On my trip to the Eastern Ohio Two-Cylinder show and the Red Power Round Up in June, I took some time to go visit DeBolt Machine of Zanesville, Ohio. Paul DeBolt has advertised in Gas Engine Magazine for many years and I thought I would take the opportunity to stop by his shop while I was in the area. DeBolt Machine manufactures limited edition working models and engines and has been servicing customers since 1980.
Paul started out by getting his Machinist Apprenticeship and has been doing this ever since, working alongside his late father, William, for many of those years.
Scale model engines started popping up in the 60s and are replicas of regular size engines. I got to see the many different machines they use to produce the intricate parts and even observed a CNC machine at work.
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| The Star engine |
Some of their specialties include The Star engine,which is based on the original Star gas engine made in New York at the turn of the last century. Duplicated and miniaturized, it is fully operational. Another engine is the Olds Vertical gearless, based on the 2 ½ horse power Vertical Gearless built in the 1890’s.
They sell the casting kit, the mechanics kit and the complete engine. Paul said the scale model engines’ advantage is that they are smaller to handle and haul than the larger version and less expensive in terms of the hobby, when you consider you can travel with the models in your car or truck.
If you attend a model show, you will see all kinds of small scale stuff, from aircraft and auto engines to mini guns, motorcycles and farm machinery. There are several model engine shows to attend like the Mid-East Ohio Model Engineering Expo in Zanesville in October and the North American Model Engineering Expo in April in Southgate, Michigan. If you want to learn more about DeBolt Machine go to www.deboltmachine.com. Thanks for the tour, Paul!
See you down the road!
