Bed and roller of Harrild rotary press out of synch
The paper grabber is in the wrong place when the roller is dropped. So it cannot be used for registering any printing where that is necessary. When the press was delivered 7 years ago I hadn’t realised the problem. Now my printing has developed It would be great to sort it out. A visit by some of the members of the British Printers Society highlighted the problem. A friend and myself judiciously took the feed board and the inking mechanism off. and using car jacks lifted the roller to free it from the teeth of the mechanism but found our attempted alignment was completely wrong. Any advice or suggestions for people to restore? would be welcome. UK based, Lincolnshire
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Here’s another view of the Harrild Press
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I’m not familiar with these presses, but the cylinder is apparently geared to the bed, and since the cylinder is stationary the bed moves back and forth under it. Since the paper is fed to the bottom of the cylinder, it would seem that the “far” end of the bed should be under the cylinder when the grippers (are there grippers on the cylinder at the tympan paper gap?) are open. If so, when the paper is fed and the cylinder rotated, initial rotation should close the grippers (unless they are operated with a pedal I do not see) on the crank/operator’s side of the press. With the paper fed and the cylinder rotated the bed should move away from the feed end as the paper is drawn into the press and contacts the image being printed, until the cylinder or bed reaches its stop. You must then have your hand on the paper, holding the “tail end” as you return the cylinder to its start position and the bed moves back as well. There must be an impression trip mechanism so the cylinder lifts up for the return to avoid inking the cylinder tympan.
There does not appear to be a pedal for the grippers , so they must be operated automatically as the cylinder rotates.
Another clue to look for would be some sort of mark stamped or engraved on the side of the main gear of the cylinder of the press. It might be a small shallow hole or a V or a I mark. If you find one on the cylinder gear look for a matching mark on the side of the straight rack gear of the bed that is driven by the cylinder. They are timing marks and should align with each other when the cylinder and bed are correctly “timed”.
Bob
Gosh Bob,
you were exactly right - 2 punch marks on both the cog and the rack. Photos will follow tomorrow. Those victorians were brilliant! It’s so beautifully engineered.
Many thanks Rob