Chicago Great Western X 38 Russell Snow Plow

I said we had a large turnout and we also had an aggressive work plan for the X 38.

Moving Time

The first order of business was some cleanup and relocation of pieces of our new lumber stock so the Berlin Sander could be used.  Three new windows were previously glued up and now it was time to sand them finished.

Oiling Around

As John Faulhaber put it, "Any of you guys want to beard the lion?"  John is mentoring Dave Rogan and Jim Leonard on their first exposure to this 12,000 lb machine.  First step is to lubricate and check the 96 bearings on the machine.  Another one of our great collection of wood shop machines, many from the Milwaukee Electric Cold Springs, WI shops.  In due course the machine was started up and the three new window frames were finished successfully - that is not always a given with a machine now 98 years old.  No pics of those steps as I had my hands full.

Trim

With the windows sanded we went to the table saw and trimmed off the stiles, and then put a bevel on the bottom rail.  They are ready for prime painting and here Dave Rogan and Jim Leonard are cutting and mitering some of the 1/4 inch quarter round we made to retain the glazing.

Had Enough

I guess this is a rhetorical question with this crew.  Time for some fussy work to set up a jig and use the table saw to cut all the tenons for four more 'kits' for new windows.  John Faulhaber is doing the careful work of slicing thin pieces off the rail to create the cheek of the tenons.

Assembly

Final fitting was done on the kits for two more plow windows, these destined for the rear of the control cab.  Then on to assembly and gluing with John Faulhaber doing the honors.

Two More Done

There they are, all glued up, squared up, and clamped in our gluing press.  John checks square again and makes some fine tuning adjustments.