[SEL] (OT) Help to identify

[James Yost]

Greg,

Thanks, You pretty much explained this machine. I will
get pic posted as soon as I get my camera back.

Thanks again, Jim

--- Greg Hass <gkhass at avci.net> wrote:

> Hard to tell for sure without seeing a picture, but
> feel 98% sure that what 
> you have is what was referred to around here as a
> bean sorter.  My uncle 
> used to have an old one that we played with as kids.
>  Although it has been 
> quite a few years, as I remember the canvas belt was
> 6" to 8" wide and 18" 
> to 24" long.   As I remember it, on each side of the
> belt was an area 1-1/2 
> " wide  and approximately a foot long with a wood
> bottom that sloped to the 
> middle.  The wheel that the foot pedal attached to
> on the canvas roller was 
> a cast iron wheel an inch or so wide and 8 or 9
> inches diameter.  It was 
> used to sort white edible navy beans.  The hopper
> would be filled with 
> beans and the canvas would bring them out one layer
> deep.  As you moved the 
> canvas you would sort the discolored or moldy beans
> and either roll or drop 
> them into the 2 side hoppers.  The good beans would
> then roll off the belt 
> and down the chute into a container.  I remember
> seeing pictures in our 
> local newspaper during their centennial showing a
> picture of our local 
> elevator with a room of 60 to 80 women, each sitting
> at one of these 
> machines.  They were located in a second floor room
> so that as the beans 
> were processed they would flow by gravity into
> containers on the first floor.
> 
> According to some of the older people around, these
> were replaced 50 some 
> years ago by electric eye machines, which I
> mentioned in a post on water 
> and air lines on the ATIS list a few weeks ago.   I
> hope this has been of 
> help.  If I can be of any further help, e-mail me
> and I will try and jog my 
> memory.
> 
> Greg Hass
> Bad Axe, MI
> 
> PS:	If I am correct about this machine, one of the
> reasons you may have 
> trouble finding information was that at that time
> navy beans in the US were 
> basically only grown in a 5 county area of Michigan,
> and thus the equipment 
> used was very localized.  In fact a town 10 miles
> north of me was for many 
> years considerd the bean capital of the world. 
> There are now several 
> states that grow navy beans.
> 
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Jim and Janna Yost
Utica, Ohio
USA
jnyost at yahoo.com


	
		
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