[SEL] Babbitt lapping compound

[Judge Tommy Turner]

Carl,
    Two ways to do it.  One is to simply put the caps in the mill and 
mill a straight groove  with the edge of the endmill parallel to the 
jounal.  The other is simply to  take a die grinder with a carbide  
tipped cutter and "X" from the oil hole.  I usually mill the groove as 
it takes about 5 minutes to set it up and mill it.  I never put it very 
deep, probably 1/32 of an inch or so.  Just enough that the oil can seep 
into the groove and make contact with the bearing surface. 

Tommy Turner
Magnolia, KY



Carl McGhee wrote:

>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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