Sideshaft

Hey there! Sorry to ask this, it may seem stupid. As I look at all kinds of engine stuff, I see that some are mentioned as being sideshaft engines. What does this mean? Is it as simple as everything is controled by a shaft from the timing gear to the valves/ignitor etc. or is it something else?

Thanks...

Colt..you got it!Most were made from the mid 1890s to the mid 1900s. Very sought after and thus expensive! Side shafts are both in the horzontal and vertical styles, and all run very well.

[Harry]

Here's about as good example as any.

Sideshaft engines are the GOLD of engine collecting.

Or, at least so they say. You also need lots of $$$$ as this one went for a cool bid of $15,400 in 1996.

That shaft can control an ignitor, governor, valves, water pump, fuel pump or just about anything.

The really neat ones have a governor clutch where the side shaft only turns when power is called for and then it stops again. (drool)

-- Harry

[Paul Spence]

Colt: Here is another look at what the S/S controls. This is on a 1914 10HP IHC Mogul-Portable. The intake and exhaust cam's are on the side shaft near the head and operate the rocker arms (NOTE: the rocker arm's have roller's. Not a new idea). The exhaust cam has a slide auxiliary cam on the shaft that is used as a compression release and hold's the exhaust valve open a bit longer for starting. At the very end of the shaft there is an eccentric that trips the magneto and igniter. This even has an ignition timing adjustment on the head. You can watch these things all day and not get tired of it. They come on hit & miss and throttle governed engines depending on the manufacturer's engine design. S/S's can be expensive as harry said, but once in a while a guy gets lucky so keep looking .

Paul in Lakewood, NJ

Thanks again! Then my 6hp. United (Waterloo built) would qualify? All it controls is ignitor and exhaust. The intake is controlled by atmospheric pressure, only. Also, on it, there are 2 holes (threaded) about 6 inches underneath and 6 inches to the right of the ignitor, below the sideshaft. In addition to this, there is another threaded hole above the sideshaft and going into the side of the cylinder, just about to the spot where the piston enters it and just below the drip oiler. Does anybody have any idea what these were for?

Thanks again,

Colt Edin

Colt, It may be that you are Confusing the push rod with a side shaft, A side shaft rotates whereas a pushrod moves back and fourth to trip the igniter and operate the exhaust valve. If the rod from the rear of the engine to the front rotates you have a side shaft. If the rod only moves back and fourth it is not a side shaft.

Harry,

The engine in the background of your columbus photo is a 10 HP Callahan that also stops the sideshaft. They really are beauties. Also this June at Coolspring is the cam stopper get together. Its going to be great to see all these cam stoppers in one place. See ya, Craig...


http://www.antique-engine.com

Would my 2cycle upright with a shaft that runs a water pump and timer be called a side shaft.The shaft is beavl gear driven in front of the cylinder. I have been looking for 15 years and have not found what make it is.I don't have a way to post a picture.The piston is 4" and the flywheel is solid and 17".

From the sounds of it you probably have a Gray inboard they used the timer waterpump combination geared off of the front like you describe. Look at harrys marine Gray and see if it is the same as yours My 6hp and 3hp are this type of set up.For more information look up Old Marine Engines .com give all of the dimensions and part numbers you can find. Al

I does not appear to be a gray and the palmer experts say its not one of them. I have been to every site i can find on the web with no matches. Can't find anything in books either. The engine does have side mounts or holes similar to harry's pumpjack engine. The internal parts look like the parts in harry's engine. There are no numbers or letters anywhere except for 0.015 on the connecting rod.

Larry: Your engine sounds like a Marine engine to me also! take a picture of all four sides,and e-mail me direct, i'll give you my mailing address send me pictures-- 15 years its time to find out what it is!

It could be a caille,they are listed in the YB on pge 76 but no pictures of marine eng.

Thanks for the interest, but I don't have a scanner.I will try to get pictures posted to this site by a fiend, when I can catch him home.

The internal parts look very much like the gray in harry's engines.However the engine is differant it has a bolt ring faceing the flywheel to remove the crank. The bearings are not split.The sparkplug is on the side in a corner of the piston baffel.The timer is leval with the top of cylinder.