Holy molten metal, BabbitMan - pouring Babbit bearings

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AdminJeff
Posts: 988
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:32 pm
First Name: Jeff
Last Name: Stevenson
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1921 Touring
Location: Wilder Idaho
MTFCA Number: 50006
Board Member Since: 2017

Holy molten metal, BabbitMan - pouring Babbit bearings

Post by AdminJeff » Mon Oct 14, 2019 1:52 am

I Just crawled into bed after another Marathon weekend at the Rumble Seat garage with Erik (and dad) Barrett and Robert Weitzel. Exhausted, stiff and sore, but happy as a clam. I had no idea just how much complexity there is to fabricating Babbitt bearings. The videos online make it look waaay to easy. It's not. Holy bajesus, it's just never ending. Step after painstaking step.
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Pouring the molten Babbitt is only one brief little step of dozens of intricate steps, each one capable of potentially ruining all the prior work and causing a do-over. Boring, decking and prepping the block, the caps, the crank. Line-Boring the bearings, fitting, scraping, grinding, fitting, scraping, did I mention fitting and scraping? The guys that do this artwork certainly earn their keep for sure. It really is a labor of love.
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And when melted, the molten lead and tin is explosive at worst, hazardous at best. At one point, one of the team members accidentally dropped a wet bearing cap into a boiling caldron of solder that was going to be used as a tinning vessel for all the main bearing caps. The result was a loud, explosive molten solder shower bath that shot into the air at high velocity and came raining down everywhere. Luckily we all ducked for cover and narrowly avoided becoming tin men.
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It was all a fascinating education to behold. Not only did we get my main bearings completed and the crank perfectly fitted, we even completely rebushed and assembled the transmission with Dan's ultra cool needle-bearing triple gears, fitted the new oversized rods, reamed oversized valve guides, cut and dressed all the he valve seats, spray welded (that was cool) and repaired a huge hole i discovered in my cast iron Ricardo head, and did all this in in a day and a half. There's still a lot of assembly work to do but I suspect I'll be done and back on the road by the end of the week.

A huge thank you goes out to Erik, his dad and Robert. You guys rock!

AdminJeff
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1921 Model T Touring, 1930 Model A Roadster
Voltage Regulators, Starter & Generator Repair
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Kerry
Posts: 1297
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 2:42 pm
First Name: Frank
Last Name: van Ekeren
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1916 touring, 1916 pick-up, 1924 coupe, 1926 touring, 1927 touring
Location: Rosedale Vic Australia

Re: Holy molten metal, BabbitMan - pouring Babbit bearings

Post by Kerry » Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:26 am

Jeff.
I hope your use of the word lead was a slip of the finger on the key board :D that stuff is a no-no for T babbitt.
And yes, agreed, it's a time consuming job for sure.

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AndreFordT
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Location: Scherpenheuvel
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MTFCI Number: 19330

Re: Holy molten metal, BabbitMan - pouring Babbit bearings

Post by AndreFordT » Mon Oct 14, 2019 7:15 am

A fine and well done job. Thanks for sharing.

Just a question. (not about the job, but about your post)
How do you do to write between the photos? I tried but I always get the text first and the photos are always posted under the text.

Andre
Belgium


Michael Paul
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Re: Holy molten metal, BabbitMan - pouring Babbit bearings

Post by Michael Paul » Mon Oct 14, 2019 10:16 am

Hi Jeff, it was great to meet you yesterday.

I always enjoy trips to Auburn. Erik, his father along with Robert are great guys. They all have been so helpful with my T education. The shop is a step back in time. If any thing needs attention on a prewar car, they have the tools and know how!

I was amazed that Erik allowed us to see his secret main bearing tool. He usually keeps it in the safe. We should feel honored that he shared that. It goes without saying, his secret is safe with us.

My advice to Erik is to reproduce, package and market the tool. I would think $500 would be reasonable.

Thanks for sharing the great photos.
Have a great day, Mike

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Topic author
AdminJeff
Posts: 988
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:32 pm
First Name: Jeff
Last Name: Stevenson
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1921 Touring
Location: Wilder Idaho
MTFCA Number: 50006
Board Member Since: 2017

Re: Holy molten metal, BabbitMan - pouring Babbit bearings

Post by AdminJeff » Mon Oct 14, 2019 2:46 pm

andrefordt wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 7:15 am
How do you do to write between the photos? I tried but I always get the text first and the photos are always posted under the text.
Andre
Belgium
Greenshot 2019-10-14 11.45.41.png
Like This. First position your cursor so it goes where you want it to go...then click "Place Inline"

AdminJeff
Assistant WebSite Admin
1921 Model T Touring, 1930 Model A Roadster
Voltage Regulators, Starter & Generator Repair
www.modeltregulators.com
www.modeltstarters.com

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