Blacksmith Forge Blower: Machining a New Spur Gear from a Rough Casting

Blacksmith Forge Blower: Machining a New Spur Gear from a Rough Casting
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[@ryan_mcme]

Can't beat a good QC officer in the shop. 🐈👍

[@markbernier8434]

I used to think machine shops charged a great deal for what I saw as "little jobs" because the parts were relatively small. You have shown how much hand work and operations are needed even for "little jobs" not to mention the capital invested in machinery and tooling. Thank you for the education

[@markmccoy1512]

But, they still do charge a lot

[@number2664]

Sometimes the smaller jobs take longer for what is basically the same types of operations

[@grntitan1]

Just remember, if it was a “little job”, you’d do it yourself. It’s not a “little job” if you need a machine shop to do it.

[@davidcat1455]

@@markmccoy1512 Would you rather do 20 $50 jobs where you have to set up and then clean up after every job (for nothing) or one $1000 job where there’s only one setup and one clean up?

[@markbernier8434]

little is relative. When you have to hire a rigging company to move one machine little becomes anything a fork lift can lift.@@grntitan1

[@billmckillip1561]

It's always a pleasure to watch gears being machined manually!

[@aner_bda]

Cutting gears is always so satisfying to watch, I don't know why. It's also always a good video when Ginger decides to pay a visit.

[@melshea2276]

Happy whatever day it is!!😊⚙️🛠🥜👍👍👍👍✌️

[@SmaulPart-pb5hm]

I never get tired of seeing castings being finished. Magic.

[@brianroberts4349]

Seemed to be running much truer before you flipped it. Maybe should have done a cleanup on the outer perimeter before flipping it so it would run much truer after flipping....whether necessary or not it would have been a great "teaching moment"! Nice work in any case Keith!

[@RambozoClown]

He couldn't hear everyone telling him to rechuck it before he drilled the center hole. I'll blame Ginger for the bad QC.

[@KPSchleyer]

I guessing the pattern was off from one side to the other when it was cast

[@noelhenderson7337]

In fairness, when he was done the two sides were parallel and the outer rim was concentric to the bore which is all that was necessary to the proper functioning of the gear. Extra steps used for purely esthetic purposes on something that nobody will ever see is not really efficient.

[@iDuckman]

You're right (if he could find a way to clamp it). But the radial trueness does not affect the axial trueness., i.e. the faces.

[@jrb_sland]

I'll forgive Keith for not fussing this detail, but I know what you mean - watching an eccentric fixturing of a rough casting brings tears to the eyes. Even a careful balancing later will never make that gear feel entirely 'right' when really cranking the blower at top speed... I'd balance that gear by removing some metal from the very rough-cast edges of the spoke or spokes on the heavy side. A smallish bastard file would do the job easily enough...

[@richardross7219]

55 years ago, I had an orange cat that had to stick its nose into everything that I was working on. I called him "Der Inspector". You gave me a chuckle. Good Luck, Rick

[@ron827]

The finished product had to be very rewarding. If I had made it, I would display it on the fridge door for my parents to also be proud of. :-)

[@edsmachine93]

Another outstanding job Keith. The casting was a very nice piece. The grade of the cast iron looked very good. Windy Hill is certainly the place to go for quality castings. This whole process was a nice job start to finish. Thanks for sharing. Have a great week.

[@communityminibus321]

When you start with a rough casting nothing is true, so the question is what to use as a reference when putting it in the four jaw chuck. I have found I got the best result by getting the inside rim and the spokes running as true as possible, then boring the centre and machining the rim to suit. The reason being that the inner rim and spokes are the areas which are not machined and if they wobble when the finished part rotates it looks bad.

[@paulpipitone8357]

Good job Keith

[@rw3dog]

Great work. I enjoy watching the dividing head in action…,

[@nkelly.9]

Another triumph from a highly skilled artist. Thank you for sharing Keith.

[@number2664]

That horizontal arbor, it may not be bent the spacers may not be truly square, they will induce a bend, if that helps any. I have been caught out before

[@johncollier7744]

Great video once again, Keith. You've knocked out in one episode a replacement gear in the same time it takes someone else to drill and tap two holes.

[@brentirving7209]

That's funny. I was just thinking how many videos this could have been. One video to get the gear to width, 2nd video to get it to diameter and hopefully chamfer, 3rd video broach the keyway, 4th and possibly 5th cutting all gears at regular speed. Sounds about right 😂

[@deemstyle]

Took me a second- but also laughed once I got the joke! You win the internet today! 😂

[@avoirdupois1]

It is amazing to see that transformation, and the bigger understanding that all of the gears that made modern civilization were made this way at one time.

[@bcbloc02]

I always love it when you get back around to the beginning and the teeth line up. It sure is sickening when they don't! lol

[@richardsurber8226]

I agree with many of your commenters, I don't read them all. Your work is important for the general instruction, at the same time Thanks for the video!

[@truckguy6666]

Man you have got this stuff down. Its not even a challenge or is it exciting for you anymore! All that equipment acquisition and refurb/resto is really paying off.. This shop has capability that rivals any other home shop I bet. And most professional ones. Its not just the machines but the operator and experience. Great channel!

[@bulletproofpepper2]

Thanks for sharing.

[@jimsvideos7201]

Good job, Ginger.

[@johnrice6793]

You sir are very talented.

[@bernardwill7196]

Lil' late but I wish you and your family Happy New Year. Greetings from Germany

[@mikebarton3218]

You have a knack of putting up videos at times when there’s a dearth of good content on KZbin. So thanks Keith. 👍

[@mudnducs]

I love watching gear cutting! It’s fundamental to machinist work!

[@hansenprecision9390]

I really enjoy seeing the machining of castings into a final part. Especially a gear!!

[@tomeyssen9674]

Thank you...enjoyed as usual.

[@peterhobson3262]

Nicely done, Keith. Ir's a pleasure to watch an expert display his expertise.

[@Adventure_Van_Upgrades]

Looking good Keith👍 hopefully 2024 is full of prosperity for you and your family 🎉 thanks as always for taking time to present such great quality videos. Kind regards A keen subscriber from across the pond 😊

[@GoCreateHobbyMachineShop]

Gear cutting is always satisfying to do and watch, the end result always impresses me. Thanks for your videos, they are a good education resource.

[@katelights]

tell your cat I said pspspsps

[@migueltorres6073]

excellent video keith thank you!

[@aserta]

16:15 the bushing in the helper arm is also a bit worn out. You can see the oil come in and come out at the 10 hour position, but very likely, it's probably best to leave it be on account of the arbor being slightly out of true. I've had it in the past where i've fixed a bushing and that got things way, way worse.

[@jerrypeal653]

Nice work

[@robertharker]

A great video. A nice complex project started and completed in a single episode. Thank you!

[@normanrotwell1760]

Great content, Keith. Interesting to put a face to the name after all these years. I used to contribute to OWWM many years ago. And was part of the first "Ruckering" of a machine that made its way to you probably more than 15 years ago. I still have a few totes with musty old machinery catalogs and such.

[@kevinkohler5140]

Thank you Keith. Another great production as always!

[@johnwenzel9252]

Thanks Keith!

[@patrickbeaumier8616]

Nice work 👍

[@walterplummer3808]

Good morning Keith. Your videos are always a great start to the week. Thanks for posting.

[@edmondmccudden27]

You never cease to amaze me. Well done 👏

[@patrickcolahan7499]

The gear tooth cutter is cutting on all teeth, just some are cutting deeper than others. Basically a progressive cutter. The end result is the longest tooth. Would love to have an indexer. Thanks for sharing.

[@tiredoldmechanic1791]

It isn't always the arbor with runout. It seems like the cutters and slitting saw blades are not round. I don't know if they do it intentionally or not. I've just noticed that the things that have been resharpened don't have that runout anymore and all of the teeth seem to cut. They don't have that cyclic sound. Perhaps it's designed into new cutters so it does most of the cutting in one area so it takes less power to turn or doesn't build up as much heat?

[@richb419]

Hi Kieth, If you cut the cast iron in the lathe in reverse the chips will have more of a tendency to go down into the catch pan

[@scrotiemcboogerballs1981]

Great video thanks for sharing

[@chrisrhodes5464]

Know wonder machine work is so expensive with all the cat scans done on everything

[@kensherwin4544]

Be glad he doesn't have a black labrador to run lab tests too.

[@paulcopeland9035]

*No

[@ddblairco]

thank you Keith

[@dannyl2598]

Thanks Keith. Amazing.

[@thom3124]

Very nice work. Enjoyed it very much. Thanks Keith.

[@aserta]

Ginger quality assurance, passed! :)

[@sydneyshinshi]

Came up good

[@peteetienne5493]

I Love Broaching! ❤

[@jamesdavis8021]

Turn the tool upside down and,run the spindle in reverse.That will drive the chips down so, you won’t need a shield to keep the chips from flying in your face

[@wrstew1272]

Again, you bang right through it as if it’s something that you do on a daily basis. But……one wrong step in the whole process and it is back to Windy Hill for another casting. The number of set ups, the off camera work, all the math and research…….those of us who know, understand!😂. Those who do not know…..😢. Keep coming back!😊. And Keith, you are looking great! Apparently you are feeling same

[@barney2633]

Another satisfying video. Thank you.

[@elsdp-4560]

Thank you for sharing.👍

[@ssboot5663]

NICE JOB!

[@timziegler9358]

Keith you did a fine job on that casting! Thank you.

[@davidgibson5756]

Great to the point video. Watching the repetitive steps you can see why some smart machinists invented CNC.

[@6NBERLS]

Most excellent.

[@Thorbrook]

Always love you videos. Thank you

[@Sizukun1]

I'm not sure how you manage to finish these projects with the constant supervision and inspectors. They seem like a tough boss to satisfy! Ginger never brings donuts in for a morale booster either!

[@paulhetchler1635]

Keith, Thank You for an informative video. As my shop slowly grows, I have some of the tools you have, but will never have the equal of your huge collection. I have wanted to be able to create gears and have the gear tooth cutters, the indexer, a lathe, and a Bridgeport vertical mill. Is it possible to use the vertical mill to drive the tooth cutter? If so, how should it be set up? I have recently acquired a small South Bend shaper if that is possible to use for cutting gear teeth. As an aside, I have been involved in beginning blacksmithing for about 20 years and have built and restored a few coal fired forges. Thanks for your encouragement as provided by these videos. I hope you have a totally healthy year in 2024! I have decided that having good health is by far the most important thing in life. Best Wishes!!

[@kevinwayne7546]

cool!

[@k4x4map46]

nice closeup teeth cutting!!

[@davidsmethurst4318]

Look like the mill shaft is straight but the gear cutter isn't centred on it?

[@rescobar8572]

Love your videos Keith! Thank you for sharing 🙏🏻 Do you share the 3D printer files somewhere?

[@ZigZagMarquis]

@ 0:45 Mr. Rucker, yours must be the only machine shop with a cat-scan.

[@KG-yn9qi]

👍🏻. Keith glad you are well! Your weight loss does you well! Wish I could lose mine as well! Give the shop inspectors a per and scratch for m. And any info on how Mike is doing ???? Sad to not see any postings? Seems like he was doing well ? Last posting I saw was of his building remolding etc? Tell him hello for me when you talk with him! Hope all goes well for all this year, if we can survive the evil attack of our own government…. !

[@gary1anderson]

Ginger wants to make sure everything is Purrfect.

[@cbmsysmobile]

Shop videos are always better with shop cats!

[@user3141592635]

Again, good machining, but why can one not tram the gear-cutter, to cut perfectly concentric ? I suppose there are clearances to compensate, before thightening up the whole assembly. I do not think the problem lies in a crooked axle, but just clearances.

[@runristaren]

Reading the title realising I'm not browsing in private mode 😬

[@MrTexasDan]

Excellent video. How did you center the gear cutter on the horizontal mill to the centerline of the gear?

[@jmherbst87]

I've got an old table saw arbor bracket that's toothed for the raising and lowering of the blade, but the teeth are all chipped off. Wondering if having one recast and machined would be a cost effective option or if the table saw is just scrap now

[@kensherwin4544]

I think it matters how much of the work you can do and how much the saw means to you. If it was the saw I inherited from my dad or it was an expensive machine, I would put more labor or dollars into it than I would a $100 saw I picked up at a garage sale.

[@grntitan1]

Probably be $300+ to have the blank cast. That’s after you make the proper pattern for the foundry. Figure at least that much more to have the part machined after the casting.

[@ruben_balea]

If you don't care for the original look I guess you can get it made of mild steel for less money.

[@williambikash6645]

Zooming in on the cutter, the arbor seemed to be running true but the cutter appeared to not be centered on the arbor shaft. Also the arbor spacer to the right had a wobble as if it was not bored on center. Would it make sense to try to center the cutter on the arbor before you start cutting the gear.

[@paulcopeland9035]

No.

[@williambikash6645]

@@paulcopeland9035 why no?

[@BedsitBob]

I wonder why they made the shaft 11/16ths, rather than a standard size, like three quarters?

[@JaapGrootveld]

Nice...

[@peterparsons3297]

seems like a nice casting, nothing worse than those hard nodules or whatever they are called

[@dlfabrications]

At 17:45/24:25 the sound is an oscillation. This would mean one tooth doing most of the cutting?🤔🤔🤔🤔 Nice end result.

[@tpobrienjr]

Always start with a CAT scan

[@user-fu1bh3dt2c]

I have to salute you. Given the sounds and what we saw when you chamfered the edges of the OD, it appears that NOTHING was square and true. I'd have guessed that would hardly be possible but you managed somehow. Since some people are watching this to learn, here's a better way to approach the issue. First, start with a FOUR JAW chuck. You ended up with one anyway, why not start with one? Mount the workpiece then fiddle around to get it running as true as possible.Next machine one inner face then drill and ream. Clean up the outer face only until it runs true, remove the workpiece and flip it to machine the other inner face. NOW mount on the arbor and complete the machining. And for heavens sake if you are going to mount a finished gear in a vise to drill a hole, protect your new gear teeth with a couple pieces of wood between the gear and the vise jaws! Sheesh.

[@paulcopeland9035]

"Sheesh" to you!! Get over yourself!! Why are you here if his work bothers you so much? Please start your own video channel using your world class knowledge and skill, with your extensive shop full of perfect tools, and leave us here to enjoy a regular life, machining project.

[@publicclammer]

Now I want a Lathe of my own...as a minimum...I guess....

[@rldoyle5705]

Did your cook run off?

[@randolphflores3975]

You just got a Cat-Scan.

[@markmccoy1512]

That’s been so long ago, I can barely remember it."…

[@brand-x7049]

...Is Marion still in the shop?

[@gus9675]

Keith, Practical Machinist says no cutting oil on cast iron, is there a reason you use cutting oil on reaming and broaching?

[@petegraham1458]

On the broaching the oil is not for heat and chip removal it’s to lubricate the back and sides of the broch as there is significant friction caused by the compression of pushing the tool through , the reamer can hang a chip of any material on the back edge of the cutter and cause issues,oil keeps this from occurring on the gear I suspect it’s to keep the cutter cool but Keith would know .

[@randymagnum143]

Kerosene

[@billr8667]

Thanks for the video. Does a cast part such as this need to be heated and slowly cooled to relieve internal stress? If so, would this be done prior to machining? Just curious.

[@rustysteed8414]

Clark does that after the part is cast.

[@tomswindler64]

Nice 😎😎😎👍👍👍

[@airgead5391]

13:52 Why is there still run out?

[@TheJohndeere466]

You need to find yourself an old hobber. I have a #12 barber colman that I paid 600.00 for. It would make that gear in about 5 minutes. I believe it was made around 1920. It would fit right in with the other machines. Here is a little video of it running. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mmTJd6FogdiGZtU

[@tomnielsen3661]

Is you mike on the camera? because each time you turn you head the volume changes and it is harder to heard you.

[@paulcopeland9035]

"Is you mike on"?? Huh??

[@tomnielsen3661]

As you are talking and you turn your head the volume changes. That is why I asked if your mic is on the camera. When you are looking at the camera you can be heard very well, but when you turn away and are talking it gets harder to hear you. either I typed it wrong or spell checker changed it to mike when I meant microphone. Does that make more sense?@@paulcopeland9035

[@scottvolage1752]

Another informative video Keith. Thank you for sharing your skills and knowledge with us. Smash the Like and Subscribe buttons please.

[@chirots]

How long did it take you to do the whole process???

[@filepz629]

❤

[@bigun447]

How would they produce that gear in the scale (speed) of needing them to produce maybe 100 forge blowers a day?

[@kensherwin4544]

Old school: A lathe and a Gleason gear cutter can kick a gear like this in just a few minutes. New school: A CNC shop.

[@TheJohndeere466]

A gear hobber would make short work of this gear and you could cut maybe 10 or more at a time.

[@kindabluejazz]

I'd be curious to know if the unbalanced cutting was due to the arbor or the gear and if it could be resolved. I know Keith is more a 'just get 'er done good enough' guy - I'm more of a 'how does this work' guy.

[@paulcopeland9035]

It cut a perfect gear for the project. This is a gear for a hand cranked forge. RPM is maybe 20, max. There is no need for extreme precision. The "quest" for precision can easily slow or stop production if we are not careful!

[@TheJohndeere466]

Those arbors usually run out a little. What makes them run out is the spacers are not parallel or there is a chip or something between them. So when you tighten the nut on the end it will cause the arbor to bend slightly.

[@kindabluejazz]

​@@paulcopeland9035 Knowing how your equipment works and it's capabilities will benefit future projects. It's best to test things like this in a project where tolerance is not an issue, in preparation for times it may be a requirement. Keith often spends days on scraping and leveling things to way beyond any practical needs - so the value of time spent is relative to personal interests. This is not a high production shop, so an extra hour in hopes of improving his future work is not a big deal.

[@MrBuck295]

with a bent arbor shouldn`t that affect depth of cut ?

[@kensherwin4544]

No. When he touched off on the OD, that zeroed the depth of the tooth root with the maximum cutter runout.