# Found A Sheet Metal Shear That Needed A Small Repair.....



## brino (Jul 17, 2016)

Hi All,

Last week I was at my favourite local tool store browsing the small tools, when the owner says "Hey weren't you looking for a shear?".....I was....and wasn't...... I mean it's on my "someday tools" list, but I don't currently have the space for one as large as I want.

Of course I always love looking at tools, so I went out to another building and was shown a Brown Boggs 249B 48"16 ga. sheet metal shear and also happened to notice a Chicago sheet metal brake parked beside. Both had asset tags from both a local aerospace and a local instrumentation company (one company had bought the other).

Here's a shot of both. The shear is in the foreground, and the brake behind:



As you can see that building has stuffed packed in. Those crates were stacked twice my height.

He then continues to say that he is currently over-stocked, has no room for more stuff but has ten more shops worth of equipment to bring in. I looked, took a few photos, and said that I could not buy them without first figuring out space and talking to my wife about the financials.

As usual my wife was very supportive. She said I could find the space if I had to, and she knew that both were on my "someday tool" list. She's a keeper! 

So I called the tool store and arranged to pick them up mid-week. What better reason for a vacation day, right?

Stay tuned for a small repair required to the shear.....

-brino


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## brino (Jul 17, 2016)

I got what I thought was a decent bundle price on the two pieces, because one needed a small repair.

The shear is treadle powered and has two pockets on each side to receive the treadle bar. On the right-hand end the front pocket had the top broken off. This is a strange place to break, as the bottom of the pocket gets all the force from stomping on the treadle. The seller thought it broke because the bolt wasn't tight and the treadle rebounded on release. I believe that the treadle bolt in the pocket was over-tightened.

Here's the broken treadle pocket:















more to come.......
-brino

(By the way, I did get all the fingers for the brake, though they were not in the original photo.)


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## brino (Jul 17, 2016)

So the good news was that it was a clean break and I had the part that broke off.
After thinking about my options:

arc weld (smaw) using special cast-iron or high-nickel rod,
braze with oxy-acetylene using bronze rod,
tig weld(gtaw) with silicon bronze rod
and re-reading all the great input at this thread: http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/welding-cast-iron.42577/
I decided I would go with option #2. Hopefully I could keep the heat down and not need preheat and slow post-cooling, and I need more practice with tig before I try anything that matters.

The piece broken off from the pocket top was obviously cracked from the hole out and had a small offset at this crack. When I straighten it to get both side of the crack flush, it broke again about 90 degrees from the first break. It must have been cracked there too, which is why I believe it was broken from over-tightening.

I ground a vee on one side and brazed it, then turned it over and repeated the operation:






I did some clean-up grinding on this top piece and then checked the fit.....

-brino


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## francist (Jul 17, 2016)

Nice find! I'm especially envious of the D&K brake -- or at least the fingers thereof. I have what looks to be an identical one but minus all the fingers. One of these days... .

-frank


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## brino (Jul 17, 2016)

With the top piece of the pocket ready to go back on, I ground vee's in both pieces leaving enough of the original broken surface to provide a good registration of the pieces.
I was not overly concerned with getting 100% penetration, because the top of the pocket should not take too much force.




I have no pictures of the rough, raw braze, but here it is after being cleaned-up:







After grinding, I did notice it was not perfect.....I had some small voids near the top of the vee.
However, if I ever get around to re-painting, it should be at least as good as the other end:



All comments are welcome.
Thanks for looking!

-brino


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## brino (Jul 17, 2016)

...ooops almost forgot.

I used a small burr to grind back the bronze in the threaded hole, and then cleaned-up the thread with a tap.

Here it is re-installed and functional.



Those pieces are fresh cut. The shear is back in business!

I would be very interested in copies of any manuals for any Brown Boggs shear......operators manuals or parts diagrams, anything!
Specifically I'd like to know about the blade and return spring adjustment procedures.

Thanks!
-brino


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## jpfabricator (Jul 17, 2016)

Nice score!

Sent from somwhere in east Texas by Jake!


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## woodtickgreg (Jul 17, 2016)

Nice score and great repair! I enjoyed seeing the braze job on the cast.


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## FOMOGO (Jul 17, 2016)

Congrats on the new acquisitions, and nice fix on the casting. Mike


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## Bob Korves (Jul 17, 2016)

Nice work on the brazing job!  That was definitely the best choice from my viewpoint.


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## LucknowKen (Jul 17, 2016)

Nice job! Brake and a shear. That is a choice find.



brino said:


> he is currently over-stocked, has no room for more stuff but has ten more shops worth of equipment to bring in



Sounds like a lot of machines...

lk


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## Billh50 (Jul 18, 2016)

You could try contacting the company for a manual.
Address 151 Belfield Rd.
Toronto, ON
M9W 1G8  
Telephone Toronto 416-241-0320

Toll Free 1-888-977-7726
Fax Toronto 416-736-3622
E-mail


Administration@BrownBoggs.com
Sales@BrownBoggs.com
Parts@BrownBoggs.com
Service@BrownBoggs.com
Engineering@BrownBoggs.com
Mechanical@BrownBoggs.com


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## Firestopper (Jul 18, 2016)

Sweet find and nice job on the cast repair.


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## chips&more (Jul 18, 2016)

Nice save! Repairing a cast iron break is never any fun! You did good!


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## TommyD (Jul 18, 2016)

Nice find and fixx

I don't mind fixing stuff I want, and find, at a good price. I've gotten a lot of good stuff that way.


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## brino (Jul 25, 2016)

Billh50 said:


> You could try contacting the company for a manual.



An email to: Engineering@BrownBoggs.com came back as  "Undeliverable: The recipient's e-mail address was not found in the recipient's e-mail system."
An email to Service@BrownBoggs.com remains unanswered 15 days later.

I have new emails out to the "sales" and "parts" addresses you gave above.

Thanks,
Brian


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## David VanNorman (Jul 25, 2016)

Darn nice find and a good repair.


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## francist (Jul 26, 2016)

Hey Brino.
Was poking around a bit and found a member listing for BrownBoggs on another website. They showed an email address of   info@brownboggs.com

It was for general information. Maybe wanna give it a try if the others don't pan for you. It looked pretty current.

-frank


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## Billh50 (Jul 26, 2016)

Well I tried. got all that info from their website. wonder if they are going out of business.


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## brino (Jul 26, 2016)

Billh50 said:


> wonder if they are going out of business.



yeah I wondered that too. 
I appreciate the help Bill.

Generally I have had good success with vendors when asking for info/manuals on products.
Cincinnati was even able to provide some info on my mill that's now 100 years old! (not manuals, but year, weight, lube type, etc.)
Of course, it was only 87 at the time! 

Thanks,
-brino


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## Billh50 (Jul 26, 2016)

well good luck...if I find anything I will send it to you


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