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coal miner
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Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:19 pm
Location: Southern Illinios

Re: Photo Galleries

Post by coal miner »

Glen , your expertise blows me away ! You along other members on this board have so much talent and are willing to share your knowledge w/ the newbies ,such as my self . I have rebuilt some big Cat V-12's in years past , but nothing like the Rolls Royce and the like . I remember remember rebuilding a big Cat V-12 in a 4500 Manitowoc dragline that was done in place out in the spoils and in the mud . Went to the machine on dozers . The engine was dry sumped and the pistons came out the side plates on the block . IIRC the heads , 3 each side , were removed by a one ton chain fall rigged from the back legs on the machine . Talk about running the rack on the injection ! 10 degrees and windy ... Cold . LOL glad I'm retired . Thanks for sharing !
The more I learn , The more I don't know !
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steamin10
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Re: Photo Galleries

Post by steamin10 »

Glenn: If a machine is beautiful because of its complexity, then these things you touched are GORGEOUS! This blows away my old street rod engines.

If I remember right, The Merlins had about a 400 hr service life. So, do you see the same group of engines all the time? You must have a nitch carved out over the years. My understanding is complete engines, in any condition are getting really hard to find.

I ask in curiosity, because of my invovment with the rebuild of a Comanche 220 I helped strip and salvage donor parts for. That was an experieince.
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
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GlennW
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Re: Photo Galleries

Post by GlennW »

coal miner,

I have never tinkered with diesels, but standing next to an EMD Locomotive when running makes my socks roll up and down! Pretty serious power there!

Thanks for the nice comments!

Dave,

They ran them a bit harder in Military service so the failure rate was up a bit.

I consider them somewhat of an engineering marvel, given the quality and quantity mass produced, and the fact that they were designed and drawn with pencil and paper! You know, back when engineers and draftsmen were the real deal!
Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
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calgator
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Re: Photo Galleries

Post by calgator »

Glen,

Thanks for the picture it brings back memories of working in my father’s auto shop rebuilding engines for his boat racing clients.

Thanks,

Charles
The best times were behind one of Al's engines
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GlennW
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Re: Photo Galleries

Post by GlennW »

Another one on the way...

Got the connecting rods installed on the crankshaft. You do that in a stand.
Image

Fork and blade connecting rod configuration.
Image

Crankcase cleaned up and ready, less main bearing shells.
Image

On the hook and ready to load into the crankcase.
Image

Done deal. Bearings in, main caps torqued, through bolts in and torqued...and it actiually rotates :wink:
Image
Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
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steamin10
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Re: Photo Galleries

Post by steamin10 »

WOW! A webstrap around the counterweight looks kinda iffy for that part! But you know what you are doing.

I was struck by some of the details of the internals , never having been inside one. What is the purpose of the castlated nuts at all the journal throws that seem to go through the crank journals? Is this for covers for oil porting, to the rod-main journals? I notice some machining that aludes to something being precision done there.

I am very struck by the split big end journals, with another rod between. I know the radials had a Master rod the other rods pinned into, another departure of logic, when used to Automotive stuff. But that design looks like it makes watchbuilding sloppy, If I read the stressed areas would be alignment sensative, given the needed parallel on those Y'ed bottom journals. Is there any saving grace for this arangement, or is it really critical as I am seeing it.
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
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GlennW
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Re: Photo Galleries

Post by GlennW »

steamin10 wrote:WOW! A webstrap around the counterweight looks kinda iffy for that part! But you know what you are doing.
Hello Dave,

The crankshaft alone weighs in at about 150 lbs, and the assembly, with rods, is between 200 and 225 lbs. I use a 3' strap with loop ends and place the loops over the counter weights. The weight of the assembly causes the loops to constrict around the weights, which are quite a bit broader at the top.
steamin10 wrote:What is the purpose of the castellated nuts at all the journal throws that seem to go through the crank journals? Is this for covers for oil porting, to the rod-main journals? I notice some machining that aludes to something being precision done there.
The crankshaft is a piece of art. All of the journals are hollow with the bores having a ground tapered entry allowing for ground plugs with matching tapers to be installed with through bolts.
steamin10 wrote:I am very struck by the split big end journals. But that design looks like it makes watchbuilding sloppy, If I read the stressed areas would be alignment sensative, given the needed parallel on those Y'ed bottom journals. Is there any saving grace for this arangement, or is it really critical as I am seeing it.
The rods are a real piece of work as well.

Image

I have the beams CNC Shot Peened via a robotic process to ensure dead even coverage as not to induce any distortion. This after balancing the rods to within two grams of each other. They are also inspected for bend and twist.

The Blade rod (the thin one) gets the mating surfaces of the parting line ground slightly to close up the bore, and then I hone the ID back to size with a given tolerance of +/-.0002". The small end bore gets honed until round and new oversize bushings fitted as it uses floating bushings. Pretty standard rod stuff as far as machining.

The fork rod is cat of a different stripe as it is three pieces, the beam, the upper bearing block, and the lower bearing block. (excluding bolts) The mating surface between the beam and the upper bearing block is ground on a larger radius and the surfaces get hand lapped until 100% contact is made. The mating surfaces between the upper and lower bearing block get ground slightly to correct any out of round on the bore, then lapped. Then the assembly gets bolted together and the bore is fixtured and honed to size with the same +/- .0002" tolerance,which I try to hit dead center. Next the rod is disassembled and the upper and lower bearing blocks are assembled onto a ground mandrel and the OD on which the blade rod rides is ground until it is perfectly round again, and then polished. After all of that, under size ID blade rod bearings are installed in the blade rods and the rod set up on the Jig Borer and bored, faced, and radius chamfered to achieve the proper clearances when installed onto the fork rod.

The rod bolts are all stretched to .007" to achieve the proper tension and monitored using a stretch gauge when tightening. The fun part is spending a day juggling nuts around to achieve the proper stretch and have a cotter pin hole line up exactly, as the cotter pins are centerless ground for a dead even fit in the bolt hole. Installing the pins can be fun as well as they are very soft and malleable and you have to hold them with pliers and twist and push them in as far as you can and then tap them home with one of those small ball pein gasket hammers, all without distorting the pin. The cotter pins run about $5.00 each and come from the UK for added shipping cost...

Blade rod bearings are about $300.00 each plus shipping from the UK, so you pay attention there too when boring to size. :)

The important thing is tightening sequence of the rod bolts, as with fairly close tolerance bores, if the bolts are not tightened in the same sequence each time, the bore will distort. The first step is the bolts and the tightening sequence so everything remains constant throughout the process. The slightest piece of debris between any of the mating surfaces will turn them into a pretzel so everything has to remain clean as well and you constantly monitor everything with the bore gauges and mics to make sure everything is staying round.

It's really lots of fun...

Fun: Any time I get to play with my Grinders, Honing Machine, or Jig Borers. (or lathe, or milling machines, or...)

:D
Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
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ken572
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Re: Photo Galleries

Post by ken572 »

Glenn,

That is a beautiful restored V12 :wink:

Ken.
One must remember.
The best learning experiences come
from working with the older Masters.
Ken.
FLtenwheeler
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Location: Florida, on the Lake Wales Ridge

Re: Photo Galleries

Post by FLtenwheeler »

Hi

So the blade rod does NOT ride on the crank. Is that correct? I would like to see a more detailed picture of the set up.

Thanks for the great pictures. I was thinking that a GTISO-520 was a pain.

Tim
He who dies with the most unfinished projects: Should of put more time into their hobby.
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GlennW
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Re: Photo Galleries

Post by GlennW »

The blade rod rides on the fork rod.
Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
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steamin10
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Re: Photo Galleries

Post by steamin10 »

OK, THAT is the part that was not clear. A rod riding on a rod. Similar in Idea of the radial design where only one main rod carries the other rods on the crankshaft. I did not get the lower end of the split rod was 3 pcs for machining purposes, then bolted to the rod itself. Very creative design, with all the real power on compressive structure.

It is a slick idea if you think about it. The rotational sliding speed is on one huge bearing, and the second rod only rocks back and forth on the other journal, without loading the cap in stretch. There is a host of advantages, or artfull dodges for the loadings present.

Thanks, the pics really are worth a K of words.

Polishing and shot peening is a standard for years now for crack prevention. What was the standard proceedure back then?
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
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GlennW
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Re: Photo Galleries

Post by GlennW »

Originally the beams were only polished.
Glenn

Operating machines is perfectly safe......until you forget how dangerous it really is!
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