Shingle Mill - Official Work Thread

[Benjamin Campbell]

Great work everyone! Dana - here is a link to my Ricker planer. http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=16541  It came out of an auction in the Garner ME area and
is rumored to have been deaccessioned from the Maine State Museum along with much other machinery which was included in the auction. I've been interested in this stuff for years
and have piles of pulleys - belts etc which I can provide as needed.   

[Mike Fox]

Looks like we have some carefull cleaning to do. Looks like your planer has the same style frame as the shingle mill

[James Patten]

The steel tank when thumped sounds like a cheap plastic drum.  Lots of crud in it.

[Carl G. Soderstrom]

I hear tell cola and a handful of bolt nuts does wonders.
Keep us informed - I have a Oliver 70 tank that needs the same thing.

[Benjamin Campbell]

Here are links to two other wood frame shingle mills preserved in Maine.
I believe there is a third at the Windsor Fair Grounds.

http://www.maineforestandloggingmuseum.org/1920s-mill-yard

http://www.mainememory.net/artifact/15737

[Mike Fox]

Stockholm, Harrison and Sheepscot shingle mills are the same. Maine Forestry Museum is also very similar. I would like to see the Ricker name painted on the side of ours. Time to do a little more cleaning of the framework, and hope the oil has not erased the name.

[Benjamin Campbell]

The example at the Maine Forest and Logging Museum has a
cast iron builder’s plate which although unreadable - does
not appear to be by Ricker. I can find no evidence
that Ricker made shingle mills but I think that there were some
more obscure Maine manufacturers which did.

[Dana Deering]

     That is a nice planer, Benjamin.  Good save.  According to a book I picked up at the Maine State Museum many years ago, a couple of the companies that made shingle mills in Maine were Hinckley & Egery of Bangor; and J.G. Johnson of Augusta.
     Ralph seemed to think that his mill was made in Harrison, Maine.  The wood frame sure looks like the same style and paint color as your planer. I know that Ricker didn't seem to advertise shingle mills but maybe they dabbled in them for a short while.  The shingle mill at Scribner's in Harrison has a similar look to it although it looks a bit more "used". What we would need to find is the stenciling, if it still exists.  The SPOOM website had a good document about cleaning wood framed machinery and it basically recommends hot soapy water and lots of cloths.  I was thinking of using Dawn detergent since it cuts oil and grease about as well as any soap I've used.
     We need to proceed with the cleaning and repair carefully so we don't inadvertently remove the evidence of the manufacturer. 
     Interesting info on the engine.  I had my doubts when they told me they had it running "a couple of years ago".  I'm glad to hear that the water was drained out of it.  I hope to find some time soon to get back up there and start working on the mill and get it fixed up so we can turn our attention to the edger.

Dana

[Carl G. Soderstrom]

You might try "Simple Green" good grease & soot cutter and easy on the environment.
As with anything try it on an inconspicuous spot first. 

[Philip Marshall]

One imagines that Ricker machinery would have been shipped from Harrison on the B&SR, no? Does anyone know when the firm ceased production?

[Mike Fox]

Trying on a leg would be a safe place to start cleaning.

[Dana Deering]

T H Ricker was purchased by Ernest Ward, a former B&SR brakeman, in 1940.  He and his wife ran the business as the Ricker Machine Co. and they produced a number of mills in the next two years but then the whole works was destroyed by fire.  All the machinery and patterns were lost so Ward liquidated what was left of the business.

[Benjamin Campbell]

Here is another for sale on Maine Craigslist. Looks similar but
difficult to tell given the condition. http://maine.craigslist.org/atq/5108850901.html

[John Kokas]

Dana,

Any thought to where the shingle mill restoration work will be accomplished?

[Dana Deering]

Hi All,

     I wanted to post an update on the shingle mill since there's been nothing added here for a while.  A few weeks ago I removed one of the legs from the mill.  It came free fairly easily so now we have a pattern for making four new ones.  I went into it thinking that the wood was oak but once I got it apart the grain didn't look tight enough to be oak.  It looks more like yellow pine.  If I can get away a few Saturdays this winter I want to continue working on getting the legs replaced, cleaning the pitch and oil off the frame, etc., replace some worn springs, and generally try to get it in condition for a possible demonstration run at the Annual Picnic.   I also need to dedicate some time to helping clear the new mill site at TOM. 

Dana