A Sampling of our Stationary Engines

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We have other projects besides what we turn out in the machine shop. Cathy wanted an antique engine of her own. Seeing as how her favorite color is blue, it seemed natural to get her a Jaeger. This one cropped up on an eBay auction. It came all the way from Ohio, relayed to Washington from one engine enthusiast to another. Engine folks are the best there is.

After three quarters of a century of accumulated grease and grime was removed, this old-timer still had so much original paint we decided to keep it just the way it is.

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It even has more paint left on this side. The engine powered a cement mixer and the drive chain was on this side. Apparently all the oil and grease it threw onto the engine preserved the finish.

Mechanically, this engine was in pristine condition. Such things as the cylinder bore and crankshaft journals showed zero wear when "miked." The original as-manufactured finish was still visible on the crankshaft journals.

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This is what Cathy's Jaeger looked like when we first got it. The grease had dried out and hardened like a coat of paint. The problem was one of softening the grease for removal but not damaging the paint.

Waterless hand cleaner works quite well for the purpose. We would smear on a layer and let it soak for a while, then wipe it off. The process was repeated as often as necessary.

Warning: Waterless hand cleaners will soften some paints quite readily. Do not leave them on for extended periods, such as overnight. If you do, you may ruin what you're trying to save. We found this out the sad way when a silk-screened trademark vanished while using hot water to flush off the hand cleaner.

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The easiest way to clean this up was to pull the bearing caps and remove the flywheels.

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Here's another one of our engines. It is an eight horsepower Waterloo.

The Waterloo traces its heritage to my home town of Canton, South Dakota. There, Jeff Knowlton invented the concept of the hopper-cooled engine and started manufacturing them under his name. In a deal worked out with Waterloo, Knowlton gave the company permission to use his design. They did so without changing much of anything. The only difference between our Waterloo is its (cheaper) J-shaped cast-iron mixer as opposed to the more expensive brass carb (I believe them to be Lunkenheimers) that came on the Knowltons.

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The Waterloo wears the same colors it sported when I got it. The poor thing had been sitting out in the weather for about ten years with a blue tarp thrown over it. A bit of linseed oil repaired the badly oxidized paint. We someday hope to give it a first-class paint job and put it back to the correct color.

The previous owner robbed the wheels and axles to put under a Stickney, so before I could get it home I had to cobble something together. The only way out of his back yard was through a "people" gate, so that established the maximum allowable width.

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