850 Nourish billet crankshaft

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NKN said:
Thank you for helping me to improve my English :wink: I taught a "billet something" was something done in one piece of metal. And not an assembly of parts.
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Easy to be confused. The term "billet" is much misused by the performance industry. A century or two ago it was used to describe a lump of cast metal, usually circular or rectangular in cross section, that could be further worked into some sort of product. In today's metalworking culture it is used to describe a similar shaped lump of metal at the end of the wrought metal production cycle. For example, steel is first cast into ingots, which are then rolled into bloom, which is then further rolled and/or extruded into billet. That's a little simplified, but gives the picture. In high performance parlance, anything that was machined from a billet, as opposed to being cast, forged, welded,or otherwise fabricated, came to be referred to as a billet part, i.e. billet crank, billet rods, etc. I think it started out by describing parts as "machined from billet", and was later shortened to just billet. Then it got extended to the cosmetic bling market, mostly to distinguish "billet" parts from castings. Now it almost seems like the marketing people have decided to label anything made from metal as "billet".

More than you wanted to know, right? :lol:

Ken
 
You can find a variety of definitions for billet on the net. This one seemed pretty good to me, but there are lots of others.

Billet : a semi finished product obtained by forging , rolling or continuous casting; usually square (not exceeding 125mmx125mm in cross section) with rounded corner or round (not exceeding 125mm in diameter) and intended to further proccessing into suitable finished product by forging or re rolling

Ken
 
lcrken said:
Easy to be confused. The term "billet" is much misused by the performance industry. A century or two ago it was used to describe a lump of cast metal, usually circular or rectangular in cross section, that could be further worked into some sort of product. In today's metalworking culture it is used to describe a similar shaped lump of metal at the end of the wrought metal production cycle. For example, steel is first cast into ingots, which are then rolled into bloom, which is then further rolled and/or extruded into billet. That's a little simplified, but gives the picture. In high performance parlance, anything that was machined from a billet, as opposed to being cast, forged, welded,or otherwise fabricated, came to be referred to as a billet part, i.e. billet crank, billet rods, etc. I think it started out by describing parts as "machined from billet", and was later shortened to just billet. Then it got extended to the cosmetic bling market, mostly to distinguish "billet" parts from castings. Now it almost seems like the marketing people have decided to label anything made from metal as "billet".

More than you wanted to know, right? :lol:

Ken
Click to expand...

This is an interesting approach, could you please expand a little more. 8)
 
oulala, pas trop le sens de l'humour par ici ou bien ? Ou un truc à sens unique peut-être ? BTW not always easy to make a joke in virtual world.
 
NKN
don't let yourself be confused by Ken's posted explanation of 'billet'.
In Dave Nourish's shop a billet crankshaft was always a single item, not a collection of pieces bolted together.
See the attached photo of blanks awaiting roughing out on a Drummond Maximatic.
Ends are turned down to 2" diameter for clamping via offset centre clamps, the clamps being selected to suit the required crank throw.
The Maximatic roughed out the throws, then the blank was processed through other machining operations and heat treatment, to final grinding of journals to finished size.
Material was EN40B - Dave had no use for SAE numbers!

850 Nourish billet crankshaft


All manual machines in Dave's shop, no CNC machines anywhere.

Here the Maximatic with a roughing job in process. The right head was movable by sliding along the bed to suit cranks of different lengths.
Dave bought the machine as part of his arrangement with Weslake when he took over the engine business.

Some parting off tool!

850 Nourish billet crankshaft
 
Snotzo said:
NKN
don't let yourself be confused by Ken's posted explanation of 'billet'.
In Dave Nourish's shop a billet crankshaft was always a single item, not a collection of pieces bolted together.
See the attached photo of blanks awaiting roughing out on a Drummond Maximatic.
Ends are turned down to 2" diameter for clamping via offset centre clamps, the clamps being selected to suit the required crank throw.
The Maximatic roughed out the throws, then the blank was processed through other machining operations and heat treatment, to final grinding of journals to finished size.
Material was EN40B - Dave had no use for SAE numbers!

850 Nourish billet crankshaft


All manual machines in Dave's shop, no CNC machines anywhere.

Here the Maximatic with a roughing job in process. The right head was movable by sliding along the bed to suit cranks of different lengths.
Dave bought the machine as part of his arrangement with Weslake when he took over the engine business.

Some parting off tool!

850 Nourish billet crankshaft
Click to expand...


Thanks, I like those pictures, they smell good...


Without answers from another thread, I'm trying here, we never know don't we?

Does anyone know this company's reputation?

http://farndon.com/index.html

Oddly stroke and bore are in metric size (why that?) Are crank journals also in mm? How much should they be? With which tolerance?

Nitrited yes, but at which depth for a 850?
 
Oddly stroke and bore are in metric size (why that?)
Click to expand...

In Europe including the UK that has always been the case, despite the UK using imperial measurements the first internal combustion engines came from Europe who were metric at the time and it carried over when engines started to be made in the UK. The First TT winning Norton was Peugeot powered.
 
kommando said:
Oddly stroke and bore are in metric size (why that?)
Click to expand...

In Europe including the UK that has always been the case, despite the UK using imperial measurements the first internal combustion engines came from Europe who were metric at the time and it carried over when engines started to be made in the UK. The First TT winning Norton was Peugeot powered.
Click to expand...

Sacre bleu !!
 
Snotzo said:
NKN
don't let yourself be confused by Ken's posted explanation of 'billet'.
In Dave Nourish's shop a billet crankshaft was always a single item, not a collection of pieces bolted together.
Click to expand...

Never said otherwise. I have several of Dave's cranks and think well of them. But that does not mean Steve's cranks are not also machined from billets. Just trying to encourage accurate use of words.

Beaucoup d'humour ici, but as you say, it sometimes loses its nuance when posted. Or maybe I'm just not perceptive enough to catch the subtle ones. :lol:

Ken
 
Would you buy a used car from this man?

850 Nourish billet crankshaft


Chris Bushell, the new owner and man behind all the problems currently affecting Nourish Engines
 
They are always out there just waiting. I'll bet he is a good talker. They come in all shapes, sizes and ages.
 
Legally this is hearsay, but draw your own conclusions....it is from another forum I frequent....I have no personal experience of NRE old or new.

I would like to think the poster might get his money back, but sadly I am not optimistic.

'I sent 3000 Sterling to Nourish Engineering about 12 months ago, ordering a 750 NRE engine. I paid a visit to his "premises" in November last year and thought to myself: " If this guy, in these premises, will ever be able to produce an engine". A crammed chaotic place that for sure was never meant to produce anything. I have received 3 or 4 emails from Chris since then, the last in May this year. He then told me he had difficulties with crankcases but would be up and running in 3-4 weeks. Since then he has been silent. I have called his numbers a million times and sent many emails. No pick up of
phone nor replies to emails.'
 
Bernard is correct - I approached them once about a long stroke crank for the guzzi. The guy who I spoke to said I would have to provide a full set of working drawings, and no guarantee as to fit for purpose would be given, it was down to me to spec it all correctly.
Nice people, willing and cooperative enough, but too much work and cost for me at the time. I think it was about £4000 then, in the early 90's.
 
I wouldn't waste anymore time on ringing NRE Hopefully the rich NOC members or the club itself have not given NRE any money either - it was on the cards!
 
nickguzzi said:
Bernard is correct - I approached them once about a long stroke crank for the guzzi. The guy who I spoke to said I would have to provide a full set of working drawings, and no guarantee as to fit for purpose would be given, it was down to me to spec it all correctly.
Nice people, willing and cooperative enough, but too much work and cost for me at the time. I think it was about £4000 then, in the early 90's.
Click to expand...

The quote I received for manufacture of a Norton Commando crankshaft was £ 1'440 VAT included.
 
NKN said:
nickguzzi said:
Bernard is correct - I approached them once about a long stroke crank for the guzzi. The guy who I spoke to said I would have to provide a full set of working drawings, and no guarantee as to fit for purpose would be given, it was down to me to spec it all correctly.
Nice people, willing and cooperative enough, but too much work and cost for me at the time. I think it was about £4000 then, in the early 90's.
Click to expand...

The quote I received for manufacture of a Norton Commando crankshaft was £ 1'440 VAT included.
Click to expand...

Really? Wow! Can't imagine you'd get a cheaper billet crank than that. Did you order one?
 
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