WHATS IN YOUR TOOL BOX?

Several weeks ago, I loosened the clamp bolt on the base of the drill press and tapped a tapered punch into the clamping space then sprayed some WALTER penitrating fluid around the joint and let it sit. Late yesterday, I used the shop crane and a chain to put a little lift on the upper structure. A few light taps with a big hammer and a piece of wood and the base started to move and separate after being together for 97 years.
Today, I'm pulling the sash counter weight to replace the chain because it is the right thing to do. If the chain breaks, it is a big job to do the fix, later. I like to pull mechanic's wire through with the chain now then use the wire to pull the replacement chain in over the guide spools inside the column.
The first task for today is to turn babbitt bearing protection from nylon round bar. I am only making one spool shaped bearing protector and then splitting it down the middle to make two halves then clamping them in place with some 16 gauge sheetmetal and bolts. I do not want to sent the bearing caps out and risk damage or loss.
I like babbitt bearings, but they have their limitations and there are a few good reasons why we seldom see babbitt bearings in 2014. I am old enough to be familiar with and have the tools and materials, but it is a PITA. I have done several of my old hit and miss engine babbitt bearings where I can work on the floor, but these drill presses require me to use a step ladder. Pouring liquid metal is dangerous any time, add a ladder and, well, you know.
Every one of the 16 oil holes in this drill press was plugged with petrified oil and dirt. To prevent this from happening and make it better, I have drilled and tapped each hole to accept a grease zerk. ( aka nipple) I prefer the nipple to zerk for no really good reason. I can understand nipple being offensive back in the day when the fairer sex tried to cover up. Here in 2014, less is best and suddenly grease nipple is a bother to some persons.
Under the heading, " If they can do it, I should be allowed to" the law has been changed here to allow female persons to go topless in public, just like the guys. It is not just like the guys, but soooooo much better, me thinks. Having said that, I should hasten to mention, that while every situation is memorable, some are unsettling, to say the least. Whatever, it qualifies as distracted driving when a topless female passes on a motorcycle.

I think it was Alex Kavalov who said he never bothered with babbitt but makes new bearings from brass stock. Talking about preassure lubed bearings here, but he said he never had a failure, and brass was soft enough but also hard enough to get the job done. More expensive when makeing 100's of engines, but for a one -off repair it was simpler then makeing babbit blanks and finishing it after the pour.
Peugoet used to run the camshafts right in the cast-iron block with no bearing, and while the head would crack @ 150K miles, I never saw one with a bad cam. Aluminum head on a diesel... what were they thinking?

My friend, who is an accountant, decided that he was going to try and pour new babbit bearings in one of his Old stationary single cylinder engines. His idea was to pour the babbit around a shaft that he had acetylene smoked and aligned 90 degrees with the bore of the engine then build a boring bar from round stock and run the bar through some mounted external ball bearings. He turned the boring bar with a MILWAUKEE 18 volt cordless drill and in a few minutes the engine was all but ready for assembly. There was considerable set-up time, he said but he was so pleased with himself.
Some of the old engines had smooth enough castings and others will need boring before installing yellow metal bearings. As you know, babbit fills the irregularities in the block bearing areas.
I have been avoiding a restoration on a WATERLOO BOY kerosene engine because of the much needed new poured bearings. It is not a big deal and I have all of the tools, furnace, pouring pots and ladles and bearing scrapers and I know how to use them. I got this knot in my head and the engine has been put off for more than 30 years. I should do it sooner than later, I guess.
I got this WATERLOO BOY and another engine for $5.00. that's right, five dollars. The both of them were in a Creek in Northern Alberta and if I wanted them, I had to figure a way to get them out and into my R120. Getting the iron out of the creek had to be manual labour and the loading was a borrowed 2X12. Rocking the engines loosened them from their muddy graves and then I rolled the engines onto the bank of the creek. From there, it was a rope around my waist and a tough skid over 50 meters of grass as I leaned back and pulled like a mad man. I sold the other engine after it was restored and got $750 for it.

Oh the things we do when we are Younger and think we can do anything! My Body reminds me everyday how foolish I was when younger.

All the stuff to pour babbit is avialable from McMaster Carr, I've never done it myself, but know the basics. I'd rather make yellow bearings on a lathe then bother with hot liquid, but came close to doing once on a Kubota that had been run out of oil. Was going to try and see if I could make it work.

More pictures of the HOEFER DRILL PRESS restoration.
This is one of the best condition old machines I have experienced. The worst part is the really bad paint and it seems to want to come off easily. Tomorrow the base, back and the arm that holds the drill table will go for sand blasting. Several of the shafts need a little trimming in the lathe to remove the raised areas around the set screw prints. I think some milled flats should do the trick.

My son was lending a hand with loading the HOEFER DRILL PRESS big parts into the truck for transport to the metal cleaners. We thought that we should take the sash weight out of the column to lighten the load a little. After tying some mechanics wire onto the sash weight chain we dumped the weight out onto the floor. The usual weight is a great lump of cast iorn so when we saw this bolt it was a surprise. The bolt is 24 inches long, four inches diameter stem and the head is a six inch hex. Without measuring, I would guess that the thread pitch to be 8TPI. HEAVY? Oh yah, Maybe 40 pounds.

Hey, you found Paul Bunyun's eye glass screw! It's been missing for a long time.

I never thought that it was for his glasses, oh well. If you see him, tell him that the batteries are dead and I replaced them.

And on the smaller size, this is one of the other fasteners from the same drill press. I treated it with some gun barrel bluing. BTW: the threads are 4 threads per inch on a 0.50" bolt