Is "sagging" real? I guess ideally they should be in a block or a little wooden cradle as suggesteed in the white book. But I've got a couple setting on end and was curious if that would cause sagging as has been mentioned in a few books.
The old auto parts/machine shop I used to work at - a couple of them in fact - stored their cranks by sliding them into a welded angle iron rack. They hung by their flanges vertically. That was the recommended way from what they told me. For home storage I've set late Buick cranks vertically on the floor, flange end down. To get away from the getting knocked over bit I parked em behind a workbench and covered them with a black trash bag left open at the bottom and not sealed. They looked pretty good when taken out, but it's probably a good idea to get some kind of preservative on the journals. Central California where I used to live was pretty dry, same here in Sunny Arizona, but if I was on the coast I'd get something on the journals for sure. The machine shop I mentioned painted some kind of white stuff on the journals. It was like a paint and may have been white lead.
I keep my extra crank stored in a sealed black lawn bag, sitting on the flange up on a shelf. I covered the journals in white lube before I did this though to prevent corrosion. I took it out a few months ago to give her a look over, and it's held up just fine for a few years.
Stand them on end, and spray them until it's running off. WD-40 evaporates in short order; use one of the lubes that gets sticky and stays, like "Endura".
I think warping in flat storage is a myth, but no proof of anything...anyone up for a 30-year test cycle?? I've always suspected worst bending influence on a crank, especially flexy flyer ones like Model A, is simply being parked in the car with that boat anchor flywheel hanging off their, bending crank up at the middle main... So I always take the flywheel out whenever I park the B
I've got a flathead one standing on end that has been there for years, but my extra Model A one is laying on the floor until I can get a Model T block machined for it... In Vo-Tech they always told us to put them on end.
All my cranks are stored on end in my garage, out of the way from being tipped over. But I've also ***embled a few engines (BB MoPars, Pontiacs) with cranks that have been thrown in pu beds, tipped over, dropped, you name it and all they needed was a quick turn at the machine shop.
Kevin, I gotta believe the "sagging" is a myth as well. My old man would put some standard engine oil on them and lude the journals, then cover them with a black or clear plastic trash bag. He would stand them on end vertically, like everyone else has suggested. Some he had in storage for 10-15 years before he got to em when I was finally old enough to help rebuild a motor with him. They were never a problem. The bigger problem was putting them in an area where you wouldn't tip them over or scawl a journal. Trust me I was famous for finding any way possible to scawl a journal. And when I did my dad would let me know about it. That stinkin Paul Tuttle has nothing on my dad.
I don't know about any other motors, but I do know that the best way to store 4" stroke flathead cranks is in my cellar. So please everyone for the sake of your spare crankshafts ship them to me and I will take very good care of them
If you have any engineering background at all, you will know that there's a thing called "yield stress", and it's a big number, and you'll also know that the forces involved in a crank laying on a shelf are pretty much zero compared to when that crank is in an engine spinning 6000 rpm. cranks warping from storage seems to me to be pure bs....although it is a fact that rust is more likely to form on the journals if the crank is laid flat, compared to being on end (at least here in dry AZ where we get some dew, but not much humidity in general).
kevin Ideally a box or a block is the best. I've never stoored a flatty crank for any length of time but I've stored lots of other cranks stood on end and never had a problem. The steel crank in the SDBC in the pusher was stoored since the 70s stood on end most of the time but I'll just about bet it was even layed down more than once in that time period, it checked out straight as a string when I used it in the 90s to build the mill.
When Mike Bishop was re-working (polishing) my flathead crank at Vern Tardel's shop; I asked the question; "does it matter - standing on end, or laying flat??" Vern's opinion was; "If it is stored on end, it could fall over; (and bang a shin) laid flat - won't hurt a thing!" If the crank is going to be stored for a long time, cover it with lots of grease (wheel bearing grease is good) and wrap with tough plastic, (better than garbage bags) seal the plastic up, roll the whole thing in heavy cardboard, tape it up, and put it on a shelf. (or under it) And make LOTS of notations on the outside what it is! e.g. - Mains =, rod journals = and what it's FOR!! (if your like me; I can't remember what day of the week it is!)
I set em on the rear flange and spray the journals with heavy coat of LPS 3 to keep the corrosion off. As far as knocking one over my garage is so full of **** that is impossible. Dawg
Seems like the little wooden cradle might be more prone to trapping moisture and causing rust/pitting, whereas laying on the counterweights keeps those open to the air (and inspection). -Dave
I'd vote for myth. I think it's more about protecting it from rusting, dropping, tipping over, or having something dropped on it. There are guys who do straighten cranks by pinging them with a hammer. But my guess is that the long term effects of gravity are gentle and pretty minimal. Let's say someone has cranks hanging in a nicely protected rack and some leaned up against a wall. He notices that the ones in the rack are never bent, while part of the time the ones not in the rack are bent. Natural conclusion -- rack is better. But the real reason may be that the ones not in the rack were more likely bumped into or knocked over. Or had things dropped on them. The guy who saw it happen (or did it) looked at it and thought "Hey, it looks ok to me. No harm done. I won't get in trouble for it." It's not until months or years later that the motor machinist makes his measurements and sees a problem.
Yeah...that little pocket in the front is perfect for that...... I mean....Um...... What are you talking about?????
Pretty much we seem to be talking about ready to go cranks, already turned & polished, all the ideas are pretty effective. I have been around & worked in engine machine shops off & on for many years & have seen "crank cores" stored standing, laying down, stacked in a pile & often outside unprotected getting rained on . It never seemed to hurt them, when one was needed they brought it in , tanked , shot peened it & ground it without hesitation. Seldom was one bent, but when one was a bit skewed it was a simple matter to straighten it it. One shop used a press affair that was jury rigged right over the crank grinder, used a dial indicator & gave it a little nudge in the right direction with the hydraulic jack while it was in the grinding lathe till it was ok. I only remember one that ever broke doing that , think it was a flathead crank, sounded like a cannon when it popped.
Now that I think about it, the crank I have for the 354 I am working on now had been turned about 10 years ago & was stored where it go wet from a leaky roof & had rusted on the journals. I took it in about 3 months ago thinking it would have to go another size down. After checking it all that it needed was polished to clean things up & it ended up with 1/2 thousandth more clearence-- not a problem at all.
The only problem with the crank rack, is that it fills up, then you end up setting all the cranks that won't fit on the rack in front of the rack, and then you knock them over when you go to get a crank off the rack. btdt
I've had good success storing mine flywheel end down bolted to 10" squares of 4X10 "C" channel. I drill 2 holes, a 1/4" larger than the bolt size, 180 deg. apart, clearance holes for dowel pins if needed and bolt them down with channel legs on the floor.
At work, all of our crankshafts get hung on a steel rack. I was always told that is the only way to store them. We built it to hold 40 cranks, but you can fit 50 in a pinch. After they're turned, they get a liberal coating of JB-80 (PB Blaster, WD-40, take your pick), then a bag, then shrink wrap. They'll last for years as long as you don't tear a hole in the plastic. At home, I either stand them up on the flange, or bolt a flywheel to them, and stand them upright. Never lean them against anything.
So if theyre stored sitting on the flywheel flange they will get shorter? If theyre hanging on the flywheel flange they will get longer? If theyre laying down on the ground or under a bench they will bend? These things aint silly putty. I took such good care of one crank I had.All machined,cleaned,measured,ready to put in the block.I knocked it over on the driveway. I was pissed,but it didnt hurt it(didnt do it any good either),but I layed it in. It was about .0015 bent when checked with a dial at the mains.I never looked back & it's still running. Ive got an old Hemi crank that I sprayed down with Gibbs & put it in 2 old pillowcases,,laying down under the bench.It'll probably look like a pretzel when I get ready to use it Wheres the Mythbusters?
This is where two drivers arrive at an uncontrolled intersection, and both of them just sit there waving at the other to go first. It rarely happens here in the States, but in Canada, where people are patient and polite, it's common, annoying, and causes a lot of stress. Dave Mann (602) 233-8400 weekdays http://www.roadsters.com/
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