Restoring a Yankee 1555

[Jonathan Martell]

I picked this up on ebay recently. Unfortunately, it was not only neglected, but also run without oil for quite some time. Any suggestions on this one? The bronze bushing is wallowed out, and the shaft is badly worn. It looks like the shaft is part of a casting, so it won't simply pull out. Has anyone had one of these apart enough to know if the shaft is press fit in?

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt332/somephotoguy/Tool%20Rebuilds/Yankee%201555/2_zpsy6y5zcq8.jpg (http://s625.photobucket.com/user/somephotoguy/media/Tool%20Rebuilds/Yankee%201555/2_zpsy6y5zcq8.jpg.html)

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt332/somephotoguy/Tool%20Rebuilds/Yankee%201555/_57_zps9cqzuzri.jpg (http://s625.photobucket.com/user/somephotoguy/media/Tool%20Rebuilds/Yankee%201555/_57_zps9cqzuzri.jpg.html)

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt332/somephotoguy/Tool%20Rebuilds/Yankee%201555/Small%20Gear%20Cropped-%20Small_zps2cmmabya.jpg (http://s625.photobucket.com/user/somephotoguy/media/Tool%20Rebuilds/Yankee%201555/Small%20Gear%20Cropped-%20Small_zps2cmmabya.jpg.html)

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt332/somephotoguy/Tool%20Rebuilds/Yankee%201555/Spindle%20Small_zpsy2akkzvn.jpg (http://s625.photobucket.com/user/somephotoguy/media/Tool%20Rebuilds/Yankee%201555/Spindle%20Small_zpsy2akkzvn.jpg.html)

[Jim Koepke]

George's Basement web site lists the patent information:

http://www.georgesbasement.com/yankeedr/patents/patentlist.htm

Not sure if that will be any help, but it won't hurt to look.

jtk

[Jonathan Martell]

Thanks. I did come across those, and I think they will be handy for dis-assembly of the rest of the drill.

I did come across a picture from another rebuild, but it looks like his in pretty good shape. It was just dirty. As you can see mine has extensive wear.
http://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/yankee-doodle-dandy-t87302.html

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt332/somephotoguy/Tool%20Rebuilds/Yankee%201555/129_zpstb5h5fpf.jpg (http://s625.photobucket.com/user/somephotoguy/media/Tool%20Rebuilds/Yankee%201555/129_zpstb5h5fpf.jpg.html)


http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt332/somephotoguy/Tool%20Rebuilds/Yankee%201555/Spindle%20Cropped%20Full%20Size_zpsi7y0urus.jpg (http://s625.photobucket.com/user/somephotoguy/media/Tool%20Rebuilds/Yankee%201555/Spindle%20Cropped%20Full%20Size_zpsi7y0urus.jpg.ht ml)

[Jim Koepke]

Sometimes things have been overly abused.

All we may be able to do at that point is to use them with their acquired deficiencies or salvage the useable parts in hopes of being able to use them to improve a future find.

jtk

[Mel Miller]

There is no easy or cost effective way to repair that shaft. Yankee 1555s are fairly common. I would just find a better one.

[Mark Herdman]

That is some impressive wear, for a hand drill!

Mark

[Jonathan Martell]

That is some impressive wear, for a hand drill!

Mark

I can't imagine the effort required to get it to that point. All of the oil passages were clogged with crud.

The plan is to cut the shaft, and press in a new one. It's probably not worth trying to turn down what's left.

[Stephen Clement]

I have no info about the drill, but if you find you can't remove the shaft, you could try chrome plating the shaft to build up its thickness. this is done in machine shops fairly often (at least the ones I've seen). It will probably take some hand honing and polishing to get the right fit.

[Jonathan Martell]

I have no info about the drill, but if you find you can't remove the shaft, you could try chrome plating the shaft to build up its thickness. this is done in machine shops fairly often (at least the ones I've seen). It will probably take some hand honing and polishing to get the right fit.

Thanks for the suggestion. I think it's a bit too far gone for that, and probably more than I can afford. A friend offered to put it on his big lathe and either turn it down for a sleeve or bore it out for a new shaft. The old one is cast as part of the frame as far as I can tell.

[Mel Miller]

Thanks for the suggestion. I think it's a bit too far gone for that, and probably more than I can afford. A friend offered to put it on his big lathe and either turn it down for a sleeve or bore it out for a new shaft. The old one is cast as part of the frame as far as I can tell.

Lathe time is worth ~$100. an hour, and that's not a 5 minute job. Then, you still have the wear on the gears, etc. to deal with. Is that cost effective?

[Jonathan Martell]

Lathe time is worth ~$100. an hour, and that's not a 5 minute job. Then, you still have the wear on the gears, etc. to deal with. Is that cost effective?

You are correct in that it's not cost effective if I'm paying shop rates. I'll figure out something to return the favor.