He Custom Machines Almost Anything

He Custom Machines Almost Anything SPECIALTY/SERVICES Specialty/Services 29-3-39 FARM SHOW editors recently spotted the following ad in a tractor magazine: "Anything Custom. Custom machine solutions for your hard-to-find parts. Antique tractors, cars, trucks and heavy equipment. One-cylinder engines, custom bushings, rocker arms, rocker shafts and fuel pumps, pistons, guides, valve keepers and valves. Parts reproduced, repaired and designed." We decided to check it out and talked to Joseph Hine, owner of "Anything Custom" based in Southbury, Ct. "If you need to fix an old machine but can't find the part you need for it, and your local welder or machine shop can't help, I can probably make it. I can do everything from building custom radiators to making bull gears. If you can dream it up, I can make it for you," says Hine. "I have a small shop, and along with my uncle own a rare collection of about 150 antique tractors. We originally started our shop so we could make any parts we needed to restore the tractors. When other people found out what we were doing, they started asking us to make parts for them, too. I've done work for customers as far away as Alaska and Nevada." While Hine specializes mostly in antique farm equipment, he says he can make parts for almost anything. "If I don't have a mold for the part, I'll make it by using the customer's part to make a casting. Sometimes I use reverse engineering, in which I remanufacture the parts as close to OEM specs as possible. "If you can't find a part you need, you can send the worn part to me and I'll look it over at no charge and tell you what it would cost to make. If you don't want the work done, all you pay is the UPS charge to have the part mailed back to you." He got the idea for his business after working as a manufacturing engineer for a company that closed down and moved to China. So 1 1/2 years ago he started placing ads in farm magazines to see if he could do work for other people. "Most of our tractors were built in the early 1900's so I've learned how to make just about anything that goes into the cylinder head - valves, springs, keepers, and retainers, etc. "I've done some pretty crazy types of machining," says Hine. "I've made a custom carburetor and fuel pump system for a 15 hp single cylinder Otto antique engine. The customer didn't have a carburetor for it and didn't know where to get one. We found a 5 hp model and scaled it up to make new castings. Then I remachined all the pieces. It's working beautifully now." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joseph Hine, 220 Main St. N., Southbury, Ct. 06488 (ph 203 264-5116; email: anythingcustom @hotmail.com; website: www.Anything Custom.net).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.