One of our SP-15 presses at UAFS has an oscillating cylinder that is slowing way down shortly after being inked. It doesn’t seem to matter what kind of ink (ie, stiff or loose); it’s as though the ink is too thick. This machine has had a motor replacement (posted a few years back on this […]
MoreMore TagAuthor: Katie Harper
SP-15 Roller Bearing Block-clean?
We have had some trouble lately with roller height issues. On the SP-15, the user turns a knob to raise or lower the rollers. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. The bearing blocks have an allen bolt to hold the roller height, but these will not turn either way. I’m hoping that if we take the […]
MoreMore TagSP-15 Disassembly?
Back in November, I posted about a screw broken off one of our SP-15s, (I think it’s called a shoulder screw), the screw that holds up the L bracket that holds the bearing blocks of the form rollers. The machine shop guy next door has been working on it for us, trying to get the […]
MoreMore TagSP-15 Roller Bracket Issues
One of our SP-15s has been experiencing inking issues; seems that we have to constantly adjust roller height and it gets out of whack very quickly. We discovered today two problems with the bracket that holds the roller bearing blocks (LH Bracket? Hard to see in our manual) and we’re wondering if these could be […]
MoreMore TagSP-15 Motor Belt
The oscillating roller on one of our SP-15 presses began hesitating this week, out of the blue, just like the video posted in January. For that poster, it seemed the solution was a new belt. However, both the motor and belt on our press are relatively new, so I figured that might not be the […]
MoreMore TagSP-15 Gear Roller Grunt
One of our SP-15s makes a sort of grunting noise as it travels down the bed. I suspect it is the gear on the back form roller, but I cannot see any issue with it. The other SP-15 is silent during this travel, and this noise is new, so something seems to be out of […]
MoreMore TagPositive lock up bar vs. fixed dead bar
My 215 Positive Lockup Bar has suddenly taken to shifting easily during printing. Since this is a new trend, I’m thinking the bar needs attention, cleaning, adjustment, etc. Any advice on this? I would also like to have a fixed “dead bar” and I have a machine shop at UAFS (next door to our print […]
MoreMore TagSP-15 Motor Gear Box Issue
One of our SP-15 motors (Vandercook # 22155) quit last week. It has been noisy (our other SP-15 is about as loud as a sewing machine) but lately the noise was worse, and then the motor just stopped, smelling burned. The motor refurbishing place (Evans) tells me that there is a seal in the gear […]
MoreMore TagSP-15 Roller Blocks/Knobs Issue
We have recently discovered that some of our roller knobs are loose, even when the allen screws to hold the knobs in position are tight. John Horn was by our shop the other day, and says that the threads on the knob screws might be worn. We also have the opposite problem on at least […]
MoreMore TagNew SP-15 issue
We were able to kinda-sorta fix the SP 15 belt slipping by installing a new belt. Now there is a new issue: there is a knocking or clunking sound when all the rollers are in contact (the down position). We checked for things like a loose gear on the back form roller; it is ok. […]
MoreMore TagSP-15 belt issue
During our Open House yesterday, the belt on our older SP-15 slipped off the motor pulley. After the gig, we opened up the top and put the belt back on, but it looks like it may easily slip off again. This press has geared wheels at the motor and the drum roller, and the rubber […]
MoreMore TagSP-15 Motor Update
On November 11, we installed the newly rewound motor into the SP-15. It is not as noisy as it was, but still noisier than our other press. Questions: 1. is there any way to dampen the noise? I was tempted to put some insulation in the chamber, but don’t want to cut down on heat […]
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