A major calamity occurred: my old Browne and Sharpe surface grinder broke. The reciprocating action stopped working. No surface grinder = no plane making therefore an urgent need for a running repair arose.
Normally one should clean everything before disassembly….However by the the time I had found the cause the machine was mostly in bits… once the cause was located the most pressing problem was to make a replacement part out of mild steel rather than cast iron as per original.
The new part was made by taking measurements off the broken piece (which somebody had welded) and basically bandsawing, milling, drilling , belt grinding produced it about 8 hours later. That was the easy part.
The hard part is cleaning and re-assembling this classic American heavy iron and I expect to have it singing by midday tomorrow.
The pictures show the new part, making it, the part installed and the surrounding shambles with lots of oil and dirt- I am happy that that machine is not actually in my shop-it is on the outer wall… You can see that it is fairly complicated and not a job to be tackled with impatience.
Now I know how the danged thing works, and what the next ailment is likely to be.That is a good way to be with machines.
Replies
Hi Philip
What a beautiful job of machining..... the Master's Touch! Your re-design is better than the original.
Tell me, how long did it take to diagnose the problem ... and how much Scotch did you consume before this?! I think that I am projecting here .... :)
Regards from Perth
Derek
Derek,
Today, three days later, it is all together and working properly, so now there is a need to consume some Southern Comfort or similar...
Initial diagnosis was simple, no second opinion was sought, but the patient had to be put on mechanical life support in order to do the transplant....Philip Marcou
VERY NICE WORK! Excellent.
Your metal working is as good as your woodworking.
Now that you made a first class repair you may want to
'properly' braze that cast iron part for a spare. Just in case yours breaks :>)
http://www.handyharmancanada.com/TheBrazingBook/bbook.htm
Whoever did that brazing needs to refine their skill a wee bit! As a old Tank mechanic I have done more than a 'bit' of welding/brazing. Cast Iron is not easy to do correctly. It looks like the part was never cleaned and dressed before what I see as 'dripping some heated metal' onto that broken joint!
Philip,
What a great success story. You solved your heavy metal problem yourself. The photos give a good view of the story.
Your self reliance is a lesson to craftsmen everywhere. I believe the most important attribute a woodworker or metal worker should have is self confidence and self reliance -- the attitude that is something goes wrong, I can take care of it. Today's woodworking schools teach just the opposite -- "to learn anything, you need to come to my school and take my course". We would do better to foster independent thinking.
I suggest that Fine Woodworking do an article on you and on your approach to your crafts. I have seen plenty of Profiles (Frid, Nakashima, Maloof, etc. Now it is time for a REAL artist/craftsman/renaissanceman to be profiled.
Keep posting.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Philip:
You really are a clever chap!
One of the benefits of digital photography is that one can take copious and instant photographs to help with the re-assembly. That way one can avoid having some parts left over. Not that that would ever happen, but just in case!
Hastings
phillip,
That work certainly lends creedence to your beautiful planes.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Wow!
Philip,
OK, I'm impressed! I looked at all of the pics and thought, wow, the new part looks great. Then I opened up the last 3 and thought - Holy $h!t - that's a lot of stuff on the floor to have to put back.
I always hate when a machine breaks, but as you said, it's good to know how the thing works, and I've always been glad when the job was done that I actually did it.
Please post some pics when old girl gets back together - maybe even some shots running/working. I'v never seen one in action and would be curious to see how it works and exactly what it does.
Cheers friend,
Lee
that's a lot of stuff on the floor to have to put back.I LOVE the smell of a disassembled machine in the morning!
There you go , Lee, the old bittich is in business again. Now that I have seen the innards I am keen to do some preventive maintenance at a later stage-several bushes to be re-made, elongated screw housings to be filled and re-drilled etc: metal head's wet dream I would say....
You can see from the pictures that there is a magnetic vice holding the workpieces (2 sole plates for S20's)which are held by the green vice. The mag vice is bolted to the machine table which reciprocates back and forth under the grinding wheel, which can be raised or lowered very accurately-scale is in 1/2 thous.The machine table also has an automatic cross feed.In theory it will grind a FLAT SURFACE.
The trouble with that machine is that it has been worked hard for at least 50years-with running repairs done in a hurry. Like most old iron it could be re-built like new...
That timber you see on the racks is NZ swamp Kauri.Philip Marcou
Philip,
Now that's a sweet piece of iron! What type of wheel is used for the grinding, and how do you account for wear of the wheel? Also, what is the largest length/width you can accurately grind with that table? Lataxe and I have been scheming to talk you into building a matching pair of jointers - say - in the 22 inch range;) Would the table allow a part that length to be milled?
Cheers,
Lee
P.S. Next time you get that camera out in the shop snap us a pic of that NZ kauri - can't say I've ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on that.
Lee, the wheel type depends on what is being ground. For grinding a combination of brass and gauge plate I use a Norton blue wheel type SG which stands for Seeded Gel and that is all I know about it apart from it being much more costly than a white or pink wheel. (Norton told me to use that wheel for the job so I do so unless I find something better).
Wheel wear is fast because dressing is done often, not because the work is wearing the wheel fast. The better grinders have variable speed so that speed can be increased to compensate for decreased wheel diameter.
22 inchers are too long for that machine and too long for my "milling " machine as well. At the moment the longest sole I can do is about 2 inches longer than my big smoother (S20)and I have been thinking for some time to make a plane of this length-it would still be a smoother or panel plane and equates to a 51/4 size I suppose. I reckon that the 51/2 size is a mighty useful plane so what would be wrong with a 51/4 size?
NZ Kauri? You need a Genuine Kiwi to describe that wood to you (Cicero where art thou?), but the swamp Kauri I have is a bland grey colour-I will plane some up and show you.Philip Marcou
Philip,Thanks for the post. I worked in a metal shop a long long time ago, and your pics brought it all back - greasy old parts laid out waiting to be cleaned and inspected, the feel and smell of old iron...I have no doubt that this machine will keep going for as long as you need it to. Thank goodness it doesn't rely on computer chips and laser guidance...best regards,
David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e
Philip,Will show off the skills hidden inside at a whim!
Is that similar to Blanchard grinding?
"Is that similar to Blanchard grinding?"
No, I don't think so. A Blanchard is a machine which has a swinging head and uses the face of a grinding wheel to grind large areas -sort of like a rotary floor polisher.The head moves over the work, whilst a surface grinder like mine has a stationary head and the work is moved past the grinding wheel which cuts on its edge.Philip Marcou
whilst a surface grinder like mine has a stationary head and the work is moved past the grinding wheel which cuts on its edge.And somehoy comes out flat! And I always wondered why when the wheel was loosin' some grit???
"And somehoy comes out flat! And I always wondered why when the wheel was loosin' some grit?"
That is a relevant question, so it is important to be using the correct wheel for the material being ground-which minimises the grit loss to acceptable limits.
Also the method or technique is important.
Even an old one like mine should be able to get within one thou over a length of 18inches.....Philip Marcou
That is a relevant question, so it is important to be using the correct wheel for the material being ground-which minimizes the grit loss to acceptable limits.
Also the method or technique is important.Sort of reminds me of me and my wife.. She put up with alot of grit from me and we were still SMOOTH!
Nice work! My son loves to work metal in highschool. I'm trying to convince him that a machinist would be a good profession and they are in dire need.
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Excellent repair! Very resourceful work! Congratulations on successfully reassembling "the mess".
I noticed one thing though: that the original part broke right at the keyway - an obvious weak point. I have to assume you were either not able to move the key *or* make the part thicker around the keyway because of clearances to the rest of the machine. It's too bad it wasn't designed better in the first place.
Good luck with the repaired machine.
Pete
How neat. I agree the new looks worlds better than the original. Which got me to google your name, find your site, look at pics of planes and furniture. My goodness. What a great angle you take on the furniture. Love it.
Real trucks dont have sparkplugs
Wow, way to go Philip. Performance under pressure, very impressive!
"If it ain't broke... don't fix it! If it is broke... fix it"......
Field expediency at it's finest hour... battle tested and "johnny on the spot" when the occassion arises.... ya da man!
Highest regards and Merry Xmas.. ya'll do get Xmas via statellite down in NZ, dont ya? Or does it show up latter via boat? :>)
Sarge..
Or does it show up later via boat?
??? I thought they got it via Reindeer like everybody else.------------------------------------
It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
I believe they used to DG, but I believe iit happens to co-incide with "rein-deer" hunting season with their next door neighbors on the big continent and they kept shooting em down. Just the way I heard it.. mind you! :>)
Regards...
Sarge..
The rein-deer showed up early here - let's hope they make it through to Christmas ;)
New Zealand actually gets Christmas before everyone else. It is the first major country after the International Date Line.
DG and I were kind of poking a little fun across International waters. I had a lot of American Muscle Car owners in NZ I sold and shipped parts too. Great group of lads and from what I understand the scenery in NZ is nothing short of breath-taking.
And... I hear it through the grape-vine that you would be hard pressed to find a chewing gum wrapper of any other piece of trash on the ground. You wouldn't have to take ten steps where I live to find a discarded piece of trash and I bet that would be true about anywhere in the U.S... or most places for that matter.
Been to Australia twice but never NZ.. I hope that void is filled one of these days soon!
Regards...
Sarge..
Been to Australia twice but never NZ.. I was once.. The COP as we call it here in the USA looked like a Policeman for a Queen! I was amazed.. So well dressed and working in a airport! He was BIG and impressive!But I was not that happy being sprayed with bug spray in the AeroPlane!
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