Nice to hear there are still those who know Babbitted bearings. Just a note. I have seen and maintained babbitted bearings used with pressurized oiling systems at shaft speeds in excess of 10,000 RPM. I have also installed one on a 26.5 inch shaft that was lubricated by Oiler rings. Each half of that bearing weighed approximately 1,500 pounds. Most modern equipment has gone to anti friction bearings or micro-babbitted bronze or steel backed bearings. Good show.
Years ago I listened to an old marine engineer talking about babbitt and lignum vitae. I didn't have a scooby about most of what he was saying as even his replies to questions were largely beyond my ken. But thanks to you, Keith, I now understand the babbitt bit better!
My older brother and I had a 1928 model A ford 60 years ago that had a connecting rod knocking, I called my uncle, which was a machinist, and asked if he would help with the repair. We pulled the engine and removed the bad rod and poured a new babbitt bearing on the rod and cap, then blued it to fit the journal. This video brought back great memories we had back during our high school days and our hot rods. Thanks for the return to memories of the past!
Giday from Oz there Keith, well in Australia we call those White Metal Bearings, it's the first I heard them called BABBITS. Anyway curiosity got the better of me & clicked on it. I've done a few of these personally with my old man on a few Lanz Bulldog Tractor restorations a couple of decades back. Both jobs were the crank main rod bearing, but we did the job very differently. We just soldered the white metal back in the bearing shell & because their so big, we soldiered a bit, then turned the shell some more in the vice & soldiered some more until both shells were finished, then put both halves together & run a boring bar through it to under size, then spent the day with the bearing blue & a scraper until it was excellent contact. That tractor still runs today, it's a 7.3 litre single cylinder 75 H.P. 2 stroke & still runs happily on Sump Oil.
I remember seeing this process done when i first started working as a maintenance mechanic in a paper mill. Many of the large diameter rolls used Babbitt bearings and the molds were pretty big. Needless to say several hours spent on the torch melting down the slugs before the pour. I remember one of the old timers on the crew got hit with hot Babbitt on the top of his boot when it erupted from the mold from hitting a little spot of grease or oil inside it. Thank God we were pouring during winter and close to the door to the shop, we grabbed the guy right up and out the door to stuff his foot into the snow. He got really messed up, it burnt right thru his boot, but that guy came back to work after some time and finished out to his very late retirement. Degrease and clean your molds very well and wear PPE that stuff will mess you up quick if you don't pay attention. I'm glad I wasn't involved with the cleaning and pouring that day, I was only allowed to melt down to slugs. I'd have felt terrible if I had been responsible for that accident and I know it could have been avoided.. Come with me, And we'll be....In a world of OSHA violations....Keith thanks for the memories..
Just came across your site this morning and it's clear I'm not getting any work done today! My great-grandfather and his fathers were blacksmiths in Northeast Scotland going back nearly 300 years that we can trace, and I have a ton of respect for the craft and skills they embodied. Huge respect for the people like you who keep valuable traditions alive and share your knowledge and love of craftsmanship with the world. I like how you show not only the end task but the process of creating the tools and jigs needed to accomplish it, and tell the story of the job in a way that is real and not condescending. Seems to me you're one of those fortunate people who's found their true avocation. Thanks, and keep the videos coming!
Years ago while working for a steel fabrication company we ended up winning the bid on building 6' wide 25' tall sliding lock and dam gate. The project didn't seem to be hard of a project except the Army Corp of Engineers told use the gate was not allowed to leak more than 1.5 gallon per hr of water when it was shut. The sides were no problem as far a leakage came, it was the bottom of the gate that seemed to leak the most. That is when and old timer suggested we route out a 4-1/2" trough which we filled in with molten babbitt and them we would drop the gate down into the babbitt to make a perfect fit. If the dam was leaking more than guidelines permitted in the future they could reheat the babbitt and create the perfect seal once again. We build that assembly in 1974 and it still in service till this day.
Wow! Great video! Brings back memories. On the farm repair of disk, cultivator gauge, plow and planter wheels my father would spiral a small string around the shaft before the pour for a grease channel. For the release agent he also would use thin onion paper around the shaft. He wrapped the string around the paper to hold it, then he would rotate the shaft and bearing vertical, and sometimes make a small round funnel around the bearing case, (which was really just a cast pipe or piece) and pour all at one time. Just kids modeling clay was used around the bottom as a seal/ dam. Drill out the grease zerk, bolt it back together and away she went! This was 55+ years ago! My job was to pick up the spilt Babbitt.
What a wonderful work you are doing. I have been pouring babbit for 60+ years. I have a couple of suggestions that might help you. You can flux your melted material with a green pea sized ball of bees' wax. It will bond the dross to it and remove that skin on top. Second, when pouring a top, build a higher pool pocket with your damming material. This will let the air out at each end. I make mine funnel shaped with a center punch putting the point right down to the metal. Just make them about a half inch higher than the top cap. They will pop right off when cooled. I have a Ton or more tin base & more than that lead base out in the shop. You never know when a cane mill will need a tune up. God bless and Keep the good info. coming.
The only Babbitt I heard of was Bruce Babbitt when he was governor. These style bearings are a lot more useful than he was. Old world techniques still have value today. I could see this being very handy of my ranch when bearings aren't readily available.
I haven't seen that done since I was a boy way back in the early 60's. A man was working on an old saw mill that needed some new bearings, I watched him go through this process, I can still remember it like it was yesterday. Liked your video, keep up the great work. Mark
Keith, I very much appreciate your detailed step by step narrations. The completeness and detail are very interesting. Love the old machines. Keep up the great work.
Repaired sawmill bearing at an engine show. Melted babbitt by putting ladle in firebox of another steam engine. Used plumbers oakum for damming ends.A few old plumbers still have some laying around from pouring lead joints in cast iron soil pipe before plastic pipe was invented!
Years ago my father poured babbitt bearings in a Caterpillar 15 and he poured them using oakum. He didn't go through any machining like this and when he was done the oil pressure was 45 lbs without touching the oil pump. You did a really nice job here but very time consuming.
Hi I am from New Zealand and I have been learnt to do what you showed in this video .We call this procedure white metal bearings . I also noted that you use Smith equipment for your gas work I have the same set and believe it to be one of the best around. thanks for your videos they are wonderful to watch
That's a superb video. I used to watch my Godfarther pour bearings for mounting 220 Lbs wetstone grinding wheels when I was a kid over 5 years ago. I always wondered how they created a dam to hold the molten metal. Also saw it used on bearings in a sheet rolling mill to mount a 30 Ton flyweel again that was 50 years ago, never seen it since. Thanks for preserving the art and taking time to show us.
Keith, I want to thank you for keeping these skills alive. My grandfather poured Babbitt bearings in a 31 Chevrolet decades ago. When I was about 12 years old he taught me to make gaskets with a small hammer. That skill has saved me several times out on the road having to remove a stuck thermostat, it's hard to find a part store open at 3am. A piece of thin card board is easy to find even in a bar ditch.
Very good video! Thanks for your time! Those gloves will make the little lady easier to get along with too. Rough hands will mess up a nice silk blouse on the dance floor.
I've only just found this channel so I'm just picking through the back catalogue. Keith has amazing knowledge and skill. I've only been engineering for 30 years so I'm still learning and this was a great lesson, I want to try this.
I love old machinery and have a comment. In later years in the Machine Shop at the old Pacific Lumber Co. they used Duct Seal for damming babbitt bearing pours. My Father worked in the round house at Palco and I worked there as Power Plant Supt. for over forty years until my retirement. Keep up the good work.
Very nice Keith. It is the first time a see a video so good about babbit pouring. Thanks for sharing with us. Congratulations from Brazil. Nilton Polydoro
Hi Keith, I really enjoy your videos on the restoration. Pretty cool and I think a lost art. You do GREAT work! Be safe in all your travels. Best Regards, Reid
what an awesome video i used to work on old canning equipment but never got a chance to scrape a bearing or pour a Babbitt thanks for posting this it must be a dying art
Thanks for the lesson on babbitt bearings .I have an old blacksmiths made ladle the size of yours .Now I know what to use it for besides making fishing sinkers with it
Not too many around that still know how to pour babbit. I don't see many in the younger set who are willing to learn the old machining methods, either. I still work off the dials myself.
+Wolfgang Skabrond They have been around for a long time now but are not nearly as common any more as they were before ball bearings became common place.
Great video. I have enjoyed all of your videos. I have a bunch of old machine tools i hope to restore in the years to come and i find your work here very helpful. Back in the late 1970s i was working in a wrecking / scrap metal yard in N. California. We got a old Aermotor windmill for scrap and decided to put it to use on a well at the rear of the property on a old well. The babbitt bearings were worn out so we got a piece pipe with the outside measurements of the bearing and a piece of steel shafting appox the size as the shaft in the windmill. We put the shaft piece inside the pipe and melted a bunch of lead wheel weights in a ladle and poured it between the pipe and the piece of steel shaft. Then we took a hacksaw with a fine tooth blade and cut the pipe and lead twice lengthwise. We split the pipe in half and knocked the two lead pieces loose from the piece of shaft. A few shims made from pop cans and it is still working after 35 years. Whenever in the area i go visit my former boss and friend of 45 years. The topic always comes up about the windmill job done years ago and our late friend Okie Custer who oversaw the repair and loaned us the bearing scrapers to complete the job. Chuck.
Keith nice work. That was good where you showed the tooling you used and the size difference between the tool holders. I think that has a big effect on how much material you can remove and you showed that in the video very well. Those were heavy cuts and the machine hardly noticed. Nice work filming the babbitt pour operation.
This reminds me of pouring the cutter head bearings for my 16" Porter heavy pattern jointer. That thing sounds like a helicopter, but man can it do some nice work on big boards. When you live in a house built in 1830's Ky you have to make everything yourself, because that is what they did so there is no standard for anything. The biggest advantage to babbitt is it can be any size. Got a damaged shaft from a bearing failure turn it down to round again and re-pour, no need for a new high priced shaft. :-)
Nice video! You brought back some good memories of when I would Babbitt about 10-20 bearings at a time but it was done on a steel bench. We made a cradle to hold the shaft at the correct height and we had mandrells for all of the sizes of bearings we had in the plant and we did this about every 2-3 months. We used to ( soot or sooting ) the mandrells and make shims out of wasted cartons from 1lb. Sugar bags and the Babbittrite (dog shit ) worked ( DAMN Good). 33 years of machinist and babbitting bearings was a great job and slowing down the Chuck with the palm of your hand there's nothing like it but I never could wear gloves or wear rings or bracelets while running a lathe. I'm not saying your wrong I just was not comfortable with the things I've seen. Great video Jake.
Wow thanks! Great video! They tell us all about babbitt bearing in school.. But I have never seen a modern video about pouring it so it was very cool to see!
This line of work is really cool. Thanks for taking the time to explain not only what you are working on, but the machines and the tools too. I know nothing of machining so I'm hanging on your every word. lol. Really neat stuff. Again, I know it takes time to set up and video the explainations, but I really appreciate it.
I like it! Babbit bearings are used on all turbine bearings and gear boxes, and obviously all car engines. Next time take the bearing keeps off the machine, mount them both close to each other on the shaft, on the bench and pour them together. It saves scratching around on the floor. The shims are not for wear, they are to give you a gap for the top bearing pour. As for holding the keeps while scraping, drop two bolts through the holes and clamp these in the vice
A really interesting and informative video Keith, thank you. I agree with Keld, it seems that the more money google make on advertising the worse the system becomes, we should all vote with our feet, maybe then they will get it sorted!!!!!!
That was a very informative tutorial Keith. Babbitt pouring is one facet that I've never been involved in, but have always wanted to know more about. I'm really getting a kick watching you refurb this old machine. Duck
Keith, I work in the large apparatus repair industry, and Babbitt is very commonly used for steel mill main drive motors, both in rougher stands, gearboxes, and finish mill stands. It is also, as you said in the video, still very common in large power plant applications such as turbine generators. Mainly equipment dating from the 50s-70s, that is being used today.
To add: most bearings in large applications are no longer poured in the field. The shells are removed, spin cast off site, and machined to size. They're then scraped to proper fit and clearances once installed.
The little hammer reminds me of the days when my mother would berate my brother and me. She would buy us little things from time to time and then say, "little things for little minds" Enjoy your little hammer.
Keith, Love your channel. Ton's of interesting stuff. I used to work in a foundry (Puget Sound Naval Shipyard)… back when I was younger… ;) Not trying to be a safety police. Please don't consider this comment to be negative. As you saw, when liquid hits a smooth surface like a concrete floor it wants to flow out. When I saw you kneeling by your very full ladle, my butt puckered some. Full ladles have their own trouble for pouring but smooth surfaces can wreck the day. Pouring on bench tops can have the same effect accept then the metal flows out and down… ugh. Even some dirt on the floor would impede the flow of liquid metal. Just a thought.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I've had luck adding 1/8" vents to the top caps on each end plus a little dam putty as a funnel. All the best please continue, sincerely, Jim
I like to use a product called Timesaver Babbitt grinding compound to grind babbitt to a perfect 1.5 thousand fit. It also polishes the shaft. Get it at any Model T supplyer.
Wow Randy Richards has made a lot of little tools we have the dove tail end-mill and the serialized scribes of more recent times. Did not know about the hammer, ok I am here to see the Babbitt Bearing making. We love when you do your mail calls here is why, you remind us of the Michelin Man commercial, that shows tires coming down the line each one (music starts) he falls in love with and then the next tire comes down the conveyor belt and becomes the newest love, you Keith just love your tools and machines, it is great to watch. Keep up the great work. This Issac Babbitt really created a solution as I was only familiar with the Oilite era oil impregnated bronze something we machine here. Ok here is the blackening I have heard about and why it is used. Grades like in all machining do matter Wikipedia shared (loving my elements) this for us very well. Interesting modern uses still apply. Thank you Keith.
I realize this is a pretty old video and I'm sure you've replaced your putty by now but in case anyone else is looking, there's some asbestos-free babbitt putty for sale by a company on Amazon. It's called RotoMetals Casting Retainer Putty. Great video, by the way, and thanks for the tips!
As a former prototype machinist/model maker and now a full time tinkerer. I am retired now and I admire your videos and have spent a lot of Quarantine time watching them. What you made look easy and is very difficult to master is when you used the dividing head to make the replacement teeth on the gear. Most shops I worked had only one or two people that would get those jobs. What you didn't get into was sometimes the number of turn then the number of holes enters into the mix. Don't distract someone when they are cutting gears or timing pulleys. Well done anyway. By the way I can't find a good machinist apron anywhere, where do you get yours? Thanks again. Don Morse
we used to pour windmill gear housing bearings used a dummy shaft and plenty of putty those flat well oiled Babbitt bearingswill handle way more load and last longer than ball bearings I have also worked on babbitt bearings in a ships engine con rod that were big enough for a man to go into the journal with a torch and a bar of Babbitt and fill in the scored bearing then we bored it and reinstalled it and she was on her way lots of memories great video thanx
Keith, there is a third major babbit type. I've only seen it used in extremely heavily loaded oil film bearings for steel mills, but it is Cadmium based. It is of course toxic so you have to wear respirators to pour it. I used to work in the only shop in the country that would centrifugally pour them years ago.
another darn good video Keith, thanks for the upload, the popping you were encountering during the top bearing pour is steam.. water gets into the paper shim and then flashes to steam when the babbitt enters the shell. one way to avoid that is to dry the paper in the oven at 140 deg or in the microwave. any water coming into contact with the hot metal is gonna make it pop violently. it only takes a few molecules of water to make the babbitt pop so it is imperative your shims are absolutely dry.
called an idler pully, worked in a joinery shop in early 50s as a apprentice and tradesman 5years plus 1 ,, that was driven by a Hornsby horizontal town gas engine with a set of bellows on the wall, a 2000, gallon tank for cooling took 4 to 5 men to spin the big drive wheel to start and then slip on the belt , and flat pulleys and leather belts all over the shop ,above and below the floor Some pullys were steel some were wooden ,all machines had the idler that allowed them to be stood down if not in use we had an eight header plus all the other machines, planers,thicknessers, mortice, band saws drum sander , tennoning machine {a beast} saws both bench and swing plus other in shop designed for rebating casements , and cutting for the whitco fittings top and bottom , no hinges used just the whitcos, all worked of the pully system and that one engine. .1st year appretice had to hose down the exhaust and muffler box for a 1/2 hour at finish time to cool them down jUST in case of fire later in th night, and the appretice machinist one job was to fill all the oil drippers each morning on the machines lift the lid pour in the oil from an oil can onto the felt ,some had felt others just a glass container and a drip system as did the Hornsby Engine,enjoyed your video Give away my age
Johnny rowland Very cool! Babbitt bearings are nothing to be scared of. After you pour a couple of them, you are as much of an expert as the next guy who has done the job. Low tech all the way, but very effective!
Oh man..... Steam train whistle in the bacground :) Gotta love it ! Thank's Keith for a very nice video. I have seen a few babit pours on Utube but yours and Keith Fenner is the most instructive in such a way that one can doo it your self after watching, I need to teach my self the trade cause of a comming restoration of a drill press similar to the one Mr Fenner have in his shop. Love them old tools and machines and my Cap of to you for all the restoration work you do and for sharing it with us. In Norwegian : Tusen Tusen Takk Hr Rucker :)
Great info on some lost technology. It must be pretty cool to service a machine that has not been apart for decades.
Nice to hear there are still those who know Babbitted bearings. Just a note. I have seen and maintained babbitted bearings used with pressurized oiling systems at shaft speeds in excess of 10,000 RPM. I have also installed one on a 26.5 inch shaft that was lubricated by Oiler rings. Each half of that bearing weighed approximately 1,500 pounds. Most modern equipment has gone to anti friction bearings or micro-babbitted bronze or steel backed bearings. Good show.
Years ago I listened to an old marine engineer talking about babbitt and lignum vitae. I didn't have a scooby about most of what he was saying as even his replies to questions were largely beyond my ken. But thanks to you, Keith, I now understand the babbitt bit better!
My older brother and I had a 1928 model A ford 60 years ago that had a connecting rod knocking, I called my uncle, which was a machinist, and asked if he would help with the repair. We pulled the engine and removed the bad rod and poured a new babbitt bearing on the rod and cap, then blued it to fit the journal. This video brought back great memories we had back during our high school days and our hot rods. Thanks for the return to memories of the past!
Giday from Oz there Keith, well in Australia we call those White Metal Bearings, it's the first I heard them called BABBITS. Anyway curiosity got the better of me & clicked on it. I've done a few of these personally with my old man on a few Lanz Bulldog Tractor restorations a couple of decades back. Both jobs were the crank main rod bearing, but we did the job very differently. We just soldered the white metal back in the bearing shell & because their so big, we soldiered a bit, then turned the shell some more in the vice & soldiered some more until both shells were finished, then put both halves together & run a boring bar through it to under size, then spent the day with the bearing blue & a scraper until it was excellent contact. That tractor still runs today, it's a 7.3 litre single cylinder 75 H.P. 2 stroke & still runs happily on Sump Oil.
I remember seeing this process done when i first started working as a maintenance mechanic in a paper mill. Many of the large diameter rolls used Babbitt bearings and the molds were pretty big. Needless to say several hours spent on the torch melting down the slugs before the pour. I remember one of the old timers on the crew got hit with hot Babbitt on the top of his boot when it erupted from the mold from hitting a little spot of grease or oil inside it. Thank God we were pouring during winter and close to the door to the shop, we grabbed the guy right up and out the door to stuff his foot into the snow. He got really messed up, it burnt right thru his boot, but that guy came back to work after some time and finished out to his very late retirement. Degrease and clean your molds very well and wear PPE that stuff will mess you up quick if you don't pay attention. I'm glad I wasn't involved with the cleaning and pouring that day, I was only allowed to melt down to slugs. I'd have felt terrible if I had been responsible for that accident and I know it could have been avoided.. Come with me, And we'll be....In a world of OSHA violations....Keith thanks for the memories..
Just came across your site this morning and it's clear I'm not getting any work done today! My great-grandfather and his fathers were blacksmiths in Northeast Scotland going back nearly 300 years that we can trace, and I have a ton of respect for the craft and skills they embodied. Huge respect for the people like you who keep valuable traditions alive and share your knowledge and love of craftsmanship with the world. I like how you show not only the end task but the process of creating the tools and jigs needed to accomplish it, and tell the story of the job in a way that is real and not condescending. Seems to me you're one of those fortunate people who's found their true avocation. Thanks, and keep the videos coming!
I appreciate your craft and your expertise.
Years ago while working for a steel fabrication company we ended up winning the bid on building 6' wide 25' tall sliding lock and dam gate. The project didn't seem to be hard of a project except the Army Corp of Engineers told use the gate was not allowed to leak more than 1.5 gallon per hr of water when it was shut. The sides were no problem as far a leakage came, it was the bottom of the gate that seemed to leak the most. That is when and old timer suggested we route out a 4-1/2" trough which we filled in with molten babbitt and them we would drop the gate down into the babbitt to make a perfect fit. If the dam was leaking more than guidelines permitted in the future they could reheat the babbitt and create the perfect seal once again. We build that assembly in 1974 and it still in service till this day.
Wow! Great video! Brings back memories. On the farm repair of disk, cultivator gauge, plow and planter wheels my father would spiral a small string around the shaft before the pour for a grease channel. For the release agent he also would use thin onion paper around the shaft. He wrapped the string around the paper to hold it, then he would rotate the shaft and bearing vertical, and sometimes make a small round funnel around the bearing case, (which was really just a cast pipe or piece) and pour all at one time. Just kids modeling clay was used around the bottom as a seal/ dam. Drill out the grease zerk, bolt it back together and away she went! This was 55+ years ago! My job was to pick up the spilt Babbitt.
That was very cool! First time I’ve seen a Babbitt pour.
What a wonderful work you are doing. I have been pouring babbit for 60+ years. I have a couple of suggestions that might help you. You can flux your melted material with a green pea sized ball of bees' wax. It will bond the dross to it and remove that skin on top. Second, when pouring a top, build a higher pool pocket with your damming material. This will let the air out at each end. I make mine funnel shaped with a center punch putting the point right down to the metal. Just make them about a half inch higher than the top cap. They will pop right off when cooled. I have a Ton or more tin base & more than that lead base out in the shop. You never know when a cane mill will need a tune up. God bless and Keep the good info. coming.
The only Babbitt I heard of was Bruce Babbitt when he was governor. These style bearings are a lot more useful than he was. Old world techniques still have value today. I could see this being very handy of my ranch when bearings aren't readily available.
Thanks for sharing this forgotten trade for all to see! Your channel is a great video library of trades & machinery of the past.
I haven't seen that done since I was a boy way back in the early 60's. A man was working on an old saw mill that needed some new bearings, I watched him go through this process, I can still remember it like it was yesterday.
Liked your video, keep up the great work.
Mark
Keith, I very much appreciate your detailed step by step narrations. The completeness and detail are very interesting. Love the old machines.
Keep up the great work.
Seeing those gears turn is a thing of beauty.
Thanks. Super interesting. Learnt a ton.
about thirty years ago i was given a set of Babbitt molding forms and dies (for a model-A i think)
but now i know how to use them
thank you
I was glad to see you use a horseshoeing rasp for the Babbitt.
I use one for wood working at times.
Repaired sawmill bearing at an engine show. Melted babbitt by putting ladle in firebox of another steam engine. Used plumbers oakum for damming ends.A few old plumbers still have some laying around from pouring lead joints in cast iron soil pipe before plastic pipe was invented!
Genialne sposoby na robienie kapitalnych remontów..Takie panewki robiliśmy w byłej fabryce jak jeszcze pracowałem w Ryfamie w Polsce.Pozdrawiam
Great video on a babbitt pour. Thanks, and I love your videos. They are very comprehensive and complete.
Excellent video Keith. Babbitting is a lost art.
I know this is an old one, but i thoroughly enjoyed it, Keith. Thank you.
Years ago my father poured babbitt bearings in a Caterpillar 15 and he poured them using oakum. He didn't go through any machining like this and when he was done the oil pressure was 45 lbs without touching the oil pump. You did a really nice job here but very time consuming.
Hi I am from New Zealand and I have been learnt to do what you showed in this video .We call this procedure white metal bearings . I also noted that you use Smith equipment for your gas work I have the same set and believe it to be one of the best around. thanks for your videos they are wonderful to watch
Thanks for showing us how to do this Keith. Another really well made video. I like that you showed your mistake as well.
That's a superb video. I used to watch my Godfarther pour bearings for mounting 220 Lbs wetstone grinding wheels when I was a kid over 5 years ago. I always wondered how they created a dam to hold the molten metal. Also saw it used on bearings in a sheet rolling mill to mount a 30 Ton flyweel again that was 50 years ago, never seen it since. Thanks for preserving the art and taking time to show us.
Thanks for all the hard work you put into the filming. It is very educational and entertaining.
That was AWESOME! It's like pouring in engine type bearings. Your camera work and editing are great and so is your narration. I know that's not easy!
I LOVE that mentality! That's what experience and curiosity spring, but sadly schooling darn near beats out of us. ; P
Keith, I want to thank you for keeping these skills alive. My grandfather poured Babbitt bearings in a 31 Chevrolet decades ago. When I was about 12 years old he taught me to make gaskets with a small hammer. That skill has saved me several times out on the road having to remove a stuck thermostat, it's hard to find a part store open at 3am. A piece of thin card board is easy to find even in a bar ditch.
Bar coasters, cereal boxes will work as a gasket.
Welding with jumper cables is a art :)
I kept hearing about Babbitt bearings for elevator machines but never got to experience the process. Thanks for this great video.
Mahalo for the video,,,there's still some old machine that use babbitt bearing in Hawaii...getting rare though...
Very good video! Thanks for your time! Those gloves will make the little lady easier to get along with too. Rough hands will mess up a nice silk blouse on the dance floor.
I've only just found this channel so I'm just picking through the back catalogue. Keith has amazing knowledge and skill. I've only been engineering for 30 years so I'm still learning and this was a great lesson, I want to try this.
...WE ARE ALWAYS LEARNING- UNTIL WE'RE DEAD!!!
Wonderfully shown and explained thank you .....NZ
I love old machinery and have a comment. In later years in the Machine Shop at the old Pacific Lumber Co. they used Duct Seal for damming babbitt bearing pours.
My Father worked in the round house at Palco and I worked there as Power Plant Supt. for over forty years until my retirement.
Keep up the good work.
Very nice Keith.
It is the first time a see a video so good about babbit pouring. Thanks for sharing with us.
Congratulations from Brazil.
Nilton Polydoro
Hi Keith,
I really enjoy your videos on the restoration. Pretty cool and I think a lost art. You do GREAT work! Be safe in all your travels.
Best Regards,
Reid
nice video like showing the mishaps
thats were you learn the most
what an awesome video i used to work on old canning equipment but never got a chance to scrape a bearing or pour a Babbitt thanks for posting this it must be a dying art
Thanks for the lesson on babbitt bearings .I have an old blacksmiths made ladle the size of yours .Now I know what to use it for besides making fishing sinkers with it
Not too many around that still know how to pour babbit. I don't see many in the younger set who are willing to learn the old machining methods, either. I still work off the dials myself.
The main frame of this machine is the grandma of all castings I ever seen. My god... its huge!! I wonder how they made it.
@@flat-earther Oh yes, you are right!! those castings are awesome.
Up to now i didn't even know what babbit bearings are! Thanks for the education! Keep up the good work!
+Wolfgang Skabrond They have been around for a long time now but are not nearly as common any more as they were before ball bearings became common place.
Great video as always 10 out 10 for educational
Great video. I have enjoyed all of your videos. I have a bunch of old machine tools i hope to restore in the years to come and i find your work here very helpful. Back in the late 1970s i was working in a wrecking / scrap metal yard in N. California. We got a old Aermotor windmill for scrap and decided to put it to use on a well at the rear of the property on a old well. The babbitt bearings were worn out so we got a piece pipe with the outside measurements of the bearing and a piece of steel shafting appox the size as the shaft in the windmill. We put the shaft piece inside the pipe and melted a bunch of lead wheel weights in a ladle and poured it between the pipe and the piece of steel shaft. Then we took a hacksaw with a fine tooth blade and cut the pipe and lead twice lengthwise. We split the pipe in half and knocked the two lead pieces loose from the piece of shaft. A few shims made from pop cans and it is still working after 35 years. Whenever in the area i go visit my former boss and friend of 45 years. The topic always comes up about the windmill job done years ago and our late friend Okie Custer who oversaw the repair and loaned us the bearing scrapers to complete the job.
Chuck.
Keith nice work. That was good where you showed the tooling you used and the size difference between the tool holders. I think that has a big effect on how much material you can remove and you showed that in the video very well. Those were heavy cuts and the machine hardly noticed. Nice work filming the babbitt pour operation.
This reminds me of pouring the cutter head bearings for my 16" Porter heavy pattern jointer. That thing sounds like a helicopter, but man can it do some nice work on big boards. When you live in a house built in 1830's Ky you have to make everything yourself, because that is what they did so there is no standard for anything. The biggest advantage to babbitt is it can be any size. Got a damaged shaft from a bearing failure turn it down to round again and re-pour, no need for a new high priced shaft. :-)
great video keith cant wait to see it finished and running
Nice video! You brought back some good memories of when I would Babbitt about 10-20 bearings at a time but it was done on a steel bench. We made a cradle to hold the shaft at the correct height and we had mandrells for all of the sizes of bearings we had in the plant and we did this about every 2-3 months. We used to ( soot or sooting ) the mandrells and make shims out of wasted cartons from 1lb. Sugar bags and the Babbittrite (dog shit ) worked ( DAMN Good). 33 years of machinist and babbitting bearings was a great job and slowing down the Chuck with the palm of your hand there's nothing like it but I never could wear gloves or wear rings or bracelets while running a lathe. I'm not saying your wrong I just was not comfortable with the things I've seen. Great video Jake.
Outstanding work,keep the videos coming.
Love your channel... Please teach some of the younger generation you skills...
...KIDS TODAY ARE NOT INTERESTED-!!!
Wow thanks! Great video! They tell us all about babbitt bearing in school.. But I have never seen a modern video about pouring it so it was very cool to see!
Outstanding demonstration.
Really enjoy the video you are a excellent teacher God bless
This line of work is really cool. Thanks for taking the time to explain not only what you are working on, but the machines and the tools too. I know nothing of machining so I'm hanging on your every word. lol. Really neat stuff. Again, I know it takes time to set up and video the explainations, but I really appreciate it.
Great lesson on pouring babbitt bearings.
I like it! Babbit bearings are used on all turbine bearings and gear boxes, and obviously all car engines. Next time take the bearing keeps off the machine, mount them both close to each other on the shaft, on the bench and pour them together. It saves scratching around on the floor. The shims are not for wear, they are to give you a gap for the top bearing pour. As for holding the keeps while scraping, drop two bolts through the holes and clamp these in the vice
A really interesting and informative video Keith, thank you.
I agree with Keld, it seems that the more money google make on advertising the worse the system becomes, we should all vote with our feet, maybe then they will get it sorted!!!!!!
That was a very informative tutorial Keith.
Babbitt pouring is one facet that I've never been involved in, but have always wanted to know more about.
I'm really getting a kick watching you refurb this old machine.
Duck
Keith, I work in the large apparatus repair industry, and Babbitt is very commonly used for steel mill main drive motors, both in rougher stands, gearboxes, and finish mill stands. It is also, as you said in the video, still very common in large power plant applications such as turbine generators. Mainly equipment dating from the 50s-70s, that is being used today.
To add: most bearings in large applications are no longer poured in the field. The shells are removed, spin cast off site, and machined to size. They're then scraped to proper fit and clearances once installed.
I am enjoying the work you are doing, I hope your craft is not lost... keep the good work going.
Very interesting to learn about babbitt bearings
Thumbs up
Greetings from Sweden
Excellent video, thanks for the education!
+ShysterLawyer Thanks for watching!
Very neat process. That machine is really cool. All the gears wow neat! I cast bullets so I think I could handle babbitt bearings.
The little hammer reminds me of the days when my mother would berate my brother and me. She would buy us little things from time to time and then say, "little things for little minds" Enjoy your little hammer.
What a beautiful machine. Good job.
This video is awesome.
Get a lot of interesting hints and tips. Thank you, Keith, for sharing
Keith, Love your channel. Ton's of interesting stuff. I used to work in a foundry (Puget Sound Naval Shipyard)… back when I was younger… ;) Not trying to be a safety police. Please don't consider this comment to be negative. As you saw, when liquid hits a smooth surface like a concrete floor it wants to flow out. When I saw you kneeling by your very full ladle, my butt puckered some. Full ladles have their own trouble for pouring but smooth surfaces can wreck the day. Pouring on bench tops can have the same effect accept then the metal flows out and down… ugh. Even some dirt on the floor would impede the flow of liquid metal. Just a thought.
Great demonstration. If you just built a jig to pour the top bearings upside down. You end up with a clean product.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I've had luck adding 1/8" vents to the top caps on each end plus a little dam putty as a funnel. All the best please continue, sincerely, Jim
I like to use a product called Timesaver Babbitt grinding compound to grind babbitt to a perfect 1.5 thousand fit. It also polishes the shaft. Get it at any Model T supplyer.
Learned something new today. Awesome.
Terrifically interesting and well presented. Thank you very much for the education.
Recently found your channel and I am loving it......great work....and very interesting content. Well done!
15:02 most aggressive cut I've personally seen to date. You go girl!
Nicely done Keith, looking forward to more.
Always great what you can find in rusted metal! My wife beats me up for collecting it. As your great video shows, it can still be used.
Wow Randy Richards has made a lot of little tools we have the dove tail end-mill and the serialized scribes of more recent times. Did not know about the hammer, ok I am here to see the Babbitt Bearing making. We love when you do your mail calls here is why, you remind us of the Michelin Man commercial, that shows tires coming down the line each one (music starts) he falls in love with and then the next tire comes down the conveyor belt and becomes the newest love, you Keith just love your tools and machines, it is great to watch. Keep up the great work. This Issac Babbitt really created a solution as I was only familiar with the Oilite era oil impregnated bronze something we machine here. Ok here is the blackening I have heard about and why it is used. Grades like in all machining do matter Wikipedia shared (loving my elements) this for us very well. Interesting modern uses still apply. Thank you Keith.
I realize this is a pretty old video and I'm sure you've replaced your putty by now but in case anyone else is looking, there's some asbestos-free babbitt putty for sale by a company on Amazon. It's called RotoMetals Casting Retainer Putty. Great video, by the way, and thanks for the tips!
great gloves! I use those too. great tactile touch for small screws and nails.
As a former prototype machinist/model maker and now a full time tinkerer. I am retired now and I admire your videos and have spent a lot of Quarantine time watching them. What you made look easy and is very difficult to master is when you used the dividing head to make the replacement teeth on the gear. Most shops I worked had only one or two people that would get those jobs. What you didn't get into was sometimes the number of turn then the number of holes enters into the mix. Don't distract someone when they are cutting gears or timing pulleys. Well done anyway.
By the way I can't find a good machinist apron anywhere, where do you get yours? Thanks again.
Don Morse
Excellent demonstration!
we used to pour windmill gear housing bearings used a dummy shaft and plenty of putty those flat well oiled Babbitt bearingswill handle way more load and last longer than ball bearings I have also worked on babbitt bearings in a ships engine con rod that were big enough for a man to go into the journal with a torch and a bar of Babbitt and fill in the scored bearing then we bored it and reinstalled it and she was on her way lots of memories great video thanx
Keith, there is a third major babbit type. I've only seen it used in extremely heavily loaded oil film bearings for steel mills, but it is Cadmium based. It is of course toxic so you have to wear respirators to pour it. I used to work in the only shop in the country that would centrifugally pour them years ago.
Very helpful to my cause. Thank you!
I love ur vids .. I work in a tool and mold shop and love making projects when I have gravy nights
hello ive just found your channel loved you doing the train and its great engineering and im watching all your videos from england
thank you for that i had no idea what babbit bearings were but now i do very well made
another darn good video Keith, thanks for the upload, the popping you were encountering during the top bearing pour is steam.. water gets into the paper shim and then flashes to steam when the babbitt enters the shell. one way to avoid that is to dry the paper in the oven at 140 deg or in the microwave. any water coming into contact with the hot metal is gonna make it pop violently. it only takes a few molecules of water to make the babbitt pop so it is imperative your shims are absolutely dry.
Interesting video, Keith. Since I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, welcome to California!
Dave
I have no clue what is going on but i enjoy watching this.
Thank you for your time
called an idler pully, worked in a joinery shop in early 50s as a apprentice and tradesman 5years plus 1 ,, that was driven by a Hornsby horizontal town gas engine with a set of bellows on the wall, a 2000, gallon tank for cooling took 4 to 5 men to spin the big drive wheel to start and then slip on the belt , and flat pulleys and leather belts all over the shop ,above and below the floor
Some pullys were steel some were wooden ,all machines had the idler that allowed them to be stood down if not in use
we had an eight header plus all the other machines, planers,thicknessers, mortice, band saws drum sander , tennoning machine {a beast} saws both bench and swing plus other in shop designed for rebating casements , and cutting for the whitco fittings top and bottom , no hinges used just the whitcos, all worked of the pully system and that one engine.
.1st year appretice had to hose down the exhaust and muffler box for a 1/2 hour at finish time to cool them down jUST in case of fire later in th night, and the appretice machinist one job was to fill all the oil drippers each morning on the machines lift the lid pour in the oil from an oil can onto the felt ,some had felt others just a glass container and a drip system as did the Hornsby Engine,enjoyed your video
Give away my age
Great video Keith. Ever thought of drilling a very small air venting hole in the top bearing case? It would naturally seal after having been cast.
Another great video, glad your back, enjoyed it very much!
Great Video, Very Informative!!!
Thanks for this,I have an old Thos.K.Carey and Bros. 20x6 planer going to do my bearings..
Johnny rowland Very cool! Babbitt bearings are nothing to be scared of. After you pour a couple of them, you are as much of an expert as the next guy who has done the job. Low tech all the way, but very effective!
Thanks going to restore this planer and use it. .
Oh man..... Steam train whistle in the bacground :) Gotta love it ! Thank's Keith for a very nice video. I have seen a few babit pours on Utube but yours and Keith Fenner is the most instructive in such a way that one can doo it your self after watching, I need to teach my self the trade cause of a comming restoration of a drill press similar to the one Mr Fenner have in his shop. Love them old tools and machines and my Cap of to you for all the restoration work you do and for sharing it with us. In Norwegian : Tusen Tusen Takk Hr Rucker :)
***** I know Mr Keith. Still I will not pretend to be somekinda champion of anything till I have learned it, and learned it good low tec or not :)