I'm restoring an old saw mill that needed new Babbitt bearings. This is my first Babbitt pour and I'm no expert. First photo is the mold I made all clamped together. Small c-clamp is holding a strip of stainless steel to act as a funnel for pouring. Next shows the castings before and after Babbitt. ID is 3.5" Then boring both together. I heated the casting to 300 degrees and in a cast iron pouring ladle heated Babbitt to 800 degrees. I reused the old Babbitt and needed a little more so I melted old "T" bearing caps till I had enough.
Things I learned
1. Its not that hard if you mess up do it again.
2. In the first bearing I had slight taper in the pipe I used for the ID, I had to hit it with a hammer a few times to get it out. In the 2nd bearing I ground more of a taper and it almost fell out.
3. It was almost fun.
(Message edited by adminchris on November 12, 2014)
Great. I thoroughly appreciate those who take on tasks like this. There should be more. I have been through it all myself...therefore the appreciation.
I was a molder in the Navy and we poured many Babbitt bearings. See if you can find an old Navy training manual for Molder 3/2. It has lots of info on pouring Babbitt.
I have a chance to pick up a sawmill like that for scrap value. It is set up with a post structure over it, and it was sawing logs a year ago. I must resist the temptation.
very cool, well done
Ed you know I've discovered that the best way to deal with temptation is just to give in. =P
Ed, If I were a few hundred miles closer...