Anglo Traction

Sorry, I've just edited my last. It was the Canadian Serial number I have trouble with identifying having only 4 digits. The Spec number was the design Spec required or chosen by Howard Rotovators.

As Jonathan has said, worth keeping the 'Zebedee' factor at bay when removing it !. Struggling to locate any info on the Canadian Kohler Serial number. U.S serial numbers appear to start with a Letter, then 6 digits ?. The Spec nbr is listed as supplied to Howard Rotovators, so maybe S1g (Gareth) can shed some light on it when he's back on here?. In the meantime, here's an exploded view of the constituent parts to check for any you maybe missing-

As already mentioned, great work Ewan . your decision to remake it in thicker steel was the wise one. It look's perfect for purpose and good to see you chose to place a gasket between it and the paintwork........quality ! . .......and the good, clear images in your posts also make all the difference.

I believe there were a few versions of retractable Starters fitted Ewan. What is the Model and Serial number of your engine?. It may allow you/us to identify type and any missing parts Also, it look's like the Spring broke at the 'Coiled' point (rusted solid) when someone tried to turn the engine over in the past. It will be worth soaking the Spring in situ anyway to free it up and eventually remove it for inspection, as it may be saved. I've done this before and reformed the shape(s) on the broken end and are still working fine to date.

I stand corrected on my assumption then Alan. Still, I'm sure they will be of use on something. Regards.

Imagine they are from a good quality Pedal Car circa 1940s-50s Alan?. I'll do some digging to see what I can turn up about them. Assume British, or American with Imperial dims. I would be interested, but wonder about availability/cost of tyres n tubes?. Be a shame to scrap them.

Asked if I could do something to save this Fuel Tap from an early 60s machine for a friend. I first tried to obtain the part as a spare from the manufacturers (Karcoma). They still produce them for various motorcycles etc . No parts available even though the design is pretty well unchanged. The original little screw on Filter Cup is plastic with a coin slot and hex end to undo it. A mistake in design really, as they are likely to be over tightened, I suppose as there are no spare parts, they can sell more for replacement (up to £35.00 each) - The cup is the 3rd fuel filtration process which will also separate and retain any water (small quantity) and has a small cylindrical filter which fits onto small spigots both in the cup and the Tap body, so I had to measure carefully to ensure it is not crushed when the Cup is screwed on, but that the seal doesn't leak. I settled for Brass to make it, which allowed me to do all the work and produce and insert the small internal spigot, then Hard solder it in the exact position. I also had to I.D. the thread form (metric 18 x 1mm) and cut it on the old Myford (imperial). After reading up on it, I had to do this by manual turning, as you can't disengage the 'Leadscrew' drive, or it will be misaligned!. All went well- Fortunately, there were only 4 full threads and it was the first time for me producing them. To finish it off, I produced a new sealing washer from reinforced Viton rubber of the correct thickness. To reduce the over tightening factor, I added a 'reeded' finger grip area on it, rather than a screwdriver slot etc. All finished ready for years of use-

Thanks all/Alan, Looking forward to using it. Have several projects on the go still, back to the T' Engine, WH 8 speed Trans full overhaul, SACHS 2 stroke to get running and continue with the Villiers engine project . Bit of house general maintenance and gardening. Have been offered a machine powered by Protein and Carbs (treadle power), but need to see it and if I have space. Otherwise, it's wait for the sunshine and a few Beers in a Chair !. Regards.

Thanks Alan. Keeps the old Grey Cells active . Apart from a few minor adjustments, it's all done and very smooth in operation now. Colour is greener and darker in reality (flash probably messed it up). I worked out that the 'feed rate' is about 8 thousandths of an Inch per rev, so it's a bit fast for metal. I may just play with the Cam and Actuator Arm and halve that ratio. Just a Chuck key to obtain and it can be put to work- Gear cover on. I'll fill the drilling scars in the Base Foot plate- Wheel faces and column will be protected from rusting. Wooden Handle has been soaked with Raw Linseed Oil, oven dried and polished- Enjoyed doing this one and will be allocated a space on the new Bench when I've built it.

Quite a productive weekend so far and extended my familiarity with certain operations and problem solving. Started on the replacement Drive Shaft. For anyone interested, I took images of the sequence to make it. Clamped a length of 3/16" dia Silver Steel to enhance the angles/line of the original drilled 'Lock Pin' hole- I was then able to use the Rod to set up on the Lathe, so a Ball Nosed Slot Drill would mill the radiused groove along the correct line. The Rod checked first against a Face Plate, then against a set of precision Parallels and 'V' Blocks laid on the Bed Ways- Offset was only about 2 degrees from parallel along the Shaft (arrowed), and about 4 deg on the tilt from vertical (obscured by spanner) - Finished machined Shaft along with the old one for comparison- Some careful measuring and prep before pressing the shaft in to ensure the two parts with the partial holes line up worked ok- Pin pressed back in ok and happy with the result. Well, with a 12 ton Press sitting in the Workshop, it seems a shame not to find any work for it.

In between cleaning and painting the Castings (nearly finished), I pressed out the primary drive shaft from the Bevel Gear- Yep!, the 'Lock Pin' was inserted into a compound angled hole !. This will give me a nice interesting challenge to reproduce the correct recess in the new shaft so I can accurately refit a Pin using the original part hole made in the Bevel Gear. I've worked it out already, just need to set the Lathe up after cutting the new shaft steel to length, hopefully tomorrow.

No problem, nice little machine with the weighted Flywheel on the Spindle for 'Feed' assistance. Likely German (Metric Threads?) by Metabo. Possible the Maker's name was under the red/orange paint on the Drive Gear face. Here's a link to one being sold in Aussie- -DRILL- Casting marks/letters are indefinable as a link to the Company, except for the 'M' and possibly the 'R' (Rauch).

Haven't achieved much, too cold in Workshop. Prepped most of the Spindle Drive parts and painted the red bits- Reckon it will cost me about £12.00 and a few good weather days to get this up 'n' running .

Found the old Jacobs Chuck is pretty good still. However, found what was causing the 'Run Out', turned out to be a piece of a 1/2" x 20 UNF Bolt sawn off (badly) at both ends and shoved into the end of the Spindle for the Chuck to screw onto. Holding the Spindle still using the upper Hand Wheel while they forced it in by twisting and also damaged the upper feed shaft by the locking screw- Should be able to come up with a suitable fixture with a Register for the Chuck alignment easy enough, but don't know if it will be like the original design.

Thanks Alan , I suppose I find if you look into things, all is not what it seems. Didn't want to play around too much with this really, but needs must. Yep ! Nigel, Thanks ........... I had a feeling it wouldn't work for very long with only one 'Ball' ! . Found another bodge which means more work. Hitting that today hopefully. Regards

Look's a bit 'Off the Wall' styling for Haslemere area (no offence Mr Pearce). You're probably right Alan with D series bits. Hood ornament look's illegal.

Found the right Ball Bearings. Had some 'End of Life' ones my Father obtained for me back in his Aircraft Engineering days. Able to reverse the assembly and extract them without damage. Spot on unworn dimension - Sorted that poblem

Thanks for posting, good looking machine. Like the extended Axle Shafts for I presume Dual Wheels or Weights?. Could the bad Sprocket wear be down to lack of an enclosed lube system, or poor maintenance in the past?.

Nice old piece and glad it was saved. Look's like an early Domestic lighting Generator and as you say probably powered by something like a Lister or similar, Is that Insulation Block where the Terminals are on top ..a block of Ebony, Bakelite, Paxolin or Resin?.

I'm impressed with the quality of this Ray, considering they were pretty well mass produced over a very long period of the 20th Century. The castings are very well machined for good fit of the moving bits. Nearly all dismantled for inspection- Not sure if the chuck is any good yet. Found evidence of the original body colour on the base of the Feed Ratchet Gear, so I should be able to match it- Found the Thrust Bearing had only one Ball Bearing in it !. When I checked it, it turned out to be 4mm dia. This should have Inch/Imperial sized Balls, so I will have to check my stock of old Bearings for some- I'll replace the Primary Drive Shaft that carries the Handwheel and Drive Bevel Gear, as it has been chewed up where the Handwheel fits on. The shaft measures 0.748" and has barely perceptible 'Rock' in the body Casting, so I'll use 0.750" precision Ground Silver Steel Rod as replacement to take up slack- Gear is pressed on the end and has a 'Lock Pin' inserted into both parts. Good quality joint to disassemble and refit - I may just replace the Steel Bar Column with a new Precision Ground one, as it has cost me nothing so far.

Came home the other day with a Freebie project and nice addition to the workshop tooling- It's the heavier duty version made in England by Bradson, believed to be a subsidiary of Bradley & Co Ltd of the Albion Works Bilsdon and later known as Beldray. Age is questionable, as several versions were still being produced into the early sixties, the demand being for Farms and Crofter types still with no Mains Electricity and DIY. Found an example listed in a 50s Brochure for this No14 model and being sold for 155/- shillings (£7.75 now). This is a single speed model, they produced 2 speed versions in the smaller types, but this has an Auto feed system which hopefully is not too fast for metal, I'll have to check it- This stands at just 2ft (60cms) in height and quite heavy being all cast Iron and Steel, it is quite complete and nearly unmolested. Few screws bodged and the loose Wheel/Handle has been put on around the wrong way. Otherwise it is very smooth in operation and no wear or slack in the important bits- Colour of the paint is uncertain, The chuck feels good and smooth so hopefully there is not much 'Run Out'. Just a clean an repair on this for now to give it a test run. May strip the paint if it's wrong and may clean back to Cast Iron finish.

Found this site and able to translate to English, so I'll start there and see where we get to- http://www.sachs-stationaermotoren.de/

Afraid not Norm, I believe it is attached to a form of Mower. Thanks for the clarity/info Koen, probably should have waited 'til I saw it in the flesh. Only have the pic so far. As you point out that it's a 2 Stroke, then it will simplify the work. Will have to be careful to record the set timing before fiddling with it, and should find the Fuel/Oil ratio somewhere. I wonder if they will be disappointed with it's age?. Expecting to see it next week. Regards.

Got an Engine challenge- German 4 stroke Petrol. Yes, I've got to go Metric to make some parts!. I found the spec for it, searched Ebay.de for parts/Manuals etc. Established that Stamo versions were prior to ST versions, but not found out if they can be dated by the Engine Serial Nbr- Believe it is around 1950s. So if anyone can help or point me in the direction of manuals/info, I would be grateful, as this needs to be a good runner.

As Paul said Chris. Came to an agreement after Mr Gravett the Curator made enquiries about acquiring it. I eventually agreed it would be better situated there with eventual occasional exhibiting around the Country. I was down there briefly Sunday, as not too good. Went down there today to sort some bits out and regular assistance for the Charity and got collared for pics with the Mower by the Centre's owner possibly for a story in 'Local Rags'. Good thing is I came back with a little project to add to the list . Edit - I remember the Anchor Butter Mower Ad and Chris G showed it to me today......not sure if he wants me to get it running! Regards