Another cool vintage relic... Wall Auto-Wheel

[diegom]

B.S.A AUTOWHEEL FAHRRADMOTOR/HILFSMOTOR 1904-1915 4T bei eBay.de: Old- Youngtimer (endet 28.03.10 20:11:09 MESZ)

early 1900s... way way cool!! totally unpractical, but cool nontheless

ciao

 

[BarelyAWake]

16 miles an hour ZOMG w00t!!1!

That thing is awesome

 

[Tom Bartlett]

Thanks for the reminder...If you look closely, you can the the chain reduction system that gears the engine to be able to drive a wheel directly. Raymond Smith, son of A.O. Smith, was vacationing in London when he saw the Wall Motor Wheel. After some negotiations, he purchased the American rights to the motor wheel.

Back in Milwaukee, the Smith engineers eliminated the chain system by driving the wheel directly from an extension on the camshaft (which is geared down). At the same time they moved the engine from the right side to the left (since the camshaft would revolve in a different direction than the crankshaft). The result was the Smith Motorwheel, which sold over 25,000 units before A.O. Smith sold the rights to the young Briggs & Stratton Company, also in Milwaukee.

The Briggs engineers eliminated the separate magneto by incorporating it into the flywheel, raised the bore size, and made it even more powerful and reliable. This engine became the granddaddy of all subsequent B&S engines!
Lots of history from one small ad...
Tom Bartlett

 

[rustymullet]

Milwaukee "the machine shop of the world"

 

[diegom]

Lots of history from one small ad...

I really appreciated your historical overview, tom, thank you very very much!!

diego

 

[Allen_Wrench]

Thanks for the reminder...If you look closely, you can the the chain reduction system that gears the engine to be able to drive a wheel directly. Raymond Smith, son of A.O. Smith, was vacationing in London when he saw the Wall Motor Wheel. After some negotiations, he purchased the American rights to the motor wheel.

Back in Milwaukee, the Smith engineers eliminated the chain system by driving the wheel directly from an extension on the camshaft (which is geared down). At the same time they moved the engine from the right side to the left (since the camshaft would revolve in a different direction than the crankshaft). The result was the Smith Motorwheel, which sold over 25,000 units before A.O. Smith sold the rights to the young Briggs & Stratton Company, also in Milwaukee.

The Briggs engineers eliminated the separate magneto by incorporating it into the flywheel, raised the bore size, and made it even more powerful and reliable. This engine became the granddaddy of all subsequent B&S engines!
Lots of history from one small ad...
Tom Bartlett

Hey Tom, I can add something here too! My great-uncle, Ray Weaver, (formerly Weber) was a mutiple-patented inventor. He invented the plastic oil splash governor that is found in most B&S engines to this day. He sold the rights to B&S long ago, for an amount of money small enough that he was embarrased to mention it. He also patented the design for a long-bed lathe, but that's another story.