V36 Feed Table Too Fast!

Hello Gentlemen! My name is Matt, and this is my first post at Briar Press. (By the way, what an absolutely wonderful and informative community!)

Down to business: I just installed a V36 in my warehouse. After a bit of elbow-grease and adjusting, I am able to feed 80# Cover through the press. No suction issues.

If I disengage the feeder ratchet (Part 22897) thus disabling the automatic rising of the table, I am able to run perhaps 20 sheets through the press. However, with the ratchet engaged, the table rises so quickly it will jam up the stack of paper so fast the press won’t feed correctly.

According to the manual, as well as the gentleman from whom I purchased the machine, this mechanism is supposed to be self-regulating. That is, the press automatically adjusts the speed of the rise in relation to the stock you are running. If this is the case, can someone tell me if they have had a similar problem? Perhaps a component is worn out? I spent a good four hours trying to pin down the source of this problem last night, no luck!

Also, I just noticed in the Catalogue of Parts that the ratchet illustrated differs slightly from the ratchet installed on my press. Specifically, the illustrated ratchet has much smaller teeth, presumably leading to a much smaller rise of the table during each cycle. Am I supposed to swap out this ratchet to get the table to rise correctly, based on the stock I am running? That would actually make more sense to me than a completely self-regulating rising action. Thanks!

By the way, I notice here and there that some folks have trouble tracking down the manual and catalogue for the V36. The gentleman that sold me the machine was kind enough to allow me to copy his originals. I can convert these to electronic format and email them to interested parties, at your request.

Thanks for your input! Thanks for having me in the Briar Press community, and I look forward to sharing experiences back and forth with you folks!

-Matt

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Matt

On my V-36, under the feed table where the ratchet is, is a bolt with a lock nut that is the pile height adjustment. Turn the bolt in to raise the pile, out to lower it. The sucker bar senses the pile height and the bolt activates the ratchet when needed.
I don’t have a manual or parts book for my machine so I can’t reference an illustration. Hope this helps.

Sumner

Sumner,

Thanks for your input!

I noticed a few components I had missed first time around when oiling the machine. A little lubrication seems to have loosened whatever component controls the rising of the table, so that’s half the problem solved.

However, please advise as to whether your solution means I can adjust the height at which the stack of paper will disengage the rising of the table. This could be useful, as it still seems the stack is resting a little too high on the table. Please clarify if the bolt/lock nut assembly is located directly under the table, or whether it is part of the ratcheting system closer to where the big swing-arms pivot. Thanks!

-Matt

This would be much easier if I had a camera available right now.
The bolt I am referring to is located on a short arm located just behind the ratchet mechanism for the feed table.
The end of the bolt is positioned to strike the release on the pawl. When the pawl is released, it will drop down and catch a tooth on the ratchet and raise the feed table.
The length of the bolt determines the pile height. The pile height is sensed by the sucker bar and through a linkage and cam causes the bolt to strike the release or not.

Sumner

Matt - I think you will find the assembly is on page 15 under ‘New and Altered Parts’- part # 22326 - on my V 36 the number is actually stamped on the arm as are other parts. I’ve also found when adjusting the screw in or out, it only needs a small turn before you have to lock it with the adjoining nut.
The ratchet assembly is shown on page 5 and in fact is quite different to my machine but the same principle. My unit is one of the earliest which makes it close to 90 years old!