Making new bronze split spindle bearings for the 1919 13"

My machine did not have the proper spindle bearings in it when i bought it a few years ago. I got it dialed in pretty good, but i want it to be correct. The previous owner made a bearing housing that holds an automotive type tapered bearing for the left side which is not nearly precise.



The right side bearing looks like an original that has been babbited, but is no longer round and the babbit is coming loose from the bronze shell.



I spent a good amount of time measuring and documenting everything when the machine was all apart. The spindle bearing journals are in perfect shape.

I bought my bronze stock from Bravobronze.com. They sell all different kinds of bronze in any shape and size. I ordered a couple cored lengths to minimize my rough machining. The alloy i chose was C932 which is SAE 660 bearing bronze. They sell it by the inch so i ordered enough to hold in the chuck as well. I got 5" of 3" diameter for the right side and 6" of 2.25" diameter for the left side. Total with shipping was $104.

I chucked up the large piece in my 4 jaw and indicated it in and out until i was happy and took a couple cleaning cuts on the OD. Then i started my rough boring.



I bored it until i was at .005" under my goal and will do the finish bore as my last process before i part it off.

I started roughing in the recess on the OD for the headstock journal.

I can't tell you how many bearing halves I made for very large stamping presses. Started out with bronze castings, roughed them out, then split the bushing in 2 halves. Next procedure was to soft solder the halves back together, then went back in a lathe again. Once all the machining was done including oil grooves, the bushing was wacked with a leather faced mallet where it broke the solder joint. Now you have 2 perfect halves.

Done with this one so far, just need to split it, drill oil and pin holes, and then groove for oil passage.









And lots of bronze dust to clean up

I gather this will have a gap at the split line when installed?

Yes. Im going to use a .030" slitting saw and also cut a groove in for felts like these other bearings.

Quick update. Back on the bearings. Last night i split this one and now im doing the grooves to lay in felt strips like the newer machines have.

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dcstang1967 said:

Quick update. Back on the bearings. Last night i split this one and now im doing the grooves to lay in felt strips like the newer machines have.

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dcstang,
Ive got a 1930 13" sb with a lot more problems . I have .008 " lift on my spindle at the chuck. the shaft is somewhat grooved but very smooth radially. It does good work with only .001 taper in 6 inches . not the smoothest finishes. I was considering cutting .010 off at each parting line and lapping or pouring lead after boring .250 out of the old bushings and then reboring the babbitt out . or should I just do what your doing ? any help is appreciated. Ive got the babbit to pour the bushings . just sayin . im a tightwad too. you have done a hell of a job on yours . im impressed !

sphargy49 said:

dcstang,
Ive got a 1930 13" sb with a lot more problems . I have .008 " lift on my spindle at the chuck. the shaft is somewhat grooved but very smooth radially. It does good work with only .001 taper in 6 inches . not the smoothest finishes. I was considering cutting .010 off at each parting line and lapping or pouring lead after boring .250 out of the old bushings and then reboring the babbitt out . or should I just do what your doing ? any help is appreciated. Ive got the babbit to pour the bushings . just sayin . im a tightwad too. you have done a hell of a job on yours . im impressed !

Click to expand...

If i were you i would just shave the upper bearing halves a little and reshim the caps to get the proper lift.

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So it turns out that just doing the right hand bearing has lifted the spindle on that end causing the spindle to be out of parallel with the bed. I had to shim under the left bearing 0.012" to get it parallel again. Looks like i will be making the new left bearing soon to correct this issue. Once that is done i can alight the spindle and tailstock both parallel with the bed and get them both inline vertically. Lots of patience for this one.

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I have several old big (16" and 21") South Bends that have the same bronze bearings. I have considered making new bearings or lining the old bearings with Babbitt. Several questions arise: 1) What is the best way to remove the original bearing shells and to install new ones, 2) If you wanted to line the existing bearings with Babbitt, would you try to bond (solder) the Babbitt to the shells or just cast the Babbitt into the shells like you would into cast iron? I assume that if you wanted to use Babbitt, you would want to bore the bearings out .150in. or more either regardless of how the Babbitt was to be installed. If you did not bond the Babbitt to the shells, then you would need to bore some divots into the shells for the Babbitt to mechanically lock into. When the Babbitting was complete, then you would still have to finish bore and maybe scrape the bearings.

Hi Neil

These were really in there tight in the 20" Heavy Greaves Klusman

nt1953 said:

I have several old big (16" and 21") South Bends that have the same bronze bearings. I have considered making new bearings or lining the old bearings with Babbitt. Several questions arise: 1) What is the best way to remove the original bearing shells and to install new ones, 2) If you wanted to line the existing bearings with Babbitt, would you try to bond (solder) the Babbitt to the shells or just cast the Babbitt into the shells like you would into cast iron? I assume that if you wanted to use Babbitt, you would want to bore the bearings out .150in. or more either regardless of how the Babbitt was to be installed. If you did not bond the Babbitt to the shells, then you would need to bore some divots into the shells for the Babbitt to mechanically lock into. When the Babbitting was complete, then you would still have to finish bore and maybe scrape the bearings.

Click to expand...

Babbitt spindle bearings in an F.E. Reed lathe.

"The head-stock is heavy and strong and carries a spindle made from a crucible steel forging which runs in cast iron boxes lined with genuine babbitt metal, as shown in Figs. 224 and 225.

In the first of these illustrations is shown the cast iron box properly milled out to fit the housings of the head-stock. After this operation it is bored out and then slotted ready to receive the babbitt metal lining. It will be noticed that these are all "dovetail" slots, the object of this form being to hold the lining metal securely in its place. The babbitt metal is cast into the box, after which it is compressed sufficiently to fill out any shrinkage that may have occurred upon cooling, and to render it more dense and durable. It is then re-bored, reamed, and hand scraped, so as to fit the spindle as perfectly as possible. Constructed in this manner there is nothing coming in contact with the spindle except the babbitt metal, which, when finished, has the appearance shown in Fig 225."
http://chestofbooks.com/home-improvement/woodworking/Lathe-Operation/Chapter-XV-Engine-Lathes.html


John

John O. Nice pulling mechanism. I know mine are very tight as well.
John R. Interesting information on the Reed. If I decide to go with Babbitt, I may have to emulate their method.