An interesting photo

Envy! I have a 24" band saw and a 25# Jardine power hammer than run on flat belts from a line shaft. Envious of that setup.

During and after high school I worked in a factory that made those leather belts.

Thanks for posting that. It appears as though there was not a clutch on the overhead pulley. Meaning that spindle speed changes were done "hot". I.e., with the belt running. The good old days.

When men were men! Fingers be damned!

That sounds a bit crazy these days, rather like the youtube videos of people changing the fan belt on a VW Beetle while it's running.

The green gallon can on the floor doesn't quite look real. And the "photo" is signed, as by an artist.

When I was an apprentice one of the things we learned was how to splice and fit leather belts.

How else? The overhead shaft system was driven by some outside power source and adding a clutch to each and every machine station would cost a fortune and operators learned how to change speeds without losing a finger. You certainly didn't use your hands to move the belt.

If you blow the picture up the can appears to have labels on the two sides that can be seen and the "signature" seems to reads "10.20" and a name.

So? People photographing old sites often mark their work for copyright purposes. They sell books full of their photos.

Want to see flat belt gear still in use try David Richards steam powered shop. He also has a full engine shop in the other building. (Route 38 Engine Machine Shop)

Windows 10 and a new phone used up almost all of my 10GB for the month doing updates. It was gone the first two days of the billing period. :( I can still get online but it is quite slow.

I was working in a TV shop, repairing TVs after school. I started at 13.

I was working in a TV shop, repairing TVs after school. I started at 13.

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I wish I'd found a better opportunity to study electronics in high school, since I had to choose a science or engineering major before entering college. The course load was such that there could be no two years to "find yourself" before committing to a major. I took two years of AP Physics and one of Chemistry in high school, and worked in the leather factory's chemistry lab which was developing synthetic replacements.

I was the Teaching Assistant to the first year students, my Senior year. I also taught a night, adult education course that year. It was fun teaching old ladies to repair their household appliances. Two years later. I tested out of a three year Electronics school in the Us Army. It was a combination of EE and Broadcasting. It was convertible to the FCC First Phone, after leaving the service. I worked in CATV, Microwave, RADAR and Broadcast while on active duty. It was interesting, but those 20 hour work days my last year were killing me.