Bearing Repair
18th October 2007

One half of the PTO shaft had a very worn and distorted journal and we straightened it and removed the twist a few weeks ago. Dave provided a MIG welding set today for Headley to use. The first picture shows the journal after we had done the final straightening. Headley then set about building up lines of weld while Richard used the flywheel on the far end of the shaft to turn the shaft by degrees on command. That was the plan, but the start was slightly delayed because the welding wire refused to feed. A certain amount of muttering and adjustment sloved the problem and we got under way.

The second picture is the same journal after the diameter was increased by half an inch and then roughly ground. We still need to finish grinding this journal and a similar one on the other section of shaft before we construct new bearings to support the shaft.

Dick joined the team for the first time today and as he has woodworking experience he is very welcome. His first job was to remove all the gear teeth from the crown wheel that drives the sack hoist. These are made from fruit wood and as we have seen everywhere in the mill this wood is very attractive to woodworm. Another supporter has already made replacements but they are not yet at the mill so Dick was soon looking for another job. He soon learnt that the gardening is a never ending task and was handed a rake and a box of grass seed. Time will tell how much of the grass seed survives the local birds.

Down in the gear pit Dave and Martyn set shuttering and reinforcing bars in place helped by Max who did the running around at ground level. Two mixer loads of concrete were transported into the mill a bucket at a time and the result can be seen in the last picture, a large concrete beam that extends under the hurst. With that section in place work moved to the other side of the gear pit with more bars and more shuttering being put in place ready for the next working session. Max found the time to do a little more work inside the stable barn, continuing the bricklaying that he started last week.

We finished work at reasonable time this evening and still had enough of the bright evening left to admire Headley’s bearing repair before we returned to our homes.

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