Re: Steamboat Pumps
By Craig Brougher
Steamboat pump variations never cease to amaze me. Darrell Clarke mentioned his pump was a four-banger. I've never seen one of those. I wonder if that was a forebanger to the sixbanger? Now sixbangers I've seen too many of. And some of those have 8 flaps apiece! So when you rebuild it, you are obliged to replace 48 flaps and 48 seats. If you enjoy pure drudgery, this is it. Lock yourself away so you can't get out of the shop, after buying two whole skins of good beef hide-- one a suede, the other heavy shoe leather. Get yourself some heavy chisels and bars, and be prepared for some broken wood too, because you have to get those feeders off the trunk and they are permanently glued to poplar plywood. I can tell you are just slathering at the mouth to do one of these.
I have never seen a 1914 Stroud D/A yet, so maybe I have another experience ahead of me. But steamboat pumps are definitely sweat-shop projects for basement trolls! And if they happen to have the pot metal pulley system which used four reduction belts and one drive belt, then it will cost you about $175 to replace that with good old iron stuff today.
There is one redeeming quality however. Because of their slow speed, they can be perfectly quiet and will not wear out their covers as fast as rotary pumps can, since ultimately, it is the heat generated in the rubber that causes the wear and tear.
Craig B.
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(Message sent Fri 21 Jun 1996, 12:31:58 GMT, from time zone GMT.) |
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