February 16, 201214 yr they do not make them like that anymore Heck they almost don't even repair them like that anymore, let alone build 'em.
February 17, 201214 yr Now that is a dang good question. HOW DID THEY MAKE IT? I have some pictures of the Bethlehem Steel machine shop in the WWII era, especially for ship building, and I suspect none of the machines would be big enough.
February 17, 201214 yr If they didn't have one, they made one or adapted existing machinery and methods, Don't forget these machines are made of component parts (even though they are quite large parts) and then assembled. Look at pictures of some of the old steel works to see the sizes of machinery being used, I can remember going around the works in Sheffield (UK) in the 1950's and there were lathes that were part of the floor of the building with multi travelling crosslides that could cope with 16 foot diameters and 100 foot lengths, (and possibly longer) Each had operators on whose job was just to sit on a chair all their shift, watching in case the tool snipped and wanted changing, the tool change if necessary was done without stopping the machine, the machine ran 24 hours a day. And of course the cranage required to move components about was pretty impressive too. The didn't do rpm they worked on rph, with turnings coming off the size of house bricks a lovely blue colour.
February 18, 201214 yr Quote from the last link, "Though it was nearly 300 feet long and weighed 8 million pounds, the maximum variance along the Harvey 12K’s chassis was just 0.004 inches. Source: USAF Materiel Command" That is just amazing!
February 20, 201214 yr I've just got to comment that another 'wow' on this, is the images themselves. Those are quality scans from original 4x5 negatives. If you made a large print off of them, you could tell what kind of sandwich some guy in the background was eating. :D
February 21, 201214 yr Author couple more..... http://photobucket.com/albums/n302/FTW1969/571564cv.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/n302/FTW1969/571563cv.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/n302/FTW1969/grafton-life-magazine-3.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/n302/FTW1969/076954pv.jpg
February 22, 201214 yr Author Rad! just got this in the mail... http://photobucket.com/albums/n302/FTW1969/img128.jpghttp://photobucket.com/albums/n302/FTW1969/img121.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/n302/FTW1969/img124.jpg
February 22, 201214 yr Amazing piece of kit - nice to see its ready for another few decades work! Ive stood next to a '12' forging undercarage legs etc in a single push, makes you feel very insignificant when you walk between the dies.
February 27, 201214 yr Wow! Thanks for posting. A magnificent machine for sure. Did you take the photos?
February 27, 201214 yr Its really too bad our nation doesn't make things like this anymore. Sad when you think about it. Its wonderful its up and running. I saw the lathe they use at the Newport News ship yard to turn the propeller shafts for the big ships. Carriers, huge freighters and the like. At the time it was the biggest machine I had ever seen up close. Quite a sight. From what I understand its the only one like it in the US. If it goes down I don't know what the Navy will do for large propeller shafts. I was stationed there for a while. I was commisioning crew on board the USS Mississippi CGN-40
February 16, 201313 yr Cool, however all these years on and it would seem like the Germans "still" have the edge! despite all the efforts of the allies. I wonder how much heavier it gets with each coat of paint? B)
February 16, 201313 yr Cool, however all these years on and it would seem like the Germans "still" have the edge! despite all the efforts of the allies. I wonder how much heavier it gets with each coat of paint? B) It is really sad that we do not have these manufacturing capabilities in the USA today. Maybe someday in the future we will again.
August 16, 201312 yr well its great to the the old girl still got it in her, and they re fit it , it make my 1000 tonner look like a toy, and i thought my baby was great , but if they ever decide to scrap it i make an offer but my generator will have a heart attack trying to run that babies motors good to see that SOME U S A COMPANYS HAVE STILL GOT THE BRAINS TO KEEP GOING
August 16, 201312 yr WELL I SHOULD HAVE READ MORE SORRY, usa has not got it i thought it was in usa go the germans lolol
September 16, 201312 yr A link to a more complete description. Impressive is an understatement.http://files.asme.org/asmeorg/communities/history/landmarks/5488.pdf
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