Cutting Helical Gears on the Horizontal Mill Machine 7: Actual Helical Gear in Cast Iron!

[@ccrider5398]

Before the days of CNC machining, this is what everyone had to do. You have to take your hats off to the engineers that figured all this out, involute cutter to use, holes in the dividing head, gear combinations, feeds, speeds, fixtures, and conversations with the machinists to see what is practical to do this. Congratulations on a job well done.

[@clivewilliams3661]

Agreed, but what causes me a slight concern is the accuracy of the timing as getting valve timing spot on is critical for the engine. Its a shame that there is no form of adjustment.

[@aserta]

You're forgetting one small aspect. Keith is cutting ONE gear. In reality, when they'd do this job, they'd cut a whole row of them. There's one piece that Keith's missing in this lineup and it's a support that goes from the table to the (much longer shaft) with a bearing surface that would've had a slot made into it to allow the cutter to pass whilst supporting (left and right of it) the blanks. You'd cut as many as you'd fit.

[@ellieprice363]

@@clivewilliams3661 There’s an old hot rodders trick of slightly “advancing” the cam by using a special “offset” key in the keyway. As timing gears or chains wear this method is sometimes used to advance the cam 1/2 degree or so to bring the engine back to original horsepower or slightly more.

[@thehammah8444]

@@aserta I would like to see him cut multiple gears at once! 😃

[@clivewilliams3661]

@@ellieprice363 Yes, I know about offset keys but as you say, they have limited adjustment but the possible misalignment may be more than the 1/2degree, and that is assuming that it is not misaligned by that much already. All of which is not to mention that the ideal timing for the application may be +/- 4 deg from the factory setting.

[@jonart9160]

Always a good day when you push into new skills.

[@summerforever6736]

The reason I am here is because I saw the headline at yahoo news it was saying Keith completed THE GEAR! ! so I rushed to come here to see it!! LOL Good job!!

[@Dobbo2958]

You must be so proud of yourself. The ingenuity of the men and women who constructed these machines is amazing. Really enjoyed this project from start to finish. Best wishes to you and your family for Christmas and here's hoping your surgery goes well.

[@TommiHonkonen]

women werent allowed to work mens jobs until 2k's

[@Pappaoh]

For nearly 25yrs I've imagined seeing this process carried out. I've even worked several machines that were designed and outfitted to do this work, but it's always been an idea, a fleeting promise that someone else did this, but I had never seen it done. Really enjoyed this. Complex manual setups absolutely fascinate me to no end. Thanks for sharing this

[@johntaylor1947]

I am amazed at how little backlash there is in that setup. The design and engineering to originally develop that machine and its accessory's is amazing.

[@uptimeroadtrips6365]

Figuring out to use a 80 tooth cutter instead of a 30.... Awesome.

[@itsfonk]

To me there’s something special about remaking parts for vintage equipment using vintage machines. Always appreciate your commitment to those vintage processes and archiving everything here for younger generations.

[@MikeBaxterABC]

Just have to say Keith, and I have been critical in the past when I thought it was needed, BUT? As a qualified machinist with 15 years I spent in the trade, and 20 years as a Certified Millwright, and Industrial Maintenance Mechanic, cutting this gear, so perfectly on this old equipment is nothing short of EPIC!!!! I cannot give enough praise!! :)

[@petegraham1458]

Well done , you have overcome many hurdles on the path and accomplished what you set out to do ! Thanks for including us on the journey!

[@don4364]

Though it is an extremely slow process of making a one off gear, you did an exquisite job of replicating a modern gear for that old engine. Excellent job Keith. Always enjoy your video content.

[@summerforever6736]

Congratulations getting it done!

[@elcheapo5302]

Not sure what amazes me more: That engineers figured this all out nearly a century ago without the aid of computers, or that one man can make something like this in his home shop. Just amazing. Thanks for sharing the step-by-step, Mr. Keith!

[@clypeum5063]

home shop might be a stretch.

[@summerforever6736]

He has professional machines...

[@summerforever6736]

@@clypeum5063 lol

[@6NBERLS]

I never would have understood this setup without seeing a video of it all in action. Magnificent!

[@ihrescue]

Its showtime. And you can hear the Hallelujah chorus sing. Nice work.

[@yosmith1]

This has been one of the most fascinating series Keith has done (a lot of work!). I think everyone should watch the entire series prior to this episode. Thanks Keith!

[@douglasmayherjr.5733]

Great Video. Only now do I understand more of what my grandfather did for a living. Thanks for the videos.

[@bchrisl1491]

That is a GREAT camera shot from 5:49 to 7:39. It looks like one of those movie logo sequences.

[@mdouglaswray]

And another machine lives again!! Way to go Keith!

[@TheTreegodfather]

I'm proud of you for taking the plunge into unknown territory. You've been doing it a lot lately!

[@654rebel]

This is probably one of my favorite video series you've put together. Nice work Keith and thank you 👍

[@smaggies]

Same thought with myself, being around this great equipment years ago and never completing this task.... :) Merry Christmas to ALL thank you Keith...

[@jackpledger8118]

Brings to mind a quote from Robert Browning: "A man's reach should exceed his grasp..." Always stretching your comfort zone Keith. Great work.

[@assassinlexx1993]

This was a great series. The owner of this engine will be truly astounded. By your skills from mold to finished part. Strong and accurate. Hats off to you Sir.

[@DavidKutzler]

I've been a retired healthcare worker and hobby machinist since 2017. There is nothing more satisfying than taking raw metal stock, solving numerous problems, acquiring more skills and ending up with something that is both beautiful and useful.

[@scottvolage1752]

If you made one make another while you have it set up. Might be someone else in the world who needs one for their restoration. Merry Christmas.

[@PixelSchnitzel]

Keith, I won't bore you with details, but I've waited for this video for 44 years! 🙂 I've been on the edge of my seat through this whole series. Thank you! Next project: Go back in time and tell Young Pixel Schnitzel how long the wait will be to see a helical gear cut on a universal milling machine. LOL!

[@jr78racer]

Keith, I cannot tell you how amazed I am with everything you do and share with us. Thank you so much for bringing us this content. I learn something new every time I watch your videos.

[@AnthonyHandcock]

Even though I've seen helical gears cut, know how it's done and am pretty good at thinking in three dimensions... I still find it almost magical that it works without destroying the gear, the cutting tool, the mill, the universe... I could watch it for hours. It's hypnotic.

[@jackgreen412]

"Hell of a good job Keith!" Your skills are greatly admired.

[@WobblycogsUk]

I find it amazing that this was all worked out, designed and built before computers existed. Great job on that gear, too.

[@samrodian919]

At last Keith! Well done mate, that's a perfect result, especially for a first attempt. This project for a friend must have cost you a pretty penny in getting all the ancillary's to just even start the job! I'm quite surprised your friend with the Austin Sven couldn't find a replacement cam gear here in England, as the Austin is still around in plentiful numbers in the vintage arena in the UK. But be that as it may he has a brand new one now. The matching crankshaft driving gear is obviously has only 15 teeth as the cam runs at half the speed of the crankshaft and it will be just another helical gear keyed to the crank with matching involute teeth. The earliest Austin Seven was introduced in 1922 , the 747cc in 1923 so your camshaft gear could potentially going into an engine exactly 100 years old!

[@leeklemetti1887]

Maybe all the old gears are broken too!

[@samrodian919]

@@leeklemetti1887 there are a good few that do competitive hill climbs over here using the original engines, so engine parts must still be available.

[@pearidgefarmer]

Amen brother. Thanks for your time. Pete in South Carolina.

[@tdkrei]

Kudo's Keith, nice workmanship. Keep on smiling.

[@cyrilhudak4568]

Since there is already a "King of Obsolete", maybe we can call you the "Prince of Obsolete". The amazing part of collecting all the bits and pieces, is that they were located in different places all over the country and are now all together and ready to work. Great series, Keith.

[@rodneyfox5566]

I feel like your cape grew on this one have been watching for the start to the end and glad it was heart warming to watch that last tooth go in!!!

[@bcbloc02]

Hopefully we get to see that engine running in the future!

[@johnrathbun2943]

Well Keith, I love watching your videos. I remember the days when we used to do things like this back in the day. But I have only one thing to say about this job. It's been 3 weeks now and the set up has been very long. I think if I was your supervisor, I would have to pull you off to the side and give you a motivational speech. Maybe you need to drink more coffee. Great job, but we really need to work on your timing.

[@foxwood67]

A journey for sure. Happy I could be there from beginning to end. Next time it’ll go much easier.

[@foxwood67]

@@Engelscoachshopp if you watched this channel you’d know he doesn’t respond to comments therefore try getting a legitimate job thanks

[@Solihull88]

Here in good old Germany we say to craftsmen like you: You have golden hands! - You may be proud of the outcome of your calculations and work and also of your well explaining videos!

[@StreuB1]

The Vance Planer Matcher still is your all time best video series. This, might be a close second. Well done Keith!!!!

[@jongerber3476]

very impressive. I worked for Chicago Steel Tape for 27 years. Set up their machine shop and ran the maintenance dept. Had over r30 cnc machines and was self taught. We bought Burger instruments which built the surveying instrument they used to build the Bookland bridge. Found the original build order and the invoice. They were in this factory for 80 years. Toolmakers that worked there for over 50 years. Gut wrenching for them as well as me. Hated to moved and scrap the machinery. I loaded up the dividing machine that was built by them to scribe the horizontal circles. That is in the Smithsonian Museum. Wooden frame and handmade gears.

[@railfan439]

Just like in Las Vegas, you gotta spend the money to make the money. Thanks for taking us along for he ride. Hope to see you at the Bar-Z. Jon

[@tedmiles2110]

This piece of cast iron has been over two-years in the making. what a great Christmas present for yourself! TM Long time watcher.

[@chuckthebull]

Really great to see this come to completion.

[@mudnducs]

Thanks for taking us with you Keith. It’s nice to see again what’s possible without a computer.

[@truckguy6666]

Everyone thought you were going to forget the timing alignment!! *SHAKES HEAD* ... I had faith, Keith!!!

[@LaLaLand.Germany]

Give Yourself a good pad on the shoulders, Keith! I know how hard it is to get hands on something that´s that old and shophisticated, not getting scrap and put it all together to work is a huge deal. I hunted thru Egay for over two years in search of a specific multimeter that was used by the Army my dad had when I was a kid. That thing might be in the realm of being seventy years old, I had to source two of them because the measuring dial was broken. To fix that I´d have to have REALLY good eyesight and the calmest hands ever to be born. Because I don´t I had to get another device but now it´s done: today I completed the fix and now I have a beautiful fifties Army multimeter wich is going to be very helpful in further projects.

[@ddblairco]

finally, thank you Keith for this series.

[@catfishgray3696]

KEITH, GREAT JOB, GREAT VIDEO, TELL ALL HELLO OR PET, GET WELL SOON, GREAT JOURNEY...SEE YOU WHEN...

[@timscartoys9321]

Very impressive to say the least!! I dealt with older industrial machines that every once in a while needed parts that were no longer available, and the local machine shop and myself would have to reverse engineer parts , and these parts were always the most rewarding accomplishments, and nobody else would even know they were there!!

[@georgefager3772]

A job well done Keith! And good morning to you!

[@aserta]

I would like to point out to people who may look upon this excellent recreation of older (but still in use today in countries with poorer backgrounds) technology and think "man... that's slow for a single gear", that they'd be wrong. In a factory, they would cut (on one machine) several such blanks setup on the arbor. Keith's missing a particular part of this setup that would allow full table length cutting, and that's a support that would sit in the middle of the table and support the arbor. The ones i've seen have a bearing surface (oil bronze) and affix in two of the T slots, aside from the longer arbor... they're basically unobtanium now. I've only seen (with my eyes) three in my entire life. One can find on KZbin such setups in use if one searches for "helical gear cutting" and has the patience to sift through all the videos. :\ It's unfortunately very difficult to find them specifically because they're not titled properly, usually with catch-baity titles like "sensational gear cutting genius machinist" and all that jazz as if it's an amazing tech or something. I've seen them cut (on a similar sized mill as the one Keith's fielding) up to 30 gears in one go. Tech wasn't as "helpless" as we think it was, they had factory floors chuck full of these machines doing gears upon gears upon gears.

[@edwardsmith9049]

Thank you very much. I have to take my hat off to all of the craftsman out there. Because when you have machine's out there. It is up to you to keep them working. Because I don't know what company would want to make just one part. To break the machine down for a half a day. Just for a one piece. The cost would not be worth it. Great job. You showed that you are a true machinest to the craft.

[@davidhudson5452]

Well Done Keith

[@morelenmir]

This has been an absolutely fascinating project to watch being completed, piece by piece. *Brilliant* work Keith and thank you very much indeed for giving us the opportunity to see it progress every step of the way! What next I wonder? Back to the (interesting!) Boring Machine or perhaps something entirely new?

[@bin_chicken80]

Good job Keith. Thanks for sharing the journey.

[@The_Modeling_Underdog]

I don't mind the talking. It's all instructive. Loved the video. Merry Christmas, Keith. Cheers.

[@willybeeish]

Hi Keith. We hear in the UK that you are in for a huge storm. We hope you will all be OK. Wishing you and your family a happy and peaceful Christmas. Bill B

[@mikewallace8087]

Keith is a man that keeps his promises . You spent a lot of time to learn.

[@tommiller4490]

Fantastic project, outstanding production, the detail is most appreciated!

[@organbuilder272]

Keith - I sincerely hope that you, your family and pets are safe. Please take care. Be careful of your health.

[@robbruno8246]

So much skill and knowledge being shared with the community and the world. Expertise and craftsmanship awesome. Preserve the knowledge. Thank you so much.

[@murraypearson2359]

That is a truly gorgeous part, Keith, and you deserve to be proud! Well done!

[@johnlee8231]

Congratulations that was a worthy feat accomplished. Glad to have seen it

[@silasmarner7586]

Very very elegant work, and what's almost as important, YOU ASKED OTHERS what might be needed to be done. Excellent Excellent Excellent. Bravo! Hip Hip Hooray! Great work Keith.

[@ozar62]

Awesome job Keith. The engineering behind the scene is incredible.

[@kurtarmbrust]

This gear could have been made by a modern gear company much faster, but what's the fun in that? Through all Keith's effects, he now has the ability to restore gears in any old piece of antique equipment. The model/pattern making, casting, and machining can be done to make parts that are indistinguishable from the originals. Way to go Kieth.

[@mcgam2000]

As those old machines are scraped, there will be fewer and fewer parts and accessories around... It is really commendable of you to be able to make such parts...

[@MeltiahNye]

As a high school math teacher I enjoy the geometry, ratios, and proportions involved. Great job!

[@leeklemetti1887]

Keith, now we can say "Oh Magoo, you have done it again!" This was a wonderful undertaking that almost all of us could ever do. I enjoyed your trek to take this challenge and " Slay the Dragon" Thanks for the journey.

[@leeklemetti1887]

And do not forget The Windy Hill Foundry that made the gear blank.

[@cynicbeliever40]

Success is a sweet taste for sure. Congrtats on your win Keith!

[@paulkinzer7661]

Aah! Completion. I had nothing to do with the making of this gear, but I still got nice feeling of satisfaction at a job well done after the learning needed to do it right.

[@brucewright5061]

Finally completed! Well done Keith.

[@georgesg10]

Helth and Happy holidays to you and your family and freinds Sorry to here about your dog , I had mine for 17 years about 50 years ago and I still miss him ...

[@pcflynn1]

Watching you overcome the learning curve is so much fun. Please keep up the great fun.

[@jonpardue]

Great series of videos Keith! Thanks for investing your time to explain each step and the parts involved in the process.

[@rw3dog]

Great work Kieth, I wish we could see the engine. Thanks for sharing, that is one cool gear.

[@guubagaaba8391]

even though you had never made one of those , i never had any doubt in your skills !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nice work !!!!!!!!!!

[@russtuff]

A satisfying conclusion to a fascinating series.

[@leoncolyer9420]

Great to see this job finished 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 merry Christmas and a happy New Year guys from Victoria Australia 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

[@jimmydm3]

Success! All your hard work paid off. Congratulations on having all your homework and skills pay off.

[@hakunamatataadventurebus5944]

That was true artistry! Thank you!

[@johnwilcox4078]

Congratulations on the completion of this interesting, lengthy, and complex project, I've been following all along. The folks that designed the lead attachment and dividing head were geniuses, and so are you Keith!!! Merry Christmas! PS I was a full time scraper from '77 to '82. Love that K&T mill!

[@NeilABliss]

Finally Yes, but this has been an amazing series. Taught us (yourself included) a lot more than just how to do a helical cut. The full package was amazing.

[@doscucharas]

Fantastic result and fascinating to watch the entire process! I think the ‘Cane Mill Guy’ might be just about to become the ‘Helical Gear Cutting Guy’…

[@number40Fan]

Yay! Finally got her finished.

[@mdlanor5414]

There was a real lot of figuring out at how to properly cut this camshaft timing gear. What gear cutter to use,the gear ratio on the leads attachment. Figuring out dividing head set up and ending up using the vertical head instead of the horizontal bar on your milling machine. Figuring out the different gear cutter, because of back lash, WOW. In todays world with all the CNC machines. I believe there aren’t many machinists that could figure out the set up on how to cut this gear. Anyway Mr. Rucker,excellent Job,well done. Good luck with the medical procedure and making a full recovery. I always look forward to watching your videos.

[@cyrilhudak4568]

Don't forget, having a missing part of the lead attachment, sourced then cast in iron then machined.

[@nigelwood3313]

Keth thanks for going through the mill for us engineering is a amazing process with so many veritables it makes my head spin many thanks for your energy and tenacity

[@James-fs4rn]

👍 nice work as always Kieth! Thanks for sharing.

[@melshea2276]

Good Morning Georgia!🚂👍

[@brianhostak3961]

Sir , you are a master at what you do !!

[@vitesseguy]

Very nicely done! I can't imagine that there are many folks out there with the mind, persistence and resources to have pulled this off. Bravo!

[@lakehunter48p55]

now that it is finished, you feel like it was fun, stressful but fun. thks for all the hard work.

[@rexmyers991]

Congrats on a job well done! Your perseverance has paid off. I had NO IDEA how complex the machinery is to accomplish helical gear cutting.

[@davidcoleman6032]

Awesome video Keith, I found that pretty mind blowing. ❤👍

[@deanehill9730]

Very fortunate to have been able to locate all parts required to do the gear cutting job. Your knowledge and expertise made for a first class result. Congratulations and thanks for the video.

[@davidhall1779]

the culmination of so much effort. I have been waiting and watching all the episodes up to this and now its cut. really will be nice to know when the happy owner gets it installed and running so we know it worked. thanks Keith for the awesome project videos.

[@jasonh3109]

Wow!!! Amazing conclusion to a ton of work. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!!! And thanks for sharing the process with us all.

[@jadney]

Whenever you go to lengths like this, to make an unobtanium restoration part, you really should make 3 or more, not just one. That's not just on Keith; it's also on the person who asked for this gear. This was a really interesting video series.

[@bryanadcock2541]

Great job Keith! Thank you for bringing us along the entire journey. Definitely one of those jobs where setup is 90% whilst cutting is only 10%.

[@BencoVintageMachineWorks]

This was a very interesting series! Thank you for taking us along for the ride.