Does anyone have one of those "journal brass reclaiming" machines always advertised in 40s Railway Mechanical Engineer mags and the old Car Builder's Cycs?

What exactly did those things do to "reclaim" the brasses? The ads were somewhat vague, except to make reference to cost savings.

I suspect that if one exists, it's in a Swift meat reefer in Union, Illinois..... :-))

Howard P.
RIP Track, CT

Thanks for the plug, Howard!

I am not familiar with such a machine, but suspect it served to melt out any babbit remaining in the old bearing, and perhaps skim and reclaim it.

At Union, the steam shop has done new babbit pours on brasses and other bearings. All things considered it is not that hard. Get some Babbtrite - a kind of modeling clay compound to build dikes around where you pour the new babbit. I think you can still find new babbit with some looking, or under some various trade names. 'Magnolia Metal' comes to mind.

For a bearing where it needs to fit over a shaft, one trick is to apply soot to the shaft using a very rich acetylene mix in a torch - this prevents the babbit from adhering to the shaft during a pour. Then it can be used as a 'core' inside two bearing halves for the pours. And, of course, preheat the bearing base metal to prevent premature cold shots of the babbit.

Bob Kutella

Is that the technique used by Paul Labiche in Vaires?

Howard P.
Room 2
Station Hotel
Rive-Reine

One of the well visited shipwrecks off Atlantic City, N.J. is nicknamed the "Magnolia" because its cargo includes a large quantity of those trademarked ignots or bars. As mementos of your visit, they last longer than a lobster, but the insides don't taste as good.

At Hesston, we frequently re-pour babbit bearings. For some work, when the shaft/journal isn't easily "portable", we've machined the necessary arbor. We've done RR car journals, and many on stationary and steam traction engines.
One (nearby us) source of supplies is McMaster-Carr Supply. They have babbit, Babbitrite, and Dammit. Lindsey Publications lists several booklets on babbiting practices. Suggested is using new technology infrared non-contact thermometer (McMaster & others) to measure temperatures, both to prevent "cold pours" and overheating/burning the babbit. It's more repeatable than using char on a wooden stick to guesstimate temeratures.