Pouring Babbitt bearings on a Ford Model T Engine Block

[@lauramildon-clews7850]

Although I am a female, my Father and Grandfather taught me how to replace babbitt bearings. I live in New Zealand and there were only a handful of people who could do this. My Grandfather was a chief marine engineer. Dad was an old school mechanic. They had to make all of their tools because you couldn't buy them. The last engine that I repoured the bearings on was my 1921 Cunningham V8, that was twelve years ago now. I don't do anything like that anymore, although I do have a masters degree in marine engineering. I am also sixty-eight years old. Fabulous to watch a real craftsman working at a lost art regards from Laurajane in Taupo New Zealand

[@Spectrophia]

Wow, very cool story!

[@kelvinsparks4651]

You shoud keep the craft going. As they say , the way too immortality is to share your knowledge.

[@lauramildon-clews7850]

@@kelvinsparks4651 Hi Kelvin ,I guess you are right in a lot of ways. Because I am a woman I am not apprececiated or taken seriously. In New Zealand woman don't do that type of things. Maybe I will think about it, thanks for your encouragement, Laurajane

[@kelvinsparks4651]

@@lauramildon-clews7850 go on , don't just fit the stereotype break the mould and be yourself.

[@walterkersting6238]

Think of this when you see an idiot politician revving a classic corvette at start up with cold oil to impress a reporter…

[@jamesbooth3360]

Great music in the shop. Old school through and through.

[@wallacesheckells7095]

I learned something new today. I have seen anything like this before. I'm 61...

[@pondafarr]

while the process of pouring babbitt bearings is fascinating, keeping those 120+ year old tools still functional is the real miracle, well done sir!

[@Bishop0178]

Best tools were made 120 years ago. Built to last Lifetimes

[@nunyabidniz2868]

The real story is that Babbitt developed those bearings almost 2 *centuries* ago now...

[@isverque74]

​@@nunyabidniz28680

[@1964Mooney]

My Dad used to tell me how he used to pour babbitt bearings in the 20s when he worked for a Ford dealer in Los Angeles I;ve never forgotten those talks. Nice to see how its done

[@daves4386]

Thanks for sharing this. My uncle used to talk about pouring Babbitt bearings, but I've never seen the process. He also said that during WWII when the couldn't get metal for Babbitt bearings they used strips of leather soaked in oil as bearing material.

[@klesmer]

I used to watch my dad's uncle do that in rural Kentucky in the early 50's. It is good to see that it isn't lost.

[@parkdigwig3447]

I like that he’s working on a 1920’s block, while listening to 1950’s music in the 2020’s… That’s a great skill to have! Certainly not something that you can do easily do at home.

[@semajniffirg230]

depends, I could do it at home.

[@Comm0ut]

You can certainly do this at home but the equipment may be slightly more primitive. A major advantage of Babbitt bearings is any farmer etc could pour their own rapidly returning equipment to service. While a fancy oven as shown was for volume builders/rebuilders far more bearings were poured using old cast iron pots etc heated over whatever was handy like common hand-cranked forges. Old machinery had to be serviceable in the field FAR away from a much more thinly dispersed civilzation. Babbitt is ideal for low-speed uses of the era. Many mechanics/machinists made their own tools with the fancy store-bought stuff often out of reach. That's why many farmers had lathes in their barns and sometimes a mill.

[@danielbazin1645]

I wonder how many there are still around at this part of the galaxy who runs a fully equipped babbit bearing shop. Like lost Atlantis mystery even to most car folks. Thanks for showing us your skills.

[@richardstubblefield24]

I work in the lumber mill pouring Babbitt guides for the mark 50 and a couple other edgers. It's very important to heat the metal that's being poured. Pouring Babbitt guides moisture is your enemy. 🧑‍🏭

[@BlackheartCharlie]

Wow! I've never seen a dedicated babbitt stove/workstation like that. It's interesting to see such specialty equipment - must be a survivor that is about as old as that Model T block.

[@CrazyPetez]

My Uncle Stanley told me about this process about 70 years ago, when I was about 10 or 11. It was a. Yesteryear to me. Heck, even then modern shell bearings were mostly a mystery to me at that age. Thank you for demonstrating your skill, and shedding light on a process my then 10 year old brain couldn’t really picture.

[@michaeldonohue9760]

That is fascinating. I have never seen Babbitt poured. Many thanks for posting this video!

[@tymz-r-achangin]

As soon as I seen the word Babbitt in your title, I knew exactly what you had. I've worked with old farm machines like cream separators and grain grinders that had babbitt for bearings. Well hey, cool video! Thanks :)

[@rosewood1]

Thanks for posting this. I have a 49 Ford with these bearings. Owned it for 40 plus years. Always talked about this process but never seen anyone actually do the work. Sort very advanced specialist blacksmith skills. Very hard to find someone to do this work today. Cheers

[@sandhollowhomestead6972]

Always wanted to know how it was done. Thanks for sharing. Got a 1949 Chevy 216 babbit bearings replaced in 1970.

[@thomaslabadie5141]

Thankyou for showing this process it's become nearly a lost art yet while so many use the benefits of this technology they know nothing of it. My friend Kyle Holman in Rosemead CA did this work for his living and helped me rebuild my 31 Model A in 1972 I also got the Grand tour of his shop. Again , Thankyou !

[@PacoOtis]

Sir! I was a kid in south Missouri in the 40's and remember this sort of stuff taking place and being yelled at to stay out of the way! Great to see your skills and thanks for sharing and the very best of luck!

[@robertlipsey6056]

Good video!👍 I love watching someone work that really knows what they’re doing.

[@jimlong527]

Now this is a lost trade. I learned something new today. You saved another historic engine. Thank you.

[@chuckh.2227]

A true lost art not many craftsman like this anymore Thank you for sharing this video

[@Blacklab99]

A very skilled man indeed. There won’t be many around like him. Very interesting, thank you.

[@robames1293]

As a 72 yo whose late father did rebores of engine blocks in the 50s to the 80s. I've now had my education completed. He often talked about this process and now I've seen it. Now I have to see the scraping process. Please please find someone to pass on your skills to, it's something that must continue. Very best wishes from Australia

[@RollingRoadEFI]

Respect to the gentlemen passed who used to do this daily.

[@xmdslipkfanx]

check out, Keith Rucker. he's an old-school machinist, he's got a few vids on babbitt, scraping and all

[@freeplayfrank7736]

Great video. I have a friend who does this, he built all the tooling and fixtures himself, he is in his 90's now. Thanks for showing this.

[@De19thKingJulion]

He still does it??

[@UQRXD]

I have seen the babbitt bearings in a 1939 12 cylinder diesel engine. We were taking plastigauge reading on them during a rebuild.

[@ThePortalNC]

It’s really nice to see mister Ford still putting his engines together 😂

[@waynegutschmidt7586]

Sadly all these skills and tools will be lost forever. Thank you for sharing this video.

[@NewRiverRepair]

Thanks for sharing the skills and techniques! Its always nice to look into how craftsman applied their talents. Thank you Sir

[@sonnieandjacob]

I havent thought of the word babbitt bearing since I was 13. Crazy how easily you can recall something so forgotten

[@gvxclassics]

Thank you so much for recording this. These skills cannot just vanish.

[@arcburn3364]

Amazing video. As a retired oil field welder, I've poured pounds and pounds of babbit around frayed cable to secure it in various uses around wells. I have always known it to be called bearing metal, but never got to see it poured as such until now. Thank you so much.

[@notabagel]

when I worked in a civil engineering lab we would get cables off old bridges capped with babbit to secure it in the socket. When we socketed cables however, we would use an epoxy. You pack the small end of the cone with modelling clay so the epoxy doesnt drip through. The epoxy was much easier and safer to work with indoors and was easier to press out later so we could reuse our sockets.

[@gqp4800]

Cable tool water well driller. Used lead in our cable socket to hold drill bar. For drilling used left lay cable so drill would turn cw for right hand threads

[@arcburn3364]

@@gqp4800 I didn’t know that about left laid cable. I knew there is such a thing, but never heard about the relationship to threads. I helped a couple old cable tool drillers that came out of retirement to help the small oil company I worked for when I was young. Really smart guys that I enjoyed being around even as a teenager.

[@jackking5567]

I was trained at a UK coal mine and was able to cap the ends of shaft lifting ropes. It was quite some process with steel ropes due to not just the oil and grease in them but also the rope needed to be at correct temperatures throughout. My work was somewhat sheltered and had facilities nearby but you working at wells doing it must have been quite the challenge.

[@eddiedawkins19]

It took really hard working, intelligent people to biuld these engines with a huge amount of talent and drive to do the job

[@jdwond3673]

In the first machine shop I worked in, we would use the same process for pouring large grain elevator machinery bearings. Sometimes two of us would be pouring from ladles that would have at least a quart of molten babbitt.

[@carportchronicles1943]

Thanks! I knew babbitt bearings were poured in place, but I had always wondered how.

[@oldedwardian1778]

Over 60 years ago in my first job in the metallurgy labs of a large Steelworks I watched new bearings being fitted into a lathe and a shaper. The bearings, which we called white metal, came pre-poured and were placed into the bearing holder with a smear of machinists blue which was a dark blue greasy cream. The shaft being supported by the bearing was then put in place and slowly rotated smearing the BLUE over the bearing and the shaft. The shaft was then raised and examined, high spots on the mating surfaces were highlighted by the Machinist Blue. The fitter then used a very sharp scraper to smooth out the high spots until the bearing and the shaft fitted together PERFECTLY. The worn shaft in question had already been “TRUED UP” on another lathe.

[@douglaswilson6634]

I've blued and hand-scraped babbet bearings.

[@oldedwardian1778]

@@douglaswilson6634 I discovered that as much as I was fascinated by the industrial processes of a steelworks I decided that it was not for to make my career on. I spent hours watching the furnaces being tapped, the startup of an electric arc furnace was spectacular and the rolling mills which squeezed the giant red hot billets into every size imaginable was stunning. After 6 months I changed careers to the computer revolution and never looked back, that was in 1964 in England, I was hired by a US company and came to the States in 1970, had a great career working for Silicon Valley companies, switched to Data communications, worked for some of the pioneers of the Internet and all that has prepared me for my current career of ferrying my grandchildren to their after school jobs and activities. Best wishes.

[@waltershoults8803]

I lived in Oklahoma at an old mine , sand and gravel, we used a dredge to pump the materials out of a huge pond and we had babbet bearings on our old dredge and I reworked them many times .

[@bake162]

A master practicing his craft, awesome!

[@kens.8834]

Amazing art . I have a very old surface grinder with Babbitt bearings. I installed a pressurized oiling system to hopefully maintain them .

[@johnnyholland8765]

Hat is off to you sir. Not a lot of folks left with your skill. I rebuilt a 1939 B Deere tractor and that engine was babbit mains and rods. Harts Machine in Cecil Ohio did the work. Takes the right tooling and equipment to do it. I see this gentleman has it along with the skill to do it...

[@MrTheHillfolk]

Pretty sure I've heard of that place,the boss mentioned it, when I worked up in Akron at r+r engine about 15yrs ago.

[@-MindDrive-]

Well now I know! Years ago, I seen a vice set up thing I couldn't figure out its function or purpose... similar to the one @5:30. I thought it was some form of vertical planer that seized up... but now seeing this, bearing maker... I should have bought it just because it was so neat. Thank you for posting this and I envy the mechanics and skills of years long passed

[@jayjackson597]

the thinner the bearing the more important to have the block pre-heated or the babbitt can solidify too soon

[@charleslambiase5670]

I've heard of it I never saw it done I've seen the bearings but wow what an education and you are a true artist...

[@johnblecker4206]

Saw this once and what a great idea it was at one time.

[@sixtyfiveford]

Impressive to watch someone who has done this a million times.

[@fraydnot]

You gonna do this next?

[@stevenwithanS]

I remember my Dad telling me how they used to do this. Nice to watch.

[@rayk9315]

That's amazing, I don't think there are many people around that have this skill.

[@nobodynoone2500]

But thanks to this video, now there can be more.

[@KISSMYACE3203]

Keith Fenner has really good videos on it and other job shop machining.

[@MrTheHillfolk]

I can't wager there's more than a couple handfuls of old guys who are still doing this, my dad's buddy had a model T engine redone about 15yrs ago and he said it was hard to find someone to do it.

[@Herefornow-571]

Thanks for posting this.

[@jerrodbeck1799]

Such a lost art good job!!!

[@travisbosco8469]

Thanks for filming and posting this! Would love to see a detailed reassembly of that Ford motor.

[@howardosborne8647]

I know when I'm looking at a guy who has done that job a good few times before. The old foundry where I live used to pour babbitt bearings but all the tools,molds and forms went in a scrap man's skip in the mid 1970s.

[@jerryuhte1284]

Excellent video Dave, i watched a guy here in Richmond, In. years ago at the Model T Ford Festival here ,over 1000 Model Ts, here ,great event ! Your work is fantastic as usual ! Thanks !

[@markprior6009]

What an awesome Process!! Fantastic video, liked and subscribed 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@gqp4800]

Bearing bronze killed this art. Technology

[@briandailey7274]

Unbelievable completely awesome wish it was still like this

[@willsmith8586]

This is bananas. Very cool.

[@johndemeen5575]

Is that how a million fords were made? Thanks from St. Paul Minnesota.

[@yellowlabdavis7170]

Great video 👍👍😊

[@gregwaters944]

Well done never saw this process before.

[@artstudio9673]

Wow just stumbled on to you and loved this! I cast bullets so I can appreciate what I just watched. I was going to ask you about the Alloy mix and you said it is pure tin no lead Copper and a little Antimony. I actually know a good amount about lead alloy from bullet casting but you just opened up a whole new world regarding casting Babbitts and the different alloy mixes! I loved the tooling you have and how you use it, I never saw a melting stove like the one you have there....great stuff my friend! Not sure if you want to say what part of the world you do this type of work I am in NY and North east PA.

[@captainmidnight5958]

When this fella passes, we'll be stuck with, "We cannot go to the moon again because we've lost the technology to go to the moon".

[@jeffbecker8716]

Trying to imagine how Mr. Ford did that on his assembly line is blowing my mind.

[@wzpu3283]

He paid people to do it and those people did so... ... very carefully.

[@rodcros]

The engines were constructed in a separate shop. The assembly line was where the various components came together.

[@tommy2tone616]

A true craftsman! Great video

[@fritzficke]

He is, thanks!

[@beyondmiddleagedman7240]

I've done that with hardwood forms and clay dams for one off repairs on hit and miss engines and old equipment. Sometimes you have to do it a few times to get it right. I do enjoy scrapping babbits to size. Fiddly, but satisfying.

[@jackreed3445]

I learned to scrape bearings on a mine shaft hoist and then moved on to the old motors on some ball mills at a different mine. Interesting education. I still have the scrappers.

[@Motor-City-Mike]

Mention scraping bearings to most guys and they get the same look a puppy does when it hears a new sound! The first time someone saw me scraping a set in he yells "WTF ARE YOU DOING?!?!!" 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@TheMadManPlace]

I wonder how many "youngsters" know how to do this? What is going to happen when we old guys are gone? Somehow the "tricks" learned by experience need to be passed on to those that follow or the knowledge will be lost forever. My journeyman made me cast bearings in an old block and set of rods over and over for maybe a month, machine and scrape them until they were right - and then do it all again... But eventually I got it right most of the times. The worst was when someone else used the station and overheated the metal which then became basically impossible to use properly and made bad bearings - total pain in the ass... WOW - memories

[@williepelzer384]

I do I'm only 68.

[@danmaggert7119]

thank you for that video you sir are a craftsman

[@gazza116]

amazing old skill love it.

[@texasredneck9226]

As a 71old gearhead, this is amazing! I've heard stories from long since departed family members that used leather until they could afford proper repair.

[@jackreed3445]

My father told of a time when a rod started knocking when they were out "four wheeling" and they dropped the oil pan and used part of a leather belt in the rod and cap to get home. Can you imagine trying to do something like that with todays engines?

[@Motor-City-Mike]

My grandfather did exactly that with a Model T they used on the farm, in fact since the T was used as a power source for various equipment (saws etc.) the engine never did see fresh babbit, just fresh leather!

[@briangardner7664]

I grandfather told me they would even use thick strips of bacon

[@nissmoguy]

all that modern technology what will they think of next?

[@johnschultz9947]

Thank you.

[@floydwilliams3321]

That’s very cool man

[@mopar4656]

Bloody brilliant!

[@roadrunner4404]

Great video. I had heard of Babbitt bearings but I never saw it done. Fascinating. Thank you. It never occurred to me the block wasnt machined after they are poured. I can visualize teams of men pouring Babbitt all day. Fumes are kinda dangerous

[@paulolson734]

Such amazing skill! Really makes me appreciate insert bearings. I assume the cam bearings are poured the same way with the block vertical and some means of sliding "stops" on a centered shaft to prevent it from leaking out? How is the spilled babbit removed from the threaded main bolt holes? Thanks for making this video.

[@joemaser9122]

Cam bearings were put on the cam and installed in the block like 71 series Detroit diesel

[@ricardocapriglioni5747]

Excelent!!! The old school !!!

[@ashpowell9451]

That guy had done that many a time by the looks, great stuff.

[@luviskol]

You can tell - just pottering along, doing his thing with absolutely no wasted effort, getting it right first time every time

[@TheTarrMan]

So is it like a machine afterwards or are those babbitt bearings ready for final engine assembly as is. Also, how did Ford incorporate this into the assembly line process? I mean towards the end they were building one Model T every 24 seconds and this looks labor way too labor intensive for that. This is still a fascinating process and I thank you for sharing.

[@fritzficke]

I do not know what Ford did. We did another very tedious process after the pouring using tools called bearing scrapers and the caps are shimmed and we hand fitted the bearings.

[@richardschneiderKS]

This is getting to be a lost art!""

[@rodcros]

My first thickness planer had babbit bearings, and my current tenon cutter still does. They work, just don't turn them too quickly and keep them oiled.

[@jamestregler1584]

Thanks really an Art !

[@michaellawrence5492]

Skill !

[@markhinds9126]

Would have liked to seen a video of the mass producing done at Ford in the day.

[@jlance6898]

this.is.great.to.see.i.have.my.eye.on.a.old.model.t.ford.it.was.park.in1971.if.i.by.it.might.need.a.overhual.i.was.wounder.how.to.do.it.where.wood,you.get.the.tools.to.do.the.job.it.mite.be.beter.to.have.you.do.the.job.the.old.ford.been.siting.51.years.outside.motor.still.spins.the.reason.it.was.parked.nobody.new.how.to..crank.it.they.tride.but.they.got.hurt.so.they.left.it.alone?

[@dr.froghopper6711]

My grandfather was a well driller and blacksmith in NW New Mexico during the Great Depression and WWII. He used to do this. All of his equipment was stolen when he was murdered. I would love to have it.

[@Louis-qi1gz]

No matter how smart the modern day mechanic is he will not be able to match your skills and knowledge of how to get the job done on this level 🔧💪🔧🇺🇸

[@FloodExterminator]

Fascinating! How much does it cost vs modern bearings? I'm guessing it is much much more expensive :S

[@rockcrusher4636]

Excellent, thanks for sharing. Cheers.

[@vintagemotoring3254]

omg, what an ancient way to pour Babbitt. My shop use modern Babbitt pouring tools and methods.

[@integr8er66]

So what I don't understand is, you used a fixture in place of the crankshaft, so since they wouldn't be exactly the same size, is there an additional process where the Babbette is line bored to finished size?

[@fritzficke]

We then "scrapped" the bearing for the final fit. There are shims between the bearing cap and rod or block.

[@integr8er66]

@@fritzficke Thx for the feed6

[@usualsuspect5173]

What is the metal you are melting?

[@Jvcomet]

That’s awesome!!

[@walterkersting6238]

So these look thick compared to modern bearings? Like the plain bearings in my truck would be 100/1000 in. thick and these are 1/4” thick?

[@fritzficke]

Not a 1/4 inch but they are a little thicker than an inset bearing

[@beachboardfan9544]

So its just lead bearings and that it? Edit: No lead!?!?

[@teamidris]

I can see me making a right pigs ear of that when I don’t pre heat enough :o)

[@mikejohnson5491]

Helped a friend do it on a old tractor one time think it was a Case

[@jeanlawson9133]

Awesomeness 😎 Thanks

[@NBC_NCO]

This looks like an artwork, that about to go extinct. Very enjoyable video. Thank you for sharing.

[@jackreed3445]

Are you teaching classes on how to do this to anyone?

[@fritzficke]

The guy who owns the shop is 96 years old the fellow pouring is his helper who is in his 70's and pretty much does all the work now.

[@jonharpster7739]

Thank you

[@Zt3v3]

Are there not shell inserts available now? Or perhaps make some out of bronze? I suppose some folks want to keep it og though.

[@fritzficke]

some people machine the block or rods to take a common insert bearing.

[@ludditeneaderthal]

What do you coat the mandrels with to prevent soldering?

[@dcraft1234]

So bearings aren't poured with crank and rods in-place?

[@fritzficke]

Jim used a tool from the 1920's that was the size and placement of the crank when he did the mains and there was another tool from the same time period for pouring the rods.

[@RB-qq1ky]

@ D Craft It can be done that way, but it was never considered good practice and certainly considered poor workmanship to do so. Very hard to get a good bearing esp for the mains because you have to maintain alignment. The poured bearings still have to be scraped in for clearance. Desperate circumstances only.

[@dcraft1234]

Pouring in place was just what I heard from, lets just say...oral history! Given the hard times my dad's family has gone through, desperate would be an appropriate word

[@outlawflyer7868]

How long does the babbitt last b4 it needs to be replaced again?

[@fritzficke]

It should last as long as an insert bearing.

[@kelvinsparks4651]

An experienced craftsman is priceless. Im not sure what will happen when they are all no longer with us because today's push button generation won't have a clue .