Windmill Gripper Marking Bare Platen

I looked at a Windmill this past week that had scratching on the platen from the gripper bars. The bars themselves seemed to be straight and in reasonable shape but obviously the scratching on the platen is an issue. I have read a few discussions on adjusting the grippers but do not know if this is something that can be fixed through adjustment or if parts need to be replaced. Everything else on the press is in great shape but I want to make sure I do not buy something that I will regret. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Also- the press is owned by an out of state equipment dealer. It is located in a large warehouse and I was not able to turn on the machine to inspect the grippers on or near the platen.

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“I looked at a Windmill this past week that had scratching on the platen from the gripper bars.”

goomis,
Gripper scraping often occurs on the surface of the steel jacket - used for scoring and die cutting - as the jacket becomes slightly deformed after some use.

The grips should clear the bare platen - without the steel jacket - by 6pts (6/72”, 0.083”, or 2.1mm) from toggle to tip.

Jim Chase

As you can see the scratching is on the platen itself. This press was used for foil stamping (copper plate protecting the platen is still attached). Should I pass on this press?

Thanks for your help.

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Windmill.pic_.2.jpg

image: Windmill.pic_.1.jpg

Windmill.pic_.1.jpg

that red thing on the platen is a fiberglass board for foil stamping, the gripper should not be touching the platen. i foil on a windmill and the gripper doesn’t mark my press, if you have to replace grippers i think they are around $600 each, if you can find them, i would be concerned that the scraping might be caused by the part that holds the gripper being bent. good luck dick g.

Your problem is common among windmills. Any Good heidy mechanic will have in his toolkit a special tool for bending the forging that actually holds the gripper bar.
He will carefully bend it (it is painfull to watch) so the gripper gets to the 6 points and is still parallel to the platen.
Because of where your grippers are rubbing I doubt it is the gripper itself.
I have had this done several times on my windmills and have never figured out how they become bent.
I am running daily a wind mill my father bought new in 1972
my other is a “black ball” from the fifties.
Good Luck
Doug