Amazing machine work

[Mr Ron]

More nice parts!

Assembling a Packard Merlin two stage Supercharger.

Second stage Impeller.
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Second stage completed.
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First stage diffuser
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First stage Impeller.
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Glenn, Do you have to look for parts for a rebuild? Do you have to make your own parts?

[David2011]

For the past two years I've had an opportunity to work with a lot of circa 1910-1913 machining and some from around 1940-42 while working on the restoration of the battleship USS Texas, BB-35. Much of our work is centered on the 20mm Oerlikon, 40mm Quad Bofors, 3" and 5" guns. The quality of fit and finish on the gears and shafts in these pieces are as good as if they were made today. The repeaters on the 5" guns that tell the operators where they're pointed and where they need to be pointed are as nice internally as fine wall clocks. Three of the six 5" guns on the Texas were original to the ship when accepted by the Navy. The gun directors used to aim the 40mm Quads are nothing short of works of art with miniature gyros, heaters, moving mirrors and high quality optics all in a housing not much larger than a football helmet.

The gear on the shaft is an original part that elevates the barrel of a 5" gun. It's in great condition to have been in place for at least 110 years. It's the first gear in the system with a handwheel being attached to the shaft. The shafts are reproductions made in my home shop to replace the badly pitted originals. As with most of the gears on shafts in the guns, the gears are a light press fit onto the shafts. The precision fit in all of the original components is impressive. The domes on the ends of the shafts are exposed when the assembly is complete and will have a heavy coat of primer and paint applied so a smoother finish was neither necessary nor desirable. The domes were created by machining steps at 0.02" step intervals and then filing them smooth, courtesy of a tip by Blondihacks.

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[Bill Shields]

it isn't like people's lives did not depend on the quality of work......and everyone knew it

[Harold_V]

it isn't like people's lives did not depend on the quality of work......and everyone knew it

From a different era, when people took pride in a job well done (more so than in taking pride in how much unearned money can be pocketed). It was clear to them, as well as onlookers, that the work one did was representative of who and what they were.

Not to undermine the value of CNC's in any way---but this is an excellent example of the power (and value) of creating manual skills, something that has changed in our society, at least in my opinion.

H

[Bill Shields]

could not agree more with H's sentiment.

going along with that line of reasoning is that there are a large number (majority?) of items being designed today that cannot be built by hand driven machines.

Designers have been turned loose with the knowledge that 'if you can design it, a computerized machine can build it' -> as opposed to 70 years ago when design was driven by 'you have to be able to make it using the following processes....'

KISS applies only as long as it can be used to KTMCTAAM

[NP317]

Harold: I totally agree.

And Bill brings up good point about modern machine capabilities that are making items previously impossible, such as the 3D printed rocket motors of SpaceX. I see this as the continuing evolution of manufacturing processes.

I look forward to the coming advances, while enjoying manually machining items in my home shop.
And all this from a former teacher of Manufacturing Processes.
RussN

[Bill Shields]

There is an abbreviation that is still used in the engineering / design world -> but encompasses an entirely different realm since I first encountered it:

D F M

[Harold_V]

going along with that line of reasoning is that there are a large number (majority?) of items being designed today that cannot be built by hand driven machines.

True!
I'm proud of the manual skills I achieved, but it was more than clear to me that the soap dishes I made for our new house (made from a Corian type material) would have bordered on the impossible to make manually.

CNC rules, but we should all show respect for the skills required to make parts without them.

H