OK, so I have 1 rod where the surface and side thrust bits are breaking up. On the presumption that I can't ruin the thing by having a shot, can anybody point me to any instructions, methods, tutorials etc. that may be readily available. I have the metal and the machining facilities to do the job.
Cheers, Dave.

Does this help?
http://www.watercressline.co.uk/tw/thomas.htm

Try searching for "vintage tractors" and "steam engines" etc etc.
This turned up a few interesting sites with some photos and clues as to how its done.

Unfortunatly searching for "Babbit" returns tons of site about rabbits!!

P.s there is some Babbit material on e bay at the moment.

Steve.

Hi Dave,

Whitemetalling your own big ends is quite an easy process, as long as:-

You have the correct flux for tinning the rods, this is critical !!! Many a big end has failed due to poor 'tinning' which causes the whitemetal to overheat as there is poor heat transfer from the bearing through to the con-rod.

You will need some form of mould to cast the big end in, the mould will have to allow for the side thrusts so simply clamping two bits of aluminium on either side of the half big end will not do.

You will need some form of mandril to form the hollow which will eventually be machined out to fit the crank.

You will need the correct grade of whitemetal

You will need an ample source of heat as not only do you need to melt the whitemetal but you also need to get the bigend up to temperature so that you get good bonding and avoid premature cooling.

If you only intend to do it as a one-off I don't think it is particularly worth it, if you intend to do several sets of rods then as long as you have some workshop facilities and a means of boring out the new end then it is actually quite easy.

If you are keen to continue then have a look at Hoyt's web site, they can supply both the correct whitemetal and the correct flux to do the job.

Beware of the flux, it is very agressive. The fumes that are giving off will cause rust on any steel in the vacinity, as I found out after doing a batch of rods.

Good luck

Hi Malcolm

Do you have a web address for Hoyts?

They were taken over by Darchem (aerospace company)
and in Jan last year bought for £1million by KC Engineering.

I cant seem to access the archived websites relating to these companys that are still turned up in a google search. The KC Engineering site doesnt seem that good, but it could just be me.

Happy New Year

Hope all is well down West

Steve.

Hi Steve, and anyone else who is interested,try

http://www.hoyt-darchem.demon.co.uk/contents.html

this would appear to be the web site you need.

I bought my materials several years age and finally got round to using them this winter when I cast the bigends for my wife's car with a phoenix crank.

Many thanks to all replies. It's quite amazing what knowledge is out there.
It's strange that despite Googling for 'white metal', 'bearings', 'hoyt' and all combinations, the site that Malcolm refers to didn't show up. There is some really useful stuff on that site.
Thanks again, Dave

Hi Dave,
Would just like to add to Malcolm's excellent information. Before you pour, you should stir the Babbit, as the alloys do not mix well and tend to separate. Brian

OK, I won the white metal on ebay, so it looks like I,m going to have a shot at it.
I will report back in due course (might be a month or two).
Thanks again to all for replies.
Cheers, Dave