Pantograph Cutting Torch Close Up

This is a close-up of the pantograph flame cutting table clamping system. This shows several hundred stacked sheets of sheet metal. The bellows clamp that held the sheets in place while they were cut with the flame torch are just above the stack.

Click on the picture to download a high resolution TIF (21 Meg)
Willard C. Kelsey

Posted by: Ron Warris | 11-27-2005 | 02:11 AM
Posted in: The War Years | Comments (0)

Pantograph Cutting Torch

Bill often spoke about designing a pantograph style flame cutting table that could cut hundreds of stacked sheets of sheet metal using a unique clamping system that employed a set of bellows and air pressure. You can see a close up view of the clamping system in this post.

I was never sure if he actually come up with this design, or if it was something he copied from another application. In any case this image shows the machine in operation. I am not sure if it is Bill in the picture.

Click on the picture to download a high resolution TIF (21 Meg)
Willard C. Kelsey

Posted by: Ron Warris | 11-27-2005 | 01:11 AM
Posted in: The War Years | Comments (0)

Annealing/Heat Treating Oven – Image 2

Some sort of heat treating oven that I assume Bill had something to do with at Frost & Woods (?) during the second world war.

I don’t have much more information about this image. If anyone knows more, please post a comment.

Click on the picture to download a high resolution TIF (21 Meg)
Willard C. Kelsey

Posted by: Ron Warris | 11-27-2005 | 01:11 AM
Posted in: The War Years | Comments (0)

Annealing/Heat Treating Oven – Image 1

Some sort of heat treating oven that I assume Bill had something to do with at Frost & Woods (?) during the second world war.

I don’t have much more information about this image. If anyone knows more, please post a comment.

Click on the picture to download a high resolution TIF (21 Meg)
Willard C. Kelsey

Posted by: Ron Warris | 11-27-2005 | 01:11 AM
Posted in: The War Years | Comments (0)

Punch Press

Some sort of punch press that I assume Bill had something to do with at Frost & Woods (?) during the second world war.

I don’t have much more information about this image. If anyone knows more, please post a comment.

Click on the picture to download a high resolution TIF (21 Meg)
Willard C. Kelsey

Posted by: Ron Warris | 11-27-2005 | 01:11 AM
Posted in: The War Years | Comments (0)

Boring Lathe

I don’t know much about this image, other than that is Bill in the picture. I assume it was taken while Bill was working at Frost & Woods (?) during the second world war.

If anyone knows more, please post a comment.

Click on the picture to download a high resolution TIF (21 Meg)
Willard C. Kelsey

Posted by: Ron Warris | 11-27-2005 | 01:11 AM
Posted in: The War Years | Comments (0)

Axle Drilling Jig

This was a drilling jig that Bill designed while working at Frost & Woods (?) during the second world war. By this time he had risen to the rank of ‘engineer’, even though he was not really an engineer at all.

This particular piece of equipment provided a way of drilling out the holes for mounting the rims to a finished axle used on a gun carrier.

Click on the picture to download a high resolution TIF (21 Meg)
Willard C. Kelsey

Posted by: Ron Warris | 11-26-2005 | 07:11 PM
Posted in: Images | The War Years | Comments (0)

The First Tying Machine

This is a short video showing the first tying machine in use on a farm in southwestern Ontario. In 1962 Bill solved the problem of how to mechanize the sewing of tobacco leaves onto sticks that were then hung in kilns to be cured. Prior to then a number of people tried to come up with an automatic tying machine but it was not until Bill came along that a practical solution was found and perfected.

Thousands of these machines were manufactured and sold between 1962 and the late 1980’s. More background information about the Tobacco Tying Machine can be found here.

Click on the picture to start the Video (1 minute long)
The First Tobacco Tying Machine

Posted by: Ron Warris | 11-26-2005 | 06:11 PM
Posted in: Videos | Comments (0)

Willard C. Kelsey At The Drawing Board

What is most unusual about this image is that Bill was virtually illiterate when it came to reading blueprints, let alone creating them! So this photograph was certainly staged. Still, his inability to create or read technical drawings never stopped him from designing and building some of the most elaborate pieces of equipment!

Click on the picture to download a high resolution TIF (21 Meg)
Willard C. Kelsey At The Drawing Board

Posted by: Ron Warris | 11-26-2005 | 06:11 PM
Posted in: Kelsey Manufacturing | Comments (1)

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