Merrel Mill's 1800 Woodworking Machines (Lots and Lots and Lots of Pictures)

[Shane Whitlock]

"Back From The Archives"

 

I was asked to clear the machines out of a local mill that was built in the 1870's. The building caught on fire back in 2008 when a couple of kids burned it down when they were in there smoking pot. The fire destroyed some very rare and beautiful machines. Fortunately some of the machines can be and will be saved.

 

I was asked to move the machines out of the building which is scheduled to be demolished in the next couple of days, so Andy Guss, my dad and brother spent the weekend moving them out and into storage with the exception of one very beautiful machine which went home with me.

 

I didn't take any pics of the building but I know Andy did so maybe he can post some pics.

 

Most of the machines are from the mid 1800s to early 1900s.

 

Here's some pics.

 

Hall and Brown 416 Band Saw.

 

 

A very rare 18 inch Crescent Jointer ... I have one just like this one so why is this one rare? Because it has the 6 spoke handwheels, no serial number and the logo that is cast into the base is one that I have never seen. It looks similar to mine but the wording is different.

 

The logo is very hard to read but it says "Crescent Machine Co." on the first line ... They usually say "The Crescent Machine Co."

The second line reads "Leetonia Ohio" ... They usually just say "Leetonia" ... and the words are also in an arch like the first line which I have never seen ... They are usually straight, not arched.

And the third line just says "U.S.A" ... not arched like the other two lines ... They usually say Ohio U.S.A.

 

Next is a L. Houston Co. tenoner. I love this pic because the huge tenoner, which is over 8 feet tall, virtually blends in with the background.

 

 

 

Next is a Hall & Brown Moulder, sorry for the poor pic.

 

 

 

A W.A. Heath Machine Co. dual drum sander. This thing is a monster and weighed more than any of the machines we moved. It has to weigh close to 4,000 pounds.

 

 

 

A Boult's Carver and Moulder.

 

 

 

A very cool J.A. Fay & Egan Table Saw.

 

 

 

 

Not pictured is a J.A. Fay & Co. all wooden framed Cut-Off Saw and a Hall & Brown Table Saw.

 

Okay .... Here is the machine that went home with me .... insert HUGE smiley face here.

 

An 1860s/70s J.A. Fay & Co. Single End Tenoner.

 

This has to be one of the most beautiful machines I have ever seen.

I will let the pics speak for themselves.

 

 

Have you ever seen a more ornate machine? The main base/body of the machine is one single casting (all 4 sides are one piece) and how they were able to get that much detail into it 150 years ago is just simply amazing.

 

I plan on doing a full restoration on the tenoner. I found some original colors ... red, green, yellow/white and black, and some pinstripes. I hope to find more of the original paint so I can do an accurate restoration on it. It should be beautiful when done.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Shane

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[John Moody]

Wow, that is some amazing walk through old machine history. It is good that they are being saved. I hope they all get restored and put to use or at least on display somewhere.

 

You are so right, the machine you took home is beautiful. I love all of the ornate work put into it.

Not something seen in many machines. Knowing the kind of restorations you do, I can't wait to see it cleaned up and painted and ready to roll again.

 

Thanks for the post.

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Larry Buskirk]

Shane,

 

Wow, Wow, and more Wow!

All of those machines are quite nice, and you got the cream of the crop!

Can't wait to see what you do with this one.

 

BTW....Here's your smiley!

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[BobHall]

Shane,

 

That's a tremendous haul!

I was sure the Fay and Egan tenoner would be your choice, I can't wait to see what you do with it.

Will you restore the others?

 

Bob

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Arthur]

Shane,

 

Although it would likely result in much marital discourse, I'd place that machine right in the middle of my livingroom. I'd love to see the belt arrangements for the heads.

 

 

-Arthur

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Andy Guss]

Arthur, it appeared that the machine had been modified several times. At one point it was set up for line shaft, then it appears motor mounts were added and at least two motors were used, but since there were three switches mounted, I'd guess that they had a third motor shoved in there at some point. 

 

Here are a few external pictures of the building.

 

 

 

 

Andy

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Darcy Warner]

What is going to happen with the other stuff?

The Fay Tenoner is a wonderful piece.

[Shane Whitlock]

Thanks for the comments guys.

 

The other machines were put into storage and I'm not 100 percent sure what is going to happen to them.

I wouldn't mind getting the band saw and the Fay & Egan table saw but if I do I don't know where I would put them ... I am almost out of room in my shop.

 

Arthur if this machine wasn't so complete it would of became my kitchen table, my wife still thinks it should, but I want to restore it back to original condition and get it running again.

 

As for the pulleys they are all there except for the original one that was connected to the line shaft,  it was replaced with a V-groove pulley and hooked up to a motor. The pulley for the cope head was also replaced with a v-groove pulley and powered by a separate motor.

 

I believe this machine also had a cut off saw just behind the cope head. I can see where it mounted but it's long gone. There is a chance that it may be over in another mill though. After this one burned everything but the machines were boxed up and moved to the other mill. I need to get with the owner so I can go through the boxes.

 

Here's a link to a site that has a couple older tenoners that have been restored. There is a video at the bottom of the page that has a good shot of the pulley set up.

 

http://awwm.wordpress.com/american-houston-single-end-tenoners/

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Shane Whitlock]

A couple things to add ... The tenoner had 3 push button stations on the front like Andy mentioned but only two starters mounted to the back. I think the first one ran to another starter that was mounted in the next room (there were dozens of them mounted to the wall) which turned on one of 3 dust collectors scattered throughout the two rooms.

 

I have been picking away at the soot and burnt paint trying to figure out the colors.

 

In this pic you can see the details pretty good.

 

The black soot that is encrusted all over the machine is rock hard but it has protected some of the paint. If I can get pieces off of each section I should be able to figure out the colors.

 

The rope detail above the scroll work was painted a light green, the scroll work was painted a dark red, and the flower details below the scroll work was also a light green, you can see some of the green in the pic. Below the flowers it looks like there is some yellow paint, but Im not sure if that's paint or not, it's really powdery and brushes off easily..

 

Everything above the main base looks to be black with red and green pinstriping. I also think the legs were black but it has some of that yellow on it too so I'm not sure. I will keep picking away at it trying to find more colors.

 

One thing for sure, it was a colorful machine.

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Travis Johnson]

Wow, some nice old woodworking tools there.

 

I really had to look at the photos of the Cresent Jointer as I have one almost identical to it, complete with hand wheels and the fence, but surprisingly mine is not a Cresent. I rebuilt mine a few years ago, but it really did not take much because it was really ready to go as it was. I lubed it all up, checked the babbitt bearings and gave it a fresh coat of paint. I did a bit of research on it and it seems with their short beds, they were used a lot in the wooden shipbuilding industry.

 

As for the colors, because we see only black and white photos of that era, we often equate their world of being very bland and dreary, but that is not the case at all. They lived a very colorful life back then. Mine had green paint sloppily applied to it, but its deeper color revealed a reddish-orange. I painted mine an off-white but regret that now.

 

Boy I sure hope those machines get resurrected at some point.

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Bench Dog]

Ahhhh... so many times I see the name Brown and wished or hoped I was related. It is to bad that the whole place can not be restored. Building, shop, tools... the works and turned into a historic preservation site, to be forever and continuously used for it's original purpose of "woodworking". The hand painted emblems makes me want to whip out a can of paint and add some art work to my powermatic lathe, LOL!

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Shane Whitlock]

Travis I would love to see pics of your jointer. Several manufactures rebadged the Crescent machines so it may be a Crescent after all.

 

Here is a pic of my 18 inch 1905 Crescent just after I restored it (minus the cutter-head)

Shane

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Claude Bradford]

Oh my! They are beauties !!!

 

Claude

WWW.SAWBLADE.COM

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Phil Chestnut]

I wanted to cry seeing such fine old tools like that. I'm happy to hear that they are being saved and restored. Them old tools weren't just ornate but bordered on being works of art in of them self.

 

Phil

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Will Downing]

Shane,

 

I'm curious as to the effect the fire had on the equipment. That Houston tenoner looked much the worse for wear, and what did the heat/water do to the babbit bearings and mechanicals. I'm really curious, in case any of the rest of us ever stumble over a treasure trove like that we know what to look for.

 

BTW, that Fay tenoner is a beautiful piece of art. I can just see it gleaming after restoration.

 

Will

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Shane Whitlock]

Will, I was wondering the same thing ... figured the babbitt would of melted out, so I was very pleased when I pulled the caps off and could see they were in good shape.

 

Other than some melted wires and burnt paint I can't really see any damage to the machines. One thing that surprised me is all the bolts are easy to remove. I figured they would be froze stuck but so far I have been able to break them loose with a wrench and turn most of them out by hand.

 

With the missing roof I think more damage was done by the machines sitting for 4 years exposed to the elements.

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Shane Whitlock]

So I did some more cleaning trying to figure out the colors on this machine. I figured most of it was probably black, with the red and green highlights, but it looks like the machine was mostly a deep burgundy color with red and black pinstripes.

 

I cleaned off and area that was covered with caked on sawdust and found some good paint. I have also found the same color on the scroll work but it was much brighter.

 

This is the color I mixed based on the brighter paint that I found. I may darken it up a little.

 

It's going to be one colorful machine!

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Larry Buskirk]

Shane,

 

I think you found a machine to out do the Crescent Universal Woodworker with!

 

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk

[Larry Buskirk]

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