Hi folks,

I’m considering buying a motorised Adana TP48. I’ve only ever used a platen press and have visions of mangled fingers.
Would it possible to remove the motor and operate the press manually? Would I need to source a treadle somewhere?
Thanks.

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G D P Just acquired very same machine, But going the opposite way to your needs, consequently have done a little research, as follows>> very early ones, had direct on start when motorised NO CLUTCH, NO THROW OFF, NO GUARD, later models were equipped with Dog Clutch **(see footnote) Guard and Throw Off device, crude but effective, dangly bits were protected!!! Mine is an early one but as I will be using the motor, from an industrial sewing machine which has a built in clutch with remote operation I dont forsee a problem for myself!!! A few days ago I did post a comprehensive description of the treadle mechanism from this machine, which amazed me in its simplicity, if you care to go back into previous posts from 3/4/5/ days ago you can probably find it, if not I will offline send you my findings to date, and progress report. I will sell my treadle device to finance new rollers etc, but probably impractical to ship outside U.K.>>> ** Footnote A Dog Clutch is crude and should be respected because, it is in effect 2 bosses on the driving shaft one standing still and the other already turning, consequently when you operate the mechanism, you are throwing the stationery one at the rotating one so they have to hit the ground running, i.e. like crash gearboxes in early auto,s this is why syncromesh was devised, so that the 2 meshing gears were already turning in harmony. This Exact, Precise, System was employed on Monotype Casting Machines, when a gearbox was added, to facilitate the casting of display type from 14 point up to 36 point, and YES! I did crash one dog clutch and wrecked it, but fortunately DIDNT get shown the Door. If your machine has such clutch, and throw off, and you revert to treadle, the way to go, would be to put the clutch into operation first, all stationery, then hit the treadle, and print!!!>>>the throw off protectector will still function perfectly. Hope this helps.>>Good Luck Mick<<.

I presume you are referring to the one on eBay at the moment.
Mick, you bought the scruffy treadle that sold the other day, personally I would keep it as a treadle?

The one on eBay was built as a proper motorised T/P48, keep it as it is as it has the safety guard. They turn up on eBay regularly in a variety of states.

http://www.thepapertrail.org.uk/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=1186

If you get a treadle version that somebody has shoved a motor on, don’t use it motorised, there are no safety guards.

As for rollers you can go for the cheaper ones from you know who and the better ones from the company that supports Adanas.
I bought the cheaper ones and they have a lot of dimples.

I have a motorised TP 48 with the original motor that I restored last year. It didn’t come with the safety guard but in any case it goes at a slow, steady pace.
If your concerned about your fingers,at first, try pulling your printed image out of the press every second revolution. It’s a bit slower, but hey…..there’s no rules. After you get more confident you’ll pick up a rhythm.
They are a great little press !

P.P. Thanks ,its nice to see that one or two readers scan the posts in their entirety and not just see who posted and “how was your wifes cooking etc” I thought that we had social networking sites for that!!! Thanks again for your input, but in this case, mine came from London (UK) a long time ago and was bought as a treadle, The main reason for powering mine up is, that with my aforementioned Industrial Sewing Machine motor, I can incorporate the coned pulley arrangement from another machine and get speed variation at will, plus of course treadleing usually involves the same foot and the same leg, (not sure what the foot equivalent is of ambidextrous, but I am not anyway)!!!! Re Rollers, I trawled the interweb net thingy, and fired off 2 or 3 posts to roller suppliers/recoverers, and within a few hours got back a reply from one U.K. based supplier saying “No Problem Sir,” send us a pattern, or the dimensions and we will accomodate you, This in response to my original query, where I stressed that, I was in the peasants end of the market!!! but there amazing reply was “every body gets our best efforts small or large” and have quoted a price apparently better, than most others, for one off applications I will try to post the end results, in the fullness of time, might get 5% off next order??? >>> P. P. Thank you again for your Safety Advice, bit too late for me, made structural modifications, to body parts a long time ago, (got a lump of steel in my hand right now!!!) BUT if our efforts bring SAFETY, to the attention of new ones and avert just ONE finger tip modification, we have achieved a great deal. Good Luck Mick.

To use the treadle T/P48 you have to be a lefty, dread to think of the possible consequences if you use your right foot and facing the fly wheel. :)

Thanks to everyone who posted their comments and advice.
Have decided that if I do get the press, I’m just going to have to
woman-up and proceed with caution.

Monotype Mick wrote:

“Re Rollers, I trawled the interweb net thingy, and fired off 2 or 3 posts to roller suppliers/recoverers, and within a few hours got back a reply from one U.K. based supplier saying “No Problem Sir,” send us a pattern, or the dimensions and we will accomodate you, This in response to my original query, where I stressed that, I was in the peasants end of the market!!! but there amazing reply was “every body gets our best efforts small or large” and have quoted a price apparently better, than most others, for one off applications I will try to post the end results, in the fullness of time, might get 5% off next order???”

I am soon to repeat your exercise as I have two Adana eight-fives needing new rollers. If you could post the results of your search it would very likely help some of the UK posters on this site. Many thanks in anticipation! (And I hope you wind up with good rollers that you are content with!)

Thank you for these discussions. I am trying to get my TP48 up and running. The Bowden cable is broken and I was going to use it without the guard.
But no longer!

If anyone is looking for brand new rollers and trucks for their TP/48 then I can recommend this UK online shop.

http://ellievans.myshopify.com/collections/adana

The rollers/trucks they sent work a treat and didn’t cost that much even with postage to Australia.

Monotype Mick. I really like the idea of the ‘coned pulley arrangement’ on the motor of your press. I think I’ll go down the same road soon. Cheers

Mine came with a few dimples and are fine on type, I haven’t tried a solid block.

Redhand, Sir, The coned pulley speed control is not exactly new, since a long time ago Heidelberg Platens left the factory with this system as standard, so simple/so effective and H/berg were clever in that although they employed the coned pulley, they married that to FLAT belt, final drive, on to the main flywheel, (with the obligatory slight convex/contour, on the flywheel to keep the belt running on!!!) as the belt was upwards of 1/2” thick, it was constructed with, approx 30% “V” section, to track up and down the cone on expansion and contraction over the speed range, I.E. best of both worlds!!!
On many smaller applications, the coned pulley, acted exactly the same with the exception that it drove a corresponding fixed “v” section pulley, but worked perfectly.!!
Even this principle was *Borrowed* mid 60,s or later, by the Dutch, DAF motor company, and used on RALLY cars, VERY successfully, with 2 opposed pairs of coned pulleys, and belts, operating both driving wheels, (without differential,??) . . Redhand, Good Luck Sir. Mick.

Thank you Mick
I fondly remeber wood working classes, many moons ago, whereby the Wood lathe and Drill press had a similar, step down pulley arrangement.
I also clearly recall the insane pulley system on my friends supercharged 350 Chev as we attended the illegal ‘midnight saturday drags’ on the old WWII airplane runways just south of Darwin, NT when we were teenagers.
A great invention for sure !
All the best. Franck