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.
.
.
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.
.
.
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.
.
.
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
Holy molten metal, BabbitMan - pouring Babbit bearings
Forum rules
If you need help logging in, or have question about how something works, use the Support forum located here Support Forum
Complete set of Forum Rules Forum Rules
If you need help logging in, or have question about how something works, use the Support forum located here Support Forum
Complete set of Forum Rules Forum Rules
-
Topic author - 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
Assistant WebSite Admin
1921 Model T Touring, 1930 Model A Roadster
Voltage Regulators, Starter & Generator Repair
www.modeltregulators.com
www.modeltstarters.com
1921 Model T Touring, 1930 Model A Roadster
Voltage Regulators, Starter & Generator Repair
www.modeltregulators.com
www.modeltstarters.com
-
- 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
Jeff.
I hope your use of the word lead was a slip of the finger on the key board that stuff is a no-no for T babbitt.
And yes, agreed, it's a time consuming job for sure.
I hope your use of the word lead was a slip of the finger on the key board that stuff is a no-no for T babbitt.
And yes, agreed, it's a time consuming job for sure.
-
- Posts: 487
- Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:25 pm
- First Name: Andre
- Last Name: Valkenaers
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 ; 1922 ; 1915.
- Location: Scherpenheuvel
- MTFCA Number: 23792
- MTFCI Number: 19330
Re: Holy molten metal, BabbitMan - pouring Babbit bearings
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
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
-
- Posts: 365
- Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 11:32 am
- First Name: Michael
- Last Name: Paul
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1911 touring, 1909 touring
- Location: Smartsville, California 95977
- MTFCA Number: 31791
Re: Holy molten metal, BabbitMan - pouring Babbit bearings
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
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
-
Topic author - 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
Like This. First position your cursor so it goes where you want it to go...then click "Place Inline"andrefordt wrote: ↑Mon Oct 14, 2019 7:15 amHow 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
AdminJeff
Assistant WebSite Admin
1921 Model T Touring, 1930 Model A Roadster
Voltage Regulators, Starter & Generator Repair
www.modeltregulators.com
www.modeltstarters.com
1921 Model T Touring, 1930 Model A Roadster
Voltage Regulators, Starter & Generator Repair
www.modeltregulators.com
www.modeltstarters.com