The Machinist

I think I’ll just post a machine shop update thread. Folks seem to like this antique machinery, so here’s the first post.

While waiting for my big front doors to arrive, I am doing what I can without the aid of hydraulics for moving heavy components.

I have started rehabbing the feed works on the Brown and Sharpe No4 OD grinder. I don’t have any pics of the feed works themselves, as there isn’t much to see. Basically I am taking every moving part out of them to clean, oil and stone.


Pictured below is the flat slide way for the traversing table of the machine. This machine dates to late ‘36 or early ‘37 based on the serial number. That pattern is called flaking or scraping. It is done by hand and is the method used by toolmakers to make pieces of steel as flat as possible over an average.

It also serves to retain some oil in the microscopic low spots, as well as to reduce the friction, by reducing the surface area of contact between the two moving parts. The part that contacts this surface only contacts this surface in areas where the steel is bright.

Here it is in all if it’s glory at 85 years old. As good as the day it was done.

More pictures to come as I take them.

The Machinist

It’s a **** show in this pic. This is the first time the infeed slide has been rotated...ever.

This piece is called a “gib.” It is an adjustable clearance wedge to take up slack in the dovetail to make a more precise fit.

The slide is finally off. This is the first time this piece of cast iron has seen the light of day since 1936. This is what happens when you don’t keep your machine clean, then don’t use it for 45 years.

The underside of the top half of the slide. Everything is filthy, and is being cleaned and stoned and prettified. The bent ACME thread screw (yes that is a real thing) adjusts the preload in the counterweight mechanism, not visible, via a roller chain dangling through the middle of two gearboxes into the depths of the 7,000 pound cast iron base. I need to fix that.

This is the table traverse reversing mechanism. The shifter fork reverses the direction of the bull gear by shifting the sliding collar back and forth to engage one bevel or the other. This will make more sense when it’s all back together and running.

Somewhat cleaned up, some of the flaking starting to show through the “patina.” The spur gear engages a rack on the slider which will advance or retract the grinding wheel relative to the work being machined. This is the last stage of a DEEP gear reduction. Every 4 clicks on the feed wheel ratchet at the operator’s station rotates the spur gear enough to advance or retract the wheel slide a distance of .0005” or .012mm This is no ordinary spur gear. Can’t just order one of these...

The Machinist

And can I just say, this thing ain’t made from marshmallow fluff.

DRBC43AMG

Will you be able to recondition these machines for precision machinery work considering you can't find parts for them these days I imagine?

Savage-wp

Yes you can.
If you have access to proper machinery, and can measure and do design work, everything can be remade. Gears can be wire cut, etc.

The Machinist

Believe it or not, there is a company that makes parts to order for all of these old B&S machines. It just takes some time.

Luckily, my big B&S #4 just needs a few minor things.

I should have been more clear, Im not taking this thing apart because stuff is broken, I am taking it apart because it’s never been cleaned, and because I want to inspect a few things and make sure everything is getting proper lubrication before putting the old girl back into service. Oil and grease is cheap. Broken machines aren’t.

Also- speaking of oil and grease- Snowmobile chaincase oil is magnificent stuff for lubricating gears that have questionable oil supply. (The table traverse mechanism for example)

It’s designed to operate in cold weather, so it is low viscosity and flows into small orifices, and it is clingy and sticky like gear oil. Can you imagine that I’ve got a difficult time getting it here in North Carolina? Can’t imagine why.

The Machinist

As far as the other machines go, they are in pretty good shape actually, I just need to get them located and powered up.

The reason that I haven’t, is because all the parts that have been removed from the B&S are in the damn way. So the sooner I get the B&S ready to put back together the sooner I get everything else ready to rock and roll. I am pretty stoked.

DRBC43AMG

I worked for a B&S subsidiary in the 80's...

The Machinist

Tesa? I’ve used a few of their indicators. Very soigné.

The only one I can think of. (I’m sure there are more.)

This is the first B&S machine I have OWNED, but not the first I’ve used.

I am a big fan of their precision measurement products. They seemed the most immune to user bias.

I like old school starrett stuff too, but the new stuff is not nearly as nice.

DRBC43AMG

Correct. Yes Tesa in the western suburbs of Lausanne There was a subsidiary of Tesa called Etalon based in the town of Rolle on lake Geneva who made some considered the Rolls Royce of indicators together with other mechanical measurement instruments.

The Machinist

I could talk about indicators for hours.

I use a BestTest (made by Tesa) daily at my real machinist job. The thing I like most about it is the very light pressure needed to deflect the gauge, and the repeatability.

The Swiss grinders at work that I am in love with, as well as the Sip-Hauser machines all use Tesa indicators built into the machine in certain areas.

My “Ive made it” moment will be when I buy my first Kellenberger grinder for my machine shop.

I have a really nice old school 3” dial starrett .0001 indicator which is built like a locomotive, but I can’t use it on small parts because the pressure needed to make the dial move can actually distort my parts.

How is Tesa properly pronounced?

Is it TEA-sa or TESS-a?

The Machinist

I didn’t know that indicating micrometers were in their wheelhouse. I’ve used them before, just not by Etalon.

I’m going to start keeping my eyes peeled for these in the wild.

Etalon, the Rolls of metrology is quite right.

Modern methods of measuring this accurately is done with a CMM, as doing it accurately with a precision analog mechanical contrivance takes some skill that not everyone has.



A 1-2” Etalon indicating micrometer. Used mostly for quality control, the guy that most machinists loathe. .00005” resolution (that’s fifty MILLIONTHS of an inch) A human hair, depending on from where it was plucked, is about .002-.005” thick. A sheet of cheap copy paper is .002” thick. This thing measures two orders of magnitude more accurately than that. Pretty much down to individual layers of atoms at this point.

DRBC43AMG

Wow! While searching around in my friend's basement, I came across a wooden instrument box with the Etalon stamp on the cover. Opened it and found two instruments in perfect working condition. Going to keep them for certain and why not use them when needed.

The Machinist

Top deck first coat. I can’t find a suitable equivalent to the original B&S pale green. The closest I can find is the old Detroit Diesel green, which I loathe.

The Machinist

More progress this weekend.

Homer Oz

G'Day Fella's

The Machinist, there is a few years worth of Crud there, by the look of things.
But it looks to have been protecting things, as the B&S looks to be in good shape.
Lots of Scraping tool marks are still obvious, which has to be a good thing.
Have Fun, and keep us posted on your progress.

D'oh!
Homer

DRBC43AMG

For The Machinist: some Tesa products: https://tesatechnology.com/en-gb/home/

The Machinist

You can get a blow by blow of the progress on IG @63machinist, with a good dose of sarcasm sprinkled in for flavor.

the scraping/flaking on the wheel slide look just as good, if not even more stylish. Pictures of that to come when the rainwaters recede. Those parts are so filthy that I need to pressure wash them before I can clean them.

I wish I had pictures of the B&S in the state it was in when I found it. When I first saw it, I almost left it there. I’m glad I didn’t.

The Machinist

I love those Intermiks. They have a solid “feel” to them that seems to be impervious to machinist bias.

Our CMM at work is a TESA/B&S/Hexagon unit. It works very well, I was recently trained on it and it comes in handy when settling arguments with people who don’t know how to properly measure parts. :smug face:

A lot of that stuff is way out of my price range for the small shop here. I’ll have to stick to the auction site we all know and love to look for good deals on Etalon tools.

The Machinist

Update for this weekend so far.

The progress has been slow, owing to the endless rain that we’ve been getting on the coast, and the problems that a rising water table has on septic systems.

Today is the first day we haven’t had rain in about a month.


Wheel slide bottom 1/3rd installed.

Overhead shot of table drivetrain

Oil grooves

Some Mercedes content. One of these things does not get 54mpg.

The Machinist

High time I updated this.

Some of the recent “development cost” that I don’t plan on passing on has arrived:

I absolutely wash my hands of trying to figure out how to not post sideways pictures. The only thing I succeed in doing is getting pissed off.



Late night arrivals

Oerlikon cutter grinder

Barn doors finally up

Cannedy drill press with the worlds first boring head.



Norton 10x20 OD/ID grinder

An immaculate power supply

Some amazingly awesome wire management.

The original sales brochure for the drill press.

The story of the artisan, printed in the back of the Cannedy catalog.

Homer Oz

G'Day Fella's,

Thanks for the update and sharing this with us "The Machinist".

Also, nice to see the artistry, of the Electrician that wired up the control panel. Most Impressive!

Avagreatweekendeh!
Homer

doncmleon

that electrical wiring really is a thing of beauty man..

The Machinist

I wish I knew the artisan’s name so I could give him credit. Maybe I’ll find it. It’s not uncommon for Artisans to sign work that they are proud of. I’d be proud of it if I’d wired it.

doncmleon

If you ever find, out PLEASE post it in here... some of us really appreciate that type of pride in one's work.