The Steam Driven Workshop

That’s really neat. I have one of the old German made steam engines. I don’t know if it would have the power to drive all of this, though, it’s fairly small.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

Very Interesting That reminds me of an old shipbuilding workshop in Orange, TX. The present owner sells carving supplies, carving wood and moldings. BUT the majority of the building is full of early 20th century woodworking equipment all driven by leather harness belts and pulleys. Originally they made shrimp boats then converted during WWI to making wooden hulled minesweepers. They had a Navy contract and built minesweepers and landing craft through WWII then converted back to shrimp boats.

-- Growing older but not up!

That is fantastic!

$69 shipping to the US from Canada!

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Now we just need to get it to the north pole!

-- Fred.... Poconos, PA ---- Chairwright in the making ----

Wow, that’s pretty cool, it reminds me of some of the stuff my grandfather has. I still have a dry fuel burning Jensen #65 steam engine he gave me as a Christmas present when I was 10… :-)

-- Looking for free wood working plans? Visit us at www.AwlFreePlans.com

I’m sure OSHA would have a fit. Cool, though!

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

That is one of the coolest things I have ever seen! I am so tempted to bid on it…I love models and miniatures and that thing is the best of both!!

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

You’d better watch your head walking through that little wonderland!

How did you ever stumble across that?

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

I don’t know how many are aware but there are shops set up like that in many Amish and Menenite communities as they have no problem with electricity but just the being part line all hooked together is how it was explanied to me.So several have been written up in Fine Woodworking and showed how they do it.
Completely fascinating to me I was amazed and almost shocked.It was even somewhat of a let down to realize they were also using planers,table saws,shapers,routers and etc.So much for a myth.
I got to know a Mennenite woodworker about as well as they allow “worldly” people to know them and it was interesting his observation as to how their community was like ours in many ways. He pointed out how so many people come through to buy things for their craftsmen because “they were mennenite craftsmen” which was to imply they were better.Not implied that by the Mennonites but by others .He got a kick out of it and told me they were just like us,some of them were really good and some of them he wouldn’t buy from,not because they weren’t totally honest but because they just weren’t really that good.But the “worldly people” just blindly assumed they were really good.
It makes total sense but for some reason it has always stuck with me.

Cowboy

Cool.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †