Can we talk about the old Otis gearless machine I saw at the museum in Seattle?

I was at the Museum of History and Industry last weekend and they have a full 1920s unit you can walk right up to. The way they set the governor and the open sheave design is so different from the sealed units we work on now. How many of you have ever had to service something that old, and what was the biggest headache?

4 comments

4 Comments

price.linda3mo ago

Honestly, it's just a museum piece... a cool one, but still. The headaches on those old units are legendary for a reason. Finding parts that don't exist, dealing with asbestos wrap, oil that's turned to tar... it's more archaeology than real service work these days. Modern sealed units might be boring, but you can actually fix them.

harper_burns593mo ago

Found a local guy who custom makes gaskets.

wyattramirez3mo ago

Well, @harper_burns59, at least you can get a custom gasket for your museum piece before the whole thing turns to dust.

jennybailey19d ago

Read that the early gearless machines used rope grease that was basically whale oil mixed with sawdust. Crazy what they did back then. Can't imagine dealing with that gunk now.