Butler tower cap and bearing

[Mike Hage]

20210110_212842.jpg

I built a stub tower and kinda assembled the Butler today in the basement. I've got all new cold rolled shafts. You weren't kidding Windy this thing is enormous!

20210110_212937.jpg

20210110_212853.jpg

I'm going to get some bronze from Winnipeg and see if I can get some bearings built, cut some key slots and get the gears lined up, then work on the gears. Then all the other shafts need bushings. Not sure what to do with this brake surface. Should I smooth it and try to put on a tapered sleeve or just attempt to build it up with weld and machine it true?

20210110_214339.jpg

[windybob]

Well let me see. do you have all the covers for the oiling pockets? I have enough to use for patterns, I don't know where a person can get them any more.

Yes they are really heavy built. Wear your steel-toed shoes. lol

The hub...This may be tricky. I would not weld all that up. What I might do is to maybe weld on an outer liner of sorts. If you could find some tapered material form it around the hub, that might work. Or maybe use some flat stock 1/2 the distance (in) and maybe tack that on, and weld the gap. Or maybe even find a piece of pipe or tubing and cut a slice off that and use it. Just a few ideas.

[Mister Ed]

That's a cool open gear mill! Some similarities to a F&W star 12 ... also a massive double gear chunk of iron.

[Mike Hage]

20190802_072306.jpg

No Windy i dont have any of those covers i was going to make some out of brass and glue a thin magnet on the inside of them so they don't blow away. That brake surface has worn away to almost nothing i think your right ill have to make a tapered sleeve to go over top of it. Do you have a picture of what those oil caps look like?

[windybob]

I'll have to take a few pics. They self-hold themselves on. I think you slide them up to oil, and slide them down to stay. I think.

[Mike Hage]

Appreciate it please and thank you! So what kind of material should I look for to make that sleeve? Just steel? Its gotta be 8 inches around

[windybob]

You can use a piece of flat. If it's tapered, all the better. Clamp it, and heat it and bend it a little as you go. Tack it as you go. Use like 3 pairs of vicegrips. Yes, just steel. Or put an ad up for a hub. Don't know how common they were, but I think in some areas they were. Just trying to find them might be a problem.
Before I got a roller, I used this method plenty.

[Mike Hage]

I might have a piece of pipe if I machine the same taper on it and "glue" it on it should work

[Mike Hage]

I'm not impressed with the brakes on some of these old windmills. This things only got a little one inch strip of steel

[Mike Hage]

So will the NI99 bond the steel to the cast nicely? How machinable will it be then?