> Wear gloves! Have a small hammer ready.
>
> A regular propane torch will work, gently heat the sides,inside
> of the ring
This reminds me of a job we used to do back in the paper mill I learned my
trade in (he said, firmly placing his old codger hat on his balding
head...). Paper machines, for those of you not familiar with them, have
lots of rollers that are designed to facilitate the removal of water from
the pulp and, ultimately, the drying of the paper. Part of the water
removal process is accomplished in large presses (like a big mangle, for
those of you that remember such things). These consist of rollers that can
be over 30 feet long, 36 inches or greater diameter, with journal diameters
of as much as 24 inches. These rollers ran on spherical roller bearings,
which were a force-fit on the journal. These bearings were VERY expensive
as you can imagine. When we mounted one of these bearings, it was quite a
circus, especially as this was in the days when England's unions had a firm
hold over industry. The crew consisted of the fitter (or millwright, in the
US), the fitter's mate (helper), the apprentice (me), two members of the
"heavy gang" (riggers, who drove the overhead crane), a welder (to operate
the oxy-propane torch), the welder's mate (his gofer), the maintenance
supervisor, and, occasionally, the mill engineer. First, the old bearing
was cut off by burning off the cage so that the rollers could be removed and
the outer race removed. Then, the inner race was removed by heating one
part of it to red heat and throwing a bucket of water on that spot. This
was the maintenance supervisor's tour de force. This cracked the race and
it was easily removed from the journal. Then, the new bearing was placed in
an oil bath after the necessary slings and clamps were attached to enable
the bearing to be lifted by the overhead crane. The oil bath was heated
with the oxy-propane torch until it was about 350-400 degrees, if I remember
correctly. When the bearing was up to temperature (this took several
hours), the crane operator would lift it out of the bath and we would
gingerly line the bearing up with the shaft (it was hot, remember). Then
the crane operator, who was a true artist, would inch the bearing forward
until it was just started on the shaft. We all stood by with 2X4s (to push
the hot bearing with) and BFHs, in case it got stuck. The supervisor would
dance around a little and, lo and behold, the bearing would slide into
place! Another good job well done, and time for tea!
Next time I will tell you about hand drilling (and I mean hand drilling with
a hand ratchet drill) a 1 inch diameter hole in a cast iron frame above the
dryer section...
Michael Marr
Naperville, IL
1960 TR3A
Check out the new British Cars Forum:
http://www.team.net/the-local/tiki-view_forum.php?forumId=8
|