I don't want to take Ando's rebuild thread off-topic so, Who else has used a thermic lance and for what applications? How are they used? When Ando mention cutting a pin, I think of a small gap between a boss and a knuckle. Will this lance "drop down" through that gap or am I thinking about this wrong?
Haven't used one myself Rob, I'm curious as well.
Thermic lancing YouTube - Thermolanze Tresoröffnung Sauerstofflanze Thermisches trenne There is quite a few videos on youtube showing operation of thermic lances. First you insert a rod into the handpiece. Turn on the oxygen, light the rod (I use an oxy torch) and start cutting. For large pins 2" to 10", I just centre the lance on the pin end and slowly push it through the length of the pin. Once the lance pokes out the other side, let the workpiece cool and the pin will shrink, to be easily knocked out. If you wanted to cut down the side of the knuckle of a ram, you could too, although lances are pretty messy(inaccurate). In that situation, I might use a 9" grinder with a cutoff wheel. A few years back, I had to dismantle some 6 tonne anchors for the dredging company I worked for. We spent 2 days, heating the bosses and trying to press out the pins, busted a heap of 100tonne rams too. Day 3, we scored a thermic lance and a few hrs later the two anchors were on the truck, ready to go.
That's pretty slick. I haven't had any trouble with pins larger than 2 1/2" so a 16lb sledge and someone to hold the drift usually works. Is the blowback as you plunge through the pin a problem? Thanks for the explaination and the video.
Its really a tool of torture. If you have an apprentice thats really driving you nuts put one of those in his hand and tell him to suit up and stand WAY WAY WAY back and watch. You can actually cut granite with a thermal lance IT will eat metal up for breakfast lunch and dinner. I have used them to cut up old bank vaults, and cut up 17' diameter 8"-30" thick marine bronze propellers And to answer the question if the blow back is a problem, Its not really a problem if your fireproof and 1400 deg flying molten metal doesn't bother you.
:lmao I get the picture... Edit: Same reason I don't use the AirArc that much.
I first saw a home made one made from 1/4 inch cast pipe being used to blow center pins out of big wheel loaders. That was over twenty five years ago. Sometime in the late eighties they got fancy with the rod and holder and such. To use one leather is something necessary from head to toe. The slag stays hot for an incredibly long time. It will warm a steel toe faster than a hot barbeque grill. Don't ask how I know.
We use a thermic lance for all those stubborn pins. I have not found blowback to be a huge problem if you use it correctly. That said there is always a chance for some blow back. I always use heavy gloves, and a good leather coat with an apron. I never lance the centre of a pin with a grease fitting you are just asking for a blow back. I always use it slightly off centre and it blasts right through. There are different size rods available from 1/4" and up. For any pin up to 2" it takes longer to get the lance out and set it up than to blow a hole through it. The bigger the pin the bigger the rod used and it can take a couple or more rods to lance one out sometime. Beats the hell out of slugging away with a sledge or using a press.
What psi do you run it at?
I've run it about 30-40psi. I've found that if you push it straight in without hesitating it will blow a clean hole. But if it kicks back sparks or hits a grease passage it will constantly blow back. If that happens I start a new hole or blast from the opposite side. I hate molten metal flying back at me..hahaha
Good pictures here on use of the lance, if you are on dial-up it's really worth the wait: http://frenchriverland.com/livermore_falls.dwt Also the movie "Thief", from the '80s has a real good lance scene in it. Another link: http://www.broco-rankin.com/broco/m_ARC.cfm Phil
Just read through the Livermore Falls piece. As I started my thoughts were, WHY. At the end I noticed that it was to install and sell to a new customer. That is amazing. I wonder what something like that would cost and how cost effective it was to restore an old unit versus replacing with a new unit.JJ
It's amazing to me the skill the people in the story had to have in order to complete the job. It is a perfect example of the kind of work that can get done using some brains along with hard work. It is also an example of how our nanny states would in almost all instances prevent that kind of work from happening again. Thanks for the article!