During the process of resurrecting a JD 247 planter I have ventured into a couple areas I had never played with before. I like learning new stuff even though I'm in my 70's it's still fun and challenging.
Babbitt bearings. Decided to fix the wallowed out counter shaft bearings by pouring Babbitt metal in around a 3/4 inch plug I made to fill in what had been ground out of the original bearings. Had to learn about all the different Babbitt alloys and how to pour a bearing. Ended up working better than I expected.
Now in the process of learning about spring steel and how to temper for the proper hardness. The lids for the seed bins were in pretty bad shape with the spring hold down clips broken off. Decided to make new spring hold down clips using spring stock from Brownells. 1/2 inch wide X 1/16 annealed stock. Once I get the hole drilled and the spring bent to shape they will need to be hardened and tempered.
To me this is fun stuff different than the normal welding, fabricating and machining that goes into a project like this.
What new disciplines have you acquired in the process of completing a larger project.
Babbitt bearings. Decided to fix the wallowed out counter shaft bearings by pouring Babbitt metal in around a 3/4 inch plug I made to fill in what had been ground out of the original bearings. Had to learn about all the different Babbitt alloys and how to pour a bearing. Ended up working better than I expected.
Now in the process of learning about spring steel and how to temper for the proper hardness. The lids for the seed bins were in pretty bad shape with the spring hold down clips broken off. Decided to make new spring hold down clips using spring stock from Brownells. 1/2 inch wide X 1/16 annealed stock. Once I get the hole drilled and the spring bent to shape they will need to be hardened and tempered.
To me this is fun stuff different than the normal welding, fabricating and machining that goes into a project like this.
What new disciplines have you acquired in the process of completing a larger project.