I have had some inking issues today. Some passes were ok, while in other passes, inking of the type on the form was uneven. I noticed that the back ink roller, the one that hits the drum, was having trouble with its gear/clutch not aligning properly on most passes (see photo). The front roller gears aligned just fine. I tried several fixes, including taking the collar off and putting it back, making sure that the allen screws were in the right place and the collar at the correct position. This did not fix the problem. I even switched the rollers and the problem still occurs with the back roller. Finally, I removed the washer that had been attached to the brass plate to keep the gear and clutch from clattering. The washer on the forward roller had fallen off, so this was the only difference I could see between the front and back rollers that might cause the back one to not catch properly. Didn’t help. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks.
Home
A proof press resource
Partial success today, and thanks again to all who contributed advice. It turned out to be a little bit of many things that were mentioned. The pins are moving but are worn, so when they are pushed by the plate, they don’t go down far enough to stop the gears from clattering. I had put metal shims on the brass plate to help solve this, and that worked fine for years. Recently, one of those shims fell off, which caused the plate to swivel slightly, releasing one roller correctly but not the second one. When I removed the remaining shim, the problem stopped. I think new pins may be in order?
The problem is when the carriage is moved forward, the gears and the clutch are supposed to come together interlocked; on my press, these don’t connect as they should. The teeth of each part hit the teeth of the counterpart directly instead of the teeth of one going into a recessed area of the other. This prevents the roller from turning as it should, although it does appear to turn anyway. I hope this makes sense. Paul, the pins are moving freely and the springs seem to be fine. And the problem is only with the roller in the back position, even when the rollers are switched. So that would seem to eliminate any part of the assembly for each roller. Also, the brass clutch plate appears to be working properly.
Looks like the familiar story with this mechanism: worn clutch pins (MR-110). Because the front gear and clutch is engaged, and the rear is not this indicates that the pin and roller core barrel is gummed up.Clean and lubricate with graphite powder. It does appear that there’s minor wear on the “paddle” or clutch plate. On sheet 106 of the manual it’s called the Form Roller Clutch Trip (MB-104).
See also, this previous post: https://vandercookpress.info/vanderblog/2007/10/24/4-ink-roller-mr-110-pin/
Hi Katie, if the problem you are describing is the roller not re-engaging the clutch after getting a fresh charge of ink. Check the brass lever (paddle) on the far side frame that pushes against the rollers to disengage the clutches, make sure there is clearance when the paddle is in the retracted position. There is a set screw and locking nut behind the paddle for adjustment. I’ll be working on a #4 all day today and can be reached @ 859-250-2082 for more troubleshooting ideas.
Warm Regards
Steve
Yes, both clutch springs are ok. Recall that I switched the rollers to eliminate any problems with each roller’s assembly. The problem stayed with the roller over the drum regardless of its original position. Thanks.
Hello Katie,
Is the clutch spring still intact? I can’t tell from the photo.
Daniel Morris
The Arm Letterpress
Brooklyn, NY