Merkel Pump

[exeric]

After some friendly ribbing from a machinist friend, I undertook making a Lunkenheimer hand pump for my 1911 Merkel. He ridiculed my cheap Tiawanese benchtop mill saying it wasn't even a good drill press, and that my South Bend lathe should be in a museum. I worked as a machinist years ago after getting out of college and learned many things from a tool and die maker I worked with. He heard me cursing the worn out mill I was using and informed me that the problem wasn't with the machine. He showed me how to get the most out of any machine tool and that precision work can be done on most any machine. The following pictures are for Walt.



The first picture is of a genuine Lunkenheimer

[rwm]

nice looking pump!

[Robert Luland]

Eric, You did good boy! Real good!

[gary.h]

awsome stuff! eric those pics are very inspiring.

[c.o.]

That's some beautiful work Eric! A tool and die maker for a mentor... man you can't put a value on that kind of education. Your bikes speak for his teaching abilities.

[sveger]

Great work Eric,
There is many parts as yours still better made by a skilled machinist in manual lathes and mills than if made by 3D cad design and CNC machinery.

Sverre
AMCA 3489
http://AmericanMotorcyclesNorway.blogspot.com

[exeric]

I agree with you Sverre, unless you want to make 100 of them. When you look at parts from early motorcycles, especially from the small companies like Pierce, Cyclone, Merkel, or Thiem and know that many of the brand specific parts were made in-house on manual machines, it has to impress you. Even Harley Davidson, and Indian had an army of machinists that often worked 3 shifts to keep up with the demand and they were personally handling every part. That's one of the things I love the most about antique motorcycles; seeing the human element that went into their creation. It's ironic that I spent my career in automation, and product handling. Oh well, that's all in China now.

[Rubone]

Fine looking parts Eric. When I was a young man I worked with an old time machinist who taught the same philosophy. He always said,"It takes skill to make good parts with old machinery, anyone can learn to make production parts with new stuff". Of course this was before the days of CAD/CAM and the early years of NC. Been a while!
Robbie

[exeric]

Thanks Robbie, I miss some of those old guys, but I don't miss some of their ego crushing lessons. I used to think that some day I'll be the old guy and I won't be as nasty as they were. I guess we'll never get the chance to see if that's how we would treat young neophytes.

[Tom Lovejoy]

Very cool Eric, well done. Is your Merkel a belt drive? just curious, think their quite cool. I don't think a belt drive made the whole Cannonbal, but I wish one would have :-)

[exeric]

Thanks Tom. The Merkel is my only belt drive motorcycle so I have no experience with them. Also, it has a V-belt motor clutch unlike the flat belt Harleys but I don't know if that is better or worse. There is going to be a big learning curve for me so when I get to the point of trying to make this thing move, I'll be comming here for lots of advice.

[BigLakeBob]

I make tools,gages and small quantity parts daily on my manual machines as I have for the past 28 years and I think you made a very fine looking part. Nice little fixture for holding the punch straight and rotating the part in a captured diameter to keep things in line. Great job! Speaking as a small shop owner, I can testify there still is a need for manually made items, just not enough for a larger employee shop. I get most of my work because alot of guys in the trade don't have the 'feel', they just watch the load meter and input speeds and feeds per computer. Very nice Eric. BobAMCA6738

[sirhrmechanic]

Spectacular work. BTW, my Atlas 6" dates from the 1940's (Ex Navy machine). And my South Bend dates from the late 1930's. They are as accurate as anything out there. Now repeatable is a different story... but accurate and repeatable are two different things.

Soon, I'll replace the 6" with a Monarch. But it's a poor machinist that blames his machines. A good machinist can make a worn/cheap machine work like an Okuma Multus.

Cheers,

Sirhr

PS... the difference between a machinist and a toolmaker... two fingers. Just 'sayin.