Continental-Bolton Mower

A few weeks back I posted asking about the hardness of mower spindles. Well, here they are! The spindles were made from 4140 steel, precision ground to 0.0002 inch tolerances, and after mowing 12 acres, they run cool as can be. The original mower blades were segmented, so I adapted left hand woods blades to work. I had to use solid carbide tooling to drill new holes in the blades as they were hardened.

One of the problems with this mower was that the spindles were flush with the top of the mower deck, allowing rain water to get into them. Even though there was a seal, there still was ability of water to do nasty damage. I made aluminum caps that press fit on top. I had to make some die holders for the M25x1.5 bearing lock-nut and 3/4-16 pulley nut. The pic showing the woodruff key sticking out was because I didn't want to tap it in until I was in final assembly.

I rough turned in the taper, leaving lots of stock for me to play with on the OD grinder. Once the taper was ground in, then I milled the woodruff key. The 1/2 x 2-1/2 x 6 plate for the blade was press fitted onto the spindles and then welded. The I faced off the high spots of the weld for a flat fit on the blade.

Nice to have big tools - and know how to use them !

So if I had brought my wore out 500 dollar mower in what would that job have cost in the machine shop. Sure was a lot of beautiful work for sure.

VERY nice work, Ron--thanks for posting! I wouldn't want to be paying for that job by the hour, but as you have the equipment and obviously the skills, it certainly beats scrapping an otherwise good piece of equipment, and if you're doing it yourself you can make improvements as you go to avoid future problems.

Lovely Warmer Swasey Turret. Very nice tool. That detailed high accuracy machining is what the foundation of the USA is all about. Well done, from a machine technology professor. Jim

Nice work!! You are a very capable machinist!!

I might have 5-6 hours machining time in them. It was more of having fun with the challenge to redesign them to work, make the tooling (I always wanted the die holders), and I used the job to re-calibrate the lathe. Honestly, I was having fun playing.

I grew up on a poultry farm; we raised 1200 pheasants, 500 turkeys, and 500 chickens. The family has been doing it since the 1920's. My father who married into the family was a tool & die maker. When I was 10 he got me a Birdgeport Mill; At 12, an Atlas lathe. My father holds tolerances of millions of an inch, in fact if you touch the metal it expands out of tolerance. We tried produce farming in the late 70's, and we stopped raising poultry and farming in 83.

I wanted to be a mechanic and machinist. Dad said I was going to college; then I could do what ever I wanted. In 90, I graduated with a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. Soon times were tough with a down turn in the economy, but I got a job at a cutting tool manufacturer where I works 12-15 hours per week in the office, and the balance out on the shop floor. That was a gift. Lathes, Mills, Blanchard Grinders, ID, OD, Cutter grinders, etc. Even got to learn CNCs. I was taught by the old timers.

In 2005, Michigan was hit hard,and I found my way to the local High School teaching Technical Drawing, Electronics, Engineering, Robotics, and coaching the afterschool FIRST robotics team.

I have no CNC's at home, but close to 30 machines in the heated workshop and another 30 in the pole barn storage. The mill I use is a Kearney & Trecker 2CH. My specialty is spiral milling and cutting tools. Its almost a dead trade.

At school we have a Tormach CNC mill and a 4ft x 4ft CNC router (wood, plastic & aluminum). I am spoiled.

For those old schoolers, I make my students learn manual machining first, with vernier calipers, micrometers, dials, etc. and only if they master it, then they get to use the Digital readouts and digital measuring tools. Best of both worlds. Builds creativity.

I also added the pictures of an oil drain I just made. Been wanting one for years.

Janicholson, where do you teach?

You are doing things and using tools I have always wanted to learn. Some of my cousins went to Wilbur Wright high school in Detroit back in the day. They learned all these skills, none of them ever wanted for a job...

Very impressive!! Congratulations on your achievements. I have a Chinese bench top milling machine. Learning how to use it. Thank you Youtube!

Jim teaches here!