COBAH CAST IRON
This is the story of an avid collector and restorer of old machinery.
My Background: I come from a farming family in the Riverina region of NSW, but after my schooling joined a major electronics company in Sydney. I retired from that company after 40 years spent in the physical design side of the electronics industry involving the design of printed circuit boards and the production of engineering prototypes. All of this gave me a background in manufacturing, and in fact when I joined in 1958, thermionic valves were still the mainstay of of the communications industry. I spanned the transition from large valves (807 etc), then miniaturized valves, then germanium transistors, transitioning to silicon, basic integrated circuits and in the end large scale integration of digital circuitry. The products too went from analogue transmission on wire and cable to digital on optic fibres.
Living in a semi-rural area, the need for firewood saw me setting up a sawbench powered by a 6HP Buzacott engine acquired from a neighbour. This led to getting the bug, and today I have many items, some described in this website.
My interest became focused on the products of A H McDonald and Co of Richmond, Victoria, and I have a good representation in my collection. My restorations do not always involve painting, but I do go to great lengths to restore them mechanically. Many have been resurrected from truly basket cases.
Visitors to this site are welcome to contact me through the form below. I will reply promptly.
My Background: I come from a farming family in the Riverina region of NSW, but after my schooling joined a major electronics company in Sydney. I retired from that company after 40 years spent in the physical design side of the electronics industry involving the design of printed circuit boards and the production of engineering prototypes. All of this gave me a background in manufacturing, and in fact when I joined in 1958, thermionic valves were still the mainstay of of the communications industry. I spanned the transition from large valves (807 etc), then miniaturized valves, then germanium transistors, transitioning to silicon, basic integrated circuits and in the end large scale integration of digital circuitry. The products too went from analogue transmission on wire and cable to digital on optic fibres.
Living in a semi-rural area, the need for firewood saw me setting up a sawbench powered by a 6HP Buzacott engine acquired from a neighbour. This led to getting the bug, and today I have many items, some described in this website.
My interest became focused on the products of A H McDonald and Co of Richmond, Victoria, and I have a good representation in my collection. My restorations do not always involve painting, but I do go to great lengths to restore them mechanically. Many have been resurrected from truly basket cases.
Visitors to this site are welcome to contact me through the form below. I will reply promptly.
Last update: McDonald P and Rogers Diesel updated 27 June 2019.