expert authentic technology of the day. A hundred years from now your shop will be the rarest of machine shop museums. Keep up the amazing work and videos. Thanks and best wishes.
Hi Dave... What a treat this video is.. If I remember correctly, I first heard about you from Keith Rucker around the time you first started posting videos and haven't missed a one. I have been a fan of steam power and machinery since I was boy and I'll be 75 in about a week. I can't thank you enough for all the hours of enjoyment you have brought me and continue to bring... The history of your building and community was especially interesting. Ya just can't beat the good ole days and how they did things back then. Much respect and admiration for you. Russ
So Glad you are still posting David, it’s been a great pleasure looking at all your earlier posts and have enjoyed this video and learning some of you're and the shops history. In the 1960's I was fortunate to work with Nanton Morgan who was a Blacksmith Fitter, he had served his time on Traction Engines in the 1920's. He had a wonderful sense of humour and he set me up to enjoy work up until now. Dave.
Bonjour David, It ts always a great pleasure for me to see your steam machines operating so well, even if I am not a mechanic. I can't wait to see you back to the business and hope everything is fine for you now. Amicalement, Raphaël
This is the first time I have your shop. I never had the opportunity to learn about machine shop, until I was in my 50's and was in maintenance shop. The machinist was going to votec to learn CNC machines and I asked our foreman if I could try to do some simple things. I started repairing molds that had the threads pulled out. I would install heli coils and learned how to make some molds. Looking back (hind sight) I would have gone to machine shop school after I left the Air Force. Loosing my eye sight stopped that work. Keep up the great work of teaching others.
David, I always enjoy your video posts, and this one was especially nice. It was a pleasure to learn about your shop building and a surprise to realize you’re very close to where my wife grew up. You showed a photo of the Dr. H.L. Knapp house. My wife’s great uncle was a Knapp from NV.
Swear man your impact with this machine shop is so amazing I hope many generations to come and witness what you have done here wish I was closer you’d have a apprentice every moment I had free
Dave nice to hear from you hope everybody's well and I hope things are going good nice to see an old video touch base before spring these days you never know so I was good to hear from somebody look forward to the next video stay well just around the corner thank you for this video
My grandpa ran his welding and machine shop for 45 years. It was a line shaft shop with belts and pulleys and gears everywhere. Lord I miss that old shop! Anyway the only accidents I ever heard was when a cousin was sharpening a sweep plow on the Mighty Mite trip hammer. He let his cow dog in the shop with him and the dog decided to jump against his back, I guess to play. When that happened his left hand went into the hammer. He lost the tips on 4 fingers. Thankfully the shop was right across the street from the town's little hospital. It's always the dumbest things that get you!
Of all the RU-vid machinists, many have fancier machines, or more of them, but I think yours is the one I'd most like to spend time in. There are some close seconds, but only the one first.
I really enjoy all your videos!! Some place in my archives I have a story about an old machine shop that was driven by a single electric motor via overhead line shafts and flat belts. At some point the the owner/employees needed to do some repair on the really old electric motor so they removed it from its mount and took it all apart. It was evident it had run a long time with minimal lubrication and the armature was badly worn as were the bushings. They decided to turn and sleeve the armature and make new bushings so they placed the armature in the lathe and up to that point didnt realize their predicament....... and that is the way some days go!!!
Nice it's scary to even think what you see at night when you close your eyes, I think I'm mechanically minded but the amount of knowledge you need to make this work, blows my mind, great work thanks for sharing the story...
Thank's Dave .Being a former New Yorker, {New Paltz} I really apreciated the history of your shop.The safety tips were great and I have violated some but will not anymore.I need my hands for old age.Legs too.Keep up the great work.I love that shaper.All I have is a 7inch southbend shaper and three model A's and a Burke horrizontal with about 300 cuters 1 inch bore,Amechanical hacksaw with about 50 starret blades.Enough to get by I guess.I'm not making V2 rockets
Hi Dave, Many, many years ago I worked at a sawmill not all that far from you just outside of Wellsboro, Pa. They had one saw with what I seem to remember was a 12 foot blade and another with an upper and lower 6 or 8 foot blades. No guards at all. No railings. Just the equipment needed to get the job done. The safety controls were the mass between your ears. The general rule was the sawyer was the ONLY person to get close to those saws when they were running and there was never any concern of people not paying attention. I worked there for a couple years before moving and there were zero accidents and before that in something like 15 years the only major accident was a broken leg from getting caught between rolling logs in the yard. People nowadays depend on all the safety restraints to protect them.
Hallo David, Thank you for posting this video. It made my day I have been following you from the beginning. I hope or will be fore a lot more years. Stay healty and save. As always Greetings from Friesland in the Netherlands
The thing I've learned a long time ago about steam engines and belts, they may look like they're moving at very high speeds but, technically, they're not. Can they hurt you? Yes, but, only if you don't have them aligned properly. I will say, the sounds of the belts moving, it's music. There's no high pitched sounds from electric motors screaming, just plain good rhythmic sounds of the belts. The best thing about using steam power, it really can't be beat. Thank you for sharing a "looking back". Truly a pleasure to watch your videos. Cheers :)
We missed you. Check out the steam powered rotary plow on the Cumbres pass rail road. Video covers a special event. One rotary with two Makfo narrow gage locos double heading. I love steam!
I've been a machinist for 31 years and it's so quiet and peaceful in your shop. It's rhythmical and calming to watch and listen to your machines. If I'm ever in N.Y. I would love to come and visit. I used alot of those machines in high school but don't see much anymore. Now I CNC program for a shop in Michigan can't wait to retire so I can work again. 🙃
Hi good to hear from you I miss your videos these winter months I just watched your looking back video I grew up when is stuff was on it’s way out in a midwestern small town in Wisconsin, back in those days people still used common sense and worked with what they had and made it work they didn’t have google to relay on so looking back back on my life I’m great full I grew up when I did. As for your shop being dangerous that’s where common sense came into play. I sure would love to visit you and your shop but at my age it’s not in the cards, so keep up the good work enjoy it as long as you can. Thank You
What always amazed me was how our forefathers started with nothing but iron ore and rocks and work their way to precision machinery. Mind-boggling isn't it?
That's got to be the most unique shop I've ever seen. Truly an amazing job you have done to find all of the machines and to have been able to get them working for you. Thank you sir for sharing this with me.
Good to know we have the same heebee-jeebees, Dave, especially the milling cutters. I've noticed that I much prefer the old pattern lathes. On my 18.5" swing Sidney with a 12" chuck, my my carriage indicator is far away from the chuck. And most of the time, with the long carriage wings, it is behind the chuck anyway. No danger. On a modern boxy lathe with zero carriage wing, stopping the lathe is really the only safe way to set the indicator. New isn't always better.
