C&P 14-1/2 X 22 Throw-Off Positon

We recently acquired a C&P Old Series 14-1/2 X 22 from 1904 (SN#28300). The throw off saddle on the back shaft is rotated forward and underneath the rear of the bed such that the throw off mechanism does not work. I am unable to move it back into position with everything attached. I do not know if someone disassembled the press to move it, but I received it in one piece. To me, it appears that I may need to remove the side arms to get the back shaft rotated into the correct position. Any thoughts?

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Hello
I would start with the arm that works the roller arms. Then try to move the roller arms by hand to see them move freely. If they don’t cycle freely, I would remove them …look for the trouble spot, scared, scratched, galled areas in the shaft, and or inner surfaces of the roller arm.
You can remove the main arms one at a time… one off , one on to hold the press bed in position. IMPORTANT FOR SAFETY If you remove both main arms, you must secure the bed in forward, on impression position with heavy rope!!!
Good luck
Keep us informed

Hello
I would start with the arm that works the roller arms. Then try to move the roller arms by hand to see them move freely. If they don’t cycle freely, I would remove them …look for the trouble spot, scared, scratched, galled areas in the shaft, and or inner surfaces of the roller arm.
You can remove the main arms one at a time… one off , one on to hold the press bed in position. IMPORTANT FOR SAFETY If you remove both main arms, you must secure the bed in forward, on impression position with heavy rope!!!
Good luck
Keep us informed

Mark Grim,Dissconnect all the linkages to the throw -off (impression)lever. Remove the back connector to the throw-off.Rotate the throw -off saddle to the up or correct position.
Reattach the back connector. Now work your way back with the linkages. DO NOT remove the side arms! A colleague did remove the side arms on a 8x12 C&P
almost crippled himself and severed the bed frame down by the hinge shaft. I can send you pictures of my 14x22.best james

Thank you for the replies, especially the safety warning! The press does cycle and the roller arms (and side arm ends) do move freely on the backshaft, but the backshaft will not turn independently with the linkages detached. I saw in a video demonstration what the normal position of the throw off saddle is supposed to be and how it and the backshaft moves when the throw off lever is moved.

What I need to know is if I should be able to rotate the backshaft manually with the side arms attached. It needs to rotate almost 180 degrees to get the saddle in the correct position. I cannot move it at all at this time. I cannot remove the saddle bolts as they are hitting the back of the bed when I try to remove them.

image: Throw Off Position.jpg

Throw Off Position.jpg

image: Back Shaft.jpg

Back Shaft.jpg

Disconnect the Throw Off Saddle arm. Try turning the press slowly by hand until the bolt holes are in front of you. Then try to re-connect the the saddle and arm. Don’t force anything. You may have to work the throw off lever back & forth to align it back up. If this doesn’t do it, then probably the back shaft will have to be removed and turned around. Good Luck.

Winfred Reed
Black Diamond Press / Printing (Kentucky)

Has the press been disassembled recently? I’ve never operated that large a C&P, but have considerable experience with the smaller sizes, including the 12x18. I had a problem like this on an 8x12, and since all the C&P presses I’ve seen are similar in construction, I’d venture the problem is similar.

In my case the throw-off saddle was upside down. but also the shaft it attaches to was also in backwards. The two holes for the saddle are NOT the same. One of the bolts should be noticeably shorter than the other and should go into the shallower hole. Swapping the shaft right for left cured that and put the proper holes in the right positions. Then the saddle can be reattached properly. After these two changes, the press worked normally.

skiyou is right about securing the bed against the platen when removing the side arms, but it is not very difficult with that precaution.