That darn gear key
So after searching my hardest, I was able to find a C&P 8x12 within a few hours drive and it is in excellent condition. We have gotten it back to my house, in my carport, and on a nice new pallet, ready to go into my shed/shop in my backyard. The only problem is the door is not wide enough for the press to fit in one piece. We have found some basic instructions on how to tear the press down, but we don’t need to take the whole thing apart, we just need to get the flywheel off so we can get it through the door. We have tried everything we can think of and the gear key which holds the gear on (and therefore the flywheel, shaft, etc) will not move even a mm. We have pushed the gear itself farther onto the shaft about 1/4 of an inch as instructed and the key moved with it. We have tried everything we can think of, so hopefully there is something else we havent thought of that will work without destroying the key by drilling it out. Is there any way to get a replacement key maybe?
Glad to hear that you found a press. Before you take the press apart, try this. Take the press off that nice new pallet, remove the feed and delivery boards, close the press (platen as close to the bed as possible) then see if the press will go through the door sideways!
Agreed. ‘Walk’ the press through the door as you would when moving a sofa. An 8x12 will easily slip through a 28in. door opening when stripped as recommended.
well good thing the feed and delivery boards are already off, we are going to try it tonight probably and HOPEFULLY it works. the doorway is a standard house door, so it is larger than 30 inches I believe… and we can even take the door off the hinge to free up a little more space. The pallet is like 23x34 or something like that.. we only made it a few inches wider than the width of the feet on the press, and a few inches longer than the length of the feet… just enough to bolt it down and give something for a pallet jack/dolly to hold onto.
Thanks for all the suggestions! Now I just need to find some burly men to help me move it.
Forget the pallet, just put it on 2x4 runners some 3 or 4 feet long, running from front to back. As John and Forme have said, you should be able to squeeze it through, and don’t forget you can take the door trim off in addition to the door itself. Removing and replacing trim, even if it means puttying a few nail holes and repainting the trim, is still a whole lot easier that removing a stuck flywheel!
Dave
the good thing is that it is going in my shed in my backyard. granted, the shed is more like a mini house because it sits on a concrete slab, completely framed, 2 windows, and a full size door… but the trim can easily be removed (last night i noticed it has become loose, therefore making the door not want to shut properly).
again, thank you so much for the pointers