An Original Shoe Shaker
One of the many things I noticed about my mill after getting it home was that the shoe
shaker was broken. The ball joint was broken off and it and the receiver were missing.
I called Meadows Mills and asked them if they had an original replacement. They told
me that they had one for the Meadows Mill and it should work. So, I ordered one.
Unfortunately, it was designed differently and would not work on the Williams Mill.
I searched the Internet, placed ads on several classified pages, and spoke with
numerous other enthusiasts with no luck. I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that
I'd never find an original. I would have to come up with some way to fix the broken one.
I decided that a reasonable fix would be to square off the broken end and weld a 1/2"
bolt to it. I could then mate this to a modern ball joint end. It would not be original,
but at least it would be reasonable and mechanically sound. So, when I took the
frame to be repaired, I also had the bolt welded to the shaker.
I was satisfied with this, but somebody else wasn't, Ken Christison. He began following
the progress of the restoration on my web page. One morning I had an email from him.
He had a proposal. He told me that he had an original shoe shaker from one of his mills
and if I was willing he would trade me his original one for my fabricated one. "If I was
willing." Come on. Of course I was willing. He told me he had no intention of ever
restoring his mill to original, and since I was, he thought my mill should have an
original shoe shaker. He also sent me his original ball joint receiver.
Ken, it's people like you who make this hobby so rewarding. Thanks.
The picture on the left is what the shaker looked like originally. The picture on the
right shows both shakers, my fixed original on the left and the one Ken traded
me on the right.
Back to restoration page.