2024 - Volume #48, Issue #6, Page #40
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Custom Half-Scale Steam Engine
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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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