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Restoring an Old Wobbler - bling ideas welcome!

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rleete:
I have to disagree.  It was ugly and worthless as is.  Clean it up, make it shine, and get it running again.  Just because it's old (and the age of this is indeterminate anyway), doesn't mean it has to be preserved in such a sorry state.  Better to take the rusting hulk of an old Ford Woody and make a hotrod, than to leave it rotting in a field.

If this was a hand-made with files mill engine from 100+ years ago, I could see your point in keeping it as original.  In this case, all he's doing is making it better.

Darren:
This augment goes on over on the Stationary Engine forums, and it can get pretty heated.

Guys, best if you just state your preference and leave it at that. A sort of vote.... :thumbup:

cedge:
Awww  Jeeeeezzz... I'd love to have a lead farthing for every time I've seen this debate crop up. First off, Patina is a word coined by lazy antique dealers in order to keep from cleaning things up. It's dirt... and dirt, the bane of mechanical devices, is a sign of lousy engine husbandry. I tend to leave it only on engines I intend to resell.... especially toy grade engines. That community has its own ideas aboutsuch things.

I've restored a lot of old hand made engines along the way. I've gone from simple cleaning to a total rework, but neither end of the spectrum was done without a bit of careful contemplation. I've got a couple of old machines that still retain all the tool marks the original builder left on them, while my Rectilinear engine was taken down and extensively polished to remove them. The latter was a case of a machinist who at the end of his life was nearly blind and simply couldn't see the flaws anymore. His earlier work was flawless and my efforts were as much to salvage a bit of dignity for him as it was for getting a shiny engine.

Now... my own advice is to ignore all the cat calls about it being a worthless engine, before or after your efforts. No engine is ever worthless if you like it and it suits you. Even a simple engine like this one has it's own charm. I might not have gone to the extent of removing tool marks, but 100 worth years of patina would quickly become huge black stains on  polishing rags. While your choice of directions would probably not have been my own, the engine belongs to you and it has to please your personal tastes.... and only yours. My Cretors engine wore nearly 100 years of grime and "patina" when I received it..... it looked like hell. I have yet to have anyone one tell me I should have left that particular jewel of the collection in the condition I found it.

As for adding bling to the engine.... I'd be hard pressed to do so, lest I destroy the "signature" of the original builder. I try hard to respect the craftsmanship of the guy who first sweat an engine to life. Even simple and primitive efforts have a story to tell. When you add your own changes, that original story fades and often disappears.

Nothing wrong with doing a restoration as long as it's given adequate thought before doing hand.

Steve

raynerd:
Steve

Thanks for posting on here - your post has been very informative and I really can respect your views and opinions.

This is my first engine restoration of sorts and I`m learning. I totally appreciate every part of your reply and first and foremost, this engine is totally not worthless as some have said and I knew that anyway. Ridiculous that experienced members could even say that. As I said earlier, if it was a more complex engine I would have perhaps left it in a more original state but it isn`t so it has to some degree got to fit my tastes.

Quote "As for adding bling to the engine.... I'd be hard pressed to do so, lest I destroy the "signature" of the original builder. I try hard to respect the craftsmanship of the guy who first sweat an engine to life. Even simple and primitive efforts have a story to tell. When you add your own changes, that original story fades and often disappears."

I actually understand what you are saying here and guess I should respect the authenticity of the piece but at the same extent, a good polish will allow it to fit in with my current collection.

Really enjoyed reading your post and thanks for the input.

Regards
Chris - craynerd

John Hill:
Chris, I hope you kept the patina you took off that little engine?  It should be carefully packed and sent off to any of the members here who put such a value on it.

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