Unique Garage Door Opener???

[Snip's]

I have a 2 bay garage with a pair of garage door openers that I'm fairly sure are original to the house built in the mid 40's.....
They just keep working with very little to no maintenance needed... Made by Scientific Products Inc. in Detroit Michigan...
I did a search and they don't seem to exist anymore....
A couple of years ago one of the springs let go and I had a local independent garage door company involved in replacing the broken spring...
Apparently there are garage door opener enthusiasts out there and he wanted to install a new opener for free because he wanted mine in trade. He was missing my opener in his collection... Yeah, I know.... I thought it sounded fishy.... I kept my old garage door openers....

Both of my openers have the same design.... An 8 foot long x 2" diameter spinning shaft that has a carriage containing 16 rubber wheels angled on the diagonal that make contact with the spinning shaft. This carriage is connected to the door and depending on the direction that the shaft is rotating, will cause the door to open or close...

This design of opener is new to me and I've never seen others like the two I have.... I went and oiled both shaft bearings on the electric motor.(AC motor by Jack & Heintz Inc. out of Cleveland Ohio). The motor is in pristine condition and runs silently.

Interesting background on the history of the Jack & Heintz company... Jack & Heintz Inc.

Anyway.... I found it somewhat interesting in how the garage door operated and the history behind the Jack & Heintz company and how they treated their workers. Thought I would share my finding with the GJ members...

US Patent 2204638 issued 1940

 

[infinkc]

Cool, looks like it was built to last a lifetime.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Does it have a remote control, or do you have to operate it from a switch on the wall?

Many years ago I had a garage door opener that was old enough that used an analog radio signal, not digital control like what they have today. I had to get right up next to the door before the remote would work, so being an electrical engineer I brought it to work and used a signal analyzer to tune the remote so it sent out precisely the correct frequency. After that I could open the door from nearly a block away.

 

[Snip's]

Does it have a remote control, or do you have to operate it from a switch on the wall?

Many years ago I had a garage door opener that was old enough that used an analog radio signal, not digital control like what they have today. I had to get right up next to the door before the remote would work, so being an electrical engineer I brought it to work and used a signal analyzer to tune the remote so it sent out precisely the correct frequency. After that I could open the door from nearly a block away.

The original install was push button switches. I added Multi Code control unit so I can operate the doors from the car. It seems to have great range.

 

[mikedodge]

Cool. Yeah I wouldn't be replacing that, if for no other reason because it'll probably outlast anything that replaces it.
It looks clean.

 

[CN Spots]

That's cool!

They're not in business anymore because they made a product so good that nobody would ever need a replacement.

 

[engineer2]

I found a unique one too. Didn't know GM made door openers.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

When I was a kid - early 60's - our neighbors and good friends of my parents moved a couple blocks away to the house that had been THE only house before the former owners sold off all the land to developers and tracts were built.

It was a big house and had all sorts of neat stuff but THE neatest thing was a garage door opener. I'd never seen one before and in my mind it made them RICH beyond my dreams. I'm sure there must have been openers for decades before but only(?) affluent people had them?

 

[PCMusicGuy]

That's an awesome opener for sure. Thanks for sharing. Any chance we can get a video of it in action?

 

[Snip's]

Sure... I'll make a video tomorrow and post it up...

That's an awesome opener for sure. Thanks for sharing. Any chance we can get a video of it in action?

Here you go...

Garage Door Opener operation...

 

[vwpieces]

Thats Neat. Had to go back to look at drawing after watching vid to completely understand its function. Surprised the rollers survived all these years but sure is a unique design that stood up to the test of time. Sure is Beefy.

Makes me wonder what was on my Old basement garage door... It had a box with (radio) tubes which was still plugged in after all these years. I assumed it was a remote controller but there was no electric opener on the door. Door has been replaced in the last 20-30ish years so I assume the electric opener went away with old door.
When I moved here 5yrs ago there were many OLD things still powered up but not functional. Electric bill dropped $30/month after I disconnected all the Old obsolete junk.

 

[Snip's]

I'm amazed.... Those openers are coming up on 80 years old.....
The rubber wheels are held with a spring loaded cage that maintains pressure on the rubber wheels against the rotating shaft...
I measured them and they are a standard size that McMaster-Carr carries...
Made in USA meant something back then.... Today you need to read the small print and find out that stuff now is "Shipped from a warehouse in the USA", but made in China....

 

[Firstram]

That's fast, I like it!

 

[OCD]

Too cool!!

 

[CombatNinja]

If they would make one that robust today, it would cost $3,000

 

[Snip's]

Looking closer at the garage door itself, which is original to the house, going on 80 year old....

Cast hinges, not stamped sheet metal....


And I like the use of square nuts... And yep... The ceiling was trimmed back then with crown moulding....



Everything is built like a tank....
Back then, when you bought something, it was built to last.....
A different philosophy today....

 

[Holtzman]

I still have the original springs and hardware which is starting to wear out on my one-piece door. Looking for a modern equivalent for the Leland motor/opener and hardware/springs. I've also got this one rigged to use a wireless garage door opener. My local companies in Harrisburg Pa want to sell me a sectional door from Home Depot as they've never seen anything like this.

 

[MikeC55]

That is quite interesting. At first I thought ‘what kind of a nut would have a collection of vintage garage door openers’, but now it doesn’t seem so far fetched…. And those door hinges; never seem cast ones before. Very stout looking!

 

[sailor_lou]

That is very cool. If it was in my garage and I ever moved, I'd take it with me.

 

[nadogail]

Apparently your Door Opener was built to a Quality; not to the Lowest Possible Price that would survive the warranty period.

 

[Snip's]

I still have the original springs and hardware which is starting to wear out on my one-piece door. Looking for a modern equivalent for the Leland motor/opener and hardware/springs. I've also got this one rigged to use a wireless garage door opener. My local companies in Harrisburg Pa want to sell me a sectional door from Home Depot as they've never seen anything like this.

Looks like you have the exact same garage door opener that I have...
Try to keep it running if you can... Rubber wheels are available from McMaster-Carr

 

[firebirdparts]

The nice thing about the kick out is the low headroom required. You may need to keep it. It’s tricky for a sectional to be used there and keep an opener. The door salesman might lie to you about what they can do.

FWIW I built a door one time to fit that kick out hardware, same brand you have. Original door was rusty. I built a wooden one.

 

[ybnormal]

I have a 2 bay garage with a pair of garage door openers that I'm fairly sure are original to the house built in the mid 40's.....
They just keep working with very little to no maintenance needed... Made by Scientific Products Inc. in Detroit Michigan...
I did a search and they don't seem to exist anymore....
A couple of years ago one of the springs let go and I had a local independent garage door company involved in replacing the broken spring...
Apparently there are garage door opener enthusiasts out there and he wanted to install a new opener for free because he wanted mine in trade. He was missing my opener in his collection... Yeah, I know.... I thought it sounded fishy.... I kept my old garage door openers....

and I thought we had weirdos on this forum because we have members who collect vises or little pocket screwdrivers

 

[bad_idea]

Cool, looks like it was built to last a lifetime.

Sounds like it has already lasted a couple lifetimes!

 

[mreisner]

Truck Equipment - Scientific Brake

www.scientificbrake.com

I believe this is what the company turned into.

 

[JohnHaubrick]

I bought my house back at the beginning of 2024 and never thought anything of the garage door opener.

I had a guy come and look at the garage to get a quote on a new door and he said he never seen an opener like this, and he's been in the business since 1981.

The house was built in 1940 and I'm starting to think this is original. The light bulb will come on, but the motor will just make a humming noise and not turn. I looked into it today and think that this plug was shortening it out with the freyed wires inside touching. Bought a new plug/wires on Ebay hoping it works.

Does anyone know where I can find possible blueprints or original drawings for this kind of opener?

 

[lashield]

Scientific Products was my dad's (John Shield) company - I wish he were still alive so he could answer all of your questions.

 

[WildBill]

I used to work with my dad installing and repairing garage doors back in the early 80's. We dreaded seeing one of these monsters that someone wanted changed out because there wasn't an easy drop in replacement. And all the hardware was so heavy. We usually talked them into just letting us fix it up, even though we definitely lost money doing it. The system usually worked great after being greased/oiled and fixing whatever wiring had been hacked up over the years. Sometimes we had to replace the rollers. We would also put bushings in the door hinges if needed, that involved me drilling them out and using a c-clamp and small socket or bolt to squeeze brass bushings into them. I was a teenager and replacing those bushings was a seemingly close to impossible task made more fun by the fact that it was in Houston and usually a super pleasant 125F+ in the closed garage, and most work had to be done with the door shut. Plus the old garage doors weighed approximately six million pounds, so that made everything even more awesome. They were super smooth and fast when working right though, I remember my dad talking about how much better they were than the new **** we were installing. And his prediction that they would outlast him was apparently accurate.

 

[Sonni]

and I thought we had weirdos on this forum because we have members who collect vises or little pocket screwdrivers

any "new" relays available? After put into use, 1950's, our relay has developed issues.

 

[Sonni]

Scientific Products was my dad's (John Shield) company - I wish he were still alive so he could answer all of your questions.

any "new" relays available?

 

[Sonni]

any "new" relays available?

any videos? YouTube of a unit in operation?

 

[Sonni]

I bought my house back at the beginning of 2024 and never thought anything of the garage door opener.

I had a guy come and look at the garage to get a quote on a new door and he said he never seen an opener like this, and he's been in the business since 1981.

The house was built in 1940 and I'm starting to think this is original. The light bulb will come on, but the motor will just make a humming noise and not turn. I looked into it today and think that this plug was shortening it out with the freyed wires inside touching. Bought a new plug/wires on Ebay hoping it works.

Does anyone know where I can find possible blueprints or original drawings for this kind of opener?

Ours just recently developed an issue, tracked it down to the "relay". The motor and transformer are good. Perhaps all you need is a "new" relay. Let me know if you locate any?

 

[Sonni]

any "new" relays available?

Good morning, a couple of weeks ago I posted my question regarding a relay for my Scientific Products garage door operator. In the replies someone mentioned that they collect these "old" operators. Do you know how I can contact that person?