Great Uncle George was a machinist. He was my first wife’s great uncle, and I had the privilege of getting to know him, and adopted him as my uncle. He was already in his late 70s when I was introduced to him. He was a large white haired elderly man who walked with a cane, and large hands that trembled all the time. He was a well spoken gentleman, and you could tell had lead a full life by his eyes, and the lines around them.
The first time I went to his second- floor apartment in Livonia Michigan. I observed that it was a not a low- rent place at all. It looked to be a neat on the outside. But when I went inside, I amazed at the sight that I saw. George was a true machinist, with a workbench for a dinning room table, and a full size metal lath behind it. The living room had a large milling machine, a cutoff band saw, some other saws, and power tools. The bedroom had a drill press for a nightstand, along with a arbor press on the other side of the bed.
The truly amazing things were the projects he was working on. There were two large model remote controlled boats , a 3 foot live steam locomotive, some other trains, planes and automotive models . But what really caught my eye, was one of those things that made you ask “What’s that?”. It was a single cylinder, opposing - piston engine prototype.
After a few short years, Uncle George got so shaky, and was unable to climb stairs, He was unable to use his apartment machine shop any more. We help set him up in a senior citizens apartment, so he turned over all his tools and projects to me. I never understand how he got that machinery up on a second floor apartment, in the first place. Uncle George requested I get his security deposit back on his apartment. With the help of my best friend Steve, I was able to take all the machinery apart. The bed of the lath weighed some 800 pounds alone. We managed to break the steps to the apartment lowering the machinery down on a piano board. Needless to say, I was unable get his security deposit back. I happily paid it to him out of my own pocket, never telling George of the problem. It was worth it just for the projects like the single cylinder, opposing piston engine.
There were no instructions or even written plans with these projects. There is still a lot of parts and designing to do on all of his prototypes. So over the next few years after moving George, I was able to talk with him about his ideas and the skills I would need to finish his projects someday. Uncle George passed away some years later. I was blessed to retain all his tools, some of his knowledge, and some of his life stories, along with some of the plans to finish his projects.
A few weeks ago at work, I discovered a local company that the company I work for, may assist in prototyping a single cylinder, opposing piston engine. I sure wish I had the time to complete my engine before Eco Motors complete their version of that engine. All my life I’d come up with a good idea on how to build something, then a short time later someone would invent that good idea. I always end up saying “Hey, that was my idea!”. Oh well foiled again….
