hello everyone tonight

Now back to the bearing---

Lets get one thing straight before we go any farther-- the pitman at this point is not in the mill but still in the workshop, having been previously shaped for size and length from previous calculations, in the case of a restoration it usually means transferring measurements from an original part, at times this is not easy because of wear and breakage,or rot causing the part to disappear , and would need extensive research to bring to light what the new part's historical dimensions and appearance were--there is some caution here because what one does in a restoration will be regarded as accuracy in subsequent restorations down the line, so be careful!!

Well we have the bearing slid into the opening in the pitman, and now to fasten it in place

Previous to this point it is understood that the new bearing has been tried on the pin of the offset crank in the mill and will fit when the pitman is finally inserted in it proper position

fastening it in position is as follows--the bottom section is held secure by boring though the metal band encasing the bottom of the pitman two 3\8ths" holes from side to side, passing through the bottom section of the bearing, missing its metal band--the 1\8 by 1.25 previously mentioned-- then 2---3\8" carriage bolts are inserted and drew up snuggly, tapped slightly with a hammer as tightening is finalized--these bolts then have any excess threads removed and the peaned lightly to ensure that the nuts will not loosen due to vibration and other possible reasons

Now as we look at the pitman with its new bearing in place we will notice excess space from the top of the bearing to the top of the mortise cut out in the pit man--this is for a reason--passing through the pitman at this point is a long slender wood wedge that as it is driven through will tighten down the top section of the bearing very tightly and then secured in place

The sticker here is the direction of the wood wedge and some other interesting tidbits--to be discussed

enjoy

NH