C&P Maingear/Pinion Misalignment
The drive-gear on my C&P 12x18 is about 1/4” our of alignment with the main-gear. It sits right against the frame. There is no rubbing noise when moving the press. But in cleaning up I notice that the shaft is corroded, except for where the pinion would have sat if it was aligned - so it must have sat further out from the frame originally. Anyone have any idea how the pinion is held on the shaft (I can’t see any pin or setscrew)?
Thanks for any insights.
Hugo
PressGearAlgn.jpg
looks like a key that is not all the way into the key way on the shaft. this will keep you from sliding the gear over where it should be.
It isn’t the original type of key either, which would have been a gib-head taper key. They can be found online at MSC.
The taper key can fix the pinion gear at a specific place without any setscrew or other locking device, needed when using a square key. Here it looks like a square key is driven into a tapered keyway. With a tapered key you drive the gear away to loosen it, but with the gear against the frame that isn’t an option.
Maybe you can pull the key out using vise grips and a hammer; somebody on one of the lists just described drilling, tapping, and using a slide hammer to remove a stubborn key.
Yes the top face of the key has marks on it, kind of a crosshatch like the pattern found on the face of vise grips. Someone likely tried to force the key down into the keyway further. So I will try to remove the key tonight and let you know the results
Ok, I was able to persuade the key out. Good thing, the key as was mentioned above is not only of the wrong style, it is also not the correct width - and worst of all - was only about 1/3 of the way inserted in the pinion gear keyway. I was able to shift the gear over to where it had originally been positioned. So now I’ve got the correct key on order (actually I almost did, and then the MSC site went off line).
Thanks for your guidance!
Hugo
Hugo - When you re-insert the key, be sure to place a block behind the pinion gear so that it does not seat against the frame. As PI mentioned, removing the gear should be easy - IF there is clearance to drive it towards the frame and free the key.
Last winter, I spent untold hours trying to remove a pinion gear that had been driven *over top of* the pin. Yup. It was put on backwards - and ran fine that way for 50 years - until it was time to get the press out of the basement it was in.
I wound up using a Volvo strut clamp to remove the gear - after driving it from the other side of the press using a 5-foot steel rod - and it was not an easy task. The normal procedure - as mentioned above - is to simply tap the gear a few times to free the pin, then it all should slide out easily.
But I hope that when you put it back on, you left sufficient gap so that 50 years from now, the next owner is able to remove it ;)
- Alan