The two great north-south transportation arterials of the west, I-5 and I-15, come together in northern San Diego County. I-5 skirts the Pacific Ocean north to Los Angeles while I-15 veers to the northeast towards the eastern suburbs of Los Angeles and Las Vegas beyond.
The triangle formed by the two interstates is a rugged land of eroded hills and valleys, much of which is covered by residential and light industrial developments. This pattern of residential enclaves on the hills and industrial parks in the valleys is repeated numerous times as I wander through the triangle on my way to the next stop, the Miniature Engineering Craftsman Museum in Carlsbad, CA.
Miniature Engineering Craftsman Museum
This unique museum occupies a building in one of the ubiquitous light industrial parks in the hills of northern San Diego County.
The museum is free, funded by Sherline Products via a trust established by its late president and founder, Joe Martin. Sherline was originally founded in Australia and specialized in the manufacture of quality benchtop lathes, mills and miniature machine shop accessories for use in creating accurate small parts in plastic, wood or metal. Joe Martin was living in the US, working in the model radio control industry, and used Sherline products. He met the Australian owner and became the American distributor and eventual manufacturer of an expanded product line. The museum was founded in 1996 and displays an amazing collection of miniature mechanical devices, most of which actually operate. The facility is not large, consisting of a large display room, a smaller machine shop in the back, and an alcove for non-mechanical displays.
Greeting visitors at the entrance is the current featured display, a 1/16th model of a 1932 Duesenberg created by mechanical engineer Lou Chenot. The model took over 20,000 hours to build and has a working straight-8, 32 valve engine and 3-speed transmission. Yes, it all WORKS!
The details are just amazing: the wheels have chromed hubs and rims with stainless steel spokes and nipples, all 468 of them; doors click twice upon closing and the inside/outside handles are independent and each work. Wherever possible, parts are built form the original material. The engine block and head are cast iron with aluminum pistons. The engine has 32 valves, 1/4inch in diameter with 4 per cylinder and runs on gasoline. Just amazing! The craftsmen who make these marvels do a great deal of research to ensure that their creation. Dr. Young C. Park, a retired dentist, found and followed original World War II maintenance manuals as he constructed this F4U Corsair from metal scraps.
Kay Tillman used his background growing up on a farm in building this model of a CASE Steam Engine Tractor on display next to the wooden models from which the parts were cast.
Birk Peterson created this model of a 1912 Bucyrus Model B steam shovel in 2007.
A “micro-engine” from the Ukraine, built on a 1/12-scale and less than 4 inches long, is one of the smallest 4-cylinder working engines ever created.
Pam Weiss built a miniature working Gatling gun from plans purchased from RG-G Gatling Guns in about 2000 hours of wood and metal work. Turns out that it is legal to build such a model because a Gatling gun is not considered to be an automatic weapon because it is gravity fed and hand cranked. The vertical magazine holds about 50 .22 Long Rifle bullets and it only takes about 4 seconds for the entire magazine to be emptied.
Another Birk Petersen creation, a ¼-scale Case 65 HP Steam Tractor, was completed in 1982 after three years of work. Again, not only is it amazing craftsmanship, but it RUNS!
Metal is not the only medium on display, though the majority of the displays are made from metal. A pair of wooden locomotives made by Eckhard Fadtke are a beautiful example of artistry in wood.
An artist using a different type of wood craftsmanship is Ron Remsberg, an aerospace engineer who began making models from matchsticks as a way to relax. His materials are pretty basic: Elmer’s glue, a small razor blade, and a pile of matchsticks. Once into the craft, he found that he could purchase bundles of 2000 matchsticks directly from a Canadian company that makes them for matchstick companies which certainly made his task easier. As you can tell, he used a lot of matchsticks!
Demonstrations by local volunteers are available in the back machine shop, in the window a machine is fabricating plastic objects.
The last area I visit is a small alcove where two intricate model houses are on display. The first is a house from around 1940 built on a scale of 1”=1ft by Jan and Joe Haring. Note the level of detail in the furnishings.
Karl Pohlman, a retired painting contractor, built this mansion modeled after one that he had worked on in the mid-1930s. The roof is covered with over 1,800 individually crafted wood shingles and most of the rugs were woven by hand. The windows, which actually open and close, are filled with real glass.
It was a fascinating morning at the Miniature Engineering Craftsman Museum! I now head east across north county to an entirely different experience at the Bates Nut Farm. My path takes me through a seemingly endless wave of humanity as traffic clogs the roads and buildings clothe the surrounding hills in and around Escondido.
East of I-15 the pressure of population eases (though it is never really gone) under the looming mountains to the east. The land unfolds in waves of low ridges and narrow valleys.
In 1921 Gilbert and Beatrice Bates settled their family of five boys in the oak filled valley of Valley Center and began the walnut farm which is their legacy today. The farm expanded into other areas and gradually became a favorite destination for the visitors from San Diego and Los Angeles seeking a “farm” experience. While starting as a walnut farm, today the Bates sell nuts from all over the world. Raw nuts are processed and packaged on site and sold in the Bates Nut Store and adjacent Farmer’s Daughter Boutique, housed in the original barn. Fortunately I visit in the middle of the week, I can tell from the extensive parking lots between the buildings and the highway along with lots of orange cones everywhere that the place is probably packed on weekends.
A very noisy collection of animals and a picnic area occupy a corner of the property across from the store. Goats, sheep, a llama, an ostrich, ducks, geese, and a tortoise are amongst the inhabitants.
The store offers all kinds of goodies for the hungry. Who can go wrong with a barrel of Reese’s Peanut butter cups?
Leaving the Bates Farm, I climb up and down the rugged countryside. The wet winter has left it lush and green, punctuated with brilliant fields of color.
Apparently each of the isolated valleys is the historic home of a distinct Native American tribe, separated from the next by a high ridge of mountains. A legacy of that history is that in the approximately 30 miles between the Bates Farm and my next stop, Temecula, five large casinos are sprinkled along the highway. In a couple of cases casino towers punctuate an otherwise empty landscape.
A sign of the times…
Next up: The LA ‘Burbs”
Post a Comment