Hand-Built Pence Steam Engines Are Machinist's Legacy
(Page 2 of 3)
Starting with the Bull Dog
Harold Fleisch, builder of the Pence engines, was raised on a farm near Eaton, Ohio. He began working at the Pence Machine Shop in West Alexandria (just west of Dayton) in 1929 and eventually bought the business. An accomplished machinist, he built model steam traction engines in his spare time. He completed three: two large engines he named Bull Dogs, and a third smaller engine was dubbed Bull Pup.
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The first of the three, a model of an under-mounted Avery 2-cylinder steam engine, was completed in 1955. Harold used a 1925 15 hp Frick-style stationary boiler mounted on an Avery chassis with an under-mounted Kelly industrial 2-cylinder engine that Tim believes to have come from a piece of excavating equipment. The model has a box mechanical oiler and two water injectors to feed water into the boiler.
The Bull Dog’s steering is fully manual and, according to Tim, it is a man-sized job to operate. A standard steering gear arrangement feeds into a gearbox connected to the winch drum. A chain is wrapped around the drum in such a manner that steering can be accomplished by tightening the chain to one side of the front axle to pull a wheel rearward, while loosening the chain to the opposite side of the front axle to allow that side to move forward. That action allows for either right or left steering.
A foot brake operates through the drive pulley on the right (curb) side of the tractor. The Bull Dog has two belt pulleys. The one on the left side is clutched and the one on the right side runs directly off the drive engine. The friction clutch has long, heavy shoes that cover about half of the flywheel; they held fast when the clutch was thrown in.
A Pyle-National steam-powered generator similar to those used on railroad steam locomotives is used to light the headlight. Tim uses the light at night-time spark shows to illuminate the Baker fan in front of the engine.
Adding the Bull Pup
Knowing that Pence engines came in two different sizes, Tim began a search for the smaller model, the Bull Pup. He found that engine last fall in Indiana, bought it and brought it home to Ohio.
The Bull Pup features a 6 hp J.I. Case stationary boiler mounted on a Hart-Parr chassis and an under-mounted Blood 2-cylinder engine for power. Since Harold used the running gear from a gas-powered Hart-Parr tractor for the chassis, the engine has enclosed gears, altogether different rear wheels, spokes and gas tractor fenders. The Bull Pup has two water tanks mounted at the rear of the fenders and one in front, under the boiler.