Babbit bearing headstock max spindle rpm

[agfrvf]

I would look at max rpm of the atlas 918(only had babbit) its on vintage machinery.

 

[WCraig]

There is no replacement available, since babbitt has to be poured into the head with the spindle in one step and is now a lost art.

Um, "lost art" is a bit of an overstatement. I believe you can order babbit from any of the big supply houses and there is lots of information out there on how to pour a bearing. For example, Keith Rucker did a Youtube video recently on pouring a bearing for a sugar cane press.

Craig

 

[agfrvf]

Um, "lost art" is a bit of an overstatement. I believe you can order babbit from any of the big supply houses and there is lots of information out there on how to pour a bearing. For example, Keith Rucker did a Youtube video recently on pouring a bearing for a sugar cane press.

Craig

Pouring babbit is not much different than casting lead. However to get it to be good enough for a machine spindle is a whole nother level. Compairing go karts to F1. No offense to Keith Rucker, I love his work.

 

[projectnut]

Um, "lost art" is a bit of an overstatement. I believe you can order babbit from any of the big supply houses and there is lots of information out there on how to pour a bearing. For example, Keith Rucker did a Youtube video recently on pouring a bearing for a sugar cane press.

Craig

Maybe not a totally lost art, but something more like a blacksmith. There are still people that can do both, just not nearly as many as a hundred years ago. The company I worked for had it's own power house for generating high pressure steam and electricity. They also had a huge refrigeration compressor room filled with early 20th century ammonia compressors. The compressors were originally steam powered, and later switched to 200 hp electric motors. They had 12' diameter flywheels that ran on babbited bearings. The flywheels were partially submerged in a pit so the bearings were easily accessible for rebabbiting. The compressors ran 24/7 so every 3 to 4 years the flywheels had to be pulled and the bearings repoured.

The compressors were ancient by todays standards, but extremely cost effective to run. They required little maintenance, and if parts did need to be made we had an onsite machine shop with highly skilled machinists. Unfortunately in the late 1990's there was a fire in the compressor room that wiped out nearly all the compressors. Since 80+% of the facility needed refrigeration there was no time to make all the parts necessary to get them back up and running. It was a sad thing to see happen, but all the compressors were removed and either scrapped or sent to museums. They were all replaced by more modern screw compressors.

Here's a link to a similar type of steam powered compressor. This one is considerably smaller than the ones in the powerhouse where I worked.

 

[Bob Korves]

There is no replacement available, since babbitt has to be poured into the head with the spindle in one step and is now a lost art.

Really? Something makes me think I saw someone do that in a YouTube video, appeared to come out nice. Unfortunately, cannot remember where I saw it... Maybe David Richards?

All ready own motor and vfd but still wondering about top rpm for those bearings. Previous post says dependant on bearing size , but doesn't give enuf info or formula to calculate. Unless it was assumed I know something I don't.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

If you compare a 2" spindle to a 4" spindle, identical in every other way, the speed of the sliding surfaces doubles, at the same rpm. The bigger the spindle bearings get, the more difficult the surface speeds become to accommodate with leading to overheating, galling, and failure. On the other hand, if only the diameter changes, and not the width of the bearings, load capacity is increased due to the larger total bearing area. At some combination of diameter, load, and speed, Babbitt bearings will need improved Babbitt alloys and/or better oiling systems. Automobile engines use Babbitt type materials at quite high rpm, but they have carefully designed oiling systems, with special oils, recirculated under pressure, good filtration, oil coolers, and highly accurate journals. You will not find that on simple and inexpensive lathes from decades ago...

 

[WCraig]

Pouring babbit is not much different than casting lead. However to get it to be good enough for a machine spindle is a whole nother level. Compairing go karts to F1. No offense to Keith Rucker, I love his work.

Not sure why you say that. I believe babbitt bearings are pretty forgiving. When they are new, keep checking if they are heating up. Otherwise, a bad bearing could get to the melting point of the babbitt.

For more information on babbitt bearings:

Babbitt - What is Babbitt? - VintageMachinery.org Knowledge Base (Wiki)

wiki.vintagemachinery.org

http://www.alchemyextrusions.com/Babbitt/default.aspx

Babbitt Information - American Power Service — Babbitt Bearing Repairs

Your Babbitt Bearing Specialists

www.babbittrepair.com

etc.

BTW, using the Vintage Machinery page, I calculate that a tin-based babbitt bearing on a 2" shaft (for example) could run up to 4,500 rpm. Did the OP mention the spindle size of the lathe?

Craig

 

[Karl_T]

I have a 16" by 120" leBlond with shot babbit bearings...

Many years ago, I really looked into rebuilding this old machine. One part I never discovered was how to accurately hold the spindle in the exact right position while pouring in new babbit. Got to be accurate on a lathe.

 

[pontiac428]

Hey, OP, I just got to looking again at your pics and I think you should run what you've got. You still have shims in your stack, the exposed portion of journal on the left side looks good, and the journal cap looks decent. Adjust them and start making chips!