Tool Talk
What's-It Forum => What's-It Forum => Topic started by: Aunt Phil on September 24, 2012, 11:27:59 PM
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Lets see how many minutes it takes you to define this machine and come up with the owners manual.
It's about 2 feet square and high. The cutting wheel is about 18" and the replacable cutters chew about a 1" bite.
The grate in front of the cutting wheel is cast iron.
Either the original owner used it once and decided it didn't work for damn, or he took real good care of it.
All I can read says Manufactured by O E Thompson Washanti(s) Mich
Other lettering indicates it was probably sold by Banna Farm Equipment and or Weaver Palmont & Richmond of Rochester, NY.
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Looks like a shredder
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Apple grinder?
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oe thompson made bone grinders and cutters, besides what theyre really famous for, wheelbarrow seeders.
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All I can read says Manufactured by O E Thompson Washanti(s) Mich
I can tell you it's Ypsilanti, Michigan...
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For some reason, this machine just makes me think of potatoes.
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Looks like a beet chopper - used to slice beet (mangolds in the UK) for feeding to livestock in the winter - sheep and cattle cannot chew large whole beet, but can eat shredded ones. Apple crushers do no need cutting blades, just spiked rollers as apples are much softer....
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Root Cutter built in Yipslanti Mi by O. E. Thompson (from auction catalogue): http://www.auctionzip.com/cgi-bin/auctionview.cgi?lid=1369177
Oliver E. Thompson, born in Ypsilanti in 1838, was the son of a pioneering family. In 1865 he began to manufacture wagons and in 1870, the year after he moved into the Norris Block, he began to make carriages. In 1871 he began to sell Jackson wagons made by Tomlinson & Webster. In 1873 he started selling agricultural implements, some of his own invention, that were manufactured in the Norris Block such as root cutters, grass seeders, and kraut and slaw cutters. Thompson and his sons Benjamin, Edward, and John were also active in the business of house, sign, and carriage painting, and sold other items such as swings, wall-paper and bicycles. In one year, Thompson and Sons sold more than two hundred bicycles.
By 1900, Thompson & Sons employed about fifty men. Although they owned the building, their business interests rarely occupied more than the three bays as the south end of the building. The bays at the north end of the building were rented out for the use of other businesses. ref: http://ypsigleanings.aadl.org/taxonomy/term/569?page=2
They also made kraut and slaw cutters - smaller versions of the root cutter????
My grandfather, O.E. Thompson, my father, Benjamin Thompson, my uncle, Edward Thompson, and my uncle, John Thompson were very busy in the manufacturing of agricultural implements; root cutters, grass seeders, kraut and slaw cutters, and later, porch swings. They employed about 40 men. They also ran a retail business selling coal, building supplies, carriages and wagons, paint and wall paper-at one time sold over 200 bicycles in one year. They had the agency for the Nichols and Shepherd threshing engines that were made in Battle Creek. I recall that they had a crew of paper hangers and painters that were busy in the city in that line of work. ref: http://ypsigleanings.aadl.org/taxonomy/term/543?page=4
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see advert for sale on the Bay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1913-THOMPSON-BANNER-ROOT-CUTTER-AD-YPSILANTI-MICHIGAN-/270632345237?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f02f1de95
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I think we might have a winner!
(http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1913-THOMPSON-BANNER-ROOT-CUTTER-AD-YPSILANTI-MICHIGAN-/14/!B2P!P3Q!2k~$(KGrHqMOKjEE)Ty4M0-qBMhpe1zElw~~_12.JPG)
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And another at https://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.asp?ahid=4731&aid=45077&lid=11764293
Another advert for 1903 at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1903-Antique-Banner-Root-Cutter-Feed-Chopper-Catalog-AD-/120548845186?nma=true&si=DuZAgnu5gqkPwBPfPzJ1I2gge0Q%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
sorry not found a user's manual (I guess something so basic didn't need one, just a warning sign to keep your hands out of the feed box.....)
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from my catalog i got with a real nice wheelbarrow seeder, note the last pic, its the 1891 receipt for the seeder, signed by oe.
(http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/wrenchguy49/SAM_0885.jpg)
(http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/wrenchguy49/SAM_0883.jpg)
(http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/wrenchguy49/SAM_0880.jpg)
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Extraordinary!
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That IS amazing! Great piece of history in your hands. What a responsibility.
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Oh, sure, I work late, and look what happens ... LOL
Very kewl gadget, I doubt I would have guessed what it was (vintage farm machinery isn't really my strong point anyhow)...
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Any chance of getting pics of the kraut & veggie cutters up here?
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Amazing stuff appears here. Neat catalog
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Any chance of getting pics of the kraut & veggie cutters up here?
i'll try, but it won't be for awhile, i'm going to get a scanner and try to figure it out. i don't know if the catalog dates even with the receipt but it all came with the seeder. thanks.
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...besides what theyre really famous for, wheelbarrow seeders.
What's the best fertilizer for growing wheelbarrows?