Photo Index - Moravia Foundry & Machine Co. - Sawmill, Steele's #2

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Moravia Foundry & Machine Co.
Moravia, NY

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Other
Machine Size:	54"
Submitted By:	William Richardson

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Sawmill, Steele's #2
Date of Manufacturer:
Serial Number:
Last Updated	9/25/2016 1:00:17 PM

Comments:

THIS MACHINE IS NOT FOR SALE, DON'T ASK, AND NO I DO NOT WANT TO TRADE YOUR ITEM "X" FOR IT. THIS IS NOT A SALES FORUM AND I DO NOT HAVE MACHINERY FOR SALE HERE.

This is not my sawmill, it was owned by Larry S. of Clarence Center, NY. I was shown this old sawmill of his here in the Buffalo, NY area. It is presently not in operation, for approx. 2 years. I really do not know anything more about at this time, details to follow. Here is some info, 10.2.11, directly from Larry updating me:
"The old sawmill is a "Steele's no. 2" made by Moravia. The "Husk" and feed is Moravia, the saw is 54 inches in dia., the carriage is an "A. B. Farquhar" made in York, Pa. I have all of the A. B. Farquhar parts, and most of the Moravia parts, therefore I actually have two sawmills here. Later today I will dig out some pictures I have of the mill when I ran it with the old 1926 Climax engine ( I really liked that old engine-low speed with lots of torque) and scan and forward them to you."

More info as of 10.19.11...some background on the sawmill...."a little history about my old sawmill. My great grandfather Frederick J. Schuknecht was awarded a contract to build the girls dormitory at Houghton College in Houghton , N.Y. in 1916 with the requirement that he be able to saw the lumber out of the College wood lot. To do that he and my great uncle Victor Bennett went up on Wiscoy Hill with two bob sleds and teams and purchased the old Moravia mill which by that time had deteriorated to nothing but the Iron parts laying in the woods. The mill origionaly had three head blocks and knees, but due to the loads they had on the sleds they left one set there. ( They are probably still laying in that woods on the hill) . They then rebuilt the mill and did use it to saw the lumber for the Dormitory, and then Frederick set it up on the family farm in Fillmore where he used it for many years.
Although the husk has the address of Moravia, I am convinced that it was actualy made in a foundry and machine shop which once stood on the banks of Wiscoy creek. Many years ago I had the opportunity to go through the old Planing mill in Wiscoy and up in the attic were wooden patterns for the sawmill knees and some other parts which were undoubtedly used in the production of my mill. What connection that Foundry and Machine shop had with the Moravia Foundry and Machine I do not know."

A link to the Farquhar connection below, and if I can find Farquhar on any of the carriage parts, I'll make a separate entry for that: http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=302

For further discussion, look for this topic over at the www.owwm.org site: http://www.owwm.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=103459

Photo 1:

Comments: Manf name plate on "husker" portion of mill.
Source: Canon

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Photo 2:

Comments: Moravia Foundry sawmill.
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Photo 3:

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Photo 6:

Comments: Ford diesel engine.
Source: Canon

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