Vintage work crew photos

[PJs]

I like the Gerstner's too but it's interesting that old and young alike are doing their part with focus. The older gent on the horizontal mill and the younger on the Milwaukee vertical in wool cuffed pants...all ages with great interest in their work in a crowded space. The only disconcerting thing is the floor sweeper and the look he has...almost like he's watching or talking with the guy at the bench.

I'm curious what that machine is behind the older gent with a younger guy and his arm up on a handle or something. Almost looks like a lathe but has a cross member looking like a differential on the near side...Never seen a machine like this??

Great Pic Jon...may try to enrich this one. Thanks.

[Jon]

Railroad track repairers. Nevada, 1800s.

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...w_fullsize.jpg

[PJs]

Interesting Watkins Stereograph, likely 1879-1890. Based on the clothing and footwear I would ponder a guess at closer to 1890's. All looking rather sophisticated in their posses.

Carlton Watkins famous for Yosemite shots also.

Thanks Jon.

Might be interest to see some Stereoscopes from the 1870's. Beautiful craftsmanship on some.

[Toolmaker51]

Fergit dem Gerstner's.....Real star of the pic is front row left. Milwaukee Rotary Head Milling Machine, Model D2 [exact same model also show up as Kearney & Trecker]. One lucky curly haired kid is running the single greatest concept in metal working machinery ever. EVER!
That his set-up includes a rotary table say's he's on more than a common milling job. The machine has a rotary spindle arrangement of its own...Of all my iron, she is my one true favorite.
Why you say? Well here is why. This film introduces the machine, as prepared by the builder, not interpretations of a 4th or 9th owner. In the 80's, regular knee mills were ~$5,000 and 2300 pounds. D2's were long out of production, treasured none the less. IF you had a core [rebuildable] the service was $50,000 and they weigh 5500 pounds, within same approximate footprint. I first was assigned one mid-70's, and right to this instant, a machine more entertaining to operate hasn't occurred. I spent/ waited 25 years trying to locate one fit for purchase; a lot of machinery dealers didn't [even more still don't] really know what they are.

I can't apologize about length of this video, 20 odd minutes.

but I watched it again this afternoon.
PJs 'guy' with his arm up, I think, is stationed at a Cincinnati horizontal with a Bridgeport head attached. Not sure why that approach taken, shop obviously has resources for a dedicated knee mill, maybe not the floorspace. The 'differential' seems a tooling bench of indexers and dividing heads. More perplexing to me are off to right with a transverse motor well above normal machine envelope. Left of the D2 is a small planer, and a band filer.
Too bad perspective ruined by such a low angle shot, a lot more would be clear. If there any lathes, this appears a milling department, certainly one would be a hydraulic tracer, or a Kellering machine, esp Pratt & Whitney.

[suther51]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/milling-mac...-/283318353120

Is this a d2 equivalent? Quite the mill.
Eric

[Toolmaker51]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/milling-mac...-/283318353120

Is this a d2 equivalent? Quite the mill.
Eric

Yes it is. But 2 grand isn't much of a deal; lacking toolholders and 'fun' accessories that make it sing. Before everyone tries snapping one up, these are precision machines, not for hogging rough work. But that said, in the hands of a competent operator, he might one-off a complicated part quicker than a programmer, set-up guy, and less than invested operator can via CNC. Literally a few minutes reviewing a drawing, clamp material and go to work.
And if it sits weeks without work, you don't have large payments for a serious capital machine. I use 2-axis knee mills on occasion, other than 100 IPM rapids and a lever operated quill, they can't do anything beyond the D2.

[suther51]

Just found it interesting as it came up with a gogle image search. Im waiting for tbe arival of a steinel sv4. About the biggest machine i can fit in my shop with a greased shoehorn after i cramed in the chineesium 12x32 lathe. It's a woodworking shop but always longed for some metalworking in addition to forge n anvil. There are so many interesting machines out there. Got to put on the blinders now n use what I have more fully. Thanks
Eric

[hemmjo]

The only disconcerting thing is the floor sweeper and the look he has...almost like he's watching or talking with the guy at the bench.

WHY is it disconcerting that a man might be watching or perhaps talking to a guy at the bench?

I do not see it like this at all. The photograph is an instant in time. If you care to look as closely at the broom as you looked at the tool boxes, you clearly see the man is working. Both hands are gripping the broom, the bristles are bent to indicate he is perhaps pulling chips from under the corner of that work bench. One of the first things I noticed is that the floor of that big shop is spotless except for some kind of fluid behind the sweeper.

I do not see anyone chose that he might be talking to. Even if he was, what it the problem with talking to a co-worker or being fascinated by the machines and workers doing that they do? Very possibly something that was not available to him at the time in history.



My $.02

[suther51]

floor of that big shop is spotless except for some kind of fluid behind the sweeper.

Interesting, have heard of older shops using something called sweeping compound to keep dust down, just my 2 cents also.
Eric

[PJs]

Fergit dem Gerstner's.....Real star of the pic is front row left. Milwaukee Rotary Head Milling Machine, Model D2 [exact same model also show up as Kearney & Trecker]. One lucky curly haired kid is running the single greatest concept in metal working machinery ever. EVER!
That his set-up includes a rotary table say's he's on more than a common milling job. The machine has a rotary spindle arrangement of its own...Of all my iron, she is my one true favorite.
Why you say? Well here is why. This film introduces the machine, as prepared by the builder, not interpretations of a 4th or 9th owner. In the 80's, regular knee mills were ~$5,000 and 2300 pounds. D2's were long out of production, treasured none the less. IF you had a core [rebuildable] the service was $50,000 and they weigh 5500 pounds, within same approximate footprint. I first was assigned one mid-70's, and right to this instant, a machine more entertaining to operate hasn't occurred. I spent/ waited 25 years trying to locate one fit for purchase; a lot of machinery dealers didn't [even more still don't] really know what they are.

PJs 'guy' with his arm up, I think, is stationed at a Cincinnati horizontal with a Bridgeport head attached. Not sure why that approach taken, shop obviously has resources for a dedicated knee mill, maybe not the floorspace. The 'differential' seems a tooling bench of indexers and dividing heads. More perplexing to me are off to right with a transverse motor well above normal machine envelope. Left of the D2 is a small planer, and a band filer.
Too bad perspective ruined by such a low angle shot, a lot more would be clear. If there any lathes, this appears a milling department, certainly one would be a hydraulic tracer, or a Kellering machine, esp Pratt & Whitney.

TM51, I bow to your vast knowledge of these machines. Thanks for the Vintage Video, I watched the whole thing, drop jawed at a few points for the era. That D2 is remarkable and worthy of its own thread, imho...and the operators must be master machinist's with that many ops going on at once. I loved the drafting references to how it operates but the mechanical hardware inside and the attachments set the bar as you say.

I believe you are right about the (sliding) mill head attachment and can see the rotary table now after further review but confused about the larger RB to the right which looks to be one of the bars for the horizontal set up. Quite the crossover set up for Some Tricky machining.

Thanks TM51!

HemmJo: As I said it was the look on his face that was disconcerting to ME. Of all the other workers in the picture, the look on his face is quite different. As for doing his job...it's quite obvious he, had and is doing his job well whether or not he "may be" conversing with a co-worker (which is cut out of your cropped picture) is immaterial to me. There was and is No nefarious intent with my statement...just that his look was Different...Perhaps Disconcerting rings the wrong bell for some.

Websters Dictionary...
Disconcerting:
adjective

1. disturbing to one's composure or self-possession; upsetting, discomfiting.
2. confusing, usually in the face of something totally unexpected; perplexing.

PJ