Bud Motrys tips for pouring babbitt bearings

August 2011

Digital Supplement

www.GasEngineMagazine.com

Coolspring: Discovering Americas Finest Antique Engine Museum.

For more than 25 years, the Coolspring Power Museum in Coolspring, Pa., has been recognized for housing the worlds finest collection of early and historically significant internal combustion engines. Designated a Mechanical Engineering Heritage Collection by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the museum boasts a collection of more than 250 engines in 20 buildings, 40 of which are profiled here in a museum overview edited by Gas Engine Magazines Christian Williams. If youve visited the museum before, youll appreciate the unique selection of engines profiled here. And if youve never had the opportunity to visit Coolspring personally, youll simply be amazed to discover the incredible selection of historically important and technically fascinating engines, preserved for engine lovers everywhere in the most amazing museum of its kind in Coolspring: Discovering Americas Finest Antique Engine Museum.

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For the first time, a detailed step-by-step guide to stationary gas engine restoration has been written for engine enthusiasts. From start to finish, Peter Rookes newly revised, easy-to-follow narrative will impress and educate both new and experienced hobbyists with exhaustive coverage of the process. In 112 pages, Rooke meticulously leads you from stripping an engine through rebuilding each component from bearings to cylinder head to ignition. Tips along the way cover everything from repairing damaged threads to removing rust and zinc plating. A new chapter on building your own magneto charger has been added to this newly revised edition of Gas Engine Restoration.

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elcome to the premier issue of GEM Extra, our digital supplement of fresh content offered between each print issue of Gas Engine Magazine. If youre reading this, then youve received the weekly e-mail newsletter, and have successfully downloaded the GEM Extra PDF packet. Whether you read these pages on your computer or by printing and stapling them to read as a conventional magazine, we hope you enjoy the additional content. While nothing compares to opening your mailbox and finding the newest issue of Gas Engine Magazine in its printed glory, we think this is the next best thing to receiving the magazine on a monthly basis. Following a looser format than the printed magazine, each

Hit-and-Miss Welcome to GEM Extra!

issue of GEM Extra will feature reader-submitted stories as well as articles that utilize our extensive 45-year archive, discussing everything from company histories to amazing engine rescues to articles on maintenance and repair. Because were not bound by printing rules and parameters, well be able to run photos and illustrations that simply arent a high enough resolution to run in the magazine. That also means we can be more creative with artwork for a story, so if you have a story to share but no photographs, feel free to send it to us and well see what we can do. GEM Extra will start out small, but depending on the amount of story submissions we receive from readers, it could get larger. If youve been interested in submitting a story about your engines, or have photos of an engine show you recently attended, send them to associate editor Christian Williams at cwilliams@gasenginemagazine. com. And if the photos pass muster with our production department, well be sure to get your submission in line to run in the magazine. Thanks for giving GEM Extra a try, and if theres anything we can do to improve it, just let me know.

Christian Williams Associate Editor www.gasenginemagazine.com

In this issue of GEM Extra:

Sanduskys Finest: Circa-1910 10 HP Ohio is an older but lasting restoration by Christian Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Show Reports: New York-built engines featured at Coolspring Summer Expo by Paul Harvey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 One Sweet Schmidt: 1-1/2 HP Schmidt receives a sharp makeover by Richard Rulon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Repair & How-To: Bud Motrys tips for pouring babbitt bearings by Bud Motry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

On the cover: Jerry Balvins circa1910 10 HP Ohio. Read more on Page 2.

In the Oct./Nov. 2011 GEM:

Subscriber copies ship Sept. 16

Part 2 of Chris Jerues look at the history of Ingeco engines.

Collector has fun and saves money by making his own mixer.

Jim Whites custom engine made from spare parts.

The Case of the Rock Island and the Missing Piston.

GEM Extra Digital Supplement - August 2011 1

erry Balvins Circa-1910 10 HP Ohio is one of those gas engines thats been around the block. I picked it up in Texas from a guy, and he got it up in Illinois, says Balvin. It passed around the circuit up there for a while.

SanduSkyS FineSt
Circa-1910 10 HP Ohio sports an older but lasting restoration
By Christian Williams
also notes that the cooling tank is an original copy from the books hes looked at. Set apart from the rest As far as unique features, Jerry likes the Christmas tree oiler on top of the engine. It uses one oiler to feed everything, says Jerry. Thats unique and is an Ohio feature that you dont see on a lot of other engines. Compared to Larry Luckes 10 HP Ohio on permanent display at the Camp Creek Threshers show grounds in Waverly, Neb., Jerry noticed that his engines magneto runs off the cam whereas Larrys engines magneto is flywheel operated. But those differences aside, Jerry says that his Ohio employs a lot of the features used on other higher quality engines, including a well-made sideshaft. Jerry isnt sure what the Ohio did while in service, but he does have the sub-base, which tells him that it was originally a stationary engine.
Contact Jerry Balvin at 3344 Highway V18, Chelsea, IA 52215.

Ready to run When Jerry got the Ohio home, there wasnt much for him to do other than clean it up a bit. While its been repainted, Jerry estimates its been some time since the engine needed a mechanical restoration. I think it was done up from original and then never changed, says Jerry. Its an older restoration probably 25 years ago. I know the guy who had it previously and it was restored then. Jerry 2 Gas Engine Magazine

GEM Extra Digital Supplement - August 2011 3

Show Reports
Coolspring Summer Expo, June 16-18, 2011

New York-built engines featured at Coolspring

By Paul Harvey
Editors note: Do you have a show report youd like to share? Send your article and show photos to associate editor Christian Williams at cwilliams@ gasenginemagazine.com. bathed in warm sunshine. The grounds were completely filled with engine exhibitors who were displaying their prize New York engines as well as many other fine displays. The flea market was full and saw brisk trading of parts Tom Miller of Knapp Creek, NY, about to start his and goodies. 40 HP Clark Bobcat engine built in Olean, NY. Evenings were spent in the Museum buildings very enjoyable learning experiwatching many engines being ence to chat with the owners of started and run. Friday evening their unique prizes and see them was special with a spaghetti dinoperate. So here are some of the ner at the Coolspring Community great and unusual engines that Center followed by a special prewere displayed during our show: sentation on the George Pohl engine held at the Coolspring Clark Bobcat Presbyterian Church. To conclude Tom Miller of Knapp Creek, Friday evening, Museum volunN.Y. brought his two-cycle Clark teers started several of the large Bobcat engine. This engine is engines. What an 40 HP and was built by Clark evening! Overall, it Bros. of Olean, N.Y., in the early was a good show 1940s. Clark is now owned by with everything Dresser-Rand and still makes a going so well and line of heavy duty engines for much fellowship stationary use. Tom is an oil being shared. producer and actually used this As at every engine on one of his leases until show, I am always this spring when he decided to surprised to see replace it with a more modern so many engines unit. I think that he had enough that I have never of the manual starting in cold seen or heard of weather! Now it makes a great before. It makes a show piece and runs so well. A very early Myrick sideshaft built in Olean, NY. 4 Gas Engine Magazine Early Myrick Another neat engine I spotted was a very early sideshaft Myrick

y the time this is being read, the big Summer Expo at Coolspring Power Museum will be a pleasant memory. This year the Museum featured engines built in the state of New York, and we had a fine showing. Many rare and interesting ones filled the exhibitors field and, joined with those of the Museum, provided a great display. In all, everyone seemed to have a great time, and we were blessed with another safe event. Of course, Coolspring shows are always known for having rain and this year was no disappointment! Thursday afternoon saw one very hard shower, but spirits were not dampened too much, and the rest of the weekend was

(Clockwise from top left) A portable Westinghouse engine built in Schenectady, NY; a 4 HP Myrick Eclipse built in Olean, NY; a very rare circa 1890 Rumsey-Williams engine built in St. Johnsville, NY; and a 10 HP Farmers Favorite built in Vernon, NY. engine, also built in Olean, NY. About 1915, Myrick Machine Co. settled on building a line of small vertical, air-cooled engines and pump jacks. They lasted into the early 1950s with that design. This unique early Myrick belongs to Ed Kuntz of St. Marys, Pa. It is the only one known. Westinghouse A portable Westinghouse engine that was on display is extremely rare and very well restored. Built in Schenectady, N.Y., it starts easily and runs well. It was built in the 1890s by the father of George Westinghouse, who was known for his train air brake design. George built a great empire in Pittsburgh, Pa., building all kinds of heavy equipment and electrical devices. 4 HP Myrick Another fine engine I saw was the durable 4 HP Myrick Eclipse engine built in Olean, N.Y. These were used extensively on single well pumping units, and Myrick also built the pump jacks that the engines drove. These engines were vertical, air-cooled, and hit-and-miss governed. Most were hot tube ignition, but magneto and spark plug was also offered. Rumsey-Williams Also on hand was a very rare Rumsey-Williams. This design pre-dates the Westinghouse and the similarity can be seen. It was built in St. Johnsville, N.Y., about 1890. Most unique is the one-piece casting that makes the engine frame, as well as the cart. This engine would have been pulled by a team of horses from place to place to do threshing and other farm work. Rumsey then moved to Ripley, N.Y., and built an unusual horizontal engine, and finally to Friendship, N.Y., where they produced a more conventional farm engine. Not many firms shared this diversity or perseverance. Farmers Favorite The Farmers Favorite engine on display was built by the George

GEM Extra Digital Supplement - August 2011 5

Pohl Mfg, Co. of Vernon, N.Y. It is about 10 HP, and is a hopper cooled, sideshaft, hit-andmiss farm engine on a portable horse drawn cart. At the time this engine was built, Pohl was facing fierce competition from the other farm engine makers such as Fairbanks-Morse and International, and had to modify their classic design to try to survive. Although they made a quality product, they disappeared from the market in 1918. This is one of their last products. Advance A beautifully restored 16 HP George Pohl Advance portable engine represents the first design from the company marketed as the Advance. It is a well finished engine with a sideshaft and vertical governor, and is displayed on the original horse drawn cart. There was also a firm in Hamilton, Ohio, known as the Advance that made the Hamilton engine which was identical. The connection is not known. Mietz Oil Engine Another interesting engine was the Mietz Oil Engine made in New York City as the Mietz & Weiss. These are 2-cycle, direct injection oil engines that

burned kerosene, and they were very successful. They were built on the patent of Carl Weiss, who designed an engine to circumvent the Diesel patents. These engines required a bulb in the head to be heated red hot for starting, then ignition would follow without any sparking device. Charter Engine Company of Sterling, Ill., actually made this engine having assumed production after Mietz & Weiss faded away. All these engines were very well built and many have survived. I actually found one in Alaska several years ago. Buffalo Olin Our last featured engine, is an Olin made in Buffalo, N.Y., This 4 HP model is beautifully complete and runs very well. It has the electric igniter although most were hot tube. Fred Olin had many patents for gas engine designs and this is his 1898 patent. It is interesting to note that the Titusville Iron Works also built an Olin according to the 1896 patent. No connection has been established. The Buffalo Olins

are well made, heavy industrial engines, and were built for long running with minimal attention. It is my hope that the reader has enjoyed this tour of our June show and some of the fine engines displayed. Please take some time to visit Coolspring Power Museum and see our displays. The Fall Expo will be Oct. 13-15.
Contact Coolspring Power Museum at 814-849-6883, or by visiting www.coolspringpowermuseum.org.

Read about the engines on display at Coolspring in the latest book from Gas Engine Magazine. Ordering info is on the second page of this issue, or online at www.farmcollector.com.

(Clockwise from right) 16 HP Advance engine made in Vernon, N.Y.; a Mietz Oil Engine made in New York City as the Mietz and Weiss; and a Buffalo Olin made in Buffalo, N.Y.

6 Gas Engine Magazine

Part 1 of 2: 1-1/2 HP Schmidt receives a sharp makeover

By Richard Rulon
n a Thursday morning back in 2003, I was calling on one of my customers when I happened to see a friend of mine in the shop. We got to talking and he asked what I was doing for entertainment. I mentioned I was collecting junk and trying to make something out of it. He advised me that he had two pieces of junk he needed to get rid of: a 6 HP Fairbanks-Morse Model Z and a 1-1/2 HP Schmidt. He told me $300 would take both. Well, I had $300 burning a hole in my pocket and I just needed two more chunks of iron to hold my barn closer to earth. Of course, my wifes comment was, You gave money for that pile of junk? Yes I did.

Richard Rulons 1-1/2 HP Schmidt after restoration (above) and in the condition he bought it in for $300 (lower left). Getting started Close inspection of this investment revealed I was missing the following: connecting rod, piston, rocker arm, pushrod, both governor weights, fuel tank, both upper main bearing caps and the Lunkenheimer mixer. Piece of cake, I thought. No problem. One of the first things on my list was to remove the flywheel from the crank, and of course, the head of the gib key was broken off. Using the keyway as a guide for the 1/4-inch drill bit I drilled out the broken key and in short order I had the flywheel off the crank. Now I had two good flywheels and a good crankshaft. What a start! I stripped the engine down, sand blasted it and got it ready for a make over. I was happy to have the timing gears and the original spark advance lever, and the governor mounting bracket on the flywheel; at least those three items were in good condition. Unfortunately, there were no timing marks. Oh well. Gathering info Next thing I did was place an ad on SmokStak.com to see

GEM Extra Digital Supplement - August 2011 7

(Clockwise from left) Machining the bearing caps; pouring the babbitt; the fresh bearing caps after the pour. crank bearing surface to allow for some shrinking and material for scraping. The next thing to do was to make shims for the bearings and start the scraping in process, which takes a while to do. The babbitt left in the block was in good shape so I left that in place and just touched it up. I used machinist layout dye to paint the bearings. Installing the crank and bolting in place, and then rotating the crank highlighted the high spots, which were then scraped. This wass repeated many times until the crank was seated in the bearing. A piston was bought from Hit & Miss Enterprises and rings were bought from Star Bolt engine supply. I made a fixture to hold the connecting rod and it was set up in the mill and machined. I located and drilled the bearing cap bolt holes first, and then the connecting rod cap was sawed off the rod and reinstalled with bolts. The connecting rod bore was done next and wrist pin bore followed. Babbitt was then poured for the connecting rod, and shims made for the rod and installed. Then, after more scraping, the wrist pin bushing was made and pressed into the rod and reamed to correct size. I then connected the piston to the rod. At this point, I had a connecting rod and piston installed in the cylinder and the governor side flywheel temporary installed. Additional repairs The governor weights were next in line, and these were easy to do. Sawing off the connecting rod cap.

if I could find any parts and or information on this beauty. I was able to find some literature and it included a parts list. I was also able to determine that some of the parts I needed were the same as those on the 3 HP Schmidt engine. Enter a Mr. George Coates, who advised me that he had a 3 HP Schmidt apart and was having some parts cast. We struck up a deal and I had the governor weights, connecting rod, and valve rocker arm cast. I had already cast the bearing caps. I made sure to have extra parts cast just in case so if anyone else needed parts I could help someone out. Pouring babbitt The first thing to do was machine the bearing caps, bore them out and make a mandrel to pour babbitt. Aluminum was used for the mandrel because babbitt will not stick to it (picture #3 & 4 ) I made the mandrel about .003-inch smaller than the 8 Gas Engine Magazine

Richard made a new strap to attach the fuel tank to the engine (above). He used a brake rotor to bend the steel strapping into a nice even circle (right). The cylinder head was in good shape but the valve seats were ground, so I was forced to make new valves. I bought something close and remachined them to fit; stems were threaded and new nuts were made. The rocker arm was machined and new push rod made. A newly-made Lunkenheimer mixer was purchased from Cory Bell, and I had John Wanat make me a fuel tank. I made a new strap to hold the fuel tank and used a brake rotor to bend the steel strapping into a nice even circle. One of the last things I had to do was make a fan for cooling, and this turned out to be easier than I had expected. After cutting a strip of steel for width and length around the flywheel and making clamps to hold it together, I used a shrinking hammer to fold the edges, which worked very well. Then I made the fan blades and riveted them onto the strip. At this point, I had pretty Attaching the new fan blades, which provide cooling. GEM Extra Digital Supplement - August 2011 9 much everything done, so I took it apart, primed it, painted it red and silver and reassembled it. On April 10, 2004, 10 months after I started the project, the Schmidt was fueled up, the buzz box hooked up and the spark retarded, and it started on the first try.The engine runs counter clockwise, while the fairly common 3 HP Schmidt runs clockwise. I guess the seller was mistaken when he told me it would never run again. In part 2 in the October GEM Extra, Ill explain how I built a pump jack for the Schmidt.
Contact Richard Rulon at rerulon@ comcast.net.

Repair & How-To

The GEM guide to antique engine maintenance

Bud Motrys Tips for Pouring Babbitt Bearings

The following was written by Bud Motry for the September/ October and November/December 1981 issues of Gas Engine Magazine. orn out or missing bearings are frequently a problem with old engines. Sometimes it is possible to locate bearings to fit, but it is costly and takes a long time. With a minimum of equipment, a cast iron pot and a ladle, that may be procured at a flea market, you may pour your own bearings. Connecting rod bearings It takes a little ingenuity to make a fixture to hold your old connecting rod, but the fixture can be made from wood. Note the crude example, though entirely effective, in the photo. Babbitt is available from old engine suppliers and some local auto parts stores. One pound is usually sufficient for most bearings. The wood fixture you see here was made from a piece of 2-by-4-inch block about 20 inches long, and a piece of 1-by-4-inch block about 6 inches long. The bearing for this rod need-

The only special equipment needed to pour babbitt bearings are the cast iron melting pot and the ladle shown here. The bearing scraper is homemade from a small three-cornered file, ground to sharp edges on two sides. The pine stick is used as a temperature indicator of the babbitt. ed a flange on both sides of the bearing, and it is necessary to measure the outside diameter of the rod casting. Drill a hole, slightly smaller than this diameter near one end of the 2-by-4-inch block. It should only be drilled about 1/8 inch deep, using a hole saw. The inside of this hole must be cleaned out with a wood chisel. The connecting rod journal diameter has been measured, and assuming it is 1.250 inches in diameter, locate a shaft of this diameter; you will need a short piece, perhaps six inches long. Drill a hole, this size precisely, in the center of the large hole drilled into the 2-by-4-inch block. It need be only about 1 inch deep. This hole will support

Wood fixture used to hold connecting rod in alignment to pour babbitt bearings. This bearing required a flange on both sides. A bevel protractor may be used to advantage to assure alignment of the rod and the dummy shaft. Note the shingle used to level the connecting rod. Vertical alignment of the wrist pin with the bevel protractor assured the rod alignment. With both shafts parallel and the dummy shaft centered in the rod bore, the bearing is ready to pour. 10 Gas Engine Magazine

the dummy shaft. Next, a hole is drilled in the 1-by-4-inch block the same diameter as the large hole in the 2-by-4-inch block. Drill all the way through this piece. This piece will be placed over the connecting rod, to hold it in place, and form the flange on the other side of the bearing. The connecting rod is now checked for shims. I usually add a 1/16 inch shims or more, between the cap and rod of the connecting rod. The pieces are smoothed with a file, assembled, bolted in place, and any openings are plugged with wood. The rod is now placed on the block, checked for centering over the shaft and aligned with the large opening. I usually drive nails on both sides to hold it in position. The wrist pin end of the rod is then checked to see if it is level with the big end of the rod. It is usually necessary to shim under the rod to make it level. The 1-by-4-inch block is then placed over the big end of the rod and centered. This piece is then attached with two wood screws to the 2-by-4-inch block to hold the rod in position. Check the fixture again for perfect alignment. It is advisable to use a bevel protractor. Heating and pouring The next step is to heat the babbitt over a gas burner. It takes a lot of heat to melt the babbitt. It should be heated hot enough, according to the old books, so that a piece of pine stick will smoke when removed from the molten metal. After the metal is ready to pour, the connecting rod casting and the shaft should be heated with a torch. It may char the wood, but no harm is done. I heat the casting both on the inside and outside to the approximate temperature of melting solder about 450 Fahrenheit. At this time wood plugs must be in place, or inserted, in any threaded openings in the rod. Skim the slag off the top of the molten metal and discard it. Fill the hot ladle with clean babbitt and carefully pour it in the rod opening. Slight leakage will quickly seal and additional metal may be poured. It

will blend with the previous pour. After the metal has cooled twenty or thirty minutes remove the wood fixture. The shaft may be placed in a vise and twisted off, but if an arbor press or hydraulic press is available it is easier to press the shaft from the bearing. Excess material on the side of the bearing may be sawed off with a hacksaw or finished with a file and a scraper. It will also be necessary to cut the bearing at the shim edge, between the cap and the rod in order to remove the cap. Depending on the accuracy of the job, there may be very little fitting necessary. However, in some cases it may be advisable to use a reamer to finish the bearing to size. If the shaft used was a little smaller than the journal size it can easily be taken care of by using a reamer on the bearing. After checking the alignment of the rod to the center bore of the cylinder and finding you have miscalculated, the rod may be heated and the bearing poured back in the melting pot and you can start all over again. Crankshaft main bearings Crankshaft main babbitt bear-

ings may be poured in much the same manner as connecting rod bearings. However, there is a slight difference as main bearings are a little more complicated. I have found it easier to pour main bearings in halves rather than one piece. The lower halves should be poured first. Getting started This set-up requires four sheet metal washers approximately 4-by-4-inch, with a center hole drilled to exact size of the crankshaft journal. These pieces will close off both ends of the bearings. An accompanying photo will illustrate the use of the washers. As the bearings will require a flange on one side of the bearing, it will be necessary to fabricate a U shaped piece of scrap metal approximately 1-by-5-inch that can easily be bent to fit around the casting. The metal strip can be held in place by pounding the ends over the engine casting. The crankshaft must be positioned in the center of the bearing casting. By using the connecting rod attached to the piston, in place, it will support the crankshaft when the connecting rod cap is tight-

The four washers are clamped in place. The connecting rod with shims under the rod end are holding the crankshaft in proper alignment. Note the cam gear and the crankshaft gear are in place. After the casting is heated with a torch, the babbitt is ready to pour. GEM Extra Digital Supplement - August 2011 11

ened. The cap is tightened when the crankshaft rod journal bearing is at its lowest arc. This also assures clearance between the rod bearing cap and the base of the engine block. The crankshaft gear is in place against the cam shaft gear, with a shim between the gear teeth to provide clearance. This assists in supporting the crankshaft in place. To check horizontal alignment of the shaft, I use the main bearing casting surface as a reference point. Using spacers With the bearing cap studs in place, I use them for a steady rest, and with a straight edge over the top of the shaft, measure the distance from the casting surface to the straight edge. Now, make four spacers of this dimension, cut a piece of pipe, or use washers as spacers over the studs. It is easy to check the horizontal position of the shaft with these spacers as a guide. The rod bearing cap may be loosened to effect a change in alignment. The inside washers are held in place by use of a wood wedge between the washer and the crankshaft web. The outer left washer is held in place by the crankshaft gear. The outer right end washer is held in place with a hose clamp around the shaft. Any gaps may be sealed with furnace cement or asbestos packing. Slight leakage, however, is not objectionable because it seals very quickly. Check the alignment again, before heating the casting and the shaft with a torch. If the casting is cold it will not permit the metal to flow freely and will leave gaps in the bearing. With the molten metal hot enough to cause a pine stick to smoke when submerged and then removed from the metal, it is hot enough to pour. It only takes a moment to pour the bearing. After it cools twenty minutes, the crankshaft may be jarred loose from its seat. The flanges may be filed to fit with a body file. There is no precise thickness of the flange required as the flywheels may be moved to control end thrust of the shaft. The corners of the bearings 12 Gas Engine Magazine

must be rounded to fit on the inner side of the bearing with a scraper. This lower half of the bearings should now provide perfect alignment of the crankshaft. It is advisable to check these three factors: The gear teeth clearance. The connecting rod and cap should have sufficient clearance at the base of the housing, depending on the size of the engine. The horizontal alignment must permit the crankshaft to be turned freely, 360 degrees without binding of the connecting rod bearing. Pouring the bearings The next step is to pour the cap bearings. They may be poured one at a time. With one of the crankshaft washers in place to close the opening on the inside of the cap, secure the crankshaft in its new lower bearings with one of the old bearing caps. Cut a shim from asbestos for each side of the bearing. This will keep the molten metal from fusing with the already finished lower bearing. Be sure it

covers all the new babbitt, extending tightly to the crankshaft. Bolt the cap in place, centering it on the studs. Wedge the washer against the casting with a wood block. Tip the engine over on its side, supported in a level position by wood blocks. To complete the cap flange, the metal clip used for the lower bearing may be wrapped around the casting and held in place with a C clamp. The metal form should be level with the flange for the lower half. Heat the bearing cap and the shaft with a torch, plug any pipe thread openings with a block of wood and proceed to pour the bearing. When cooled the cap may be jarred loose with a hammer. Repeat the procedure for the opposite bearing cap and complete the job of shimming and scraping to restore the bearings to last another fifty years. Is there a repair or maintenance issue youd like to see us cover? Send your suggestion to associate editor Christian Williams at cwilliams@ gasenginemagazine.com.

This photo shows all the bearings that have been poured. The bearing cap on the left has been filed and scraped to fit. The lube hole has been drilled. The bearing cap on the right has just been poured showing the very little babbitt seepage on one end. This bearing has not been touched since pouring. The lower right side of the bearing casting shows the asbestos shims that are used to prevent the molten metal to be poured in the cap from fusing with the lower half.