Roller truck taping

Hi all
Question
Does anyone tape their rollers or do you do rails?

Here’s why I ask

On my Franklin Gordon
Ii installed my boxcar base in the chase

Took 8 layers of blue tape to raise the rails so rollers don’t contact base
But on impression I get this popping scrape noise not there…
I take tape off, no more noise on Impression but rollers rub the base

Theorizing in my pitiful brain, why not tape up the trucks
That raises the rollers but the platen doesn’t contact the rails with that extra tape height

Is this a good idea

I hope so, kinda bad day today
Someone stole my nativity out of my yard last night

Thanks for the input and any tips!!!

Log in to reply   5 replies so far

If your rollers are larger diameter than the trucks, then tape the trucks to bring them up to the same diameter as the rollers. If the rails are low, they must be taped to bring them up. You can make sure the packing is within the rails so that there is no substantial contact with the rails during impression.

I always tape my trucks, i think i only taped the rails one or two times in the last 50 years.

Adding to jhenry’s comment, if rollers and trucks are not the same size other printing quality problems will occur.

You can tape just the area of the rails that aligns with the base (see illustration).

You can use 20 mil PVC wrapping tape instead of multiple layers of blue tape (see photo). It’s available in home improvement stores. It’s also good for making register guides that won’t smash your base.

image: PVCregister.jpg

PVCregister.jpg

image: PVCtape.jpg

PVCtape.jpg

image: TapeRails.png

TapeRails.png

It seems though that the rail taping is the problem with the platen noise….my platen actually covers my rails on impression, I don’t know if that’s typical but the extra tape must be making too much pressure on the platen, enough at least to make a groaning sort of noise. Cause w hen you remove the tape = No noise!

Thanks for the tape brand sharecropper and the pics!! If I can use it to make guides that will solve a gauge pin contact question, I think…I’m a newbies newbie!

My trucks are same diameter as rollers, both made by RSC

I got the idea from Morgan’s Expansion Trucks. The rails on table top presses are too narrow for effective rail taping, and by taping the trucks, each truck can be adjusted exactly as needed.

see: http://excelsiorpress.org/reference/presswork/smallpresswork.html#taping...