Right Gear and Cylinder Binding Up
Hi all,
I’m a newer printer out here in Wisconsin, and recently purchased my first floor platen press, a C&P 8x12 NS w/ treadle. I let it drink in some new oil and have been spinning it through it’s motions. My machine spins well for a bit and then hits a certain point where it starts to slow takes considerably more effort to turn and there is a very faint noise that sounds sort of like a shhhhhh type sound.
I wasn’t sure where it was coming from, and I wanted to clean the press up, so I’ve been taking it apart piece by piece. The only things left on it now are the legs, the left side cam, cylinder and the right side gear. I can clearly pinpoint the noise to the seam where the gear attaches to the cylinder on the right side.
I’ve doused it in penetrating oil but still no luck. I don’t have any major equipment like gear pullers or anything so I’m not really sure what to do. Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you.
Does the sound occur at every rotation of the gear in question? If so, it could be the shaft is slightly bent.
John Henry
Now that I’ve got it unbolted from the base I was able to move the right side “leg” inward towards the left, exposing more of the cylinder on the right side. The noise is actually coming from the circular hole/guide housing mount thing that the cylinder goes through.
Ultimately, I think it was a result of the base legs being bolted down slightly askew which put the rotation out of sync and caused it to bind at a certain point. When I go to re-bolt it down to the pallet base, what tricks do you pros use to ensure that everything is square?
I would love to take the gear and cylinder completely off, but I think that may require more skill and equipment than I possess, without doing more harm than good.
You are getting closer to the cause. You are also learning a great deal more about your machine than most printers know.
Very good for you.
The press when new was supposed to be all bolted up square and true. It could not be bolted down askew then or later unless something changed. If the frame became loose it could be askew. This could lead to it being bolted down in this manner askew.
The feet of the frame are cast iron and are not machined to be precision measuring points. Still, for starters you could measure the distance between the two back feet and the two front feet. After you have bolted up the frame and are ready to bolt all the iron to runners or a pallet, check to see if the front and back measurements are the same.
Check also to see if any of the frame pieces have been broken and brazed. It is difficult to check to see if any of the frame parts are bent. Cast iron doesn’t bend well. It breaks.
You are getting closer to the cause. You are also learning a great deal more about your machine than most printers know.
Very good for you.
The press when new was supposed to be all bolted up square and true. It could not be bolted down askew then or later unless something changed. If the frame became loose it could be askew. This could lead to it being bolted down in this manner askew.
The feet of the frame are cast iron and are not machined to be precision measuring points. Still, for starters you could measure the distance between the two back feet and the two front feet. After you have bolted up the frame and are ready to bolt all the iron to runners or a pallet, check to see if the front and back measurements are the same.
Check also to see if any of the frame pieces have been broken and brazed. It is difficult to check to see if any of the frame parts are bent. Cast iron doesn’t bend well. It breaks.
Sorry folks
It wasn’t so good that it required posting twice. I hit the post button twice and don’t know how to un-post one.
I’m not a big fan of pallets as a base for a press. Skids are simpler, lighter, and make the press easier to move around, should that be needed later. For an 8x12 press 2x4s are plenty, but there’s no harm in larger, 2x6 or 4x4. I bevel the ends of the skids underneath to make it easier to get on iron pipe rollers.
Thanks for all the input everyone!
The press is a 1916 model according to the SN# and shows some signs of a few previous welds from mishaps. One on the treadle, one on the hand pull lever, and it appears (hard to tell for sure) one on the cross brace of the large cast iron piece that sits between the legs. (forgive my lack of knowledge on the parts names).
I didn’t know if it was possible for it to be misaligned due to having to drive the metal rods into place for the different parts or from these old welds. I’m confident the press will run fine with a motor, as nothing seems to be rubbing or causing any metal dust or flaking. Treadle pumping it in the former condition would’ve been a heavy task.
Now that it’s nearly 100% apart, I’m going to clean up everything really well, oil it down, and then reassemble it, paying close attention to the positioning of the pieces and making sure it continues to run freely. You’ve all been very helpful, thank you!