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Restored Shear

DanH

Legacy Member
Mentor
Been knocking out long-delayed projects. Just wrapped up the restoration of a 52" Wysong & Miles metal shear, Model 452. It's been living in the back of my hangar more than 20 years. So, dismantle, sandblast, repaint, and re-assemble with all new hardware.

Know anything about Wysong & Miles shears? Casting numbers on some parts include "5Y", which I have assumed to mean 1945 or 1955, but it's strictly a guess. I'd like to learn more.

Next up, a 10 ft Tumpco sheet metal brake...

UPDATE:Got a note back from a rep at Wysong, who says it was built in the 1940's. They don't have parts anymore, which does not bother me at all. It's a rather analog machine.

I guess "Built in the 1940's" more or less confirms the build date as 1945. For sure, I found a 1955 Wysong price list on line, and they had already moved on to a new model.
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should have started with retirement, work later. No oxymoron for me, thanks. And remember, it’s the last chapter folks :D
 
Wysong & Miles is still making shears in Greensboro. They might be able to provide some information. Phone (336) 621-3960.
 
Retirement plans

Being retired, Parkinson's law applies and the work expands to fill the available time, or maybe it just takes longer because of age...:D
 
One thing worse than getting old!............
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NOT getting old!
 
Used to say to guys at work who were about to retire..

What are you going to do then ?

If they came back with golf and gardening, I gave them a stern talking to and told them to think again.

I retired with the demise of our airline in 2019 at 61. I am busier now than when working. Now flying a PC-12, building my 5th RV - a 10, still coordinating containers - when we can find them :mad: and a myriad of other things.

And I have just done business with Dan to get firewall insulation for our 10....

Way to go all us gray guys !
 
Ooh! a 10-ft brake? Can I send you some jobs?

I'll do anything I can for you, but here I was wrong. Owned it 20 years and never measured it, until I began dismantling it today. It's a 8 foot. Looked bigger against the back wall of the hangar.
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Sharping the shear blade

I have a four foot shear that needs to have the blade sharpened. Any ideas on how or who does this sort of thing?
 
I'm in this boat too!

Not retired yet, but I have an old Pexto 3' roller, a WW2 era pneumatic planishing hammer that still works great for making curved parts for cowlings, ect., and a 1935 South bend lathe my grandfather bought new. All my stuff works, but like me, its shows it's age a bit. I want to make them all look like Dan's stuff! I've used the Wysong brakes like Dan's for years...didn't know they are made in GSO, which happens to be where I work. We have a 16 foot Farnham power roller (WW2 vintage) at my day job we use to roll airliner belly skins. I love old stuff!
 
I have an old Pexto 3' roller,

Project #3 here, after the brake.

a WW2 era pneumatic planishing hammer that still works great for making curved parts for cowlings

A CP? There was a big one in the fly market at S&F some years back. I should have bought it. By the time I made up my mind it was gone.

John Neal (RIP) had two body shop planishers mounted on stands at Georgia Metal Crafters. They were handheld to work dents out of fenders back when cars were made with thick steel. Build a stand, add a foot pedal. John said they could be found lost under a bench at old family-run body shops, but I've never spotted one. This is a modern copy:

https://www.trick-tools.com/ProLine-Portable-Planishing-Hammer-11537

For those who never met John, he and his crew built the tail booms and tail for Glacier Girl.

Folks collect stamps and baseball cards. We like tools.
 
Before and after. Whole lot of heavy lifting between those photos...
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Very cool.

I would be interested in some of the how you did it details…

Start by separating every part from every part. The big chunks went back on the trailer and were hauled to a sandblasting shop. Smaller stuff got a pass through my bead blast cabinet after protecting all sensitive surfaces, like bushings and shafts.

Next is repairing or replacing all broken or worn out parts. After ~80 years of airport apes, there will be some. Can't buy most of it, so it's all fabricated. The adjustment end plate in the brake photos is a good example. The pivot point had a large, badly worn slot. So, cut out that portion, weld in a new section, bore the correct hole.

Primer and paint is Richards single part industrial polyurethane. Brush on all the primer to really saturate the sandblasted surface. Sprayed most of the color.

If there's a catch, it's the weight of the parts. I used a Kubota with a front end loader to lift and position as needed.
 
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shear blade

I have a four foot shear that needs to have the blade sharpened. Any ideas on how or who does this sort of thing?

Shear blades usually have 4 sharp edges. Flip the blade to expose an unused edge, if not already used. Need to re-set the blade to blade clearance by shimming. Too little clearance will wear the blade edge quickly and increase the force required. 10% of the thickness of material to be sheared is about right.
 
Before and after. Whole lot of heavy lifting between those photos...
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Beautiful work Dan. We took delivery of a very similar brake - brand new - in I believe '75 or '76 and it didn't look as nice as this. My brother and I spent many hours using that thing, "racing" another team on a similar one. We were paid the princely sum of $2/hour each. It was heaven!
 
Third and final of the trio, a 42" Pexto slip roll.

Love that ancient extra chunky grease ;)
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