[Syrupmakers] Cane mill bearings

[bill gunter]

JT, 
   
  There was a man by the name of Morgan South of Perry that told me how he welded or brazed cast iron.  He has welded or brazed a lot of kettles and other cast iron parts and such and that I know of, and never had any come apart.  
   
  If he was repairing a kettle, he would find the end of the crack, drill a hole in it to stop the crack from running.  He would grind a grove in the crack, build a fire under the cast iron until it was red hot and then weld or braze it.  He would then let the fire burn out. 
   
  He said the trick was to heat it hot, do your work and let the iron cool slowly on it's own.  He passed away a few years ago and a lot of his little tricks passed with him.
   
  Bill Gunter
  Perry, Florida

DBACrownhoney at aol.com wrote:
      Ya, I tried preheating it. I used a big propane weed burner torch. It got it pretty hot. I think if it brakes all it will do is allow the juice to get in the bearing box. If that happens I think I can JB WELD it enough to keep the juice out. 
   As for the zinc. I haven't used it before, but there was a guy in N. or S. Carolina making bearings for Chattanooga 12's and he's the one that told me about it. He said his have lasted a few years so far. I also researched it and found a lot, much more severe, applications that it's used in. 
  I plan on putting the mill back together today, I'll post some more pics.
   
   
  JT
   
   
   
    In a message dated 2/17/2008 2:44:48 A.M. Central Standard Time, rharrison922 at yahoo.com writes:
    J T,
     The photos look nice to me. As for welding cast iron, I hear that it needs to be preheated to work best. Nice looking bearings! have you used zinc/aluminum alloy before for bearing use ? Will it stand pressure ?
                                                        Richard

DBACrownhoney at aol.com wrote:
      Hey ya'll sorry it took so long but here are some pics of the zinc/aluminum bearings I've been talking about. These are for a Chattanooga 13. The 2 piece bearing was cast in sand. The other one I poured directly into  the cup and used a piece of spray paint can to form the socket for the shaft to fit into. I also left about 1/4" of the bearing material on the bottom of the cups so the shaft wasn't rubbing right on the cast iron. I don't  think I'll ever have to replace them. 
  Now I have a question. I think in the past someone took this mill apart and when they  took the top off they let the large roller fall over and cracked the rim around the hole. I welded on the cracks  directly behind the shaft were the most pressure will be. I know it's a poor excuse for a welding job but welding the cast iron is a lot different than steel. It's hard to hold an arc. Anyway, just wondering what ya'll think  about it. The cracks don't go into the main plate just that rim. Think it'll hold up?
   
  Here's the link to the pictures: 
  http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh267/Crownhoney/
   
   
  JT

    
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