Terry Harper

Tractor conversion with a pinion drive. Add some lugs to the back wheels and head out to plow the back 40. Very neat!

Well done Joe! Looks great! Terry

Well done! Thank you for for this thread so we could follow along. Most wonderful! Now enjoy!

Hello Greg, Somewhere I have a Wisconsin catalog with dimensioned general arrangements for the model "A" and "B" including the motor mounts etc. However, knowing I have it and actually finding it are two different things. My thought is its tucked away in a drawer in my lab. Monday I will be in town and I will see if I can grab if you think it would help. I Recall that some of the engines shown had multiple versions for various installations - tractor, truck, etc. Also, I am not sure if I shared this with you before or not. In 2018 a gentleman recovered the remains of a number of four four Wisconsin T-heads. I have no idea where they ended up might might be worth tracking down. Here is the link to the discussion and you may be able to contact him through the Smokestak forum. https://www.smokstak.com/forum/threads/1918-wisconsin-t-head.177531/ Best regards, Terry

I don't own them but I do have the pleasure of maintaining and demonstrating them. I was on the fence whether to include or not but... the manufacturer referred to them at various times as "Tractor trucks" and "Auto tractor trucks" so I guess that's close enough.

Hello Joe, It looks great! Yes, you have to protect the edges - otherwise it can undercut and lift the mask and damage the edges. The back can be protected with clear packing tape. The solution will loose strength. You can add more acid if needed. Are you using Muriatic Acid and peroxide? Regardless make sure you gently agitate the echant so the residue doesn't settle on the part. If you have to go the paint route - give the part a very good cleaning and degreasing than hit it all over with the paint. Make sure the paint is fully cured before you sand it. Use 800 grit wet/dry or finer and a nice flat sanding block. I have a piece of aluminum I like to use. Ideally you want the sanding block to span across the whole work piece but leave enough exposed to allow your fingers to hold it in place. Make sure the backside of the work piece is clean rests on a nice, clean flat surface. I have a polished piece of granite tile that I use. Whenever you lift the work piece from the work surface make sure to clean the back of it and work surface before resuming sanding. Keep the work piece and the sand paper wet. I also add a bit of dish soap as well. Its very easy to over sand. Don't apply any pressure - just let the weight of the sanding block do the work. Rinse the sand paper and work piece frequently and change the paper often as well. Work the whole piece and avoid the temptation to concentrate on a small area. Once sanded, so the raised areas are bright, give the part a gentle buffing with extra fine (0000#) steel wool to even out the finish.

Perfect! I had a former student who graduated from McPherson... he loved it!

Terry, I am so sorry to hear of the frustration you are having! You have put a lot of time and effort into fixing the water pump issue and I have anxiously awaited the report of successful. The fact that it started and ran good for 25 to 30 min. means that everything was working the way it should. Usually things do not happen suddenly with the exception of major disasters. At this point, if you already have not done so I would suggest the following: prime the cylinders and have a go with it. If it fires, (even just briefly) this will all but rule out a ignition or major timing (valve/spark) issue and it bypasses the carb, fuel system etc. If it doesn't fire then you can be fairly certain its an ignition or timing issue. If it fires (even briefly) after being primed I would suggest bypassing the vacuum tank and setup a gravity feed. Be sure to plug the vacuum line. If it starts and runs than you know its a fuel supply issue from the carb to the tank. If it dosen't run than you can be fairly certain its the cab. Several things others have generously suggested, such as using starter fluid and towing to start I would avoid. Both are rather harsh methods that do not solve or identify the problem. Your not trying to start it... your trying to identify the reason it wont start. Identifying what isn't the problem is just as important as identifying what is the problem. Take a break from it. Picture it as not a frustrating problem to solve but as a interesting problem to be overcome. Than, enjoy the satisfaction of solving it.

Joe, That looks great! Once its all together no one will ever notice that very slight misalignment other than you. Excellent! T

My first thought is Hercules but usually "Hercules"text is cast very prominently in the manifold.

No work today. Just playing with the beasts. All three ran flawless. During the last event the dump truck threw a fit and had to be towed home in disgrace and pushed into the Lombard bay wrong-way-around which, I guess, is our equivalent of "go sit in the corner and think about what you have done! " Swapping out a nasty fuel filter solved the issue. Today she was penitent and contrite and on her best behavior. This was the first outing for the steamer since last October. As usual it ran perfect. It actually is a very smooth running machine if you can believe that. Other than a few squeaks from the tracks, the muted growl of the compensator gear and the rhythmic clank of the mechanical lubricator it just ghosts along. Pretty impressive for a 20 ton beast.

Hello Joe, Could you include a circle on the artwork that would be concentric to the part? or a fixture with a center point? i.e. it would fit inside hole but level or just a tad below the top of the part and include a center registration mark to line-up with the art work? How thick is the brass? If its not too thick you could make a double sided mask that folds over the stock with the corners aligned using registration marks. When you etch it it etches the text half the thickness and the center hole and perimeter the full thickness of the stock. Here is an example of a resulting front & back mask. The perimeter and view hole were cut all the way through while the text being one side only went halfway through. The mask was simply folded over the stock, registered at the marks (not shown) and stapled. Since I was using an iron the staples were not in the way. I ironed one side, flipped and ironed the other than into the ice water bath it went. And fresh out of etchant. You can see the registration marks near the corners of the stock. Note the permanent marker used to fix blemishes in the mask.

That time of year up here. Planting potatoes, Fort Kent, ME.

The air-cooled four cylinder is a work of art! Love the open crank, bracketry etc. Fabulous!

Yes, acetone works well. Joe, have you thought about using a traditional photo etching emulsion rather than the PNP blue film? You could fairly easily have the film (artwork) cut to fit the part so registration would be far less of an issue.

Hello Joe, I used the same PNP transfer film back when I was etching motometer face plates etc. The brass has to be absolutely clean. I degreased steel wool and scrubbed the surface as well to remove any oxidization. I also found pre-heating the brass in the toaster oven helped a lot though if you got it too hot that caused issues as well. When I applied heat to iron it on I used a regular cloths iron but I overlaid the transfer film with a sheet of plain paper. Also, if there are any spots missing in the mask you can fill them in using a Sharpy. I also used a Sharpy to protect the exposed edges of the stock from the etchant. Once the mask is ironed on I immediately dunked the part in ice water to remove the backing material. In regards to registering the image on the part. That can be tricky. For motometers I actually made a mask for both the front and back that had registration marks. I printed the front and back on the same piece of material than simply folded and carefully aligned the registration marks. By using a 2 sided mask I could not only etch the logo etc. but also cut the part out. Using this stuff takes quite a bit of fiddling to unlock "the code" if you will. KEEP AT IT!

Joe, I had never heard of “close plating” until you mentioned it. Thanks to Google Books I found a really nice article in a period trade publication that made for fascinating reading! Very neat process. Thank you for sharing.

Hello Joe, Fantastic work! I nickel plated some parts a couple of years ago. I bought some strips of nickle and made my own solution. It worked great and was very, very easy. This was for a faux-American Bosh Magneto switch which nothing more than adapting a modern push/pull switch from a tractor. I also used the same method to plate a mounting washer for a choke control. We made the "bakelite" knob using a stick of Garolite.

Thank you for sharing! It sounds like you had a good series of trips and adventures. This is exactly the insight we need to hear. No spin one way or the other.

Maine is currently $.30/gal gas and $.31/gal. diesel. They are struggling to develop a road use tax system for EV's. Lots of public funded incentives though.

Matt, Deep breath..... I agree there is no law and never implied one. However there is very real policy. Add to that legacy manufacturers stating that they will end conventional vehicle production by this year or that and state initiatives (The ban recently proposed by California for instance) and you have significant forces working to force an expanded EV market. Yes, technically I agree. However, it took over 100 years for market conditions to exist that make the Tar Sand process financially viable. I am not saying that it will take a 100 years of batteries stacking up before recycling becomes viable - at least I hope it wouldn't take that long but who knows. How long is too long? We will have to agree to disagree on this one. As I mentioned previously, other than proposed legislation in California and maybe other states I am unaware of you are correct... to a degree. There are many indirect methods and avenues to shape acceptance and compliance outside of legislation. Matt, again I am glad your EV works for you. Coming from an engineering and technology background I find it fascinating technology. I too wish success to the industry - but on its own merit driven by true market forces not coerced.

Matt, I am not "vehemently" opposed to EV's. I feel they have a place. What I am opposed to is the "one solution MUST fit all" approach our government has taken. If people like and find utility and value in an EV that's great. But for many people - whether it's location, cost, local climate conditions etc. - EV's are not (as the technology stands today) a truly viable solution yet they feel they are being left no alternative but to go that route or go bust trying to afford fuel or eventually be able to purchase a conventional vehicle. People tend to take exception to being forced or coerced either directly or indirectly. Again,let natural market forces drive acceptance and development. In regards to batteries, as the technology stands now, Lithium EV batteries are very, very energy intensive to recycle. In fact at this point recycling is far more expensive than mining virgin material - thus its currently done at a very limited scale in relation to the product sold. I am glad you enjoy your EV and that it works for you. Just because it works for you by no means implies it will be the best solution for everybody else. At the moment an EV is far from my thoughts as we look forward to how we will afford to heat our home this winter. Up here that is a life or death matter and I am very afraid for those, such as our elderly, living on fixed or limited incomes but I guess that is of no importance as a consequence.

I am actually somewhat surprised that this isn't leading the charge (no pun intended) Especially short haul, local work or even construction work - both of which are by far the most inefficient application of a diesel engine. (i.e. dramatically varying loads, speeds, & operating temps.) compared to long haul work.

I believe that one is in a Heine-Velox if I am not mistaken.