With the bearing in hand the sleeve drive crank is underway on the Churchill lathe. Bob has been busy while I sort the crank pin on the Southbend lathe.

Just yesterday I was asked whether I really needed 3 lathes and 3 milling machines, as plans are afoot to acquire an extra lathe and mill.

Well, both lathes are in use so the answer is obviously yes 🙂

Now that the sleeve drive crank is being made, we need the bearings to accurately size the component. The large diameter bearing is an American made imperial bearing, only available from a specialist importer.

I mailed them and duly received a quotation for £326. Plus VAT. Plus £10 postage. Total price £400.

How much? Feck me!

So, plan B. A quick search around the web showed no metric equivalent bearings, but a couple that were close. After marking those dimensions on the plans with Bob, we found an alternative that will work. Press a couple of buttons on my phone and it’s in the post.

£142 delivered. Result!!

Final adjustment to the flywheels to resolve a slight taper on the bore. The milling machine isn’t the first choice for this kind of work, but is giving good results. Setting it up was a bit of a faff though.

Measuring the distance between centres, we’re slightly over the planned 3.25" stroke at 3.3". It won’t matter but it does increase the capacity by an extra 46cc. The final capacity will be 2796cc instead of 2750cc.

I hope that doesn’t affect the insurance!!

It’s been a while since the last post, with life getting in the way of progress. But work hasn’t stopped, with most time spent puzzling over problems yet to be solved.

A minor issue is a slight taper on the flywheels. Only about 5 thou, but enough for concern so they’ve been re-bored on the mill with a boring head. That took a lot of setting up but with a final cut to go they should be finished. Again!

Meanwhile, just when I least expected it another barrel, sleeve and head turned up on ebay. Too close to miss, I picked them up from a very nice couple. The biggest bonus was finding the ball joint – still attached to the sleeve and quite serviceable!!

That brings the missing part list down to a piston and gudgeon pin. Happy Christmas!!