Are there sources to purchase plates/drivers to remove/install pivot bushings? I'm looking for something to install the boom pivot bushings with a bolt (poor man's hollow hydraulic cylinder) I don't like the idea of beating a bushing in with a hammer as shown on youtube. My alternative is to have a local machine shop fab something for me. Thanks for any advice :notworthy
How about any tech schools near by quick little project for a kid in machine shop class.
Use the new bushing as a driver to push the old one out. Or at least move the old one enough that it moves about 1/8" and you can use a big punch and hammer to get it the rest of the way out. Some all-thread and 1/2" plate to make a press tool. Once you have the old one out, grind the OD down enough so it's a loose fit in the bore; probably .010" smaller than the original size. Use that to press the new one all the way in. I have about 20 sizes of bushings/outer bearing races that are made like that. Use a brass hammer on the old bushing, the hardened metal will spall if you whack it with a steel hammer.
For removal I usually run a bead or two around the inside of the old bushings, let them cool and you can usually pull them with your fingers. For install, dry ice for a couple hours and slip them in. Actually I have a 30 ton hollow cylinder with an air powered porta-power pump, three foot long threaded rod. The local machine shop makes up my pushers for me usually the same day if they're not busy, 1/4" long pilot, a section about five thousandths smaller than the new bushing OD if the bushing needs to go in far enough for a dust seal and the pusher part is at least 1/2" bigger OD than the bushing so it stops flat.
look in the cat tool guid 30-60 ton 1 1/4 fine thread.
Where I worked I was lucky they had an old lathe that no one seemed to know how to use other than me. I would scavenge any and all kinds of scrap pieces of round metal. Had a good selection of pushers for bushings when I did need a new one found something close and chucked it in the lathe and in a few minutes had the one I needed. Many of the pushers had different steps on each end so they could do more than one size bushing. What makes me sick is the overhead door on the shop where that lathe is located is falling apart and when it does collapse the rain will destroy the lathe. Upper management does not see any value in tools like that. If it can't be shown that they made a profit off it in the last week it's junk to them. But heaven for bid if someone asked to buy it, then it would be worth top dollar! Lantraxco, Yes the welding is one fantastic way to remove the old bushings. Burn it right in then let cool while you have a coffee then at the most a very easy press to remove. Also for brass bushings I have just used a cutting torch to heat a couple lines down the length of the bushing till it just starts to melt the surface. Again let cool and slips right out. Dry ice or liquid nitrogen when you can convince the boss to get it works great!
I do the same for steel bushings.Its just as effective as welding.Not as dramatic as brass/bronze bushings but still works well.
Yair . . . kshansen Mate that sounds really strange to this old bush mechanic. As I understand it you put in the hard yards keeping stuff going at a quarry and they didn't have a machine shop? I'm flat out getting by without a lathe in my retirement. (big grin) Cheers.
If you want to really be sick another of the companies plants about 1/2 hour drive from here had a good old machine shop along with a big milling machine and such they had a couple lathes that must be around 15 foot long beads and just guessing they would swing close to a 24 inch shaft. Last time I was there a couple years back these two lathes were sitting on a flat bed out in the weather, not sure where the rest of the tools went but they are probably Kias or some Chinese clone of a Cat excavator by now! The guy who knew how to run those machines retired and no one was ever trained on using them so management looks at them as scrap. Ever have an engine where the lower bore in the block for the seals on the wet sleeves was eroded? Well probably 20 years ago the company was still letting us do lots of engine work for this section of the company. They purchased the tool to bore out the blocks and press in new sleeves to salvage the block. We used this tooling maybe three times before upper management decides to farm all engine major repairs out to subcontractors. That tooling is just sitting there with an assortment of sleeves ready to do work it will never see.
Yair . . . kshansen . Thanks for response. I find it difficult to understand how such management practices could allow such an operation to remain in business in a competitive environment. I can only assume they were a spin off from some larger conglomerate and didn't really need to pay their way . . . or the profit margin on quarry products is way better than over here. (big grin) Cheers.
I line bored in a shop for 25 years that had their own machine shop. Top quality gear too. It must have saved them millions over the years. Then management decides machining is not the "core business" I bought one of the lathes for a twentieth of its replacement cost. A week later I used it to do a job for them which covered the cost of the lathe.
Yair . . . Gotcha RayF . I guess us mere mortals will never understand how the inner sanctum of management come to their decisions. I sometimes think they use that elusive concept of "business principles" instead good old "common sense". Cheers.
When we tried to question some of these decisions we were always told "You don't see the big picture!" we would say to each other when they weren't around "They don't even have film in the camera to take the picture! Another couple examples. They decided to "beautify the quarries a few years back. Main thing was to get rid of the old machines in the "bone yard" you know the ones you would rob parts off to keep another older machine working. We had a few old 35 ton Euclids sitting on the hill and they hired an outfit to come in and cut them up and haul away the scrap. Money from scrap when to corporate not our plant Well a couple months later we had one of the still running 35 ton trucks come in with a broken front coil spring so now we had to go out and buy one when we had probably 8 of them sitting on the hill a few weeks before! Another quarry the other side of the state had a Trojan 7500 loader they used and they had one they were using for spare parts. Clean up comes and they are told to sell the parts loader. Local used part dealer buys the loader. Guess what a few months later the machine they were still using has a hoist cylinder fail. So they call the place the parts loader was sold. NO problem, we'll pull one right off. Price for the cylinder? About the same as what they had paid for the complete machine! This list could go on but we all know the type of people who work this way, just glade I'm retired so don't have to deal with it any more!
Yair . . . kshansen Yes mate, I know the feeling, I'm enjoying the years as the turbo's running down. Staying fit and healthy is the main thing . . . and you need to keep posting here. (big grin) Cheers.
I don't plan on going anywhere soon. I do enjoy trying to help out when I see subjects that I can offer some information on. Also am amazed at times at the quality work I see some here doing. Be it rebuilding a bucket on an excavator, digging a hole for a swimming pool or tearing down a building inches away another one without scratching the trim on the one being saved.