Comments on: Sticky Grippers

By: Carrie Hersom

Carrie Hersom — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:56:28 +0000

Thanks, Paul.

I had a duh moment.

By: Paul Moxon, Moderator

Paul Moxon, Moderator — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:17:44 +0000

The position of the cams regulate the distance the gripper pins rise, not the smoothness of the action.

By: Carrie Hersom

Carrie Hersom — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:09:39 +0000

Thanks Paul & Daniel for the advice.

Have done as instructed and it’s still sticking. It’s like the pins want to go up when the pedal is pressed, but they catch somewhat halfway before they rise. They are also sticky at the end of the bed when they’re supposed to release the paper.

We’re cleaning and lubricating the pins and holes again, but if that doesn’t help should we try to adjust the cams?

By: The Arm NYC

The Arm NYC — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:46:48 +0000

When you had the gripper bar off the press did you lubricate the cams that engage the grippers inside of the cylinder? A dab of lithium grease on those things makes a huge difference if the grease that was there is dried out or you cleaned it all off when you rebuilt the gripper bar.

Daniel Morris
The Arm Letterpress
Brooklyn, NY

By: Paul Moxon, Moderator

Paul Moxon, Moderator — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:45:55 +0000

You probably need to clean crud from around the hole in the cylinder in which that the push rod passes through. Build up mostly occurs on the outer backside.

If this doesn’t help, then remove the gripper bar from the press and test each pin, by pushing up from the bottom with your hand, for how smoothly it slides in the hole. If there is resistance then maybe the hole is still dirty or a pin maybe bent (unlikely).