The Classic Machinery Network

Can't beat old school knowledge, glad we got to the bottom of this and it's nice to know such a fine old machine is still going! Would love to come and see it one of these days !

The latest acquisition by Andrew is this Priestman 2-18 one of the last machines built by them while they were under Sanderson ownership, the machine came from a scrap yard and was fitted with a scrap handling grab, she would have been cut for scrap but Andrew bought her, the only setback is that the slew on the machine is not functioning.
The reason for the slew failure is the fact that the the three pins that hold the planetary gear-train have sheared off their holder, I am currently trying to locate one for Andrew. This machine has the two boom hoist rams, I have no idea how many of these machines were built, but it is the only one of its type that I have seen, perhaps Fred can tell us a bit more?

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,
I don't know how many 2-18 s were built either, but mine was serial No. P4102 . That makes it No.102 off the production line.
I took delivery in October 1988 and Priestmans were still building them till their demise about two years later.
They were a brilliant bit of kit. A couple of picks. below.

Fred

Jeremy.
Could those pins be made and fitted back into the plate?
Norm

Hi Fred, thanks; I have attached my photo of this machines serial number, Norman, yes that had crossed my mind, Andrew had thought that this was made from one lump of metal but that is certainly not the case as there are centres machined into the ends of the three pins where they have been held between revolving centres during manufacture.

I tested the hardness of the pins and the carrier, they are both soft so no case hardening, I suspect they have been made from EN24T or similar, I could file them with a well knackered file so that's how I know they haven't been hardened, if I cannot get a part then making three new pins and getting them fitted will be the order of the day.

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,
Just checking, and Priestmans didn't list any replacement parts for the slew gearboxes on any of the 2 Series models, only seal kits. It was a replacement gearbox job, so I think it very unlikely you will find parts.
It's a used box replacement. (That's if you can find one, which I doubt).
Probably better off getting something made as you suggested.
Fred.

FOWLER MAN wrote:Hi Jeremy,
Just checking, and Priestmans didn't list any replacement parts for the slew gearboxes on any of the 2 Series models, only seal kits. It was a replacement gearbox job, so I think it very unlikely you will find parts.
It's a used box replacement. (That's if you can find one, which I doubt).
Probably better off getting something made as you suggested.
Fred.

Yes Fred I think you could well be right there; at least as the parts are 'soft' the broken bits of the pins can be machined out and three new pins easily made to an interference fit and shrunk in.

Jeremy

You could always try the trick with the pins that we did with the snapped stub axle on our dumper: notch them for welding back to the plate then once they're welded come in from the back of the plate and drill through into the pins, tap the holes and then bolt that up, grind the head of the bolts, V groove around the bolt shafts and tapped holes and weld that up too before grinding all flush. They will take a fair old bit of abuse if you do all of that!

Slooby wrote:You could always try the trick with the pins that we did with the snapped stub axle on our dumper: notch them for welding back to the plate then once they're welded come in from the back of the plate and drill through into the pins, tap the holes and then bolt that up, grind the head of the bolts, V groove around the bolt shafts and tapped holes and weld that up too before grinding all flush. They will take a fair old bit of abuse if you do all of that!

Yes that is another possibility although I think that getting the remains of the old pins out would at least let us see how the component was originally made, there is not much material on the back of the carrier so that would make this type of repair a bit harder.

Jeremy

Some good photos there Jeremy. Sanderson survived a little longer than Priestman. Did the latter get dropped by one of the parent companies?