Sågen Technical museum english version

Created 100801
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The Brindås tractor.
It happened at the Brindås homestead when the 6 brothers with the surname Larsson. They decided to build a tractor mostly because of their need for one in order to be able to work on their wet fields. This was because it was not possible to buy one useful for their purpose. The market had not yet reached what small homestead wanted. Valfrid was the one that got the task to build one, but the problem was that he was needed for farming. The other 5 brothers decided to put some more effort of their own work. The tractors on the market from that time could not manage the wet fields. It was a hard work for their horses who had to be furnished with a special horseshoe. Those were in Sweden called "trygor".

They bought an old car Graham Paige and Valfrid got free hands to rebuild it. This was depending on that he was the only one who owned a drivers license. He worked with this for almost a year according to his brothers experiences of farming.

In order to have something to follow he made a drawing on his kitchen table. The engine was a four cylinder side valve. The cooler was taken from a Gardner just to get better cooling capacity.
He used the old rear end, see picture to the left which acted with the help of a chain as lowering gear to the rear wheels. These were fully made of steel and driving plates for better hold. The same for the front wheels.
When they tried this tractor for the first time 1926 it showed that it carried out all their needs. The tractor was used up to the 1960th.

Fjäll Johans's tractor.
On another homestead Johan Magnusson build another type of tractor. The main so called EPA-tractor. This was done in the 40th. The village of Sågen had 2 grocery shops and one of them had

a lorry with the mark Chevrolet. Johan worked there as driver. When this lorry became too old and a new one had to be bought Johan took over the old one. Now he rebuild it to work with kerosene instead of petrol. He also change it in the normal way for home build tractors. All farmers had at this time a smithy and their own workshop. This vehicle was used in his farming and work with his forest to bring all trees to the lumber mill in Sågen.

Local transportations
In order to move smaller things like household wares a small vehicle with three wheels was built. It was quickly changed to 4 wheels. Gravel and the road in the forests was not good for a three wheeler because the rear wheel was not suitable for such roads. For this little car he used parts from a Standard 8, early Volvo PV gearbox and a Sachs two-cycle engine 125 cc. The engine was working over a chain to the gearbox and the rear wheels.

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page 2

When Sågen was growing.

1889 - 1969

Slagfors bog is a large area of several bogs around the lake of Öra tarn about 35 km south Vansbro. To this place many immigrants came mainly from Finland during the years between 1570 and 1650. They were encourage to this region and they settled mostly in the hills around Slagfors bog, later named Sågen. This is easily to understand when they wanted to come away from mosquitoes in the wet lowlands. They were really a plague. This region had good access for timber and by ditching they got field to cultivate. In this they could survive.

The railway station house. Picture from Technical museum. Ref 35

Swedish authorities didn't like this when this way of living don't developed trading. In order to change this the community decided in the middle of 1850 to build a railroad so timber could be transported to processing industries in nearby situated places.
Railroads were started to be built around the areas where iron ore could be found. The first railroad that was built was between Norberg and Ängelsberg. It was realized 1856. The first locomotive in Sweden was used to build the first railway. It was called The First One. The communities around Öra tarn was after the usual quarrel, they would pay the costs for the railway. A suitably place for a station was were the five parishes were bounded to each other. At this place they all had economical interests.

The railway station 1913. Picture from Technical museum. Ref 35

This railway was opened with it's first train 1888. Now the immigration was speeded up and the Sågen district grow quickly. The name of the railway station became Sågen instead of Slagfors bog. This was decided by the authorities to be a too long name. The name Sågen was taken from the small timber saw just near by the crofter's holding from the finish name Sahen. The station house was built 1889 and is still in place, but now a living house. The same year a post station was built. Up to 1917 the railway was own by the parishes when the state took over. SJ. The railway was extended from Kristinehamn to Mora. Later this became one part of the inland ralroad up to Kiruna. This part is not used today. The rails are still in place around Sågen. From Mora there is a tourist train up to Kiruna.
The same time when when closing down all ores in the district of mining named Bergslagen and instead put all available money for Kiruna. The inland railway was closed down. This was 1969. Although the part between Kristinehamn and Mora was left for some years.
The community of Sågen was rapidly shrank and all important working places were moved to Vansbro 35 km north Sågen. The little community was sleeping just as in the tale of The Sleeping Beauty and the spinning wheel. This continued till the tourist time was ready to bring people into this area. The old houses were bought by leisure people from the cities they wanted to calm down in the old places where they could witness the forest and it's paradises. This was noted by the remaining people in Sågen and they started a local union 1984 which had the purpose to take care of the grand old time of Sågen.

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page 3

Air photo by the collection house.

Sagen website

The local Sågen union meeting house which also take care of the geological collection.

In order to take care of all the interesting parts which was used in old time Sågen it was decided to build both a collection house and a museum building. Money for this were applied from EU. This money was granted 2002 and the buildings were raised with material from local forest and firms. All timber were prepared at the lumber mill of Snöån. All was ready 2004. Then the work to fill these with parts which had been used by the old inhabitants of Sågen started.

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page 4

Technical museum

It is said that from the six brothers from Brindåsen Anton was the most technical one. He build a workshop way before when electrical was arrived at Sågen. He had a kerosene engine standing outside his works and let the driving axle go through the wall and from an axle in the roof just like old times industry. If this was not good, he preferred hand driven machines.

This manual revved grinding tool to the left was used for sharpening drills and punching tools. The drilling tool to the right was activated by a foot pedal. Of course larger holes was not able to be punched or drilled in iron parts but for tree they were of course very useful.

By using hand driven drilling tools it took long time to make a hole in plate iron. Before parts were often put together by rivets and it was not that important with precision holes for rivets. That's why they had punching tools. Often it was not holes rather than squares or forming the teeth on a saw. This was important among the workers in forest.

As time went on electricity came to Sågen but it is amazingly how long time the manual tools were used. This was naturally because the development of tools was not so fast.

The first electrical tool must have been the electrical grinding machine and the multi drilling machine. These became necessary when they built their tractor. The simple EPA and the four wheeled car.

When a tool is really needed it must be bought or produced. When building the tractor a heavy turner had to be installed. In this they turned all their castings. The more they could do the more orders they got and probably their farming was not in good order. According to this heavy turner Anton had also a smaller one.

They had also smaller hand tools as many home workers have today. The tools that Anton used were often of a much simpler design, but he knew their limits.
On the wall to the left you can see you can see the casting forms and above different had tools. The casting models were left to a special casting works.

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page 5

The Airplane F-AHLE

Sagen website

It was a glittering cold beautiful winter day on the frozen Brindlake. The airplane F-AHLE was parked and shined together with the sun. Åke was making the last controls in cockpit while Lennart was adjusting ignition work on the Volkswagen engine. Everything seemed to be in order and after a while Åke made some short jumps before he gave the throttle and took the plane up in the air. It was a long time before this opportunity when they got the idea to build an airplane. This had been a dream for a long time. They were no longer able to build equipments which was not already tested. In the 50th there was only airplanes that really handy people with technical knowledge had the possibility to make. Anyway it was absolutely forbidden to fly a homebuilt plane. Rules is of course always something to ignore. Instead such people got just the more will to do it. Lennart sat on the kitchen table and drew the prop screw. This screw was calculated for a 50 hp engine. The gang had practiced with a glider and from such a plane they stole many construction principles. That they had read books about how hobby planes should be constructed is also possible to see. The wing installation was so that it easily could be angled to fit the centre of gravity. Look at the picture with the 2 vertical supports into the body. This type of airplanes was called parasoll type and was used in Sweden already by Enoch Thulin on his model D. This type came as most new airplane construction in the early 1910th from France. In early days there were no ailerons. The brothers used the parasol idea to easy fit balance of center of gravity. Genius and a modern way to use it. The wing could also because of this be built in one unit. the first engine was a 25 hp VW engine but was later changed to a 40 hp. In the beginning of the 50th there was no used 40 hps.
If you look at the front of the plane you can see the 2 alphabetic characters L and Å and a hand saw between. Quite right, Lennart and Åke from Sågen.
It is always the way that for this type of people building is the most fascinating time and when the object is ready the interest is falling down some way and the coming pilots long for to fly a real plane without being afraid that police would come and confiscate it. Therefore it became education and later a flying certificate to be able to fly in the nearest flying club.
F-AHLE became garaged. An offer from Arlanda flying museum to exhibit F-AHLE. This museum was not realized and the plane was garaged in a magazine. The brothers had lend it to Arlanda against that they should put it in order. Because of all this they decided to bring it back 2003 to Sågen and renovate it. This renovation took 800 hours and it became as new. Now you can see it standing in Sågen Technical museum.
Every year there is a remembering day so also 2010 when the airplane and tractors were activated outside the museum. Read more in their website.