Old Fashioned Riveted Water Tank for the Borax Water Wagon | Engels Coach
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 มิ.ย. 2019
- The 1880's water tanks used in the Mojave Desert were riveted steel tanks to prevent shrinkage in the intense dry climate. The Borax water wagon tank was built after this fashion, but finding someone capable of building such a tank was a challenge. Midland West Manufacturing had never built a hot riveted tank, but was willing to tackle it. They did a great job and delivered it to Engel's Coach in Joliet.
In response to a number of requests for the tools and supplies I use here in the shop, I have compiled a list as an Amazon Associate. Perhaps this list will be of service to you as viewers, as well as provide a means to help support this channel.
Carriage Terminology: An Historical Dictionary amzn.to/2Hfoq4H
An Interesting account of an early English Wheelwright Shop amzn.to/39sAICR
The Wheelwright Shop, in Kindle form amzn.to/3bxYOhd
The Rebar Leathernan I use amzn.to/2vuvWpH
My metal marking pencil amzn.to/2Hu75oB
Metal marking pencil refills amzn.to/3744EDP
You folks are what make America great, not some damn slogan MAGA . America is great and you guys are what makes it so, and keep it great. Watching you guys work and produce the results you do, is so inspiring. Taking old timber and metal, you produce some great works that will be around for many more years. Those guys riveting that tank together was indeed a work to behold. I am an 81 year old Vietnam vet, retired US Army and am proud to have served my country, to protect this way of life. Everybody working together, and getting to job done, just can't ask for more than that. Thank you Midland West Manufacturing for stepping up to the task, and producing some great work. Thank you all for making and sharing this project with the rest of us, here in the USA and beyond.....Ken, Marina CA USA.
No rap no metal no tats no cussing no attitude no prison pants no flat brim sideways hats. Simple humble men with a wagon load of talent and calloused hands made from many decades of hard work.Thanks.
It is hard to believe that 20.mules pulled the two borax wagons loaded along with the water tank full. They must be incredibly strong. Again Great Video. Thanks Dave.
Right. The wagons held 9 tonnes (about 10 American short tons) and the water was 4.5 tonnes. So the load plus wagons must have been nearly 30 tonnes, say 32 or 33 American short tons. That's 1.5 tons per mule. Downhill must have been a bit scary - imagine putting 20 mules in front of a loaded 30 tonne artic (semi) with 3 wooden friction brakes and heading down a slope.
Twenty mule teams became famous because of the Borax Company brand. Many teams were 40 mules and sometimes with horses on the team. The drovers sure earned their keep.
Mr. Engels, I wait avidly for every installment of Engels Coach Shop, have done for years. I've commented often and waxed nostalgic about my own love of wood and iron, hard-won lessons from working life; now an old age obsession with carving chisels and well-figured timber. Still, I'm bound to say yet again that it durned near brings a tear to my eye to watch you work. The extraordinary skills and quiet competency, nay, mastery that you share with us in this age of carbon-fiber, CAD and keyboard jockeys is without equal and I, for one, am grateful to be a part of it just by watching. God Bless you and yours.
Great job.
Hats off to the original builders who must have had a real handful drilling the hundreds and more holes without modern tools and perhaps even electricity.
It's always a pleasure to work with someone who doesn't feel the need to fill up the silence with words, simply because it is quiet.
The work then becomes like meditation.
...and wonderful things get created.
This is how old guys work-they know every move and exactly what to do, so there`s no need to talk a lot, or tell the other guy something they already know. I am one of them.
Great video-there are still a few of us craftsman carrying on the traditions.
THAT WAS A VERY INTERESTING EPISODE ,AS ALL ARE,HOWEVER THE TANK WAS RIGHT DOWN MY ALLEY (AS I AM A RETIRED PIPE FITTER/TANK FABRICATOR / CONSTRUCTION SUPERINTENDENT )THE OLD SCHOOL RIVETS ARE AWESOME .
GOD BLESS YOU YOUR FAMILY AND HOME
Who would have thought a near 7 hour documentary on making a water wagon could be so interesting.
Great videos, especially the Borax Wagons. Displays solid skills and a work ethic that seems to be slipping away slowly. As an added bonus, looks like mom dressed both the boys that day! 😄
The Borax wagons are amazing. As I watch you build the frames, I marvel at the size of the timbers. Then I start roughing out some math in my head and get astounded at the overall load (curb weight) of each wagon. Finally - 20 mules hauled that??? Through Death Valley??!! The immensity of the final realization is quite something. I am impressed by your craftsmanship. This project clearly shows WHY top craftsmanship matters. Thank you for such an educational series of videos. I look forward to everyone that comes out. Finally, speak little and let your hands do the talking. Cheers!
I highly recommend the book, Death Valley & The Amargosa, A Land Of Illusion, by Richard E. Lingenfelter. It is well researched and a prize in my library. And, the old TV show called, Death Valley Days, was pretty accurate in their portrayals of life back then. There is at least one episode which details the mule teams out of Boron and that area.
Watching that water tank being made was....riveting.
When I worked in Bishop, CA I could look out across the valley and see the trail dust Bobby Tanner's mules would raise from six miles away whenever he hitched them up. One impressive team Bobby has
How awesome.
Am a simple carpenter, manufacture cabinetry, stair parts and some furniture the old ways.
This makes me feel alive and proud of our heritage and culture.
Thank you for sharing this!
Craftsmanship at its finest. Measure twice, cut once. The template of the tank is a great idea, only a Master Craftsman would come up with that. As always, two thumbs up and a tip of the hat.
Why is it that i thought i knew a lot , then after watching you , I know how much i have still to learn .
Wow, it really was a riveted water tank, I've seen reproduction steam boilers where all the rivets are just for show, good to see it done the old fashioned way.
Congratulations for the realization of this work of art craft both of your work and of the work of the tank builders. I saw the Death Valley, or the Mojave Desert only in the movies, but my imagination makes me see the dust that will have risen when this wagon crossed that desert and the sacrifices that those who once built everything you are building without today's tools. A greeting from Sicily
You know you're watching a master, when the hard stuff looks easy
Oh, there is hard stuff involved?
@@christiangeiselmann LOL it would be hard for me!
Having a helper for those heavy tasks is a real time saver! The tank came out magnificent! Thanks Dave!
It was good to see helping hand with those heavy beams and good to see a craftsman at work and I thank you for that. Of course you have stirred many memories of my youth and I was lucky to have witnessed many crafts men at work.
My father was the superintendent of a major UK construction company and one project was building the Victoria Line Tube railway in London. The company won three sections, two of them joined and so a large support site was formed in a sports ground. The mechanics had a fully kitted out repair bay, engineering shop with lathes, drill stands saws etc. as in the 1960 spare parts were not all just off the shelf and had to be made. A blacksmith shop made a lot of the tunnel miners tools. A carpenters shop with planers, saws and all the smalls bench tools, manned by a father and son from Belfast, N. Ireland. The father worked for Harland & Wolf fitting out cabins and public rooms on the Cunard fleet of steam ships.
The pneumatic riveting gun CP9 seen on the tank work, were used to compress strip lead into the joints of cast iron tunnel lining segments, a recess was machined along the four edges to receive the lead this formed a water tight seal.
That's a heavy old wagon and I'm sure it will take a team of mules to pull it.
Thanks again for a great well edited video. Stay safe.
I'm jealous how well you both work together staying in sequence and focused on getting the job done right.
I constantly explain step by step of what's got to be done but my wife (God bless her) then just keeps talking and talking and even wanting to talk some more, which is why she then talks even more on top of what she already talked by saying "so where did you say this goes" or "uhm how were we putting it on there", and "why were we putting this here"
Oh and here's one of my favorites, the good ol' classic "hey honey have you seen my tape measure. you had it last" and then her saying " nope, I gave it back to you dear so must be up there with you" but then after looking around the loft for like half an hour I look down from the rafters and can perfectly see it clipped on her tool belt
.....yep and so then a hand slap to my face followed by me murmuring DOH it's crazy I tell ya....yeah crazy, ya see! Theyre coming to take me away hee hee haha to the funny farm ...... lol
I bet your wife is a woman. Yep, I absolutelly think so. They're just like that - you can''t change a constant, float upstream of win argument with IRS. Or a woman.
Facts of life, get used to it. Or get divorced, whichever comes easier...
: )
No power tools back when the country was built. Just people and horses. Just to get the tank sit up for rivets is the biggest chore. Thanks.
Keep America great 2020.
Once again, thanks for sharing. What a great experience being able to view your mastery of the entire process. No assembly line routine where each member of the team owns only a small percentage of the overall project. You take us back to a time when the master craftsman was the creator of everything from start to finish. The totality of such a project was literally in the hands of a single individual or at most a small group of like skilled talents whose combined efforts would breath life into wood and steel. There is something poetic in that kind of creativity.
Hear, hear!!!
Ahhh... Nothing like a silent riveting video from Dave to pass the time... Thanks Dave!
Passed through that area several times per year and each time would marvel at those Borax mule teams and wagons. Truly remarkable for making your film. Enjoyed it all immensely. Dennis Johnson
Glad they took footage of them building the tank. Could imagine that job without pneumatic tools. Thanks for sharing Dave.
My thoughts exactly, Dana. Doing those rivets the old fashioned way must have been a bear.
I did a couple hundred of 3/8" rivets by hand last fall for a sculpture I was working on. (Now installed in downtown Tacoma!) Getting an inductive heater helped, so I could do small batches spaced out through the day without having to heat up my entire forge each time. By the end of the process I could do 15-20 in a row without my arm falling off!
Yer right... its nice to watch the work with no unnecessary jibber-jabber.. 😂
Gittin the job done efficiently & professionally. 😎👍☘
Being from the millwright trade I can understand all hard work that goes into these wagons
This build reminds me of my daughter who loves "Steampunk". All things mechanical 18th and 19th century.
Thank you Midland West for making the tank and the video of making it.
Thank you ECS for another great video on the water tank wagon build.
I don't think I'd ever drop in without permission, but I'd be proud to be put to work, even if it's just sweeping up. I look forward to Fridays, just like a raft of other viewers.
@@EngelsCoachShop , I'll be coming up in a few short weeks to show Mark Smith the sea chest I've been working on for another TH-camr in Sequim, Washington, so standby.
As a child I had a model of this wagon trail and my favorite piece was the water tank. Wonderful reproduction.
Love watching the "old" men lifting all that heavy weight. Now that's how you live a long healthy life.
Wow!!! That tank was neat looking!!! When one sees a riveted tank from yester year, they are typically beat up, dented, of course rusty ,and often time rusted with through holes, and rarely, shot to heck with bullets... and to see one brand new, is amazing... And pretty hard to imagine that a tank made back in the day, looks just as fine... Well done... Thank you!!!
I thought you'd might like that information about that sharpener tool especially since you said you would like find something that does that type of Job for those things enparticular and help save on buying and having to purchase blades and drill bits all of the time to. Maybe that will help you out in the long with it. I hop the information helps you out A bunch with your restoration jobs to. And good luck with everything. I just love seeing people restoring and fixing up old-school technology and farming and hauling wagon's and people carriage wagons and carriages to. ❤ That's extremely and some awesome work you've been doing on restoring those pieces of history for sure no doubt about that at all. I think the world needs more people like you in it truthfully.
I always wondered when the riveter knew when to start hammering. Now I know. Thanks again for a great chapter in this tale.
Always a great example of attention to detail and careful craftsmanship.
I really enjoy watching your videos on the different projects... especially this one on the water wagon. Can't wait to see more of them.
That tank is a work of art!
Can’t wait to see it completed!
Riveting footage. Thanks for this. I have collected old hand riveted objects for years, but never stopped to think the whole process through.
That’s not a water tank....that’s a work of art.
They did a great job on that tank. The fit looks very professional.
Can't wait to see it complete... great job and thanks for the videos.
Great job, wish I was there to help.Think this type of work has a hypnotic effect on your soul.
See comments about the longitudinal cracks in the timbers. These have almost zero effect on the strength of the overall wagon. There is probably safety factor of 4 or 5 or maybe more. Once the tank is filled with water it can't really get any heavier so it is almost impossible to overload it except maybe a little mud or dirt. Do notice the cracks are on the side of the under carriage so they will not be seen, only maybe by the very curious.
This is one of the great things about TH-cam, we are privilege to be able to see this type of work which the most part goes largely unappreciated.
Thanks for posting.
jb
I’ve always been fascinated with the hot rivet construction
that was a great video Mr Engels. beautiful work
Another great video i had to smile when you were using the come alongs, those. Might be one of those most used tools as everyone i know has picked one up at one time or another I put new engines in a Antique Wooden Chris Craft with. One even. Though i had a forklift i couldnt get the machine in the right position so i wound up rigging. A set of wheels on the engines so i could push them by hand. On the decks to raise and lower them into the engine room. With those inexpensive come alongs and a home made gantry system not the most efficient way but it worked ! Ive seen guys abuse those. And bend the handles so much that ruined the tool ? When i was a teenager My Dad. Pulled out my Jeep that i had stuck in the Florida Everglades Mud off-roading where i should not have been of course LOL. But thats what HillBillies did down in Florida. When we had 4 wheel drive vehicles my freinds still laugh at that time my old Man chewed me out in front of everyone nearly 40 years ago BTW the tank came out awesome
When "The Fixer of Broken Stuff" mentioned a pizza joint next to your place has a clever name, I went on Google Earth street view to see if I could figure out what he was talking about. I found it and OMG! There is a dang Toyota Prius parked out in front of your place Mr Engles! For the love of John Wayne and everything American made, PLEASE TELL ME IT AIN'T YOURS!
My wife and I really enjoyed these videos!!! Thank you for showing them to us!! R and W
Riveting was the only game in town for iron or steel tank construction until the advent of modern electrical welding processes. Locomotive and stationary boilers demonstrate how durable it can be, and of course many century old municipal and private drinking water tanks.
Midland did a beautiful job and I loved watching them buck the hot rivets. You don't see that a whole lot anymore. Back in the day how did they buck the rivets, with a rounded sledge and shaped bucking bar?
Beautiful seeing you progress with the water wagon's construction. I'm glad you're documenting your work....it'll be viewed in museums in future days!
I can't wait until next Friday! Thank you.
Wow! You and the boys from Midland West are truly inspiring! Great work!
I am really coveting that sliding table saw. beauty
Votre ombre a jamais ressuscite l’œuvre des charrons d'antan. Se travail est un chef-d’œuvre, bravo a Midland West Manufacturing. Pierre de Vierzon france.
Your shadow has ever revived the work of cartoons of yesteryear. At work is a masterpiece, well done to Midland West Manufacturing. Pierre de Vierzon France.
Dave, I love your attention for details. Once again a great episode out of the life of a great project. Please keep doing the things you do in the shop. Every video is a masterpiece. Thanks for making them. Greatings from the Netherlands, Bram
Love what you do,look forward to Friday afternoon!
That is another outstanding video, Mr Engles. Thank you for posting the videos.
Man, you ain't afraid of heavy. Beautiful work, also from the tankbuilders.
Hi,
My husband and I thoroughly enjoy your videos. You are very talented man with a gift. Such a joy to watch.
As usual I look forward to the continuing series - love the co-operation between trades!
Great craftsmanship in making the tank too!
Much respect.
Midland West, hats off to you folks. Last time I had my hands on a hot rivet was when I was Iron Worken.
Dave -- I was born in Circle and lived about 40 miles north of Bishop (at the Hot Creek Fish Hatchery, not far from Mammoth) when I was very young, so have a more than passing interest in this particular job. My wife and I will be passing through Joliet on the 17th, so will drop in briefly. Hoping the Beartooth highway looks as nice that day as it did the first time I did it 42 years ago. Have enjoyed your site since the borax wagon series was posted.
As always, your videos are a treat! Thank you for sharing!
Another neat stage with bonus riveting to boot! Thanks again.
Wow, the making of the water tank could have been a whole video series of its own, but it was nice to see some of the riveting.
Outstanding!
Wish there was a bit more of tank building.
Always nice to follow the build ! Riveting stuff.
Tanks a lot for THAT goaner!
@@Mishn0 : What does "goaner" mean ?
@@barkebaat Oops, I mean't "groaner".
@@Mishn0 : Well, what did you mean ?
@@barkebaat A "groaner" is a joke or pun that makes the audience "groan". I was replying to your "rivet" joke with a "tank" joke but it kind of ruins it to have to explain it.
I love to see the old craft
Love watching a master at work
Thanks for sharing the progress.
Heat Shrink Rivets !! Nice job on this so far. Thank you.
As always was a joy to watch , Happy Trails tell we meet again !
Just love Hard Point handsaws: Hated sharpening the old ones!
And Tipped circulars, are a miracle!
As I watch your videos I am very Impressed with the way you do your job.
Outstanding work!!
Impressive, beautiful and heavy . Lovely . Great video 👍🇬🇧
This just makes me happy. Thx.
نحييكم إنجلز من مصر 🇪🇬👍😊🇪🇬
Now my visit is making a bit more sense Dave. Reminds me of my barn lol, wrestling beams.
I notice the mortising bit has given up SMOKING.. (a bad habit!!) But the wood is most likely pretty old, though, another factor. Great video with many facets!! Thanks, Mr. Dave!!
Love it!!
Fantastic
Midland West obviously knows their business. I am curious about one thing. There is a double row of rivets in some places and only a single row in others. It had to be nice having help with those large beams. It looks like you fellows work well together. This project will be just as impressive as the wagons themselves. Thank you for sharing.
It may be to do with the spacing of the rivets - wider zigzag giving appearance of double row vs close-spaced single line?
Thank you
Nice work Mr. Engels !
You made my Saturday morning yet again 😁👍
Another awesome job.
You make it look easy one of the best craftsman on u tube and fun to watch ,now I better get back out in the shop !!
Great shop.
Great know how.
God bless.
Splendid!
the guy pulling rivets out of the furnace has gotta be missing a few arm hairs after that project. really good video, thanks
Nobody draws a crowd of onlookers like Mr. Engels.
Great video - loved the hot riveting - Thank you
Very impressive, as always. Cheers
Amazing!