The Broken Tools Thread

[kennythewelder]

We have 5 presses here at the shop. I didn't know much about press work when I started here 5 years ago. Since then I have had to learn. The 150 ton press is the one I hate to run the most. It's a vertical press, and it has enough power to get in a bind. I think ots from the 1950s or 60s. Sometimes press pins will fly out of there like a bullet. It has an expanded metal screen around it, but it kind of gets in the way, and makes it a little hard to see what you are doing. The 350 ton is a horizontal press, but the piston moves slow so although it's a beast, IMO, it's easier to control. The 350 ton I'd fron the 1940s or 50sThe small press is a 50 or 75 ton press, and it is very easy to use, and it's from the 1980s maybe. Then there is the manual press. You would be surprised just how much you can press with it. Perfect for most automotive jobs, if you can get the part in it. We also have a standard press in the other shop next door. All of the CNC work is done in that shop. It is like you would find in most automotive shops. We almost never use it. The 350 ton, and 150 ton work on a belt driven cam gear setup that driver a hydraulic pump. The smaller press work off of an electric motor that driver a hydraulic pump, like most modern systems. I have pressed some huge pins out of some oil well drilling equipment, among other things. Every now and then we have to take 2 rosebud torches, and heat the part to get the pin to brake free while pressing. This is a 3 man job.

 

[drewcrew]

hey Erik, your not talking about pullen chainsaws are you?

hahaha something that has stuck in my head since I was a kid... my uncle said, never ever buy a pullen unless you like to keep pulling! because the damn things wont ever run right! I have no idea how true that is but I have never owned a pullen. LMAO.

Years ago I bought a gas blower from Sears. It was made by Poulan. One of the worst things I have ever bought. By the time I got it started I was too tired to use it. Took it back and got another one. Same problem. Gave it to a guy I worked with that did small engine repair on the side. He's probably still mad at me.

 

[1952Chevy]

We have 5 presses here at the shop. I didn't know much about press work when I started here 5 years ago. Since then I have had to learn. The 150 ton press is the one I hate to run the most. It's a vertical press, and it has enough power to get in a bind. I think ots from the 1950s or 60s. Sometimes press pins will fly out of there like a bullet. It has an expanded metal screen around it, but it kind of gets in the way, and makes it a little hard to see what you are doing. The 350 ton is a horizontal press, but the piston moves slow so although it's a beast, IMO, it's easier to control. The 350 ton I'd fron the 1940s or 50sThe small press is a 50 or 75 ton press, and it is very easy to use, and it's from the 1980s maybe. Then there is the manual press. You would be surprised just how much you can press with it. Perfect for most automotive jobs, if you can get the part in it. We also have a standard press in the other shop next door. All of the CNC work is done in that shop. It is like you would find in most automotive shops. We almost never use it. The 350 ton, and 150 ton work on a belt driven cam gear setup that driver a hydraulic pump. The smaller press work off of an electric motor that driver a hydraulic pump, like most modern systems. I have pressed some huge pins out of some oil well drilling equipment, among other things. Every now and then we have to take 2 rosebud torches, and heat the part to get the pin to brake free while pressing. This is a 3 man job.

Sounds like I might really enjoy your work! Sounds like quite the set up. I've always enjoyed large machinery.

 

[kennythewelder]

Here are a few pics of the 350 ton, and the 150 ton presses. The 150 ton, is the middle pic.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Press? Did somebody mention press? Where I used to work, one of our 3,000 Ton extrusion presses sprung a leak in the main ram housing. It was sand cast steel from 1972. It had so many inclusions in the casting one finally broke through. While we were working on a PFR (Project Funding Request) for a replacement housing, we had it welded up. I don't have any pictures of that but, it was crazy the way they did it. They had 4 giant propylene torches heating up the area from outside while the welder built himself a plywood bed inside the 48" ID housing to weld it. It took him 1-1/2 days to weld it up. Then they put it back together so we could run until the new "bottle" was forged. I finally got the PFR approved (for ~$1.2M), ordered it, and about a year later we took delivery. It came from Boardman Ohio with ~$45K shipping. It weighed ~85K LBS.

Here's it being unloaded at our Phoenix plant.

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The ram (AKA piston) that the bottle goes on. The corner bars are called "Tie Rods", they keep it aligned with 0.015" top to bottom, side to side. The ram travels up to 95"/stroke.

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Removing the old bottle with an 80K LB Versa Lift. The crumbled up asphalt in the foreground is where it broke through. It's on concrete in the picture.

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Here's the bottle installed after 5 days working 24 hours/day. The gantry cranes are holding up the 1500 gallon oil reservoir and the pumps and motors (3-200 HP along with cooling and other ancillary pumps).

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Edit: I mean this is "The Broken Tools Thread" isn't it?

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Here's a smaller 2,000 Ton press I was involved in when I worked in Merced CA. A lot easier with only a 36" housing.

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[1952Chevy]

Press? Did somebody mention press? Where I used to work, one of our 3,000 Ton extrusion presses sprung a leak in the main ram housing. It was sand cast steel from 1972. It had so many inclusions in the casting one finally broke through. While we were working on a PFR (Project Funding Request) for a replacement housing, we had it welded up. I don't have any pictures of that but, it was crazy the way they did it. They had 4 giant propylene torches heating up the area from outside while the welder built himself a plywood bed inside the 48" ID housing to weld it. It took him 1-1/2 days to weld it up. Then they put it back together so we could run until the new "bottle" was forged. I finally got the PFR approved (for ~$1.2M), ordered it, and about a year later we took delivery. It came from Boardman Ohio with ~$45K shipping. It weighed ~85K LBS.

Here's it being unloaded at our Phoenix plant.

You must be registered for see images attach

The ram (AKA piston) that the bottle goes on. The corner bars are called "Tie Rods", they keep it aligned with 0.015" top to bottom, side to side. The ram travels up to 95"/stroke.

You must be registered for see images attach

Removing the old bottle with an 80K LB Versa Lift. The crumbled up asphalt in the foreground is where it broke through. It's on concrete in the picture.

You must be registered for see images attach

Here's the bottle installed after 5 days working 24 hours/day. The gantry cranes are holding up the 1500 gallon oil reservoir and the pumps and motors (3-200 HP along with cooling and other ancillary pumps).

You must be registered for see images attach

Edit: I mean this is "The Broken Tools Thread" isn't it?

Not what I had imagined when I started the thread, but it definitely fits! Not in my garage, but it fits nonetheless!

 

[Erik the Awful]

The crumbled up asphalt in the foreground is where it broke through. It's on concrete in the picture.

When I first started in the Air Force Reserves, my unit had just converted from F-16s to KC-135s. The 18" thick concrete was cracking from the weight of the planes holding big fuel loads. They spent a gazillion dollars tearing out 18" thick concrete and pouring new 24" thick concrete.

Elsewhere I also saw the results once when an aircraft was parked in the wrong place for a full-power engine run. The tail was overhanging some asphalt laid at the edge of the ramp, and the thrust peeled the asphalt up and threw it into the tail of the aircraft.

Broken concrete/asphalt counts as broken tools, right?

 

[Schurkey]

The most-embarrasing broken "tool" I've dealt with recently is the "tool" I use to mow my lawn--a "box store" John Deere D170. Not big or sturdy enough to be a garden tractor, just a riding lawn mower/snow blower.

I'm riding along cuttin' grass. And then...no forward motion. No reverse, either. I tow the thing back to the shop, lift it up...broken belt between engine and transaxle. It's really worn, but it's also never been replaced since I've owned it, and it's probably the original belt at 250 hours, so I figure that's normal. I buy a belt (in stock at the JD dealership) and get it installed. I have approximately 1/4 the speed I'd had before. Which gets me to thinking, when I first bought this mower, it'd climb out of the ditch in front of my house with no problem. And now I gotta sneak out at an angle, with a running start 'cause it won't climb the grade any more. And it hasn't been properly fast for a month or more.

Online research leads me to discover it's got the hated, light-duty "Tuff-Torq K46" transaxle, famous all over the internet for failure. Metal shavings everywhere, no user-serviceable filter, no drain plug. Every web site I visit has the same complaints about the K46. The only "happy endings" are a couple of cases where folks drain the original fluid by taking the case halves apart, cleaning the internal filter screen, and re-filling with 5W-50 synthetic oil.

I remove the transaxle, pop the bottom cover off. I drill and tap it for the two drain plugs that Tuff Torq should have installed to begin with. The magnets are covered in fuzz, but it really doesn't look as horrible as I expected. Almost nothing on the filter screen. Put the case half back on...fill with Mobil1...reinstall in the mower. And I have about 1/4 the speed I should have.

Now I'm pissed. The transaxle comes out AGAIN. More "internet research" leads me to a Surplus Store in Nebraska that's blowing-out K57R transaxles for about $300 shipped to my door. (The price has since gone up--today they're $340 + shipping.) This is a Tuff-Torq transaxle intended for a Husqvarna, but it should physically fit my JD. I have to swap the longer JD axle shafts into the new transaxle, the Husqvarna axles are too short. And the motor spins the wrong direction, but it's reversible by flipping a wedge-plate upside down. And the levers for forward/backward, and brake are wrong for the JD, so I have to swap levers. And pulley. All that stuff comes off my weakling K46, and slides right onto the new K57R. Turns out, the K57 is built using the case halves of a K46, there's just some extra hydraulic circuitry inside, and better oil pumping/oil filtering. And since I have to open the case halves to do all this, I drill and tap the two drain plug holes that Tuff Torq should have already done. Fill it up with Mobil1 5W50.

I install my K57R...make one circle in the driveway, and have about 1/4 the speed I should have.

This time, I reach under the thing, and my new transaxle belt is so hot I can't hold onto it.

I go to the local hardware store, buy a bigass tension spring. I drill a little hole in the frame to attach one end of the tension spring, and hook the other end around the belt tensioner keeping the original belt tension spring as-is.

Full speed ahead. Climbs out of the ditch with no problem.

I spent $325+ and wasted days of effort removing, cleaning, installing, removing again, and finally swapping transaxles based on the terrible internet reputation of the K46, when I actually needed a new belt and a $7 tension spring because the JD spring relaxed in service.

The upside, I guess, is that if blow-up the K57R, I can swap the axle shafts, levers, and pulley back onto the original K46 and reinstall it.

I'm a moron for not checking belt tension when I installed the new belt.

 

[Erik the Awful]

LOL! You're right where I was two months ago with my John Deere L130! The rebuild kit for a K46 has shot up to $700 and a brand new Husqvarna K57 is $300. I didn't swap the shafts, I cut down the spacers that space the wheels out. Also, you have to do a bit of grinding on the speed lever of the K57 to get full speed out of it.

I shot a bit of video while I was doing mine. The main problem with the K46 is the fluid overheating.

Funny thing, about the time I got done fixing the L130 I scored a broken Husqvarna zero-turn. I fixed it and it's fantastic. The L130 is now my backup.

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