What a long strange trip!!!!!!

[burnlast]

Here is some pics of a in place machining repair I just did in San Francisco. Thought someone might like how something like this is set up and done.


This was the drive end before I started.And they wondered why they couldn’t keep oil in the bearing!!!!

After 8 hours of welding and a spool and a half of .045 wire. This is what it looked like.

Finally set up and turning.


This was the other end. Damage wasn’t as bad as drive end. Bearing was spun. Nothing to mount lathe to so we had an adapter plate made up, then we drilled and tapped the end to bolt it up to.


3 days(39 hours) later and this was the final cut . This pic was taken off a cat walk of another piece of equipment. Center line of shaft was 10 ft. off floor.After we got it back together it was off to the Wharf for a few Anchor Steam's!!!!!

[This message has been edited by burnlast (edited 12-15-2004).]

[This message has been edited by burnlast (edited 12-15-2004).]

[Doc Nickel]

Wiiiild.

Okay, first off, what is it? Was there supposed to be a gear or spline there?

And second, what's that tool? Is the shaft being spun, or is the tool spinning around it?

Doc.

[burnlast]

Doc,the piece of equipment is a hydrolyzer.No splines just a big (and expensive) bearing.It (bearing)is setting between shoulder and groove.Their maint.crew said that about 4 months ago they locked up the bearing they welded stringers on the journal and hand ground them down to fit ID of bearing.The tool is a Climax portable lathe and this is our small one.We have another one that will turn a 18 in dia.The shaft doesn't turn the whole unit(blue part with bar)spins.It slips on to a tapered arbor that is bolted to the end of the shaft.


[This message has been edited by burnlast (edited 12-15-2004).]

[BillH]

Wow, that is wild, cool. Thanks for sharing

[tattoomike68]

perfect, you are a pro.

[chkz]

Very nice job !! I'm a Millwright myself and am/was always impressed with the "in situ" machining guys......

thanx for the pics!

Chris

[Thrud]

Very nice - hope you charged lots...

[SJorgensen]

This is the ultimate in problem solving. I like the mindset that a part isn't ruined. It is only a piece of metal that isn't shaped right.

That's where we see things differently from people who see metal as an unshapable and permanent and hard material.

We see it as like clay.

(Agree? Disagree?)

[wierdscience]

Neato!Tell me is it a slow go over the welds or does it cleanup fairly easy?
BTW,love them flashy suspenders

[Doc Nickel]

I only wish it was clay.

I know four general types of person:

The kind that thinks only some magical edifice called The Factory can create an object, and only The Professional Board-Certified Factory Authorized Repair Center can repair it if it needs it.

Once an object has left The Factory, it is immutable- it cannot be changed.

Then there's the kind that, if you show them a part or trinket you made, they say "well sure, you just took a hunk of metal, rounded this part off and made the hole there where you put that threaded dealie. What's so special about that?"

The kicker is that this person has never worked anything more complex than a screwdriver or assembled anything more than a Revell Snap-Tite model kit. But hey, if Jesse can turn a pile of scrap into that cool bike, then all you need is to... you know, whang on this part, bend that one, and push the button on that water-laser thing, right? What's the big deal?

The type that would look at those nutcrackers posted in the other thread and say "The ones you can get from Pier 1 are nicer."

The third is the welder. Parts are typically only made by addition- this part is welded to that part to make a bigger part. Subtraction is usually only done with an oxytorch to make a smaller piece in order to weld it to the bigger piece.

The last is the machinist. Parts are always too big- big round parts are made into small round parts. Large squarish blocks are made into smaller, more interestingly-shaped squarish blocks.

A good Do-It-Yourselfer needs to be a bit of each:

Factory/professional repairs? Say you're doing a cylinder head. Don't have a toolpost grinder or a valve grinder? Best to farm the work out to a pro with the right tools.

The blase` sort? We all gotta be, a little. Can't look at a job and think it can't be done, you just have to look at it and think, yeah, just round that off, drill and tap, toss in a bolt... No biggie.

And everyone should know both welding and machining. I've made a bunch of parts from, for example, two plates welded together, then trued up. Had I made it from a solid, the "T" shape would have required a 4" square foot-long block of steel and three days' machine time.

There's times when the "right" way is a careful drill-and-tap, a good countersink and a perfectly-flush allenhead machine screw. And then there's times the "right" way is a half-inch MIG bead and a quick scrape with an air grinder.

I always tell the kids in my own board "If somebody built it, somebody else can fix it or modify it."

Doc.