Antique
Antique
From the President:
We have continued our slow, but steady, progress on maintaining and updating the facility. Yard clean up has continued with the last of the harvesters that will be leaving the collection now moved out of the yard. We now have actual room to maneuver equipment in the yard which will help with further clean up. The weeds have been kept at bay this year and hopefully by next summer we will have removed enough of the dirt and debris that the weeds won't find too many handy places to root. We are working on a pressure washer system that can be used to go through the whole yard leaving piles that we can scoop up with a front loader for removal. There is still a lot of asphalt buried out there and we are hoping to find much of it still intact after the washing is done. Breaking the asphalt with our larger tractors is inevitable, but our aim is to put in a gravel circle that can be used for driving the large equipment on, which will be accessible from the main hangar doors. We will repair the rest of the broken asphalt, which can then be kept clear of vegetation with relatively minor effort.
The Antique Mechanics Club and Anumni, Picnic Day 1998.
The floor in hangar three where we are housing restored equipment has now been washed along with the equipment that had been driven in muddy. Roof repairs will be a future task. We hope to put in concrete pads in front of the hangar two and three doors soon, so equipment can be cleaned off before being put back in the buildings. We started cleaning out hangar two so part of it can be used for display purposes and we will continue this task during the winter. Our Allis Chalmers agricultural forklift, which has been our only forklift for some time now, has been repaired except for an engine oil leak. We now have room to keep it inside which should limit future maintenance needs, however, it still needs the cylinders redone and a horn installed. We also have reworked the small yellow forklift and have it for indoor use since it is more agile than the larger Allis Chalmers. The green air compressor that sat disassembled in hangar two for some years has now been repaired and will become our primary compressor when we get it plumbed back into the system and run some new air lines. The outside phone buzzer has been fixed for some time now, but we still can't get to phone on time, we just know when it rings. We have collected cabling and phones and hope to have them installed in hangars three and four. You'll notice that we have not run out of things to do and can probably keep busy on shop maintenance and updating for quite some time.
It looks like we are about to start on the restoration of the Caterpillar 1C1. (No, really, we're going to do it this time!) This will be a big job and will no doubt take much of our time from the facility work. If any inactive members out there have been looking for a good excuse to come out to the shop and do some wrench turning, etc, this could be your chance.
Brian Barnett
Brian Barnett and Victor Duraj spring-cleaning. The forklift has been greatly
in need of new tires, and this year thanks entirely to donations from members
of the Antique Mechanics Society, new tires were put on the forklift. This was
one of several projects that were funded by the Society last year. Your support
is needed and appreciated.
Greetings to Alumni and Friends of Antique Mechanics!
From Dr. David Hills, Chair of the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Academic programs continue to flourish at UC Davis, and with student enrollment exceeding 24,000, our campus remains very popular. The Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering is no different. This past year we exceeded 200 student majors in our undergraduate and graduate programs, which is the highest number in our 83 year history. Although there were over 330 freshmen applicants to our program, we could only admit a small portion this fall, turning away a number of qualified applicants - we simply need more faculty to respond to this demand!
With the increased emphasis on our undergraduate program, we are endeavoring
to refurbish our teaching labs in Bainer Hall. This has been a difficult process
since facility improvement funds are scarce. Through conservative budgeting
procedures we have been able to isolate a few dollars for much needed improvements
over the past several years, but we still have much to accomplish. Over the
past five years a concerted effort has been focused on developing the "Joe A.
Heidrick, Sr. Western Center for Agricultural Equipment." This facility is being
constructed through a joint partnership between the university and the agricultural
equipment industry. Funding for the 18,000 sq. ft., $2.5 million structure is
from benevolent contributions of money, materials, and labor. Upon its completion
in 1999, the facility will be gifted to the university for our teaching and
research activities in power and machinery.
Regarding the department's agricultural equipment program, much of our effort is being directed toward "precision agriculture," the latest farming concept that optimizes fertilizer, pesticide, and water use, while minimizing environmental concerns. This is done by treating each unit of field (as small as several square feet) differently with respect to these inputs, rather than by considering the whole field in a uniform fashion. To achieve this objective, our faculty and students are developing GIS (geographic information systems), GPS (global positioning systems), and variable rate technologies. This fall, we have introduced a new minor in Precision Agriculture, which complements our very popular minor in GIS.
Our academic programs mesh very well with your interests in antique mechanics. While our mission may focus on future mechanics, antique mechanics provides us an excellent foundation! From the department's perspective, Brian Barnett, Sue Esdaile, Victor Duraj, and the Society's Board of Directors are providing excellent leadership to the overall Antique Mechanics Program. The Student Club is flourishing, mainly due to the efforts of these individuals, with support from all members of the Society. On behalf of the department, I would like to thank the Antique Mechanics Society for their strong support of the Student Club. For certain, Society members are an inspiration to the students and an overall valuable resource to the campus. Thank you!
From the Club Advisor
Let me first of all express appreciation on behalf of students and others to Brian and Sue for their continued tremendous contributions. As projects which had been at a standstill for months or years start coming to fruition, their efforts will become even more visible. Also thanks to our long-time as well as more recent alumns who continue to make time for meetings, specific projects, and occasional work parties. Many thanks are also due Prof. Dave Hills for his continued support and faith in our goals.
The main reason - I believe - we are doing all this is to create an environment for students to learn and explore things agricultural, mechanical, historical, social, and possibly others as well. Christina, Soccoro, Nathan, Victoria, Amy, Jacob, John, and Michelle are so far the core group of students who are getting things going this school year. I look forward to helping them in any possible way to continue and complete projects. Victor Duraj
From the Club President
As incoming President of the Antique Mechanics Club, I would like to take this
opportunity to thank you for your continued support of our club and our purpose.
We are very excited about this coming year. We have planned to touch up the
John Deer Model L that was restored this past year and start working on Caterpillar
Diesel Sixty 1C1 for the 75th anniversary of Caterpillar in the year 2000. There
are also the International TD6, continued cosmetics to the Allis Chalmers WC,
completion of the Kohler generator, as well as the tractor driving, of course.
Along with these projects and others, we have planned to organize tractor driving
and training days for any student on campus who is interested in learning to
maneuver a tractor but doesn't have time for the Department's quarter long tractor
and equipment course. This will be a very exciting and fun year. Again thank
you for you support!
Christina Woosley
Christina Woosley and Soccorro Hernandez with the 'L'
Puzzle Questions: (see near end for solutions)
1. Who painted the grey rabbit on the side of the hangar door in the first hangar?
2. When loading a tractor onto a trailer, the safest method to load it is: (pick one of the following)
3. What type of corrosion can occur when aluminum, iron (or steel) and water are in contact?
Picnic Day, 1998
The Antique Mechanics Club gave the Picnic Day crowd a spectacular presentation on the parade route and at the post-parade display on the Chemistry building lawn.
The club brought the Case CO, Fordson 9N, Allis Chalmers WC, John Deere L, Case 20-40 and the corn sheller with engine on campus. Despite the hard work by Christina Woosley and Soccoro Hernandez, which included a new paint job, exhaust repair, and patching up the big hole in the magneto, the John Deere L didn't make it to the parade. They expect to locate and repair the cause of the oil leak that appeared just as the parade began.
The Case 20-40 was back by popular demand and was a big hit with the crowd, many of whom remembered the machine from earlier Picnic Day parades.
Case 20-40 on parade, Picnic Day 1998
The Club's float was certainly memorable. The students secured the fiberglass steer head, a windwill, and a plow to a long trailer lined with hay bales, barbed wire, and the words "Barbed wire herded the cattle; Windmills pumped the water; Steel plows broke the prairie soil" painted on old wood on the sides. The float was quite impressive on the parade route, as the windwill and steer head could be seen from quite some distance away. The float didn't receive appropriate attention from the parade judges, but it was certainly made up for by the media attention that it received. A color photo of the float with Amy Beland and Matthew Solomon appeared on the front page of the Woodland newspaper, the Daily Democrat, another picture of the float appeared in the UC Davis Staff Newsletter, and the club display was mentioned in the Sacramento Bee, in which Brian Barnett was quoted as saying: "We just like machines. It's not something you can explain."
Many thanks to all the Society members who helped get the tractors out to the parade, including Victor Duraj, Brian Barnett, Alex Smith, JB Hay, and Jim Keller. Ron Allen and Sue Esdaile kept the shop open in the afternoon for visitors. Thanks also to Lorraine Teklu for providing us with lasagna and home made bread, and to Loretta Griffin for bringing home made brownies. Special thanks to Dave Schwenger for hauling the equipment on to campus. Now that Dave has graduated and moved away, we will really miss his generosity when it came to hauling. Dave, you are one of the main reasons why Picnic Day has been so successful for us for the last six years or more!
Heidrick Ag History Center
It has been just over a year since the Grand Opening of the Heidrick Ag History Center in Woodland. From the look of things, it has been a great success with special events, refinements to the already wonderful display, and a strong volunteer group. Just before the Center's grand opening, a contingent of Antiquers spent a couple of days helping with preparations. Most of the effort focused on wiping down equipment, but the second day for a smaller group of us was devoted to framing a couple of wooden 2x4 borders and wheelbarrowing gravel into them.
The Grand Opening was attended by hundreds of people and included speeches by USDA Deputy Secretary Richard Rominger, Representative Vic Fazio, local politicians, Heidrick and Hays family members, Mike Campbell of UC Davis, and others on the official program. One of the "others" - but who wasn't on the program - was Victor Duraj who was asked a few minutes before the event to say a few words from Antique Mechanics' view. Victor's comments repeated praise for the efforts of the Fred Heidrick and Don Hays families in seeing the Center to a reality. Also, Victor told one story (and there are a few) of how Fred has graciously and generously helped Antique Mechanics through the years. For more information about the Heidrick Ag History Center, call (530) 666-9700 or access their web site at http://www.aghistory.org.
Annual Meeting
Thanks to all who attended the annual meeting last June. Almost all of the student club was in attendance. Sue Esdaile opened the meeting, and welcomed everyone to the shop for the meeting and barbecue. Victor Duraj spoke about his new role with Antique Mechanics, and stressed that despite the fact that he needed to cut back his efforts with the Society, he is still very much dedicated to and involved with Antique Mechanics. His need to step back coincided fortuitously with the willingness of Brian Barnett and Sue Esdaile to assume regular Society duties.
Brian Barnett gave a report on the many improvements that have been made to the shop. Activities and improvements made in the past year include loan of collection artifacts for display, repair of numerous roof leaks, repair of the shop's air compressor, replacement of lights in the first hangar, weed removal, replacement of the sliding door track in the first hangar, fabrication of a steel storage rack and forklift man cage, and holding the shop open every Saturday afternoon.
Sue Esdaile reported the Society's recent developments, including compliance with new UC Davis support group policies and amendments to our bylaws.
David Hills gave a very interesting slide presentation on the construction of the new Joe A. Heidrick, Sr. Western Center for Agricultural Equipment. Antique Mechanics may have the opportunity to display some collection pieces in front of the new facility. Victoria Smith, club president, talked about the club's activities and the quarter-scale tractor competition, in which several club members and Victor Duraj participated. We were treated to two video presentations featuring Antique Mechanics: California Heartland and Machines of Iron. California Heartland is a PBS program, which featured Antique Mechanics in one of their episodes. This program included interviews with alumni and students, and operation of some pieces of equipment. The Machines of Iron video featured a 15 minute tour of the collection and was produced by Spinnaker Home Video of Burbank, California.
The meeting was followed soon after by a delicious tri-tip barbecue, followed by strawberries and ice cream.
Many thanks to the Society and Club members who worked so hard to make the meeting happen.
Albert Dunning
We would like to acknowledge the passing of Albert Dunning. Albert of course was Lorry Dunning's father and is remembered fondly by all of us who knew him. He was always quick with a smile and a downright pleasure to be around. Albert supported Antique Mechanics through a number of skills which proved so helpful in time of need. When the Russell 30-60 was undergoing restoration - and the students were behind schedule - Albert came down from his home in Gridley to spend several days repairing the tractor's radiator. He helped manufacture replacement tubes and performed the very tricky soldering techniques required to install them. Many of us also remember when he joined us on the trip to haul three Caterpillar 60's donated by the Jensen family. The tractors had been in a shed for thirty years and were fitted to run on butane. Albert's expertise with butane was instrumental for us to be able to pull-start ALL of the tractors and allow the retired Mr. Jensen to drive the tractors up onto the low-bed trailers. Lorry was always fond of telling us of Albert's pioneering work in California's gasoline-to-butane conversion industry. Albert has helped in countless ways of the years, and we will always be thankful to him.
Arley Firch
The
Society was saddened by the recent passing of Arley Firch, longtime friend of
Antique Mechanics. Arley was a very pleasant man. He would smile often, especially
when he would have to clarify his name: "It's like Harley, the motorcycle, but
without the 'H'." Spending many hours helping out at Antique Mechanics with
a variety of projects, he often shared stories with students and visitors about
his family's farming and agricultural experiences. A retired postman, Arley
is famous for having calmly delivered the mail at Bank of America during a holdup.
As a final act of generosity toward Antique Mechanics, Arley bequeathed his
impressive collection of tools to the Society. Arley will be missed by all the
Antiquers who were fortunate enough to work with him.
Do you remember when?
The Cheney Station Adventure
by Jerrold Franklin
This is a short account of one of the early adventures of the Antique Mechanics Club which took place in the early 1970s. Being on the order of some 25 years ago, some memories have been dimmed while at the same time others have been brightened. During this adventure the Antiquers probably hauled in more cast iron from a single site and did one of the dirtiest and messiest hauls they ever did, and, had a lot of fun doing it.
During the mid 20th century Shell Oil maintained a crude oil pipeline on the west side of the Central Valley of California. The line consisted of 8 to 12 inch pipes and moved oil from the south valley oil fields to the San Francisco Bay area for processing and/or shipping. In order to keep the oil moving, a series of steam pumping stations, with slightly exotic names such as Caliola, Cheney and Merval were spaced along the line. By the late 1960s and early 70s pumping stations were being scrapped. Normally the scrapper would come in and blow up the buildings, and then cut-up the engines, pumps, boilers and anything else that was at the site and haul it away. In the case of Cheney Station, north of Coalinga, a farmer who was working the area wanted the buildings for his own use. Therefore, the scrapper couldn't blow up the buildings and the engines had to be taken out in pieces through the doors; for the junk-man, this wouldn't pay. Consequently, a pump engine was donated to the University's machinery collection and the Antiquers got the "opportunity" to remove the big engine.
Time has faded memories of the specific dimensions and weights of the engine, but it was a massive affair. It was a Allis-Chalmers Corliss type engine with a single 14 foot flywheel, a 24 inch diameter high pressure cylinder and a 48 inch diameter low pressure cylinder and must have weighed over 100 tons. The portals to remove the engine were a sliding maintenance door, a people door, and a hole cut in the end of the building about the size of a typical roll-up door.
In typical Antiquer fashion the equipment consisted of what we could beg and borrow from the Ag Engineering shop, the farmer and a small construction project. It was inadequate but put to use anyway. The size of the engine was such that typical hand tools were not very useful. For example, the packing nuts for the piston rods were about 12 inches and very few nuts were under an inch. The engine had to be disassembled in place due to the size, lifting capability and the size of the openings. The lifting came from a small worn-out crane from the construction project, really inadequate, so it was used anyway. We also had the use of an Allis-Chalmers HD crawler about the size of a Cat D7 or D8. This was used to move the tons of engine pieces aaround once they were on the ground.
For many weekends crews of Antiquers would travel down Interstate 5, usually leaving on a Friday night and get back late Sunday night. Interstate 5 was quite new at that time and there were not as many gasoline stations as there are now. Typically, UCD 2-ton trucks and ag trailers were used (abused) for the project. From the last gas station at Manning Avenue to Cheney Station and back was a tight trip, fuel wise. Usually, we would bring along extra gasoline cans to fill the trucks for the run back to the filling station. One memorable day, the trucks were topped off with the gas in the cans and we started off. The trucks started fine but in a few moments one of the trucks started running really ratty. White exhaust smoke was coming out of it and it had no power. As it turned out, someone had filled the tank with 5 gallons of cleaning solvent. We demonstrated definitely that V8 gasoline engines don't run worth a darn on cleaning solvent. After warming up, the truck ran somewhat better and we were able to limp back the gas stations to fill up on the real stuff.
The one thing that set Cheney Station apart from other big Antiquer hauls was the crude oil. Cheney Station would not make the EPA's list of the top 10 clean industrial sites. Crude oil is, well - crude. The type at Cheney was sticky and gooey and slippery all at the same time and seemed to be everywhere. The worst place was in "The Pit". This was the sump under the flywheel. It was only a few inches deep but it had an attraction for every dropped tool, and tools were slippery because of the oil and being big were easy to mishandle with gloves. Whoever dropped a tool into the pit had to get it themselves. This involved crawling down beside the flywheel, reaching under the flywheel into the sump and fishing around blindly in the pool of oil to find the tool. A few tools were never retrieved until after the flywheel was removed. The tool then had to be cleaned as best it could. Normal cleaning solvent was not that great for cutting this type of oil but we made do. It didn't take long on this adventure for everything to be covered with oil and we learned why it is called crude.
The engine bases were several tens of tons and were bolted and concreted into place. This required the use of jack-hammers to free the base from its concrete mooring. This is where we learned that operating a jack-hammer is fun for about 5 minutes and then is just plain hard work. After the concrete around the base was cleared and the nuts on the anchor studs removed, the bases were jacked up a few inches and the studs flame cut off at the concrete level and removed. This left the bases sitting on wooden cribbing on the concrete moorings about 2 feet above the ground. The big AC tractor was used to pull the bases off the moorings and on the ground, destroying the cribbing to splinters. The low pressure side base was so heavy that the impact when it hit the ground could be felt sitting in the tractor with the big diesel running. It was also so heavy that while the tractor could drag it along the ground, it couldn't be turned, it just straightened the tractor. To turn the beast, the tractor had to be set sideways and the bases spun to the direction we wanted it to go, a rather tedious procedure. Since the bases could not be easily turned they had a tendency to plow through anything in their paths this included a small dump used by the farm hands. This spread half gallon plastic Jim Beam bourbon bottles the hands had thrown into the dump all over the place, creating quite a mess with flattened plastic bottles. There was a lot of them, the hands must have really liked Jim Beam.
Restoring the Case 20-40 in 1973
It seemed that every trip we so overloaded the trucks and trailers that it was a miracle we always made it - but we did. This was even the case of the overloaded truck and trailer that came in late one Sunday and was parked in a field. The next morning, when an Antiquer went to move the rig, the front wheels came right off the ground.
Now! Those were the days!
Editor's note added after hardcopy printout: The engine has since been transferred to another collection where it will have a better chance of ever getting reassembled and restored.
Website Update
The Antique Mechanics Website has been expanded over the past year to include more photos, sounds of tractors, and the Society's Spring 1998 newsletter. Alex Smith, a Society board member, has put in a great deal of time and valuable expertise and made the website a popular stop for internet surfers. Look for more changes in the future, including more photos, updates of club projects, and photos from our archives. Be sure to visit the Website at: http://www.engr.ucdavis.edu/~antiques.
¼ Scale Tractor
by Victoria Smith
The American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) initiated the first annual 1/4 Scale Tractor Design Competition. A group of UC Davis students decided to participate in this event, bringing together a diverse group of students spun off of the Biological and Agricultural Engineering club. The contest was simple: given a 16 horsepower Briggs and Stratton engine and two rear wheel firestone tires, design a pulling machine. This contest had three parts, the pull-off contest (using a prograssive sled), the presentation (given as if selling the tractor to a corporate pannel), and the engineering report. UC Davis did an excellent job coming in 4th in the tractor pulls held in Moline Illinois. We worked under severe time constraints and pulled out 10th overall (out of 17 participating teams).
"Thank Goodness For Staff" Barbeque
UC Davis holds an annual partially subsidized barbeque for campus staff. Among good food and all sorts of activities, there is a "guess the weight" contest. Each year there is something large onto which the TGFS Committee climbs for a promotional picture. This year they were interested in a large tractor and Antiques provided the Case 20-40. Because of the threat of rain, the event was held inside the Recreation Hall and the tractor was parked right outside the main entrance. Folks waiting in line were treated to sights and sounds of the idling tractor. As the Chancellor walked by the tractor - alone - Victor Duraj stopped him and presented him with a "UC Davis - GO AG" button. (We have to make more Antique Mechanics buttons.)
Brian Barnett helped tow the tractor to campus the night before and Dave Schwenger and Brian hauled it on the lowbed back to the shop the next day. Victor received time off from work to help set up and then staff the display.
Aggie Kids' Camp
Antique Mechanics hosted five educational sessions for young students this past summer. The students were participants in UCD's popular Kids Camp where students spend two weeks on campus doing all sorts of interesting activities. There are about fifteen or more per group and each group is a different age group, ranging from seven-year olds to thirteen-year olds.
The activity created by Antiques is a nearly two hour program which first sits all the children in a semi-circle and encourages a highly interactive discussion of where a hot dog bun comes from. Following is a demonstration of a steam whistle (air powered) and a small, hand-cranked-to-start tractor. Students are subsequently seated on individual tractors in the display area and encouraged to touch and feel the controls as well as to ask operational questions. To complete the activity, the big-wheeled Case 20-40 is started up and students, two at a time, put on ear muffs and goggles, climb into the cab, and are provided a trip around the yard.
To wrap things up, the students are brought back to the seating area, and each take a turn to retell an element of the hot dog bun "process" from getting land, clearing, plowing, planting, watering, growing, fertilizing, cutting, threshing, grinding, baking, and delivering to the store.
Bylaws Amended
The Antique Mechanics Society held a Special Meeting on October 28, 1998, to approve of the amendments to our Articles of Association, or Bylaws. The vote was 8 to approve, and the amendments were officially adopted. Changes to our Bylaws were necessary, in order to comply with new University support group policies and procedures.
1. The grey rabbit was painted by Dave Viguie during Antique Mechnanics' first year at the airport. Dave was out at the shop with other Antiquers the Thursday before Picnic Day, working on the Caterpillar Twenty with Andrew Kasmatis and Randi Sue Bry. At about 4:00 in the afternoon, they started painting the tractor. Pretty soon, everyone else had gone home, Dave was still painting, and Randi Sue was holding the light (there were very few working lights in the hangar at that time). They didn't want to stay out there all night, but as neither of them were wearing a watch, it was quite a surprise when they stepped outside and saw the sun coming up! A little silly by now (anyone who has ever spent an all-nighter at the shop before Picnic Day can relate to this!), Dave was cleaning the paint gun and he decided that the hangar door needed a rabbit painted on it. After finishing his artwork, Randi Sue said, "Dave, that's tacky." Dave must have agreed, because he painted the word "tacky" next to the rabbit with an arrow, so that there would be no confusion as to what he was referring to.
2. It is safest to load a tractor backwards with a winch. A tractor is more likely to roll over when driven forward up a trailer, and the results can be fatal for the driver. The brakes on most tractors are designed to work best when the tractor is moving forwards. The benefit of using a winch is clear, as no driver is required to be on the tractor during the hazardous task of loading on a trailer.
3. Galvanic Corrosion. This is the type of corrosion that is occurring in parts of the roofs in the third and second hangars where steel corrugation has been replaced with aluminum, and is in contact with the steel roof beams. These sections must be replaced with steel corrugation as resources become available.
1917 Case 12-25
Don't forget to mark your calendar!
The next annual meeting is: June 5, 1999
Newsletter Contributors:
Student Club Members 1998-1999
Antique Mechanics Society Executive Committee 1998-99
I want to be a part of the Antique Mechanics Society!
Name:
Address:
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Telephone:
Please send check and this completed form to:
Antique Mechanics Society Bio & Ag Engineering
1 Shields Ave.
Davis, CA 95616-5294
Please make your check payable to UC Regents.
The University is grateful for the support it receives from alumni and friends. One of the ways our thanks is expressed is through listing the names of donors in various publications. Should you wish that your name not appear as a donor, please notify us if you have not already done so. It is the policy of the University of California, Davis to utilize a portion of the short-term investment income on current gifts and grants to support the cost of raising and administering funds. The University of California does not discriminate in any of its policies, procedures or practices. The University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.
To contact Antique Mechanics, please call (530) 752-6177