What is this part on my C&P NS?

Can anyone tell me what this part is called and what it’s for on my 12x18 C&P NS? Under the ink disk is a circular bit that’s bolted on top of the disk bracket on the left side. It doesn’t appear to touch anything, or do anything, and I couldn’t find it in the parts list.

I’ve outlined it in yellow in the first photo. Any thoughts would help quench my curiosity.

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IMG6099.jpg

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Looks like some sort of guard for the dogs/teeth on the underside of the ink disc. Can you get a photo of how the piece fits when the ink disc is actually on the press? I’ve never seen anything like this—it looks adjustable in terms of angle. Any sign that the press has had a feeder attached at any point in its history?

Bradley.

I noticed that the first horizontal bolt looks as though it is in a slot for adjustments, as
to just a hole.

awilbert, C&P made a duplex disc for running 2 colors at once,I suspect this is a locking mechanism to keep the disc from turning.
best james

Here it is with the ink disc on. The mystery piece comes really close to the disc, but doesn’t actually touch it. You can slip a few sheets of paper in the gap between them.

The press is outfitted with the remnants of an auto-feeder and had a full width ink fountain on top when I got it.

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I’m pretty sure it was intended as a sort of brake on the disc, so that the inertia of rotation would be damped out as quickly as possible, to ensure the disc rotates a uniform amount each cycle, and to ensure even distribution of ink. How it affected the disc I don’t know— perhaps it had some sort of “shoe” such as a strip of leather or tape, that barely touched the underside of the disc. In another later time I would have guessed the piece could have magnets embedded in it that would set up a current in the disc that would damp out the rotation magnetically. Another thought is if there is very little clearance a quantity of stiff grease spread on the underside of the disc where the piece would meet it, and on the piece itself, would provide enough drag to affect rotation without wear.

Bob