Hi, I need to cut in half the alum cage that holds the roller bearings. I wanted to find out if there is a method to cut the openings as narrow as possible in order to maintain the clearances. IE thin kerf.

This is for a military bike.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

Hi Henri

I think that the smallest cut you will get is still going to be about 10 thou. That would be wire erosion.

If that is too much, another suggestion would be to cut through a bar in the cage and have it alloy welded so that you can grind it back to size.

Finally, you could buy two bearings and cut one full half from each one,

Hope that helps

Regards

Darren.

email (option): dwrudd@lineone.net

Hi Darren,

Thanks for the suggestions!

I have .025 to play with and leave it as an opening. I was looking for my sliting saw and will confirm its width upon locating it. Good idea on getting the two bearings to work together. I have two and only require the one replacement.

Will get it done.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

Hi Henri...Harley XA?...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

You got it!

Another step that I must complete is using the Air File to widen the slots where the rollers fit. Harley rollers are a bit longer than the one cm from the original ones.

Getting there.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

What size rollers do you need?

email (option): davmax@ntlworld.com

Thanks Dave,

I require 12 rollers of (one cm) (0.393701) and .025 inches in diameter.

Standing by.
.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

The closest to the size you need that I can find is .250" x .490", the only thing I can suggest is to seal them together in silicone with a clip round them and then put them on a magnetic chuck with a large piece of steel on the side to stop them flying off and get them surface ground, a little bit slow to do, but it is possible

email (option): davmax@ntlworld.com

Thanks Dave, had thought of tha grinding way, but found that with means at hand, filing the cage a bit wider may work best for me and my basic tools. I have those other rollers from the Harley that are just a bit too long. They have the correct .025 width but length is incorrect.

Appreciate the detailed optional method though!

PS: Just thought of another option and that is to use my Rivett 608 collet lathe to take out the extra length on each roller. Just not sure if the high speed cutter would handle the hardness of the roller.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

Hi Dave,

Tried the collet approach and it works.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

hi henri,im surprised you can machine those rollers with HSS,are you sure they are hard?beautiful hand scraping on your lathe bed,an art now sadly in decline.
did you get fixed up with a slitting saw?i think my thinnest one is .032''i have found a supplier with 1/64''(015'')here in the uk in 2 1/2 x 1'' bore and 3''x 1''
so they must be available in the states
cheers rick

email (option): richardholt@rocketmail.com

Ditto here Rick, maybe because those rollers are War issue.

Here are some more photos of the lathe. Father was a scraper.

Actually bought a slitting saw from the UK, but forgot where I put it. That .015 would do great. Have two milling machines, largest has the R8 collet. But can use anything

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

hi Henri,that is a tidy looking lathe,American?i once worked where they had a
Hardinge collet lathe ,a bit larger than yours but a very accurate machine.
pity they spoiled it ,grit blasting and metal spraying in it.please show your millers when you get a minute,no hurry,interest only
cheers rick

email (option): richardholt@rocketmail.com

Thanks for the interest Rick,

Here is also another Rivett 608 ex Coast Guard issue. Covered with Cosmoline on the bed.

The other one is ex Air Force. Rivett was a maker of horological lathes in the late 1800's. 3 phase unit operated from converter. There is a UK site that covers these quite well.

http://www.lathes.co.uk/rivett/page2.html


Here are some photos from my album, cleaned up the mess some since then. Also have a vertical Clausing.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

Hi Henri...Nice machine tools and ideal for the home workshop. I have a Harrison 300 lathe and a small German milling machine, though I'd like to upgrade to my personal favourite..a 'gear head' Bridport toolroom mill which I have spent many hours in front of in my previous life as a toolmaker!.
I did my apprenticeship with an American machine tool company...Brown & Sharpe...I spent months learning to scrape, first making the various scrapers from old files and then starting with flat surfaces, finally moving on to taper bores etc. These were the spindle housings on the B&S autos.
The oblong block 'herring bone' pattern was the final finish for the machine beds and slides etc. Beautiful to look at when well done and intended as a decorative as well as functional finish.(it was also a good surface for retaining oil.) You needed very strong forearms to do this finish perfectly. As a weedy 16/17 year old apprentice I could never quite get it perfect and used to envy the old boys who had done it for years. A highly skilled job...
Sadly a dead skill now and rarely seen....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

hi Henri,a nice collection indeed,im envious.the green lathe in one photo
looks like a Hendy,the first lathe ever fitted with a Norton gearbox in about
1877 (not norton motorcycles),this effectively did away with the tower of
change wheels ,enabling the operator a selection of threads and feeds straight off the box.am i right or is it a southbend or a le blonde?
cheers rick

email (option): richardholt@rocketmail.com

Close but no seagar.

It is a Monarch, and it was the student size.

Used it to make a spacer for the cage. I needed a thickness to hold the cage on a mandrel, so I bored it and turned it with the green monster. Then, I reduced the cage to the required OD.

For you and Ian, nice to have members who can appreciate what these machine can do for us when parts are non-existant.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

Yes, a lathe is really the basic tool you need. Mine is a Myford, bought in 1957 and still in excellent condition. Very versatile, I can make every metric or inch type thread, do milling, make gears, I even rifled a pistol barrel on it
Only drawback is the spindle bore, only 14mm, insufficient to chamber a rifle barrel. But it's all I need for my M20

email (option): viaconsu [at] planet [dot] nl

It's often the case that p[eople choose to buy parts rather than tools but good hand tools and some basic machine tools make a huge difference to what you can achieve without having to seek help. It takes a while to bring it all together but it's worth it.
Here are some polished stainless and aluminium parts that I have made for my Sportster in the last couple of weeks...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Brilliant Ian!

Getting there with a slitting saw .015

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

Henri,

With the weather you have been hit by this past year, I can make room over here where it's safe for your stuff! No worries about hurricanes, flooding or other nasty weather.

I won't even charge you rent Just let me use it OK?

Oh, you are welcome too.

email (option): britool51@hotmail.com