Forgotten Inventor - The Fresno Scraper


	Forgotten Inventor - The Fresno Scraper

Rustee

5-4-2008 2:28 PM

399 views

tags:

history, technology, invention

Rustee says:

Fresno Scrapers served the US army in WW-I. The two-horse model retailed for $28, yet today's bulldozer blades are its direct offspring. The gigantic scraper-carryall earth mover is its grandchild.

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5-5-2008 12:31 AM

masbury

My dad got a job in a NE Missouri quarry driving mules that pulled a Fresno scraper. It was, maybe 1939. I've heard of the device, but never seen one till now.
Thanks!

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/049927a5-44d6-427c-8aa7-88e18cc09364/CAC41A21-FB70-4554-B2E6-92E2738465C2/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi353.htm" href="http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi353.htm" style="font-size: 11px;">www.uh.edu</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi353.htm"><div align="center"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.uh.edu/img/53E64EF6-64DB-4BC0-A647-FEB55D96AE58" alt="Engines of Our Ingenuity" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi353.htm"><FONT size="+3">A</FONT> 25-year-old Scot named
                James Porteous asked a ticket agent for passage to
                America in 1873.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi353.htm">By 1880 he was an American
                citizen who had been woven into Fresno Valley farm
                life. Valley agriculture depended upon irrigation.
                That meant canal digging. </blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi353.htm">Fresno farmers had been using something called a
                buck scraper to move earth. It scraped up dirt and
                pushed it along in front. It was hard to pull and
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                Porteus' C-shaped scraper had a blade along the
                bottom. It scooped dirt as it was pulled along.
                That much was like the buck scraper, but this
                machine rode on runners and could be tilted. An
                operator walking behind it could change the angle.
                When it was full, he tilted it back and let it
                glide on the runners. He could dump dirt as he
                passed over low spots and smooth out terrain. He
                could vary the angle of attack to match the soil.
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