Collection Of Antique Hand-Cranked Bench Grinders
One of the more unusual shop equipment collections you’ll ever see are the hand-cranked bench grinders owned by Walt Haeussinger of Fountain City, Wis. He keeps the grinders in an 18-ft. long, tandem axle trailer equipped with a 10-ft. wide, 6-ft. high swing-out door on one side that flips up to display the grinders inside. He pulls the trailer behind his pickup to local antique tractor shows.
The trailer contains about 80 different hand-cranked bench grinders built from the late 1800’s up to the 1950’s, some of them quite rare. The grinders are designed to bolt onto a bench and were used to sharpen everything from kitchen knives to shop tools. Some models were designed to sharpen scythes and hand sickles. A few industrial models were designed for use in factories.
“Many older people remember using these hand-operated grinders as kids. They often tell me they never knew there were so many different kinds,” says Haeusinger. “The trailer provides a great way to show off the collection.”
Haeussinger says he finds grinders at flea markets, garage sales, auctions and also gets them from friends. “My grandfather had a couple of bench grinders when I was a little kid, and that’s what sparked my interest in collecting them.”
According to Haeusinger, hand-operated bench grinders were widely used in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. However, they lost popularity in the 1940’s and 1950’s after electricity took over.
A couple of Haeussinger’s grinders were used strictly for sharpening sickles on horse-drawn mowers. One model chain-drives a stone that’s used to sharpen drill bits and chisels. Another unusual grinder is equipped with a big wheel and has an exposed internal gear drive.
“On some models you can rotate the head left or right or up or down for different angles or positions,” notes Haeussinger.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Walt Haeussinger, W698 Hwy. 35, Fountain City, Wis. 54629 (ph 507 279-2032).
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Collection Of Antique Hand-Cranked Bench Grinders AG WORLD One of the more unusual shop equipment collections you’ll ever see are the hand-cranked bench grinders owned by Walt Haeussinger of Fountain City Wis He keeps the grinders in an 18-ft long tandem axle trailer equipped with a 10-ft wide 6-ft high swing-out door on one side that flips up to display the grinders inside He pulls the trailer behind his pickup to local antique tractor shows The trailer contains about 80 different hand-cranked bench grinders built from the late 1800’s up to the 1950’s some of them quite rare The grinders are designed to bolt onto a bench and were used to sharpen everything from kitchen knives to shop tools Some models were designed to sharpen scythes and hand sickles A few industrial models were designed for use in factories “Many older people remember using these hand-operated grinders as kids They often tell me they never knew there were so many different kinds ” says Haeusinger “The trailer provides a great way to show off the collection ” Haeussinger says he finds grinders at flea markets garage sales auctions and also gets them from friends “My grandfather had a couple of bench grinders when I was a little kid and that’s what sparked my interest in collecting them ” According to Haeusinger hand-operated bench grinders were widely used in the 1800’s and early 1900’s However they lost popularity in the 1940’s and 1950’s after electricity took over A couple of Haeussinger’s grinders were used strictly for sharpening sickles on horse-drawn mowers One model chain-drives a stone that’s used to sharpen drill bits and chisels Another unusual grinder is equipped with a big wheel and has an exposed internal gear drive “On some models you can rotate the head left or right or up or down for different angles or positions ” notes Haeussinger Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Walt Haeussinger W698 Hwy 35 Fountain City Wis 54629 ph 507 279-2032
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