Hercules Powered O&S "Orr & Sembower" Cement Mixer
Year: 1925
HP: 3 1/2
Type: S
RPM: 475
This engine was purchased used by my Great Grandfather in the early 1940's. It was used for many jobs on the farm and was even used to build the house (pictures 5 & 9) in Pennsylvania. My father and I were able to acquire it over the Thanksgiving 2001 holiday weekend. The Engine House is in fair shape and will take some replacement angle iron to shore it up. We removed the engine house for transport since there only was one bolt left holding it on. The engine has excellent compression (after a little oil), but has not been run in the past 10 years. After removing the house, It was discovered that the off side Flywheel has stripped it's keyway and such we will not run it until we can remove the engine from the mixer and can get that fixed. The mag is in rough shape and will need to be rebuilt. The bearings also appear to be in a very used state. Once we get this torn down, we will see what parts need replaced and give it a proper restoration. I plan on documenting this on this page.
Mixer as Acquired:
| 1. |
The load that we took back home. Included 2 David Bradley Tractors with two implements and the Cement Mixer. |
| 2. |
View of the Cement Mixer with the Engine House |
| 3. |
View of the Tub |
| 4. |
View of the House |
| 5. |
Engine in the house. |
| 6. |
Engine still has the original decal on one side. |
| 7. |
View from other side. |
| 8. |
Engine after removing the engine house for hauling home. |
| 9. |
Another view of the engine. |
| 10. |
Yet another view. |
| 11. |
Engine Tag under layers of grease |
| 12. |
Orr & Sembower - Reading, PA |
Progress:
12/15/01 - Removed Engine from Cement Mixer. Removed Gear drive from end of Crankshaft. Flywheel pulled off without any tools due to Cracks and a shot keyway on the flywheel. See pictures below. I have located a pair of good flywheels and should pick them up in a week or two.
I think that the engine was run for sometime in this condition in the past. I believe that the reason it was not noticed was that the flywheel was not seen that well while the "house" was over it. Also, the vibration from driving the cement drum on a direct gear may have caused addition problems.
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Engine with the flywheel off. A Hercules decal was located on the off side as well. |
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Damage to the key due to cracks in the Flywheel and the flywheel Keyway breaking free. |
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Worn Keyway on Crank Shaft |
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Flywheel Hub before Cleaning. Note: One Edge of the Flywheel Keyway is Still "intact". |
 
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Crack 1 - Engine Side of Flywheel |
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Crack 1 - Outside Side of Flywheel |
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Crack 2 - Engine Side of Flywheel |
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Crack 2 - Outside Side of Flywheel |
Over New Years Eve 2001 and New Year's Day 2002, We stripped all the parts off of the engine. Some grease was removed from the protected side of the engine to reveal the original pin striping. Since the other side of the engine is all rust, we will be striping the rest of this paint off and refinishing the entire engine.
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Pile of parts |
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The base |
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Wrench - How long has this been there? I did notice that the bracket shown appears to have been brazed. Will take photos after the part is cleaned. |
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Hopper and Cylinder Pin Striping |
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Base Pin Striping |
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Original Decal |
 
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Crank guard with pin striping |
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Casting Date Found on Off Side of Engine Block - 7-22-25 |
