I used to sell parts to jobber stores and a few machine shops. One of my
favorite stops was J&M Automotive Machine & Supply, on a back street in
Arlington TX. It was run by two crusty old machinists - Dick and Jim (?) -
who were always patiently working on some interesting iron. I went in once
and wandered through to the back door, where there was a patio slab outside.
I mentioned that they had something on fire outside, looked like a
cardboard box.
They just kind of chuckled. A few minutes later the flames died off as
the fuel was consumed. Jim calmly walked over to the smoldering ashes,
stuck some pliers into them and extracted a ring gear. He quickly dropped
it onto a flywheel where it settled easily in place. A few minutes later it
was cooled and solidly part of the flywheel.
Jim explained that an old cardboard box with a little additional scrap
cardboard tossed in, produced a low-temp heat just right for the purpose.
The small amount of grit added by the soot contributed a little friction to
the fit. They had been doing them that way for over 30 years with not a
single problem.
Rex Burkheimer
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