C&P 10x15 gear disassembly help needed please.

Hello,

I am moving a 10x15 out of an awkward basement. I am having to fully disassemble it. I have it down quite a bit but now need to remove the small head and lock cam and the large gear cam wheel. the large gear cam looked to be machined sealed somehow so i thought the best approach was to try to remove the left side pin. I could not get behind the pin and due to our limited knowledge, we thought we would just drill it out. I know, I know. :) We have several trusted machine welder colleagues to repair any damage but even after this, it refuses to budge.

So with all that said. Was I supposed to remove the right hand side first or what trick am I missing to remove one of these pieces? By removing this piece, I believe it’s the key to removing the remaining parts of this press.

Any help, advice and/or scolding would be appreciated.

Thank you!
- David

image: photo-1.jpg

photo-1.jpg

image: photo-4.jpg

photo-4.jpg

Log in to reply   16 replies so far

Unless time is of the essence, hold fire, before drastic manouvers, unless it is too late, in the fullness of time you will surely get the one important post, chapter, verse and paragraph, from one who has actually done it….. I have done similar many times on English counterparts, but which may not be compatible….As pictured a parallel key must have been removed implying interference fit and timed, as well, which would normally involve, a possibly concealed, grub screw behind. …If this be the case the next step would be a MULTI LEGGED hydraulic puller, the reason for this being 3 legged pullers, generally, give the wrong angle of approach to the rear of the item to be pulled, and tend to slip off……Hydraulic units with bigger, (pro rata) centre hubs act more like the fingers of a crane in the scrap yard or the petals of a flower closing, apologies for the simplistic explanation but occasionally it helps to understand the vagaries of different methods…..The indentation in the centre of the shaft, as pictured, performs 2 functions, one is the method employed to mount the shaft on a lathe in the production stage,…and two is the means to centre accurately the tapered stud on a puller, preferably hydraulic but not essential, fixed legged still need the same…..Even with an hydraulic puller, and good interference fit item, it inevitably requires the use of copper or hide hammer and a good blow on the centre extractor bolt……Mine is rated at 10 tons pressure but when pulling gears, hubs, cams from Thompson Platens (for example) 9 times out of 10 at least one or two shock treatments are needed, sheer brute force/pulling power doesnt always succeed….Hope this helps for starters, but you will get more and better info. ..Good luck

I know I might be stating the obvious but it looks like you have it down to the bare bones, can you move it as is? I moved my press through a small door and did not take it down near as much

A. S. as your original post/query states, out of an awkward basement, by implication CLEARENCE is not the problem but dead weight upwards IS. Your *awkward basement* probably has stairs involved, in which case If it can not be lightened further, a few “rent a mob buddies” greased timbers, protecting the stair treads and most importantly a tiny cable winch, shackled, stropped, secured off, at higher level and the remaining section of the machine winched UP! and OUT with relative ease and safety…Safety Number ONE priority!!!….Our lightest duty, hand held cable winches, are capable of pulling 2 TON off road vehicles out of Ditches/Bogs 15-20 feet down….Your machine must, by now, be down to a fraction of that . good luck.

To remove the small head lock cam wheel (left side on main shaft) you MUST USE a 3 jaw puller. This large tool is not comon, best place to find on is a well stocked tool rental.
Removing the key will do nothing to help.Hammers, pry bars, etc will likely damage the press long before the wheel is off.
Removing the wheel and replaceing it is a time consuming job even for someone experienced with the task.
It is better to remove the ‘side frame connecting bracket’ (the piece in the center of the press between the side frame). This piece probably weighs someware around 100 lbs. and it is much easier to remove and replace…4 bolts on each side frame.
Good luck.
James ‘Mac’ McGraw

Hello,

I’m dealing with the same issue right now. Got the press down to the bare bones but just need to pull these gears off. Any luck with the 3 jaw puller?

snapsize,
I have pulled the cam off a press check out the post listed and look at the flikr pictures some of them show the puller I used.
A three jaw puller could potentially break the cast iron at the thin section of the casting
http://www.briarpress.org/15546#comment-7872
Good luck
Don

heating the “head cam”(not the shaft) with an oxy-acelylene torch. rose bud tip is best. this will Greatly improve you chances of moving this thing. the heat will expand the metal and excite it. it will probably slide off.
Proper heat gloves are in order to handle a big hot piece of iron. installation is the reverse.
the is much more to this. i have used this procedure many, many time emails with questions or pics.
PS; if you remove the main shaft and gear also, BE SURE to not which way the cam follower roller is installed. do that part slowly.

I agree with heating the cam with an Oxy-Acetylene torch. They use this method to fit bearings on electric motors and the like. Make sure you’re heating as close to the shaft as possible, but not the shaft itself. Leather gloves at the least, caution and time too; because once you heat that gear, it’s going to be hot for HOURS.

The problem is, that metal over years will oxidize and ‘meld’ together, creating a seal that makes it much harder to remove. Ask a transmission guy how hard it can be to remove a bell-housing from an engine block…

The other problem is that race-key (The square part that divides the cam and the gear). It must be removed first and is a total pain. I did have success once by drilling it, tapping it and then making a do-it-yourself slide hammer that kept a constant tension with a bolt/pipe setup and slide on it. Though drilling and tapping safely (Without breaking bits inside which would leave you stuck) is a time consuming process and is risky.

There is also the option of drilling the race-key with a pilot hole then drilling it to size (I think 3/8”?) and using a small chisel to tap out the remaining metal and clear the race-key that way, of course needing a new one after. That I haven’t tried, but it did come to mind when thinking over old issues recently.

Hope it helps,
Karl

the key on this is a simple “straight” key, not tapered. it does not need to come out first. you want to apply heat 3-4 inches away from the shaft. don’t worry, it will travel inward. heating further away from the shaft will give you more expansion, which is what you are looking for.

Done this many times back n the day, way we did it-
Use large 3 jaw puller to pull small cam wheel (left side)
Slide shaft out. If you want big gear off use arbor press to press shaft out. We never used heat.
3 jaw pullers available at tool rentals
Good luck
James McGraw

An arbor press that is big enough would be brilliant, however it’s not in the usual “Pressman’s Toolbox” suffice to say the size of the arbor… But, in any case, you would need the shaft out in order to get that onto an A-P that could punch it out.

Three Jaw Puller is still scary, as the amount of space between the shaft and the gear is massive, as well as that’s a hollow gear. Not much strength from force coming horizontally.

Must pull small one (left) first
Worked for old respected print equip dealer/machinest, C&P dealer in 60’s
They had done this procedure countless times
Three jaw puller is the way/procedure they remove main shaft
Always worked well for me.
Ty
J

AH HAH! ;) I figured you had access to some spicy sized equipment! I do agree with pulling the left flat-gear first.

If you can avoid pulling the large right drive gear, then I would try to. It’s just that it’s hollow and brittle. It’s a bit scary no matter what.

heat is not mandatory for removal. but, that being said, heat is used to put it on, so, if available, why not use it to take it off? it works well in partnership with either a puller or sledge hammer and ” brass block on a stick”

My C&P’s came to me in one piece through big wide doors. Fitted with runners I moved them on galvonised pipe rollers and cranes. So for me all the above is kind of esoteric, but on the other hand maybe very uesfull! I totally enjoy seeing this activity as each one of you have tossed around approaches to the problem. I’m not a mechanic or an engineer, but there’s some good writing going on here! so there!

Interesting Mick that you had worked on Thompson platens. Not well known here in Australia but a great press with its precise register and geared inking. All our fine platen work went to out two and any very light stock and very heavy stock. I printed an invitation for a function for the US President Johnson, on gilt bevel edged cards 700 run - 5 spoils! Did it
, but I knocked one off to show my teacher at the School of Graphic Arts, and he said “too much weight”!
they were great for feeding beer coasters too, not as prone to doubles as the windmill was and is!