Bringing the old Gilson Hit and Miss back to life

        Being retired from my day job and also healing from recent back surgery, I have had some extra time on my hands of late.
         That has led to me enjoying watching videos mostly on Facebook and some TikTok.
       In May, I came across a video produced by Fenceline Equipment in Onawa in western Iowa between Omaha and Sioux City.
          The business is owned by Ty Smith, 16, and his brother, Clay Smith, 12, who started it a few years ago as a way to make extra cash.
          “The boys started buying old broken down lawnmowers and fixing them up and selling them,” said their dad, Jason Smith. “They then started buying old tractors and fixing those up.”
         Jason is an auctioneer and owner of DreamDirt Farm Real Estate and Auction, also in Onawa with satellite locations in West Des Moines, Storm Lake, Dubuque and Mason City.
            Jason said all of his family has a strong interest in history.
        “Our interest lies in farm Implements, farm power and industrial power such as trains and machine shops,” he said.
         The family also attends the Midwest Old Threshers and the boys volunteer on the train in Mount Pleasant and at the train museum in Sioux City.
               Last fall Jason was working with a family near Denison to hold an auction.
               That is when he came across an old Gilson Hit and Miss engine.
           “I saw it out setting in the woods while walking the property line,” said Jason. “It was scrap to the family and I offered to buy it.”
           The family used the engine to power their sawmill and later used it on a feed grinder. They parked in in the barn in 1945 and 10 years later in 1955, they needed more room in the barn, so the Gilson was moved outside. It had been sitting there ever since.
            The family agreed to sell it and then winter hit before Jason could return and pick up the old engine.
“We had to wait until spring to pick it up,” he said. “We brought it home on May 15.”
           Jason said he posted a few pictures on Facebook of the Gilson and it drew the interest of folks from all over the world. People were commenting on the posts and video and sending emails.
         “We had 16,000 followers on our Facebook page and a month later we had 80,000 followers,” said Jason.
After digging into the Gilson, the trio quickly discovered that it had a broken exhaust valve push rod and the piston was stuck in the cylinder – really stuck.
         Over the course of the next month, Jason and his two boys tried everything under the sun to get the piston unstuck.
            They made and posted video and sought the advice of others.
They used compressed air and about every type of lubricate known to man. They also used hammers, heat and dry ice, all to no avail.
           After creating a homemade bracket that mounted on top the piston cylinder and using a 10-ton press to apply pressure, the piston gave up the ghost and the trio was able to remove it from the engine cylinder on June 14, one month after bringing it home.
            According to Jason, the Gilson is a Style D model made around 1909.
            Gilson collectors refer to it as an early Gilson. Jason said that style was offered for about two years.
          The engines were produced by Gilson Manufacturing Company in Port Washington, Wisc. and Guelph, Ontario.
         Hit and miss engines regulate their speed by literally “missing” power cycles.” When the engine is running too fast, a mechanical governor locks the exhaust valve open. Because the valve stays open, there is no suction to draw in fuel, and the engine simply coasts without firing. When the speed drops below the set limit, the valve closes, the engine “hits” (fires) and the cycle continues.
            When asked, Jason said he and his two boys plan to rebuild the engine, a project he said will take three – six months.
         “That thing will run again,” said Jason. “We got some issues ahead. The exhaust push rod will need repaired and a new exhaust valve will have to be made.”
             I love sharing stories about old farm equipment. Having grown up in the big city, I knew nothing about farm equipment and steam and old hit and miss engines.
            It’s fun to learn along the way and maybe someday I will have my own hit and miss engine.
           Jason said to keep an eye on Facebook and follow along on the journey to bring the old Gilson back to life.
            One of my next goals is to make a trip to Owana and see the Gilson and meet the family.
            Remember that Good Things are Happening, every day and always.