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| Besides the reflection, this is a good view of the liberator crankshaft. On the wall in the rear is a Liberty crankshaft from World War I which Buick also made. |
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| Here we see a fully assembled crankshaft undergoing the fine balance that was required, so as not to have the engine tear itself apart from torsional vibration. |
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| A lot of inspection took place on every part of the Liberator engine. In this photo we see (at left) the crankshaft and (at right) the prop-shaft. |
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| This worker is loading a crankshaft with a powered lift because they are very heavy. This crank does not have the splines cut in yet. |
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| This worker is cleaning out an oil gallery on a journal. I read somewhere that they did this with vinegar. |
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| Notice all the micrometers and dial gauges, this is another inspection area. |
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| I see a lot of different size plug gauges in use here. Some appear to be thread gauges. So I think this procedure is being done for the dampers and counter weights that will take care of any vibration in the finished engine. Are these workers inspectors, or a combination of both assembler and inspector? |
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| Here were seeing many parts being either chromium or nickel plated. At the left we see the articulating rods then beyond that we see the prop- shaft and next to that I see a crankshaft that is showing plugs in place on the throws, so no plating can get in those locations where the dampers will be installed.. |
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| Here is another worker performing the (by hand) balancing of the crankshaft throws. |
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| Here we can see on the crankshaft throw (at the left) that the dynamic damper and (damping) counterweights are now installed. |
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| I think we are seeing the first step in determining the counterweights that will be installed. |
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| This is another tough one, but I think these men are doing the final sizing for the dynamic pendulum damper. I see one workman with a dust mask and the many cone shaped collectors coming from the work bench, could be used for collecting any fine residue. I can see what looks to be some master patterns on the work bench. |
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| I think this is just another (of many) inspection stations. The counterweights or dynamic damper has not been installed yet. |
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| This actually looks like lathe work being performed on the vertical side of the crankshaft throw. |
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| I'm thinking that this machine was used for straightening the crankshaft after all the various machining operations. |
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| This may show the final grinding or polishing on the crankshaft throws. |
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| Rough grinding on the vertical surface of the crankshaft throws. |
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| This and the photo above I believe shows the final milling on the horizontal surface of the crankshaft throws. |
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| This looks like the first rough grinding on the journals. |
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| First milling being done on the crankshaft. |
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| Here is a fully machined crankshaft before final assembly |
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| This photo I took at the Sloan museum in Flint, Michigan shows the location that the crankshaft will assume in the "POWER SECTION" of a Liberator engine. |
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| Heat treat furnaces. |
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| First the heat treating in these large furnaces and then the raw forgings head for plant #31 |
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| Here is the raw forging after the hammer has done it's work. |
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| Checking the billets. |
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| Here you can see the first roughed in billet made of chromium-nickel-molybdenum steel that will become the heart of a Liberator engine. These will be forged into shape on the giant hammers in plant #03. |
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| This aerial view of Buick shows the two plants that did most of the work for the Liberator crankshaft during WW II. Plant #03 was where the original forging took place and plant #31 was where most all machining and assembly took place. The following links show the Weston -Mott factories 1, 2 & 3 where all this work took place during World War II : |
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