Thank you for a great video. I am 71 years old and I remember as a youth my dad bought an old 24" wood planer with a square head that needed new babbitt bearings. An 'old timer' came and did it for my dad. After the bearings were poured he 'ran in' the bearings with a mixture of oil. graphite, and other stuff which I can't remember. When he was done the shaft spun effortlessly with NO perceivable run-out. The stuff he used to 'run in' the bearings had to be completely cleaned out for final use. Making sure the shims between the top and bottom bearings was a time consuming process to get them "just right". You could run that planer all day and the bearings never got hot. He also said to never use detergent oil on those bearings.

@spoonforthought3534

3 жыл бұрын

Lennart Andre what a brilliant insight 👍. It’s funny how every job was a skilled job 70 years ago wether you kept a store or went door to door re pouring Babbitt bearings. Yet now everything is designed for an idiot to fit and made to last for 5 years. Today bearings are oiled with lubricants in factory that will well exceed the bearings life cycle, 100 years ago the bearing case had spouts to pour new bearings in when the old wore out. They clearly envisioned their creations lasting 100’s of years. Brilliant =)

@davidburt9238

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your input, As valuable as this video! Now a to re-babbit a model A engine.

@phillhuddleston9445

3 жыл бұрын

@@spoonforthought3534 Yep, it's not hard to make something last a fey years only to be thrown in a landfill.

@cjsmith1760

3 жыл бұрын

@@davidburt9238 David, being as everyone back then carried s tool bag and most men knew how to turn a wrench, if a rod started knocking a quick fix to get you back home, pop the cap and use the toughest piece of bacon rind and reinstall. Might have to peal out the babet first. Poor fix but....As a youngster out at the ranch i kept pedaling when my fork bearings went south. I'm not 70 but knocking on the door.

@davidburt9238

3 жыл бұрын

@@cjsmith1760 Thanks for your input Mr Smith, age wise I'm not far behind you. Back in 1980 for a hundred dollars I bought a Wilson cira 1927 motor driven welder . Got it home and did my darn best to start it up. Never started, backfired and all that! Twenty years later, as I was pulling targets in a pit with another shooter, I told the guy of my problem with the Mod A engine, he asked me about the battery connection and I said pos. to + and neg. to -- . He explained to me it is a positive ground circuit. I was wrong. So, I had been spinning the engine in reverse. Cruel and hard earned lessons of life. How you explained your fix was great. If it got the Tank, Jeep or whatever back home, that's all that counts in war time. I was critically behind on back taxes on a piece of land so I bid out a job to rebuild an 83' eldorado trans. Never did a transmission before . wouldn't go into 4th overdrive. Two weeks working without an auto lift , all underneath. Got it fixed. If you really set your mind to do something, anything is possible. I hope you make it to 90+

When I started my apprenticeship at the tender age of 15 I learnt to remetal conrods and main bearings, and we always tinned the rods and caps prior to pouring, without this the bearing material can possibly come loose from the casting and rotate. Now at 83 I still have clear memories of all those great times learning. Just sayin!!!

Keith, what you're doing here is very valuable! A video as well-made as this will serve as a trustworthy reference for decades if not centuries to come. I'm glad somebody is documenting crafts like this, you never know when you need it! Well done and I'm sure you're doing an excellent job of bringing up your apprentice.

I have never seen this done before and always wonder how it was accomplished.Thanks for the opportunity to observe.

I worked at a saw mill being built in Oregon in the late 70's. The owners dad who started the company was in his 90 's, he rebuilt an old log deck with babbitt bearings and insisted that deck be part of the new mill. I watched him like a hawk and ask lots of questions. Never miss an opportunity to learn from the old people.

It's interesting to note that Babbit alloy is actually a metal-matrix composite material with hard crystals in a softer matrix. It may be made up of various combinations of tin, lead, copper, antimony and arsenic. Steel shell bearings as used for main bearings and rod bearings in internal combustion engines have a thin coating of Babbit metal on a bronze layer over the steel. Babbit was named after a 19th century mechanic and inventor who did a lot of "metallurgy experiments" to find useful bearing and bushing materials.

@ferrumignis

3 жыл бұрын

Most modern shell bearings use aluminium/tin these days.

WOW , as a old millwright I have done babbitt bearing work. Steam trubins have them to handle the rotor shaft load for one. I have scraped and "fit" many of these. Thanks for the memories. GOD BLESS YOU SIR.

Your knowledge of the old ways is so impressive.

I loved this video. I work on elevators, and sometimes have to repair babbitt bearings, and haven't found anything on KZread showing the process, so ty. One trick for that first top pour, use your babbitrite to make a funnel for pouring, if you have any left. Again, great video!!

Babbitt pouring vids are always my favorite. Well done, sir.

I have a 36” Crescent that was under a tree for 6 years and I have had it over 20 years. I got it going and it works fine but it needs new Babbitt. I have found the bandsaw is more forgiving than my jointer since I can adjust out some of the worn Babbitt by the tilt of the upper wheel. I don’t put many hours on it and I have so many projects ahead of a bandsaw rebuild. The 12 inch jointer is more sensitive to worn Babbitt because of cutterhead flutter. It still has some shims so I can adjust it better when I start using it more, too. This was such a good presentation and he gave us some great tips. I will subscribe.

Those are the guys who put real tlc into old machines ...I love that ! Nicely done Keith !!!!

Thank you for keeping a Lost art alive.

I grew up in my grandfather's machine shop during the late '50s and early '60s. You are doing a great service in memorializing your vast wealth of knowledge and skill. Thanks for sharing.

I know my father told me he used to do it to an old truck his father had( around 1930) , and if I'm not mistaken him and his brother redone the bearings in one of his first cars in the garage of our house when I was very small, I'm 75 now.

Hey Keith, I had to pause the video at 23 min cause I ain't gett'n nuth'n dun down here and I suspect this video has has a bit more to go before we're treated to a live test run. Before I get these old bones mov'n I gotta tell ya .... If you lived within daily driving distance of me I would be stick'n so close to you you'd swear you had flees!! You are beyond a shadow of a doubt the "Keeper Of The Flame" , Master of the arts, (tried & true) practices of generations of skilled craftsmen. 178,000 subscribers says more than I ever could. Bravo!!!! Chris Strazzeri S. Florida

I have been mesmerized by a lot of your content for awhile now, personally restoring a 1940’s Darra James 12” Table saw and not knowing enough about it then finding your channel and being inspired again. I should be finished with my restoration in about three weeks or so and am tickled pink to get to use a piece of history. My Grandfather introduced me at a young age into woodworking and I have loved it ever since. Thanks for the content although I don’t think I will ever have to pour Babbit Bearings but then again you never know. Thank you for doing what you do.

FANTASTIC video! I never get tired of watching you restore these glorious antique machines.

We had a couple of tractor implements when I was much younger (1950s) that required babbitt bearings. Though when I think of babbitt now I am reminded of Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and pouring babbitt bearings on the roadside to get to California.

@davedaley9093

3 жыл бұрын

Tom didn't actually pour babbit by the roadside although he feared that he might have to. He was able to get a used rod and piston at a junkyard with good enough babbit that it could actually take some shims. When my high school students would read this none of them had the faintest idea what was being done. When I read this (a really long time ago) I knew what was going on since I had seen my grandfather do the same thing on an old Model A engine he had to power a saw.

@larryfisher7056

3 жыл бұрын

@@davedaley9093 thanks for the correction....it's been probably 40 years since I read the book. Have to pick it up again.

I would like to say that I just absolutely love this channel. I find your videos stimulating enough to want to just sit there and relax by watching multiple videos. The variety is magnificent. Although the channels genre is very static the variety comes from the massive collection of different Machines, Tools, Mechanisms and Equipment that is both worked on and repaired. I just love it. Its a Mechanical Fitters dream channel.

Excellent video. I love the basic common sense of the "old ways" They worked and worked well for a long time.

@googleuser859

3 жыл бұрын

The new ways give us the opportunity to film and watch this stuff though 😉

You got that kid to help you with the bandsaw and now you're Miles ahead.

Very neat watching you do this. I've heard of Babbitt bearings for years.

Thanks for sharing the details of the replacement. I really enjoying learning about the process.

Learnt about babbit bearings in theory when I did my engineering around 10 years ago. Never saw them though. Great work!

Watching do that took me right back to the early 60's I had the opportunity to do a brief apprenticeship in a Marine engine rebuilding shop and the Babbitt bearing section is where I learnt all about meticulously scraping Crank and Camshaft bearings. Thank you Keith for that nostalgic journey.

Flash back to when I poured 6" shafts into big bearing blocks..we'd pour both halfs at the same time..and made a big babbitrite funnel around the pour hole. Didnt know babbitrite wasnt available any more...thanks for the flash back!..(hated melting the old babbit out!)👍🏻👍🏻 if I find and boxes at wirk..I'll send you some..still have pallets of babbit there that isnt used.

@tomharrell1954

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Mike Benjamin I would be interested in purchasing the Babbitt if they want to scrap it

@vettepicking

3 жыл бұрын

Smart making a funnel.

@MattOGormanSmith

3 жыл бұрын

I'm guessing it's made from asbestos and oil. Safe to use but not to make.

@tonywatson987

3 жыл бұрын

Have you seen the price of Babbitt metal? A pallet load would be worth a pretty good sum!

@davidquirk8097

3 жыл бұрын

@@tonywatson987 that'll be the tin. Isn't going to get any cheaper now that lead isn't supposed to be used on Electronics solder either. Such a waste, high tin content solder is pretty naff stuff.

Very nice craftsmanship and machine work. Thanks for sharing.

The babbit gods are sending me a message about the headstock on my Atlas lathe. :)

Keith...I worked for Otis Elevator for about 30 years. Not being a union field mechanic, I witnessed many bearings being poured on huge gear less machines down to much smaller geared machines. The gearless bearings would be maybe 8 inches in diameter and the geared bearings maybe 3 to 5 inches in dia. The babbit was commercially called cadtex if I remember correctly. The machine rooms were not air conditioned. Imagine Richmond, Va in August, and my service crew working, pouring, geared bearings at Hygrade meat packing plant. The temperature at about 95 degrees outside, the Babbitt pot going full blast and the plant waste system starting to blow the remains of the slaughter of hogs across the roofs of the plant to the holding tanks a hundred yards away. The probably 50 year old piping and blowing system leaking like a sieve and blood and fat being blown over you and your repair team of mechanic and helper. The mechanic is yelling at me to not let sweat fall up into the babbitt pot because it will explode with hot Babbitt. Now, all that equipment had to be carried to the roof up grease and fat coated stairs by hand, even from the service truck because the elevator is out of service for the bearing job. The elevator is on full Otis Maintenance so the customer will not be charged a cent of the cost. Then there is a new Otis Service Manager standing there giving moral support on a repair that he knows absolutely nothing about but wants to see a babbitted bearings replacement job. Like the kid who picked up the almost red hot horse shoe the blacksmith had just taken out of the forge, dropping it instantly, commenting......”DOn’t take long to look at a hot horseshoe”. It don’t take long to took at a pot of hot Babbitt, in a slaughter house in Richmond in July or August. The mechanic and helper laugh as the Service Manager slips and slides to the stair tower hoping to find a nice spot to throw up at before he gets to his car. sorry to take so long to tell of my vast experience with babbitted bearings. The lesson is burned in my memory. Charlie C was the mechanic, I can’t recall the helper’s name. I’m sure Charlie is retired and the helper (noe the mechanic) is pouring the Babbitt. That was about 1966. That geared machine should be needing new bearings about now. It is probably about the age of that bandsaw you are restoring. And it will probably run another 50 or 60 years. If the motor goes, the same motor shops that rewound our old motors can rewind it, good for another 50 years. Great video....Thank you. JoeB .

you are one incredible machinist and wonderfully kind. thank you for sharing yourself with us!

Hello Keith. You make a small bowl around the small pour hole with furnace cement to help it pour into the small hole with no cup as long as your not in a rush to give it time to dry then just knock it off once done. Love the videos. Keep up the good work. =)

I was a machinist for years and always appreciated the old way of doing things because my grandfather was a class a tool and die maker at adjustagraph maltigraph back in the fifties. Ive poured babbit bearings before and glad to c it still being done keep up the great work!!!

I usually read the comments and today was no exception, and I believe all was said one way or another,but I love it when a plan comes together as it did today,thanks for the good content.

Kieth Fenner's Babbit video from 2012(about) got me looking up steam engines, and now I work on them.

Really great condensed instructional Babbitt video. I’ve watched your other one made a while back. But that was a multi part video I think. As usual ... just great and complete instructions. Thanks for posting.

Very interesting, thank you for sharing. I love old machines and the fact that one repairs them and not just fit new parts. The old guys were mechanics today they are just fitters.

I'd love to have a go at Babbitt bearings! Need to find a suitable project. Thanks for an interesting video.

Thanks for sharing this! I love old school stuff! Even today some old school methods can't be beat. :)

Hello Keith....l have done some of this kind of thing back in the...1950's and 1960's going thru High School in my dads machine shop......You did a excellent job by the way...Thanks so very much my friend....!

I've got a band saw about that size sitting at my Dad's house (he was an old-school Tool & Die Maker, and passed in 2014 at age 96) that I'd like to restore. I was cleaning out his home shop (Bridgeport mill and big Clausing lathe) and found a case of Babbitt ingots. I remember him pouring Babbitt when I was a kid, but of course didn't pay close attention. Thanks for the lesson, Keith! Great video!

Thank you for a simple, concise tutorial!

I always forget time when I watch this channel, that of Abom and the other . Thank you for sharing.

babbitt = (high speed ) copper + tin + antimony (pewter) low speed includes lead We always use mortite caulking for the dams the shafts are blacked with a acetylene torch and wrapped with string for oil tracks and of course spacers made from Beer wrappers

Wow, for a piece of equipment that saw looks fantastic. Great tutorial on babbitt bearings.

Nice Job ! I watched Fenner do this years ago. Its nice to watch a different type of pour.

Nice good job Keith love watching you go thru and show the work ! you make it look easy thanks !!!

Great job Keith, I really like the way you tackle issues...

That’s was great. Always learning from your vids. Looking forward to more of the bandsaw

THANK YOU...for sharing. This is something that I wanted to see done. Enjoyed it very much.

I was able to do this when I was in MILLWRIGHT Apprentice school 30 some years ago. I worked 4 years in an oil refinery mostly on small steam turbines ,we would just through out the old bearings and replaced them. The time it would take to pour new bearings wouldn't be cost effective at all, they were made to be throw aways.

VERY interesting. Born in 1932 when it was pretty much ALL babbitt bearings. But I never saw it done. Thank you Keith for teaching us things like this. May Jesus bless you for sharing it with us.

I remember pouring bearings for a ball mill in the 80's. Journals were about 4 or 5 feet diameter....lol. It took some time blueing and scraping the half-shells for each end.

I love how you show the world babbits are really not that challenging to recast. its such a smart and simple system. I have seen so many youtubers who restore stuff and they will redo everything yet wont touch the babbits like they are black magic. hell you get most of your melt metal back when you melt the old bearing out

Another great video thanks Keith your quiet skilled work is a pleasure to watch.

this is so fascinating, seeing someone who knows soo much.

Fascinating process & thanks for the video.

Very interesting. Always wondered how this was done. Thank you for the excellent presentation

Hi Keith, greetings from the UK - What a brilliant video - you certainly made it look easy when we all know that it's anything but!

watching drilling done on a lathe is so weird when you have been watching the drill bit spin for years not the other way around

@shawngoldsberry747

3 жыл бұрын

Some days you spin the tool, some days you spin the part. I love machining.

@ncdave4life

3 жыл бұрын

And in Soviet Russia the part spins _YOU._

@shawngoldsberry747

3 жыл бұрын

@@ncdave4life I've witnessed people being spun by the machine

@onestopfabshop3224

3 жыл бұрын

@@ncdave4life Haha, that's usually my line!!!!

Don't think I will ever need to pour any babbitt bearings, but learning how it's done was well worth the time. Increased knowledge is always a good thing.

Wonderful work

Good video Keith,not many people know about pouring bearing,good to see it being done

I had a friend that worked in a babbit shop, he would come home from work, BLACK with soot and smoke, every day !!!, he applied for a job with AAA insurance company, he became an adjuster, and loves his new job 😆😆😆 Great Video thanks William Orange county, ca.

Thanks for sharing the work with us Yours Frank

Great video. Looking forward to seeing the old bandsaw running.

Fascinating stuff! The closest I've come to this has been using white metal (in my case 60/40 lead/tin solder) & a beefy soldering iron to build up worn bronze bearings.Thanks for the great video, Keith!

Really nice segment, great work !!

I had a strong feeling of deja vu when watching this, and had to go search YT. Turns out it's because I watched your video on pouring babbitt bearings for a J. A. Vance Planer which was 6 years ago! Amusingly you mentioned your damming material was getting a bit old and needed replacing in that video! :D

next time, you can use that dam putty you had on the ends to build a well around the fill holes, and it'll make the pour easier

@mackk123

3 жыл бұрын

Damn the fact that they don't make that damned dam putty anymore.

@dj59y

3 жыл бұрын

@@mackk123 for the fill dam you could just use clay it'll hold up to the heat . doesn't have to be that specific material

@DreadX10

3 жыл бұрын

@cyberfloater But give it time to dry out a bit. Water-molecules love to party with hot metal...

@tonyfremont

3 жыл бұрын

I'm guessing it won't need repoured for decades, assuming they use this saw daily. ;). He should build a little case for the pieces he made on the lathe and put it inside the saw with instructions on how to use them.

@scottyjones27

3 жыл бұрын

The Deal with the bushing is to hold said shaft in the center of the cast!!

Hello from Holland... You are so inspiring to watch....

That was awesome to watch and thanks for the video, and thank god for new barrings.

Wonderful Video! Showing people how to do it is probably for the best... Miles included.

Very cool Keith.....Good pour!!!

During the depression up to the Second World War my father-in-law drove trucks. Each truck was equipped with a kit for making big end and main bearings for the engines. The kit contained bearing moulds, bearing material, a reamer and sizing shaft , melting ladle blowtorch etc. . There were next to no spare parts available in NZ in those days as trucks and the like we’re imported and parts were made locally. Drivers were expected to make bearings in their down time. Times have certainly changed

That is a very interesting process! Thanks, cool video!

Fantastic love the babbitt stuff

Great video. Iv got to do this for the crank on my steam engine, and this is very helpful to see. Thank you.

Makes you appreciate the old time guys that made it work with what they had.

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL BANDSAW‼️👍👍 PLEASE SHOW MORE VIDEOS ABOUT THAT MACHINE, THANK YOU,. Vinny 🇺🇸

Very nice Keith. Not familiar enough with Babbitt. Nice to be able to learn thru someone who is doing it. Thank you sir.

Keith, Awesome video & content enjoyed watching and anxious to see more videos on your band saw, thanks for sharing your video.!.!.!.

i have a Hendy lathe with babitt half nuts. you solved my dilemma! Thanks great job!

Respectfully, I would loved you coaching the young pup through this. If he's shy, you could have filmed AvE style.

@tnekkc

3 жыл бұрын

Keith Rucker is young!

@fotopfanatic

3 жыл бұрын

A better reference and a better mentor would have been This Old Tony with the same narration style. Encouraging a kid to follow the format of AvE is not advisable - especially the idiocy of his commentary.

@cobhmanwelder4760

3 жыл бұрын

@@fotopfanatic one thing AVE is not is an idiot.

@michaelharris1843

3 жыл бұрын

@@tnekkc Age is relative.

@fuzzy1dk

3 жыл бұрын

@@fotopfanatic I assume AvE style meant "talking hands" not on camera

Good show.Thanks.

I learned something 👍 Thanks for uploading

I've never seen a band saw like that and have never heard of the Crescent Machine Company. It's an interesting looking machine. I certainly do enjoy your videos.

Nice work, it's been a while since I've seen this type of work I'm an old school machinist who graduated to full cnc and it is sad to see our trade die. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for this, it is a very useful video. I always wanted to know how to cast bearings.

Thanks Keith, a good video!

very good video..thanks for your time

Very informative video. I think I saw the video when you brought this saw home. You painted it a nice grey made from a quart of black paint snd half a pint of white. I got a 24” Crescent bandsaw this year and used the same paint mixture on mine. Now yours looks black-I can’t keep up with you! Thanks for all your videos-good information.

I learned something from this video. Thanks!

Never scene how a Babbitt is made, thank you.

great work

I thinks it’s great having a younger guy getting into machinery. Whether or not it’s something he loves doing like we do , the fact that he seems to be doing his best and wants to get better is something that is really hard to find. I’ve been trying and failing to find employees with the same mindset.

Very interesting. Thanks!

That was very interesting!

Thanks for the video. A good, useful result is a success. Whatching babbitcing bearings for the axles of steam locomotives I see some differences. Making the bearing a little bit oversize, boaring the ruff surface, blueing the axle and scraping the bearing has been normal. Also a new bearing should only make contact on a rather small part of the circumference, wore in and being adjusted during the first runnings etc.

Great skill sir...I fully enjoy video! I was one of this ancien workers 👍😉