Help Rebuilding a Hiller/Bedder

[Bartcephus]

Well, my mantra is comming true. "Nothing is as easy as it ought to be." I am rebuilding an ancient Hiller/bedder. I can't seem to get the axel out of the disc gangs. Any advice from the rebuild gurus? Each gang has three disks. I was able to horse the nut off the axel. But I can't seem to get the axel to budge from the asymbly. (Pardon my spelling, I'm a little lazy right now. Pictures prior to dismantling are in another thread of mine. (DIY Hiller/Bedder rebuild or something similar to that. The old discs are so worn they seem paper thin at the edges. Should I put them on a press and try to press it out? or will that deform the threads? Another thing is they have those darn square nuts that a socket won't fit. Using an adjustable wrench is getting old, but I don't want to have to buy sockets just for the rebuild. I'll likely replace the hardware with contemporary hex nuts. (Except the axle nuts.)

HELP ME PLEASE.

Thanks in advance

 

[Bartcephus]

Here are some photos of what I have:







ANY help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.... I know someone out there has done this before.

 

[Bartcephus]

This is what it looked like when I bought it.

 

[Bartcephus]

Well, a little help from the hot wrench, (OA torch with a rosebud) and a 3lb engineer's hammer, I was able to coax the end washers, discs, and spools off the axle. It was interesting to find that my axels are 3/4 inch and the spools are at 6 inch length. Doesn't seem to be standard. Also axel is only 14 inches long. Bearings have some kind of bushing material in them.

On the regular harrow bearings, is the only thing between the spool and the bearing caps/hangers just grease?

Thanks for any assistance anyone can offer.

 

[Bartcephus]

Well it is dismantled and here are some photos of the parts:

 

[Bartcephus]

Well, I'm making progress. I have new discs on. (Thought I took a picture but it wasn't on the camera.) The A-frame is rebuilt as well as the implement mount. (Photo Attached)

 

[Bartcephus]

Found out that the bearings are made of ...... wait for it .... wood! One of them is split, so I will probably be making a new one. I was wondering however, what species of wood should I use? Hickory? Oak? Something else? Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Baby Grand]

What's old is new. In many ways, it's an idea material for that application.

Lignum-Vitae | Home Page

From the link, describing why it is used for saw guide blocks:

Lignum Vitae with its homogeneous oily nature reduces heat and friction adding life to the blade and enhances overall performance.

Lignum Vitae used as a guide block
Reduces heat buildup
Requires fewer adjustments, allowing more cutting time
Polishes steel as it is the most steel friendly material known
Outlasts typical hardwood 10-20 times
Reduces fuel use because it’s slippery, not abrasive
Allows saw to produce better lumber with lower degrade
Keeps sawyer sawing and not adjusting
Makes blades run cooler and last longer

-Jim

 

[Bartcephus]

Here are pics of the new disks. I had to "modify" them as the smallest axel holes I could find were 3/4" and the axles I have are 5/8". I used some 1" square tubing. I welded it into the 1" hole on the discs and then ground all the welds smooth leaving a 5/8" hole for the axle. I will be puting wheel bearing grease on the spools and checking the greese zerks as well as replacing all the fasteners prior to re-asymbly. I also put a weld bead on the shafts of the bearing hangers and ground them smooth where the base had cut a groove over the years of use. I still need to fabricate the supports for the outer end of the toolbar and weld them onto the frame. I also need to finish welding the frame. It is just tacked together right now. Then I need to drill the hole for the upper link in the A-frame and the holes in the back to mount the tool bar. Its comming right along.

 

[Bartcephus]

Well here it is.... not all of it painted yet. I still need to do some sandblasting to paint the remaining unpainted toolbar etc.

It WORKS!!! It is wonderful! Here are some pics....


Opps technical difficulties... Photos to follow