Shaft Machine: Wiring

Renaissance man, Jonathan W.  solved a vexing issue with the Shaft Machine yesterday.  The motor powering the unit is a Dayton gear motor.  It had 5 wires coming out of it.  I don't know what to do with that.
I had it working but only when I plugged it in and started it spinning.
Jonathan knows his electronics and picked up the right capacitor and parts and quickly got it functioning correctly.
It now has forward and reverse (by switch) !
He was also able to check its rotation speed with a device.  The mandril is spinning at 36 rpm and the bobbin shaft is spinning at 12 rpm.

He also tested the rpms of the Silver band saw.  With the sheave we installed, it has a blade speed of 1861 feet per minute.
Good to know.

We spun another test shaft of about three feet in length.  All is well.
This weekend we will spin our first full length carbon fiber shaft for testing.

Band Saw: Upper wheel

The band saw is getting closer to cutting wood.  We ordered two blades from Bandsawbladesdirect.com.

The blades are about 16.5 feet long.  There is some variability because the upper wheel has about a foot of vertical travel.
The one hundred plus year old Silver 32 inch saw is fascinating.

The upper wheel is amazingly like an old timey wagon wheel.  It has a big 5 inch hub that simply rides on a lubricated axle.   It is finely machined and has a simple auto feed oiling design.

It seems sketchy, but after it was all put back together and oiled, you give it a shove and it will spin for over two minutes.

The blades we are going to try first are the following:

1 x LENOX #32 WOOD & CORE BAND Bandsaw Blade (#32) 1/2 inch width
1 x WOODMASTER C-SHARP™ BAND SAW BLADES (c-sharp) 1 inch width

They will stay in the box for a little while as we figure out what tires we will instal on the wheels.

Here are photos of the upper wheel cleaning and reassembly:

Removing the collar.  It has an oil fitting.

Wagon wheel like upper blade wheel.

Upper axle showing the adjustment knob.    The axle rides on an adjustable mechanism.
When you screw the knob in, the axle and the plate it is mounted on pivots up.  This is how you are able to adjust how the blade rides on the wheels.

This is the hole lubricant enters into the axle.  When it is all put back together, the axle can be filled with lubricant.
It then bleeds out of another hole on the underside of the axle.

Spinning for minutes.

Band saw: Babbitt bearings

About a year ago we purchased a 32 inch band saw made by The Sliver Manufacturing Company of Salem, Ohio.  Since then we have slowly been addressing it's refurbishment.
We think it is from about 1905.
Last year we thoroughly cleaned, sanded and painted the cast iron saw.
Although it had been sitting outside for years, it had very little rust.  Apparently cast iron, unlike steel, forms surface oxidation and stops deteriorating. Steel rots like warm ice unless protected.
We recently purchased a 2 horse 240v motor.
Yesterday we received v belts we ordered from VBeltsupply.com.
It took twin 102 inch belts riding on a sheave we picked up in Alton.
Before running the motor we took the Babbitt bearings apart and cleaned out very old saw dust.
The Babbitt bearings are such a simple and impressive design.
The axle sits in a lead bed set in a heavy cast iron arm.  The two cap pieces have an oil reservoir on top.  Holes in the castings and hand cut channels in the lead let the oil flow through to the large bearing surface of the lead.

We cleaned it all up, reassembled the bearing and fired up the motor.  It spins quietly and gives off the the impression of great mass.

Next we will service the upper wheel.

Here are photos of the process.

Lead lined bearing casting showing oil channels. 

  

There are two of these, one on each side of the shaft.

Looking straight down on the assembly.  You can see the reservoir. 

With the caps removed, the shaft can now be lifted out for cleaning.

The shaft set aside for cleaning.  Both the drive wheel and blade wheel are still attached.

Spinning up to speed.  Keep the kids away!

Shaft Machine !

We got a big order for both paddle boards and paddles.  While we are preparing the molds and waiting on supply deliveries, I thought it would be a good time to visit Charlie at Industrial Machine Sales.
Jonathan W. and I drove up to Alton IL. to see if we could get the shaft machine project moving forward.
Charlie was happy to help and spent 5 hours walking us through the building of the machine.
He used a lathe to cut some specialized parts we needed and had us running around his 11000 foot shop bringing him items.
After cutting various sizes of bar stock, plate metal and de-burring all the edges, we got the device pretty close to finished.
Once we retuned to St. Louis, I got the pieces mounted on my steel strong-back  (heavy steel angle iron).
The timing was good because the Carbon Fiber tow arrived today.
We are super excited about the prospects of being able to buy the raw CF tow and spin our own shafts.
Here are photos of the day with Charlie.
All Photos courtesy of Jonathan Wilmoth.

I thought our 32 inch Silver was a big band saw.  Charlie's Grob band saw (Made in Wisconsin) is a monster.
It makes him look like a Oompa Loompa. 

Lathe work

Steel band saw cutting plate

Charlie has a nice Lincoln mig welder.

Jon is distracted by something shiny.