Click on the thumbnails to view full-sized color images. All photos ©Rock River Thresheree, Inc. unless otherwise noted.
		Peter Burno's American Hoist & Derrick pile-driver (manufactured about 1918) is on permanent display on our grounds. The No. 4 Vulcan single-acting steam hammer weighs about 14,000 lbs., but has a striking energy equivalent to 25,000. The boiler, winch and turntable base weigh in at 140,000 pounds. The pile-driver was last used in the 1940s and 1950s. It was mounted a barge, operated at 250 psi and drove the pilings for the locks and dams of the St. Lawrence Sea Way. We operate it at 150 psi. We also shortened the leads from 130 feet to the present-day 80 feet.
		In 1959, the pile-driver traveled by barge to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it was unloaded. The trip from Milwaukee to our grounds took three days. It is operated primarily by siblings Tony Lauer and Donora Trimble with guidance their father, Denny Lauer, and "Uncle" Dick Rasmussen (who travels from Michigan every year just to play with the pile-driver). You can find this crew (and often Mr. Burno) any day during the Thresheree under the small tent next to the pile-driver.
		At left, Dick and Darryl help Donora set a new log for driving. Soon, one heard the unmistakable low-pitch whistle announcing the pile-driver's intention to begin. As the crowd gathered, the hammer raised and dropped slowly. Within minutes, the pounding of the hammer resounded all over the grounds and those who stood near felt its power through their feet and legs. Only the truly determined can continue a conversation over the sound of this pile-driver in action.
More shots of the pile-driver can be found under the photographs for 2007