Antique water pump photographs by Olivier Le Queinec [o].
I get a lot of satisfaction out of restoring an old object. When I disassemble the object and start cleaning it, I feel as if I’m going through a life journey with it again, like performing an autopsy on the object where you get to understand its design and how that design makes its a well functioning device.
Taking on the Job
MY WIFE SUGGESTS I DO SOMETHING
Thinking it would be a good project for me, my wife asked me to build some type of wash station with a sink in our garden. I wasn’t too excited about it. Simply more work for me. But then a cousin of hers suggested I use an old style farm pump for the project. All of a sudden I got really excited. Unknown to them I had an old derelict farm pump in my scrap metal pile.
AVOIDING A CRACKED CASING
When you’re working with old pieces of cast iron the scariest thing is the possibility of cracking something. If you put too much pressure on it, so I was a little fraught with fear as I tried to get everything apart. But luck was on my side, as well as some patience, and I managed to get everything apart without breaking anything. I’m super excited now because I’m starting to understand how the pump works.
IN TUNE WITH THE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER
Well, I’ve buffed all the parts of this pump and things have turned out really well. Buffing all the parts has helped me appreciate how clever the design is. It was designed to be able to be taken apart and repaired easily, making it so people could repair it themselves — a big difference to items nowadays. Seems we have a tendency to regard people in past times as not being as sophisticated or knowledgable as we are today. In this object the design and use of the materials shows a high level of sophistication and mastery of the technology available at that time. It’s humbling to see what they created with what they had then.
THE PENULTIMATE STAGE: COLOUR AND FINISH
I can’t get over how beautiful it is when it’s been buffed and painted up with the John Deere green.
A THING THAT WORKS FOREVER
This is the really big moment, we’re going to finally get to assemble everything. Gathering all the parts I can hardly contain my excitement for just how beautiful it is. But I know that I see it is as beautiful also because I marvel at the design, How simple yet how efficient and well thought out it is. This is an object that will be used several times a day for years and years and as a result is designed to be repaired by the owner who can keep it living forever. And because it’s so beautiful I want to look after it.
JIM RIDGE is an artist and an accomplished illustrator specializing in change management. In addition to business book illustrations, he has presented workshops on visual thinking and storytelling and videography. He also presents workshops and keynotes at creativity conferences in Europe, the United States, Namibia and South Africa. He lives in Ancaster, Ontario.
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