Shop Tour 16: USS Iowa Machine Shop 

I worked in that shop 89-90 . I was on the last de-com crew. Made a lot of pump shafts on those lathes!! Those machinist mates could do some damage with those adjustable hammers. You’re right with the emblems on the cabinet doors. We were machine repairman. This brings back a lot of good memories. You learn to run the machine underway and learn to lean with the ship as it rocked and rolled. It became second nature after doing it for a while. I was one of the guys that put all of the cosmaline on and in those machines.

Nice tour! Funny that it's a bit cluttered, it''s a real shop! I'd love to see a tour of a repair ship, with a foundry. that's wild.

Mike is a good rep for the USS Iowa. Thank you for the tour.

Thanks for the fun tour, I had never thought about the machine shop on a battleship, but of course, it was a critical component of keeping the ship in service. Many thanks to our veterans who sailed and serviced this great vessel. 🎉😊

I was lucky enough to get a quick walk through of the machine shop and sheet metal shop on USS Iowa back in March of 2017. I took pictures of as much as I could and made them into a short video slideshow, which can be found on my youtube channel. One of my favorite parts of the shop is the table with the names and addresses of the sailors who worked in that division during those special occasions. It's great to see you taking the machine shop tour on Iowa... because when I was walking through there, I thought to myself, "Keith Rucker would love to see all of these great old machines". Nice video, thanks for sharing. 🙂

Yes that is a walk down memory lane for me, and some of it is not a memory, but present day. I was MR2 (Machinery Repairman) 1986-1991 Charleston S.C. SIMA and Bremerton Wa. I have worked on almost everything he show in the video, by that I mean the same vintage equipment, Kerney Trecker mill, Lodge & Shipley lathe, the big drill presses, sheet metal shear and brakes etc.etc. All really first class machines, if taken care of will be around for another 100+ years. Until about a year ago we had one of the Sidney lathes here in my shop at the University of Arkansas, It was built in 1943. We needed the space (for a Haas CNC mill) and transferred the lathe to the Civil Engineer dept shop where it is used currently. I have a 1942 vintage, round column Bridgeport mill in the shop that we converted to CNC use and I use it almost every day. It can still be used as a manual mill as well, but with the ball screws it is not quite as desirable as a manual mill. The Navy machine shops be it land based or tender/battleship are quite a wonder land. In many ways I miss it, though I have been really blessed to be able to continue doing what I truly love, that is (still using some of the same equipment) repairing and making things and teaching young people how to do that as well.

Keith, The shops are long and narrow, so placement of the machines seems dictated by the "shoe horn" effect. Ship's machinery is oriented with their axis fore and aft. By aligning the axis fore and aft it reduces bearing loads from ship movement. One of the best layout people I've known rearranged our machine shop to assure the axis were optimal. I've been on the Iowa, New Jersey, and the Missouri and I never noticed that the shop machinery was welded directly to the deck. The 6" deck makes for a very solid foundation. Shop machinery foundations consist of a frame construction matches the below deck structure, along with pads that match the machine's foundation. There will be structure on the underside of deck to support the machine. Temporary jacking screws are used alignment. Shims will be used for final alignment. Once aligned the machine will be bolted and a taper pin will be fitted. The bolts will have some sort of locking system for security. Bob

A great tour of the machine shop. Thank you for sharing. I was able to take a short upper deck tour soon after she was opened to the public. I would love to be able to return again to do the below deck tour. Have a great day and stay safe.🙂🙂

I've toured the Iowa with some of my shipmates about 7-8 years ago. We were all Boiler Techs. Had a chance to stop into one of the boiler rooms. We also saw the bunks where those accused of the gun mishap signed their names. I have also visited the USS Missouri when it was still active during the gulf war. Our ship (USS Benjamin Stoddert), had the opportunity to witness a full broadside of the USS New Jersey during a RIMPAC exercise. Good times 😊

Machinery Repairmen became a separate rating in 1948. Machinist Mates were working there in WWII.

BB-62, the New Jersey, is moored a little over an hour away from me and I try to tour her at least once a year. Am always amazed at the machine shop on her, can only imagine all of the parts that were made or repaired in the shop during the ships lifetime.

At the time of the ships original commissioning all of the ships boats were made of wood so a wood shop was very useful in maintaining them. Great tour, thanks for inviting us along.

Any horizontal surface is fated to become a bench and covered with stuff.

Hi Keith, Thanks for the tour. I was stationed aboard the USNS Harkness in 1971-72, which in addition to the usual equipment, carried four Hydrographic Survey Launches, made of fiberglass and wood. Our machine shop was about half the size of the Iowa's. Our ship was a lot more 'lively' than a WWII battleship, so work had to be planned taking into account the sea state. We added A/C to one of our boats for the computers so we needed a jack shaft to run the compressor. We took the boat to the Naval Station, Annapolis (across the Severn from the USNA) and they had a machine shop that just about filled an aircraft hanger. I think they had every tool possible in that building! Took them about thirty minutes to fabricate and install our shaft, two pulleys and the pillow block bearings needed to support it. Not only were they good, they were also fast. I think they enjoyed working on something besides sailboats and yard patrol craft for a change. Thanks again for the memories!

Deck above 1.5”, deck they’re standing on 6”. So the Machinists were expendable 😳

Thank you, Keith, I enjoyed this video very much. I live in Los Angeles, and have done several tours on the Iowa. There's so much to see, just one is not nearly enough. Having such a thorough tour of the machine shop with such a knowledgeable guide as Mike was a real treat.

Ran most of those machines in the late 70s and 80s in a small machine shop. Stamped on the side, it said war finish.

Thank you both. It was wonderful to see all of this. God bless all of our military service people.

Imagine trying to work in that shop pitching and rolling in 40 or 50 foot seas

If I ever come to the USA, I definitely have to take the engineering tour. Greetings from Bavaria.

I worked as a Marine Engineer in the UK Merchant Navy for the first 15 years of my working life. I would have given my eye teeth for a workshop like that. We'd have a lathe, pillar drill and pedestal grinder and that would be it. On one ship, everything was driven by a line shaft and flat belts, if the drill was in use and you tried to use the grinder, everything just stopped going roundl For the first 4 years, they wouldn't even supply gas or arc welding equipment.

What a fabulous shop! I can just imagine Keith trying to stuff all those machines in his pockets. It is great that most of the machines are operable and USED. I do have to note the scraping marks still visible on many machines. Keith, you are a bad influence on me. lol

I took an abbreviated tour of the machine shop in, I believe 2019. It was not scheduled, but the group I was with, a number of editors of motorcycle magazines, were especially interested and the tour guide got special permission for adding the machine shop to the tour. Loved this as we didn’t get nearly the in depth explanation that you were able to get.

The camera operator or operators did a fabulous job! I'm an old Vietnam-era Gunner's mate that got my tool & maker's papers in '72. I've been on one real Battleship (North Carolina) tour before and your tour was very good because it was done in the machinist's interest not in a general way. Although the gun turrets were very interesting. I was aboard the New Jersey (no tour) visiting a buddy just before they left for Nam in '68. I was just mustering out, My ship left with her on their way. Very interesting tour very good guide.

Excellent..i had the honor to be friends with WW2 era machinist who made gun barrels for battleships and could make almost anything on mills and lathes…..kinda like Keith and you guys.

Nice tour. Glad most of that stuff has survived.

Great tour, I like you got excited when the tour quide opened the drawer with all them convoluted bits for machining differant gear work

Thank you, good tour. The drawers & cabinets could've used some more camera time. The inoperable India vertical mill was no doubt part of that '600 Ship Navy' BS in the 80's.

Great tour, thanks, Keith.

Thanks for sharing

Yes thanks for the tour. yours and Clarks are very fun to watch. going to watch again

I've been through the machine shop on the USS North Carolina BB-55 very cool shit. Love the DAKE press, I have one in my knife shop. I had no idea the company was that old.

I lost a friend to that ship with the explosion that occurred in the Number Two 16-inch gun turret on 19 April 1989.

Thank you. I enjoyed seeing the shop.

Thanks very much for that! Nicely done; good interplay between you and Mike.

What a great tour Keith! Thanks for the VIP service Mike!

Cool video

What a great vid. I do wonder how many machinists a full complement on such a ship was and if there was something typical they had to make. also, where in the ship typically was the shop located.

Imagine the difficulty of doing a precision machining repair whilst underway in a heavy sea.

Great tour Keith. As a retired Naval Shipyard employee I have been in numerous ships shop spaces over the decades.

Thank You Keith for sharing this fantastic video with us. Awesomeness Extreme! “I can’t believe the ship wasn’t built in Iowa!”

Shapers on repair ships and capital ships were usually referred to by the machinist mates as "jumping jacks."

Another living history tour. Thank you, Keith,.

Very limited experience working in a shop, but always wanted to see the machine shop on a capital ship. It is amazing the things those guys pulled off back in the day. Thank you.

Great tour Keith, thank you🙏

Excellent video. I love the shop tours of unusual shops. Years ago I took the Midway tour...and kept getting left behind. So much to see if you take it slow...and nobody is in your way when your the last one out of the space. Smile. Hopefully I can add the Iowa Engineering Tour to the list.

Everyone says you have to have your machines perfectly level. How do you level something on a boat that's floating?

Surprisingly good condition!

Hi Keith great tour thank you for the information on the Iowa. I remember many years ago that a friend amd I visited the Iowa in approxiamatly early eighties when she visited Portsmouth here in the UK. My friend was a veteran who served in the D Day landings and was fascinated by the ship and for comparison to our battleships of the time. Thanks again.

Did this take place before, during or after Clark was out wandering around the ship "looking for the steering wheel" 😂

I have a DAKE 75 ton press that came off a ship that i still use all the time Its air over hyd on a scale from 1-10. Its a 10 probly the best you can get

Hi Keith, What a great tour of a space that helps giving us the freedom we all enjoy to this very day. AS a retired Marine Enginere visits like this take me back to the days I serviced our ships up here in the land of the Canuck, Sure takes me back to the good old days of my youth.

LOL, SO while Clark Easterling is LOST onboard, you're doing a show.?.?. 2:34 SO COOL YOU GUYS are aboard.

So many skills were onsite of these ships, men had the skills to fix and build. Unlike these adult babies we see today.

Great video. I worked at the Ford Dearborn Engine Plant in the Rouge Complex in Dearborn Michigan for 30 years starting in 1980. The plant was originally built by the US Government in 1942 to produce 18 cylinder radial aircraft engines. Most of the machines in the plant Toolroom dated from the WW2 years, very much like those on the Iowa.

Thanks for the video. I was an MR2 on the USS Spiegel Grove LSD 32. 68-71

Man, what an interesting shop! Seems to me this shop would be great for offering classes to people, to teach how to use these tools to make things. I know the tools are old school, but if you can inspire people to create things it might lead to using newer tools so that maybe more manufacturing can be brought back here to the USA. Or at least pass on the knowledge of how these tools operate to younger people!

I have always wondered how you would set up a lathe on a ship when you cannot use a precision level, or any level for that matter.

It's mind blowing thinking of the expensive to not only build that battleship but equip it with all the equipment and tooling. Could you imagine the cost of all the machine shop equipment and the tooling to support them in 2024 dollars?!

The last machine shop I worked at in SC had an optical comparator made in 1942! Absolutely a joy to operate and know that I truly enjoy machining. Brought up on Bridgeport, Klausing, K&T, South Bend, etc... ( before they started making them overseas). Even did some shaper, planing on a Bridgeport in High school in the late '70's. CNC VMC's now for 36 years! ❤🇺🇲👹! Go FANUC!

they used the human computer the brain ! in making this ship cool !!!!! Mr Rucker who was the camera person in the video? cool video Mr Rucker !

Good stuff! Like their having tours specific to areas of interest. Thanks for sharing.

"Away All Boats" is the only movie I know of that shows a machine shop.

"Some Boring stuff" best double entendre ever.

The machine shop on the New Jersey is almost identical including the Bridgeport mill, which still looks new.

Very interesting bud. Could see you was in your element looking around the shop. Like others i didn’t think off repair shop. Never to old to learn. Thanks for doing this 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼🤜🏻🤜🏻🤜🏻🤜🏻

Years ago I got my degree from the University of Missouri. They had a craft studio for students to use, including a full woodshop. The legend was that their table saw was from the USS Missouri (sister ship to the Iowa), but no one really believed it. However, it was an Oliver 270! Maybe it was true!

I wonder how much the ocean tossing the ship around affects the accuracy of the machines...?

Great tour! 👍

amazing that the tooling and small stuff didn't disappear to other ships or shipyards that needed it.

Lots of pump repair? Yeah, as a millwright I did a lot of pump repair.

hi there very nice walk threw thanks john

oooOO! This is right up my alley!

History and machinery .. What more could you ask!

How would you get these machines out of the boat if they where going to sink it?🤔🤔🤔🤔 Wow, the amount of tools in such a small space and materials❗

I lived in Pedro, and toured the ship with wife, and daughter. We did not get to see the machine shop on our visit at that time. I started out my adult work life as a machinist, studied to become a CNC programmer, and later ran a couple machine shops during my work history. At several points in my career I had the pleasure of working with ex-Navy machinists who were some of the most capable machine tool operators I have ever met.

Thanks for sharing enjoyed Hope you enjoyed the summer bash. Enjoyed Clarks video

I watched Clarke's video last night and now yours. Thank you for sharing this video.

Thanks for video Keith. Nice tour looks like a great trip.

Just imagine the noise, hustle and bustle going on in there during a cruse. Some stories from the rates would be great!

So much history.Good video keith , thank you

I got stuck in Hawaii for two days transiting to a job assignment. I convinced the customer engineer I was traveling with to go visit the USS Missouri. Unfortunately we missed the engineering tour for that day and only got to do the self guided tour. The machine shop there was set up to look at and not go into. Big disappointment. This episode filled in many blanks. Nice job. 😊

Nice visit, Thank You. I am close to the Battleship New Jersey. Which just came back from drydock. Now I need to go visit it.

I've seen Big J and Mighty Mo but don't remember seeing the machine shops...was the machine inventory and the layout of the shops the same on all four Iowas? You can still get reprints of the Service Manual & Parts Catalog today....Amazon actually has them for $55.00

Repaired/ built up a scored pump shaft with our machinery repair while underway off Vietnam in ‘72.

Dake is still in business, as of July 2024. Their web site says they stock parts for ALL of the machines they ever made.

So, if the 16" turret doesn't cut it, the sailors on Battleship Iowa can always use the 36" turret.

Was on the Missouri in Pearl Harbor and couldn’t believe how tight the quarters were for all the officers/sailers. But they found a way to fit in a nice big machine shop. Just goes to show how important they are.

Wonder if they could get the machines out without cutting a hole in the hull.

When I was in grad school at the University of Florida, I helped move in a lathe to our student machine shop that had USS Iowa stenciled on the underside of the chip tray. Since I was also from Iowa, I thought it was so neat to think that I might be using a piece of machinery that would've been surplused from the USS Iowa battleship.

You could look into Bourn & Koch machine shop they have schematics for a lot of old machines like Blanchard grinders, etc.. They do the repair work too. Just FYI they have a lot of old schematics in stock of many major brands. Hope this can help them out or at least get them in the right direction..

Excellent! Thank you. I have had tooll and die shops my entire life and we keep our tool rooms tight due to historical military experience.

Hey Keith 👋 Great video!

47,000 tons of Vintage Machinery.

Happy Monday Georgia! 😊

pretty impressive workshop, and you answered the question almost as i was thinking it, here's the workshop, but what is kept in stock, i can well imagine with the amount of machines and engineering staff there had to be some material to use, but i wonder if every ship was stocked out with similar materials, that bronze rod at $50 pretty cool, odd to think that might buy you a pretty reasonable car these days

My son lives in San Pedro and when we last visited from Australia we went down and went aboard the Iowa but we did not see the machine shop which is a pity. Ships of that size are amazing as they are virtually floating towns and as you mentioned designing and building something like that is staggering to think about. I will have to tr and find the machine shop on my next visit and I intend to go down to San Diego to look at the ships there.

Kind of sad to see all the machines used as work benches , I was a MR on a carrier we had a working machine shop. And it was always organized and clean , I know all the work is volunteer on Iowa I get it

Excellent video, really informative for a non navy guy

Hi sir if ther any vacancies please let me know lam turner