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Old 06-29-2020, 06:44 PM   #12
rotorwrench
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Default Re: Factory Balancing of Rotating Assembly

There were some strange methods to dynamically balance things before accelerometer devices or velocity sensors were developed. I'm not sure what would have been used in the 1928/31 time frame. The V8 engines crankshaft was done differently and by that time Ford likely had state of the art equipment. The films they made show some of that equipment but I haven't seen any in the Model A time frame yet. Crankshafts are a soft bearing shaft that requires a bit more set up than hard bearing shafts.

Static balancing would have been with very rudimentary devices but they are good for a quick reference check.

This link has some info on the Gisholt machines. The shaft was rotated on a frame that was on pivots and attached to the vibration meter which was based on inch ounces. This method is old hat since it physically measured the amount of movement but a good operator could balance the shafts well enough. A modern machine would do it with more immediate accuracy but both will do the job with an experienced operator.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?...iew=1up&seq=24

Last edited by rotorwrench; 06-29-2020 at 07:19 PM.
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