Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

[m3a1]

https://www.normanmachinetool.com/produ ... ar-no-152/

Time to crow a little bit. I picked this up for just under $300 with TT&L.

Parts & Instructions manual PDF

https://www.trick-tools.com/common/docu ... n/152m.pdf

I'm feeling pretty good about this deal!

Cheers,
TJ

[rickf]

Just be aware that rusty steel will dull the blades very quickly. The one I worked on was in a machine shop so when it came time to resharpen the blades all was done inhouse. If they had to cut some rusty plate from the yard they did not even question it, the blades came right off and were sharpened, It was not worth ruining a good piece after that just to see if it was dull or not. The guy who taught me the machine said they had learned from past experience.

I am sure none of the steel you have to cut is rusty.

[m3a1]

Are you implying my materials aren't up to snuff?

[rickf]

Nope, just OLD!

[m3a1]

If you studied the photos of the machine earlier, you may have noticed that the guard, properly referred to as the Holddown (which is the bit that holds the metal one is cutting firmly in place) was locked in the 'UP' position. Tonight, with my evening coffee in hand, I went out and released the tension on the bolts and the Holddown went down quite nicely. I removed those retaining bolts one at a time and gave them a brief cleaning, doped them up with anti-seize and reinstalled them. All they really do is act as guides for the Holddown as it moves up and down. They will be replaced with new bolts, eventually.

I also removed and cleaned the Holddown adjusting screws and jam nuts that serve to limit the Holddown to a certain prescribed height off the table. With the slight pressure on the treadle, the adjusting screws and the jam nuts can also be moved by hand to facilitate changes in those settings. Yes, as horrible as this whole thing looks, this machine just needs a deep cleaning and lubrication. I went with my gut on that and I'm very pleased that these few things I've touched are already confirming what I thought would be the case.

Finally, I doped up the Holddown spring studs (guides for the spring) with PB Blaster as it would be very nice to be able to remove them at some point so as to facilitate the removal of the whole Holddown assembly for restorative efforts. At the moment, they are not budging and they probably haven't moved since the machine was assembled....and there is the matter of their being nothing more than a very long flathead screw. Not exactly my favorite type especially if frozen in place. If they continue to be reluctant to move, I will let them be as they are otherwise just fine as they are.

I could remove the Bed altogether and then slide the Holddown straight down and out. I may also be able to withdraw the Bed away from the cut (there is an adjustment capability there) then remove the lower blade and have enough space to bring the Holddown straight down and out.

The Finger Guard, which is nothing more than a simple strip of plastic nailed to the front of the Holddown, is missing a section in the center and the rest of the Finger Guard is in generally aged condition. What remains still effectively keeps an errant finger out of the works so I may just learn to live with it for now. SO ugly though!

I think I know why they locked the Hold down in the up position, disabling it. They were cutting metal quick, down and dirty without benefit of a squaring jig or the depth-setting Back Gauge Arms which, as you know, are wholly absent. They probably just scribed a line on their work and visually lined it up with the blade edge and then had at it. You can't see the cutting edge with the Holddown in place, although I'm betting this shear cuts far more efficiently with the Holddown doing it's job. There are ways to have one's cake and eat it too, and I already have a plan for that if it becomes necessary.

So, there are secrets about the machine that are yet to be learned and of course, lots of cleaning and lubricating. Many fasteners on this machine are there for making fine adjustments for optimal performance and I'm presently learning all about them. It's an interesting machine and an entertaining process. Along the way, I might even be persuaded to apply some paint to the ugly old thing.

But for now, one piece of it is officially back in working order.

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

Did only a little bit today just because.... IT'S FATHER'S DAY

I removed the Side Gauges which will make cleaning off the top of the Bed much easier, and I chased out the bolt holes. New fasteners are on the shelf for those when the time comes for them to go back on. The Side Gauges are nothing more than two strips of metal bolted down at either end of the Bed to form a raised guide which is used to establish a right angle to the lower blade. Nothing fancy.

I finally got out the ol' gap gauge and confirmed that there is indeed contact between the blades in the center wheras they are too far apart at the ends. The machine is badly out of adjustment as a result of some minor damage.

Correcting that gap is done by means of adjusting a large nut on the Adjusting Bolt in the rear and center of the Crosshead. The Adjusting Bolt is in the center of the Tie Rods which attach at either end of the rear of the Crosshead. By exerting or relaxing pressure in the center, the Crosshead (and the blade which is mounted to it) can be warped a few thousands of an inch, thereby achieving fine adjustment to the gap between the blades which, according to the manual, should be adjusted to .005".

Full adjustment of the tolerances between upper and lower blades can be made by adjustment points on either end of the Crosshead (adjusters which I have not yet addressed) as well as in the center of the Crosshead and the center is where the problem is at the moment.

Here, we see that some harm has come to the adjusting nut which will necessitate the removal of the assembly from the Crosshead, and having the old Adjusting Bolt excised and a new bolt welded in place. Clearly, the Adjusting Bolt cannot do its job in its present state. My best guess is that the shear was either dropped onto it's back or someone ran into it with something. Either way, it should be straight, not shaped into an 'L' !

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In the meantime, a lot of other nuts and bolts are getting regular applications of PB Blaster. The quality of the steel in this machine is excellent so most fasteners are coming free quite happily, despite their age.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, Y'ALL!

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

Well, I just couldn't leave that Adjusting Bolt alone today. What a mess. It vexed me and brothers, I whistled a merry tune getting that thing off the machine. Oh sure, the nuts on the rods came loose easily enough but the Adjusting Bolt was NEVER meant to be welded onto the rod.

In the end, brute force allowed me to get the Adjusting Bolt out of the socket (it does not screw in...it is just meant to sit in the hole). What the Adjusting Bolt is supposed to be is a bolt with a head formed into something of a trough to accept the rod. It is NOT otherwise attached.

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Well, with the Adjusting Bolt firmly welded on, the matter of getting the rods out of their holes became a bit of a magic trick, which I managed with a bit of wrangling, sweating, and some choice swear words I keep just for such 'special' occasions. Yes, I took the long way around the barn. I might have simply cut it off but in the end, it was the challenge that kept me in the game.

Happily, the rod is out, the bad bolt is cut off and I will be able to sleep well tonight while I give some thought to how I am going to construct a new Adjusting Bolt.

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Hope your Father's Day went well.

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

It's the day after Father's Day. As sometimes happens in this modern age, pictures of the ' old man' begin arriving with text messages from my little brother who is our de-facto family chronicler. I thought I would share a couple of 'keepers' that came my way yesterday.

Robert W. Smith - dropped out of high school after his junior year and joined the U.S. Army in order to get the GI Bill (he grew up dirt poor and had enough of that to compel him to make a deal with his Uncle Sam). He went on to become a paratrooper in the 11th Airborne, which he referred to as the bastard step child of the 82nd Airborne. He described the 82nd as "Always getting the newest, best gear first." Whereas the 11th ended up with whatever was left over. This was the post-war Army with the 11th being deployed to the peace-keeping mission in Japan.

After completing his hitch he went back to high school and finished his senior year. Can you imagine, turning a paratrooper loose in a high school setting? Gawd! Talk about letting a fox into the hen house! I'm betting a lot of fathers were keeping their daughters home from school!

From the photo, he looks like he has a high degree of cockiness to me. How cocky, you ask? Well, he continued to jump out of perfectly good airplanes AFTER he left the Army. At his funeral, one of his surviving lifetime friends told me he jumped right into the heart of his home town of Norwalk, Ohio and managed to land (successfully) on his street near his home (just to impress his mother). No small feat considering he was using a surplus Army 'chute which are not known for allowing the user to land on a dime. Yes, the cops showed up (and were suitably impressed) and that was that. Dad went on to become the County's Judge and I still have that parachute.

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And here's another photo of me and my Dad (below). Obviously, it's my birthday because I have birthday cake and he's wearing his warm, red plaid lumberjack shirt (so it must be November). Appears he may be getting ready to give me yet another dose of secondhand smoke or maybe even offering me a cigarette of my very own. "You're a MAN now, son! Time to start smoking!" Just kidding.

However...

Every once in a while we would have a windy day on my father's day off. He would take me outside to our big back yard and strap me into his old parachute, fluff the canopy to catch the wind and then watch me disappear over the horizon and end up somewhere in the next county as I was dragged along by a full-sized Army parachute. Do, or die, I soon learned how to spill the air out of a parachute and I ain't kiddin' ya!

Ahhh, nothing better than being a kid in the 1960s...especially with MY dad!

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Love you DAD!

Cheers,
TJ

[de officiis]

Every once in a while we would have a windy day on my father's day off. He would take me outside to our big back yard and strap me into his old parachute, fluff the canopy to catch the wind and then watch me disappear over the horizon and end up somewhere in the next county as I was dragged along by a full-sized Army parachute. Do, or die, I soon learned how to spill the air out of a parachute and I ain't kiddin' ya!

Wow, I never heard that story!

Respectfully,

Little Brother

[rickf]

I can just imagine a little kid strapped to a parachute in the wind! I know what it did to me at 215 lbs. plus my pack at another 50 plus lbs.. Do you know if that chute is a T10 chute? That is what we were using when I was in but I don't know if it was the same for WWII. The T10 was steerable, or so they told us, maybe if the stars were all aligned and the wind wasn't blowing. You could steer them to a certain extent by spilling air but that could also get you in a lot of trouble if you weren't careful or if it was windy.

[m3a1]

I'm not sure what it is. It's a Jump Master's chute without provision for a static line. It's a Switlick, manufactured in 1944 and it's complete, with reserve. Both canopies have all panels so they're the kind that is only moderately steerable by spilling.

When he gave it to me, Dad made me swear never to jump it (which, after being dragged all over creation, was not a hard promise to make).

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

I decided I wanted to make just a little more headway on the Bed of the Pexto today. There were some difficulties and that is putting it about as nicely as I am prepared to do at the moment.

Things started out relatively easily. The right hand and left hand Side Gauges bore a little fruit. One was actually pretty nice under all that paint. The other was a rusty mess. What you are looking at below, are the 'before' photos. With the paint removed and a trip to the wire wheel they went straight into the vinegar bath. Hopefully, we will see a miraculous recovery tomorrow.

IMG_6659.jpg

IMG_6661.jpg

Then there was the matter of the adjusters for the Bed which began with loosening the four other large 5/8" -11 bolts (two per side). Their purpose is to lock the Bed down once it is adjusted. I managed three with the impact. The fourth refused to budge. So, out came The Big Dawg. This is a half-track sized breaker bar...and more than capable. The end result was, I twisted off the 5/8" bolt like it was a 1/4". I felt like an old time bounty hunter. Dead or alive! Either way, Mister Bolt, you're comin' with me.

Then the real fun began. Here, we also see the Bed-In Adjusting Screw which is an Allen drive headless screw (lower left). Below it is the Bed-Out Adjusting Bolt which is a hex head screw which, when tightened, draws the Bed and the lower blade toward the operator and away from the upper blade (which is sometimes referred to as the Knife.

Naturally, the hex head bolts came out like someone put it in there yesterday....but the headless Allen drive screws were going no where. I applied PB Blaster (actually I had been applying that for days), I applied heat, I applied oil, I applied heat AND oil, I wire wheeled 'em and kept hard pressure on them while applying heat to the surrounding casting. I tickled, cajoled and hummed a little mechanic's tune. NUTHIN. But, as General Patton reminds us, when you are about to give in, so is the enemy. So I got a giant crow bar and levered the Bed rearward.

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[m3a1]

...and with the Bed moved as far as possible...

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I created just enough space to get one nut on there and then another...

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and between the combined force of the Allen wrench and the open end wrench on two nuts jammed together I was able to get things moving.

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This all sounds very straightforward in print but, there were no guarantees at the time and I was feeling pretty nervous about the whole thing. But I managed it and that bit is all behind me now.

I cannot help but think that there are several choices for Bed-In, adjustment hardware that are far better than Allen Drive screws which are undoubtedly in use there because the manufacturer wanted the operator to be SURE his intent was to run the Bed inward (which conceivably could cause harm to the blades). In fact, these are the only screws on the machine that use an Allen drive. They are correct and original but, long-term, they are a problem waiting to happen.

Of course, time and lack of use and poor storage are the real culprits here but perhaps an Allen socket cap head screw might be a better choice at a minimum and a regular hex head painted a bright color might be best overall.

By the way, the name PEXTO is derived from the name Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co.

Tinsmith's tools and machines were a significant part of their product line. Their production of innovative devices, such as my machine (which is far newer than this particular bit of history), allowed for speedy replication of accurately cut pieces for manufacturing processes and it also resulted in less waste.

Cheers,
TJ

[rickf]

You need an oxy-acetylene torch so you can get a lot of heat fast on a small area. A small torch just can't keep up with the heat loss through the mass of steel. I have also had luck with heating the bolt red hot and then letting it fully cool. This does a couple things, it breaks the rust up in the threads, if it is in a nut the expanded bold with actually expand the nut a tiny bit and then when it cools there will be clearance or if it is in a casting like your case it will try to expand but cannot so it compresses the steel in the bolt and when cool you again have clearance. The last one generally only gives you a short loose spot but it is a start and if the threads are good on the rest of the bolt it will generally come out. This is pretty much the same effect as welding a nut to the end of a broken off bolt.

[m3a1]

Every once in a while we would have a windy day on my father's day off. He would take me outside to our big back yard and strap me into his old parachute, fluff the canopy to catch the wind and then watch me disappear over the horizon and end up somewhere in the next county as I was dragged along by a full-sized Army parachute. Do, or die, I soon learned how to spill the air out of a parachute and I ain't kiddin' ya!

Wow, I never heard that story!

Respectfully,

Little Brother

HEY, Y'ALL!

This fella, right here, is my kid brother!

Welcome to the forum, Adam!