I've just finished the ring test and it rings nice and true so I can be assured that there is a good bond of white metal to bearing shell.
I peened the babbitt with a small ball pein hammer to open the shell out so is good fit in con-rod.
Checking that there is no gap at the sides of the shell after pushing the shell all the way into the connecting rod. I also made sure that the shells have a bit of nip in the housing, ie the shells are actually a tiny bit proud of the housing faces, this ensures that they are pushed firmly against their backs in the housing when assembled..
I have the gudgeon pin bolted to the jig here and am adjusting the jig so the pin is in alignment with the lathe in both the vertical and horizontal planes. In one of the pics below you can see paper shims under the front edge of the base plate, these were required to get the alignment right.
Setting up the con rod using a wire pointer.
Getting an even gap in the horizontal plane.
Continuing on with the setting up. Paper shims visible under the front of the base plate to get the horizontal alignment of the gudgeon pin right.
Getting an even gap in the vertical plane. With good light, reasonable eyesight and a light coloured background it's not hard to get pretty damn close to one or two thou of an inch. I could have used a finger type dial indicator but it's not really necessary.
Getting into the boring at last. Won't be long now and she'll be as good as new.
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