Thanks for the info crzy pete.Babbit bearings on Oliver lathes
Moderator: crzypete
Babbit bearings on Oliver lathes
There is an Oliver 24B lathe on E-bay with babbitt bearings, seller has no date or serial# so I'm guessing pre 1920's. How do these bearing stand up to all the time passed and what kind of work does it take to re make (pour or mill) these parts if they are worn. The pulley system seems very exposed to shavings flying into them, other lathes have some coverings. Thanks for the info crzy pete.
Thanks for the info crzy pete.Hey Bernhard, welcome aboard. I was checking out that oliver lathe on ebay lathe
It looks like a nice set-up. Real similar to mine except a little bigger and without the integral motor headstock.
Babbitt bearings can be fine if you keep them oiled, and they are tight. They last a long time and work smoothly. often times they are adjustable so if they start getting loose you can pop them and remove a shim, this allows for wear over time.
I am not sure about the max speeds that you would want to run a babbit at, but I would think that with a lathe of this size you would be no where near maxing them out.
In bidding on that lathe I woud keep in mind that because it is babbitt it does not have a great market value, That being said I believe it will go for more than it is now- I'm pretty sure we will see a flurry of last minute bidding.
I do not have much experience in rebuilding babbitt bearings. I have stayed away from them in my shop. I believe they are cast into place.
To sum up the most uimportant piece of babbitt knowledge: oil oil oil oil oil oil.......
pete
It looks like a nice set-up. Real similar to mine except a little bigger and without the integral motor headstock.
Babbitt bearings can be fine if you keep them oiled, and they are tight. They last a long time and work smoothly. often times they are adjustable so if they start getting loose you can pop them and remove a shim, this allows for wear over time.
I am not sure about the max speeds that you would want to run a babbit at, but I would think that with a lathe of this size you would be no where near maxing them out.
In bidding on that lathe I woud keep in mind that because it is babbitt it does not have a great market value, That being said I believe it will go for more than it is now- I'm pretty sure we will see a flurry of last minute bidding.
I do not have much experience in rebuilding babbitt bearings. I have stayed away from them in my shop. I believe they are cast into place.
To sum up the most uimportant piece of babbitt knowledge: oil oil oil oil oil oil.......
pete
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Mike Henry
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Wed May 25, 2005 2:14 am
- Location: Chicago area
Here is a link to a pamphlet from the 1920's on Babbitt Metal:
http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/babbitt/babbitt.html
It's partially a marketing document for the Magnolia Metal company but does cover at least some of what is needed to pour Babbitt bearings in it's 95 pages.
There is also some info (including another copy of the above pamphlet) on www.owwm.com - probably in the restoration link.
Mike
http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/babbitt/babbitt.html
It's partially a marketing document for the Magnolia Metal company but does cover at least some of what is needed to pour Babbitt bearings in it's 95 pages.
There is also some info (including another copy of the above pamphlet) on www.owwm.com - probably in the restoration link.
Mike