Windmill Parts Quality??

On a purely cost efficient basis i fit refurbished or second hand parts, if i cant get re usable spares i purchase from senior graphic machinery in the uk . They purchased all the equipment from heidelberg years ago and make new to proper specification . I dont believe in pattern parts whatsoever except for hoses and rubber suckers etc.

Parts direct from Heidelberg, be it Heidelberg USA or one of the other parts of the company, are still the best. Whittenberg used to work for Demers and split off, and both will sell used parts and perhaps new ones. It is best to find out if the parts are new, used, or after market parts and what sort of guarantee. Heidelberg USA will require a press serial number and if the press was not imported to the U.S. through the Heidelberg organization, they will not furnish parts. I believe they call these “gray” presses. They will also require a release from liability form be signed for any parts sold that are not installed by one of their employees. I have no idea if they will sell out of country.

Peter-
I agree with using second hand parts if you can find them.

I am also waiting for a response from Senior Graphic Machinery. We will just have to wait and see how this plays out.
I had to supply Heidelberg USA with the serial number of my press, but I still am waiting for pricing.

Heidelberg ask for serial numbers for various reasons one they like to do their bit to stop press theft , two they need the machines date of manufacture as despite popular belief there are dozens of different designs within the range although they look similar there are silly bits of design change probably due to factory refits at heidelberg factories . i have three lay assemblys here all different but all from heidelberg ! the tooling from pre war (ww2) does not match the work after the war , the red ball and the black ball machines have differences albeit subtle ones . Third the machine you own may have the rosette from 1960 but it may not have been from the press ,same for the colour of the ball that part fits as well on a black or red ball machine . I have just dismantled one with a solid steel assembly no coloured handle on the impression lever at all .

On the note of real heidelberg parts .
Senior graphic machinery is the uks only big dealer these days as germany dont service the letterpress market any more here , at least i dont know any company that gets there letterpress service anymore but i do have ex heidelberg men i use to repair cylinders when required .
Those ex heidelberg men i use order from seniors ,i order from seniors and most of the people i service accept seniors as reputable they will replace a lemon if they sold you a bad part and they get it to you quick , they dont quibble over cost and will often match any other offer within reason .

Well, I got pricing for Heidelberg USA and now they are the most expensive, more than double the prices I received from Demers. Still waiting for Senior Graphic Machinery to get back to me, hopefully will hear Monday.
Here are the prices from Heidelberg
T 1101 is replaced by MV.017.602 - $446.58
T 1102 is replaced by MV.017.605 - $530.98
T 1103 is replaced by MV.017.606 - $316.29

Yes well did you break these ,or are you struggling with wear ?

We are having “wear” issues, they are not broken but are not lifting the feed table consistently. We have side to side “slop” on the T-1102 lever. We do run with rubber bands to help the pawl fit into the gear. Any suggestions?

Take 103 off and get someone run a weld along the face and grind it back to fit , a weld will age harden long before it wears again and will be hard as the parent original ! take 102 to a machine shop and get them to drill it out some and put a bronze bush in it ,you drill your own oil hole .
if the wear in the adjuster block 102 is not terrible try a thin bush washer either side of it to reduce the wobble because replace that and to make it worth the cost you will have to replace the whole rod through the lot because half the wear will be in that part T1108 .

Its funny this should be here today as i ran a machine that needs part 103 built up , i shall change it on monday so i will get a friend to photograh it in stages as i rebuild one and grind it back ,it really is not difficult .

Peter-

“if the wear in the adjuster block 102 is not terrible try a thin bush washer either side of it to reduce the wobble”

I think I will try this as we have some thin brass washers we could use. Also will try the weld and regrind on the Pawl.
Thank you for the input this could save us alot of money as we have 2 of these presses and both are “suffering” from the same ailment.

Jim

I assume these machines have the adjuster in this assembly you undo a bolt and swing the dial from paper to card , i have these assemblies for oder machines that do not have that facility but i think 1101 crosses both designs ,i can do a fit test on my machine and let you know but to be honest the pawl is all the problem as the big toothy wheel will pick up a built up pawl no problem . You will be able to eye ball the worn away bits of the pawl it is that easy to “see” what is no longer there.

jfitz,
please do not discount whittenburg as a supplier for your parts, we price match for parts of equivalent quality and will help you as much as we possibly can with your problems, we are there to help as much as we are to sell you parts.
mr luckhurst, please could you tell me what you mean when you say that seniors have bought the heidelberg equipment, do you mean patterns and drawings for the parts ?, you sound very knowledgeable about the heidelberg letterpress machines, i could use some help over here, are you self employed, hope you dont mind me being nosey.

Seniors can and do supply original heidelberg parts they re condition original heidelberg letterpress machines re sell them as heidelberg machines ,they also build cylinder presses badged as a senior graphic machine these are heidelberg machines built from there shelves but are just labelled appropriately . the electrics and updates are not heidelberg but the bones are proper cylinders utilising there stocks of original spec part built to proper drawings not chinese reverse engineered stuff . Ring senior graphic machinery they are in yorkshire uk . ask to speak to norman in parts and describe roughly what you want and he will tell you probably without looking if they have it and its proper name ,then he will tell you how many variations there are of the part you are after and then ……….
They are good people and they have a good reputation ,I have dealt with other suppliers but you will find them to be the best of whats left in heidelberg letterpress.

I have operated machines after serious smashes that took the top clean off the bed , two tons of cast and steel leap three inches in the air . that machine was rebuilt with parts from senior graphics it went together without a smack of a hammer to be heard that was a £12,000 bill to put together a machine that was bought with unseen damage at auction for £11,000 , however from first purchase to profit despite the damage was 6 months so those sums at that time were of less consequence ! It ran beautifully .
I am a self employed print worker and i use the term particularly as i do whatever although i trained as a finisher and then letterpress cylinder minder moving throughthe platen along the way and then a couple of years on small offset later to larger offset till the introduction of electronic consoles and computor screens ,reverted to cutting and creasing on heidelberg machines and doing whatever earns a crust on the way ,most of my positions required i learn everything on the job including the repair of said kit in emergency ,in my learning days i was tasked to accompany the engineers from heidelberg when they did repairs and serviceing on any thing heidelberg we had there were 22 cylinders nose to tail from S cylinders through to SBD the offset Kord ,The platen a few gtos and half dozen rataprints Am 1250s &1850s ,Hamadas and god only knows what monstrocities i have had to fight with .

I have many good parts for Heidelberg Windmill, message me back with your needs, regards!