broken crank shaft et cetera
My 8x12 C&P is in need of some repairs, and I’m hoping for some ideas as far as how to proceed—I am very new to the world of press restoration. I think somewhere along the way, the press must have taken a fall which cracked the ink disk and throw off lever (both of which were welded back together) and broke off the flywheel end of the crank shaft. It appears that the previous owner of the press attached the flywheel onto the shortened shaft, removed the throw off bracket and replaced it with a hunk of metal and spacer to which the throw off lever was then connected. This causes the lever to run into the small head and lock cam as there is not enough room for it to fit between that and the flywheel. Did that make any sense?
Any thoughts?
throw-off bracket replacement...
so close together!
throw-off lever hitting small head and lock cam
broken end of crank shaft
and the cracked ink disk.
If you are planning to use a motor drive, the shaft can be replaced with a new one by a machinist’s trade shop, and you may be able to renew its functionality. There are ways of simply sliding a shaft over to expose a greater part on one side or the other, but a lot depends on the design of the shaft that is there and the gear attachment on the right side of the press.
The cracked ink disk will work OK as long as it has been ground to a flat surface again. If not, you may expeience some uneven ink application, particularly noticeable when the crack is vertical as in your picture. You may be able to have the disk filled and ground, but a better option might be to find a press which is being junked or parted out & buy the disk from it.
Unfortunately, your “patient” has been mishandled when the initial surgery was done, and it is difficult to reverse the effects. That’s my diagnosis, anyway.
John Henry