Return to All Posts
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Original Post:
Posted on June 3, 2016
A timber Stowell is one of the Seven Wonders of the Hay Trolley world. They are just plain gorgeous.
About a 3 minute Buy-It-Now listing on EBAY a couple of month’s ago. Thanks to those that brought it to my attention.
Having said that, a quick look at the EBAY lusting suggested there was quite a bit of identifiable work right from the get go…
Easy enough to see that it came with the wrong CDP (of no value).
Both of the rope sheaves were of no value. One was not a Stowell sheave, the other worn right through the hub.
For some unknown reason, somebody had drilled a small whole through both sides of the frame (one just missing the lettering…thank God!). No. they did not line up.
And then there was one broken timber wheel, that would have to be completely fixed in place….no small feat as Stowell wheels are pure cast iron.
The frame had three out of four legs bent as well.
I would have to find the correct drop pulley
As a result of all of this I had a list going before it ever arrived….and its actually shipping is a whole other story (as in wasn’t sure if I would ever see it.)
1. We would need three new rope sheaves (two if the new CDP was in good shape…they rarely are.)
2. We would need one complete (with spring) CDP.
3. We would need to repair the holes and leave the lettering perfect.
4. We would need straighten the whole frame.
5. And…….weld up a cast timber wheels in place.
But the surface was nothing short of fantastic and the lifting bar was all there.
Let the work begin!
Taking a Stowell apart requires a good torch as there are a number screws that actually have flat blade screw driver heads (AHHHHHH!!!!) Heating these up to cherry red is the only way to get them off safely. Then there is the coaxing out of the cotter pins on either side of the sheave axles. And, the heating of any stuck timber wheel on top. Nothing extraordinary, but heat folks, heat is the only safe way. Stowells are so magnificent in design and material. These trolleys have without a doubt the greatest wheel bearing system very put in a rope sheave. Seven (7) huge roller bearing pins held on either side with custom cast roller cages! Inside the wheel! When they are running right they literally spin like no other. But there was nothing there…..
I needed to find a whole other chassis. I set out to find the much more available rail Stowell models. Either “The Crown” or the “Open Mouth” will do for sheaves, axles, pin bearings and end cages…..but the CDP sheave frame for the timber would have to have a mushroom top to lock into the swivel of a “Crown.” The “Wide Mouth” has its own CDP frame design and it won’t work here. I was lucky, someone sent me a text picture of Barry sitting at a swap meet with the note “Look who I saw 5 minutes ago!” Yep, it was Barry…..Barry sitting at a table surrounded by books….and in the back of him a cardboard box with a Stowell in it and a “For Sale” sign….what?!? Quick call to Barry…yep a Crown rail complete with its trip (!) its hangers (!) its rail (!) and…..and…..broken wheels….Damn so close! I continued to search.
A day later my cell phone rang…”Dan, it’s Barry, I am packing to go the the big Trolley Show at Doug’s and I found another Stowell” This time a Wide Mouth….with perfect wheels. Well, he sold it to me with the trip, etc. And, as luck would have it I had the mushroom sheave frame and two side arms. I was done!
Except for welding the Timber wheel
and the frame holes
and straightening the frame
That took about 4 hours of work. It came out perfectly as in “gone!”
When it finally go to me, I marked up the frame with my thoughts and notes. Holes in the frame???
Things came apart perfectly. Damn, these Stowells are just magnificent.
Now we have all seen Stowells, but who among us knows what color Stowells actually were? They are almost always just a rust color surface. Well, I know because this is the seventh Stowell I have done and one of them had some paint inside the swivel fender. They are SILVER…..all of them…..every model. HINT: If there is heavy oxidation, hold the blasting tip about 14″ away and sweep side-to-side with the lowest of low pressure remove surface s-l-o-w-l-y, what you may find underneath is the original color. The rope sheave shot above is what was UNDER the crud and speaks volumes.
Original Stowell Silver Paint
I separated the parts and spent about 3 1/2 hours blasted things down. This chassis was wonderful as the original Stowell paint just falls off. That is why we never see much of the silver.
I shot the upper frame first in a two part primer.
Then shot that in a great no-too-bright Silver. And then I decided to add a little extra detailing in the ACME logo at the center. The way I did this was to use 3M pinstripping very flexible (and somewhat expensive 1/8″ blue tape) and then extended the work with standard green tape. To get the whole logo set in the original Silver frame would take some delicate taping. Now the secret to clean work is pressing the tape down…allot. And then lifting the tape all off just when the paint “settles out” as in dries enough to pull the tape off, but not so much that the paint will tear. It takes practice. When dry, I went back and lettered the “ACME” back in silver, all making for a nice contrast.
Since the lifting bar goes inside that top “logo” that was shot in the rose gold too.
Then it was time to do the “Crown” part. This took some work as the inside side edges were not flat. No stripping tape, just all standard green. Go it….
Shoot the overcoat colors thinly. This took three separate sprayings. The secret is to barely lay in the paint. Build it up so that the paint does not roll through to the other side. Be patient and allow the paint approximately 1 hour between thin coats. It is well worth it as the effect is beautiful. Now we can really see “The Crown.”
Then reassembly, Overshooting where possible for final touch up. Check out these incredible roller bearings in cages! I finished them off with stainless steel cotter pins. Right color and they will come out 100 years from now without any fuss.. HINT: Disassembling the Stowell center drop requires some careful work:
1. Get a good spring loaded “marking” punch to mark dead center on the two small peened fastners on either side of CDP.
2. Holding tight and with the drill started dead-center on that punch drill a smaller than diameter hole into the peened rivets on one side of each. Go just deep enough that you get below the peening….that’s it.
3. Change bits and go wider, but still within the peened “head”
4. Using a set of metal hand hammer punches, find one that fits it the hole. PUT SAFETY GLASSES ON and drive the rivet out the other side.
5. Buy two small bolts and nuts, cut the bolts to size, blast them up, paint them and use them. As you can see in the final shot, they disappear.
And then it was all done..Whew…what a rig! Hope you enjoy it.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]