Crankshaft Shop, circa 1957. {dial up warning}

[Ptah]

The biggest and most important part of the engine was made here. The components were
partly machined, then shrunk together to make crankshafts of up to 140 tons. These were
then machined in the final operation in huge lathe, and afterwards coupled together on a
marking table and built into a complete crankshaft of up to 9 cylinders incorporating a thrust shaft.

http://www.dieselduck.ca/historical/01%20diesel%20engine/Doxford/works.htm

[liberal N proud]

1. Cool

Thanks for sharing

[trof]

2. Ah...crankshaft for a ship's engine.

I wondered what kind of HUGE engine this was for.
Scrolled down till I saw a HUGE marine propeller.
That's a big crankshaft alright.

[Brother Buzz]

4. Not a single pair of safety glasses in sight, either

Just an observation.

[Mopar151]

5. Tools move @~ 90 fpm,

About 1 mph. And you work several feet away from the tool on the big stuff.

Not like today.... chips fly halfway across the shop, so hot they burn into your skin when they hit.

[BiggJawn]

3. I love huge engines.

Thanks for sharing those!

[Throd]

6. Suddenly my big-block Olds 455 doesn't seem so big anymore.

Thank you for sharing that!

[HopeHoops]

7. Wow. I had a 73 455 4bbl in a Buick Centurian. Funny thing about that...

I took the octopus off it and strapped on new wires using the firing sequence. It ran great up until about 45 and I couldn't figure it out. I took it to a mechanic and he swapped two of the wires. This confused me.

Unlike my 68 Galaxie's 390, Buick sequences alternate sides rather than running front to back. The rotor also moves counter-clockwise, not clockwise. I did the transformation on paper when I got home and sure as shit, two of the wires were wrong - THE OTHER SIX WERE CORRECT! Pure chance.

I still have the Galaxie, but "The Walrus" went to the great junk yard in the sky over ten years ago.