Beryllium gears??

[Swami805]

Whilst pursuing Newell parts on eBay I ran across a seller listing a set of Newell beryllium gears. Never heard of that before. What would be the benefit of beryllium gears?  He had another listing for a bridge with beryllium springs.

[jlezama]

I am assuming it is alloyed as berylium is used in pure form in nuclear weapons and X-ray applications. They add extreme hardness to the gears if alloyed, I wonder if Mr. Carl Newell got his hands on some as he was an expert machinist

[Maxed Out]

 I looked it up on the net, and it says beryllium is 6 times stronger than steel !!

[jlezama]

it is a brittle very toxic material when its in elemental form, that is why machining is dangerous. When I worked in the lab up the hill in NM they had a whole Technical area dedicated to Beryllium casting. Again, just a guess, I think Mr. Newell might have been able to get his hands on some and alloy them. He was a master of experimentation and that is why you see Newell reels even now

[MarkT]

I wouldn't assume that ad on eBay is accurate or truthful!

[Keta]

Beryllium bronze has a hardness similar to high carbon steel. I have a beryllium bronze punch made out of a veneer lathe roller bar that I have used for decades.  It will dent mild steel.

[jgp12000]

We used to replace TWTs in an amp I
Repaired.They had a beryllium rod
In the center
The old timers made knife sharpeners out of them epoxied into reamer handles,before they knew better...the dust is bad.

[jurelometer]

We used to replace TWTs in an amp I
Repaired.They had a beryllium rod
In the center
The old timers made knife sharpeners out of them epoxied into reamer handles,before they knew better...the dust is bad.

Yow.

We were not allowed to bring in any salvaged copper/brass/bronze looking material at the local machine shop because of the potential of it being a beryllium alloy.  Fumes from torches/welding, or any kind of dust from grinding, sanding, etc., is how it gets into you lungs.

You couldn't pay me enough to work on the stuff.  They still sell hand tools made from beryllium copper (AKA beryllium bronze), although I think the modern alloy has less beryllium in it.

Something to think about if you see a part that looks kind of copper-ish in a 1940s or later vintage reel.

-J

[jgp12000]

I never tore into a TWT,they were exchange items "big money".I did have a halogen filament knife sharpener that worked great,not sure the health concerns with that guy either?

[Cuttyhunker]

I have a beryllium wedge in my golf bag, to some players the magic material for clubs.  To me, like most things in life, it's not the bullet it's the marksman.