[SEL] Babbitt lapping compound

[Carl McGhee]

Thanks Tommy for your tip on doing bearings, I like it. How do you do your 
oil grooves in the bushing?

Carl McGhee
Battle Creek Mi.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Judge Tommy Turner" <lcjudge at scrtc.com>
To: "The SEL email discussion list" <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 7:36 PM
Subject: Re: [SEL] Babbitt lapping compound


> Guys, I do bearings the lazy way.  I polish the crankshaft until its
> bright.  Then I make a bronze bushing about 1/8 thick that has about 5
> thousandths clearance (sometimes you can get lucky and buy these from
> McMaster Carr and other suppliers).  I then split the bushing in 2
> halves.  I tin the back side with solder and then put the 2 halves back
> on the crankshaft and wrap a very fine brass wire around them to hold
> them in place.  Then I'll situate and align the crank in the journals
> with screw jacks dam up the ends and throw with Babbittrite.  I usually
> do a little preheat on the base and then I pour the bottom half, let it
> cool, place my shims (usually I'll make these out of gasket material or
> oiled paper) set the cap on, dam it up and pour the top half.  I've done
> this with several engines and never had a problem.  It leaves a perfect
> bearing surface and there isn't any scraping or fitting needed.  Now if
> someone wants the fun and experience of a babbitt/scrape job, they'll
> want to pour the babbitt and spend a day scraping and fitting.  I
> usually just want a good bearing job.
>
> Tommy Turner
> Magnolia, KY
>
> Rob Skinner wrote:
>
>>On Apr 3, 2008, at 9:28 AM, William Young wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Answer:  I think scraping takes skill & experience, neither of which
>>>I have.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Skill?  Experience?  Trust me, Wakai-san, neither of those are required.
>>
>>JB suggests using an old piston ring.  He knows a thing or two about
>>engines, so listen when he types.  I've used an old hacksaw blade, but
>>you can use any hunk of metal that you can sharpen into a shap
>>convenient for scraping.
>>
>>The babbitt doesn't cut so easily that you have to worry about
>>accidentally ruining the job if you hiccup.  If you're capable of
>>shaving your face without ending up with a sink full of blood, you can
>>shave babbitt.
>>
>>I've been working out of the same quart of Starrett layout dye that
>>I've had for the last 25 years, but you can probaby substitute any
>>kind of coloring that will transfer between the surfaces.
>>
>>Party on,
>>ロブスキナー
>>
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>>
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>>
>>
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