That is one massive looking tool. And to think that it continues to run
like it should says a lot about how it was built.
As a kid my job in high school and into my first two years of college (about
4 years). .. . i worked on the Balboa Park merry-go-round in San Diego that
you see as you enter the San Diego Zoo. Another 100 year mechanism that is
still going strong to this day. We would climb a ladder and walk over the
top in the morning before we opened to turn down the grease cups.
Everything on that beast was built heavy to last generations.
To start it I would pull a long lever attached to a wheel and leather belt
system. If you pulled too fast you would screw up the mechanism and be in
big trouble. It was always a lot of fun engaging all of that torque to
slowly get the thing started. It also had a primitive but well built
braking system to shut it down.
The "boss" as we called her put a lot of trust in a high school kid to run
the thing. . and that at $4.25 an hour which was "big money" back in the
late 1960's. (Paid cash. . . hmmm. . never thought too much about the
"cash" component at that age).
Kirk
_______________________________________________
Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
Suggested annual donation $12.75
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
Forums: http://www.team.net/forums
|