Custom Half-Scale Steam Engine

Custom Half-Scale Steam Engine TRACTORS Antiques Mike Henry was set up at the Spring Crank Up 2024 an antique tractor show on Friday April 26th The show took place at the Tennessee Agricultural Museum on the Tennessee Department of Agriculture grounds Dr Elaura Guttormson Museum Director said “This is our second annual Spring Crank Up We welcomed antique tractors and engines from across the state ” Collector Mike Henry from Sparta Ill had his half-scale Case 65 He shared how he put this amazing steam engine together “I bought a set of rough castings for the engine and had to machine them all out ” Mike said “I didn’t have a set of blueprints for this size; I just had them for a quarter scale I had to engineer a lot of it myself “ Mike said this labor-intensive project took about 2 years to construct The boiler for the miniature steam engine required special expertise “For the boiler I had to get a certified boiler maker to meet the inspection ” he shared He found Bob Oliver who hails from Canada to do the job “He brought the boiler to me all the way from Canada He and his wife love country music and they wanted to go to Grand Ole Opry in Nashville while here ” Mike said explaining how it all worked out Mike said that besides making the castings “I also had to make the wheels and the spokes It took a little while before we got it going ” Friends helped when Mike didn’t have the equipment he needed for the steam engine project “Friends let me use their equipment I didn’t have a lathe big enough for the flywheel so one friend let me use his so I had assistance with equipment I didn’t have ” He found the parts he needed here and there “I found parts at flea markets and on eBay and I tried to find parts like levers the governor and the whistle and make them work ” Mike worked for a telephone company in the central office dealing with electronics He’s now retired for the past 7 years When asked how he came up with the skills to put together such a complicated machine Mike said “I’m not a machinist by trade I have no formal training and I can say I had some good ah-ha’s while building It was a learning experience ” He shared that there are not many steam engines still around these days “Many steam engines went by the wayside during WWII for the war effort There are some people you can still order casting kits from and build them from scratch ” However Mike and his friends do have a cool steam project underway “Not far from me we’re trying to restore a popular steam-powered sawmill made during the turn of the century I don’t know why they don’t try to use them today; they’re so efficient They burn wood scraps and sawdust and just need a well with water a total energy source If the power grid goes down it may be the way to go!” What he loves the most about the engine is that he can do so many things with it “I have a wooden barrel I hook a steam hose line to the boiler and cook potatoes hotdogs or corn on the cob I cook in the barrel rather than the smoke box because it’s easy to burn things in the smoke box When I run the steam it keeps everything moist ” Everyone is curious when he’s cooking with his little engine “People walk up and see I have a little lid on the barrel They say ‘What is that?’ and I say ‘Lunch ’” He also has fun at home with the steam engine “Some friends came over earlier this year and I hooked the engine to a grist mill and ground a hundred pounds of corn I also have a buzz saw I can hook it to It’s a very versatile engine I do several things with it ” Like Buddy Woodson who helped start the Spring Crank Up Mike’s reason for sharing his engine is that he “likes to perpetuate the hobby and see young people interested in it ”

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