With Christmas speeding toward us at the end of the week, productivity at work will be at an all time low. We’re going to contribute to the delinquency by directing you to check out Smokestak.com a resource dedicated to antique and obsolete engines. We’ve never heard of most stuff shown on the various parts of this site, but that’s the fun. The education is awesome.

The world we live in today is dominated by handfuls of large manufacturers in just about every aspect of the gearhead realm. Want a small engine? Chances are it’ll either be a Briggs and Stratton, Kohler, Honda, or a Chinese version that rips off the previously mentioned companies. Decades back there were dozens, hell, maybe hundreds of small companies cranking out engines of all shapes, sizes, and distinctions. There were the big stationary engines for mills and such, and then there were the small engines, as pictured below that powered everything from lawn mowers to small farm implements.

This is a heck of a place to get your gearhead history fix!