I don’t have my Vandercook book handy so I don’t know the name of the part, but it helps feed the inking roller gear onto the rack down the left (non-operator) side of the bed. It sheared off mid-run. I seem to be able to continue to print (fortunately because I’m in the middle of an edition of 2,000…). Any chance Fritz has replacements for this? How critical is it?
Eric: the screw holes are not symmetrical and there is no provision for the attachment of the starting tooth. i.e., no channel for the tongue or hole of the pin.
The starting tooth is expendible, intentionally, but the gear rack would be a more expensive replacement, and now I’m curious to know whether they made it so the rack could be turned end-for-end if the lead end developed wear from a bad starting tooth. Are the screw-holes symmetrical?
That playing-card-in-bicycle-spoke sound of a bad starting tooth is something I hate to hear, but of all Vandercook problems one of the easiest to fix (with all the parts).
Thanks all. I’m ordering the part from Fritz today. I’ll see if I can install the part without the spring, but the part that pivots around the dowel is where it snapped.
As Paul mentions it is very important to have this part installed on press or there will be wear to both the rack and the spinning gear on the roller.
If you must keep going on this long run when the carriage moves away from feed table, go slowly so the form roller is not spinning when it meets the gear rack.
If you can not find this part I have it in stock.
You should attempt to reinstall it without the spring. It can still help with the transition of the spinning gear onto the rack. Otherwise, you may find fresh wear on the gear teeth and the initial tooth of the rack.
Do you think it’s an issue to continue printing without it? I’m in the middle of this long run and can’t afford to stop while I wait for a replacement.
It’s called the starting tooth (BS-429). NA Graphics should have it in stock. It’s common to the SP and Universal series, the 219 and the 15-21. To install, remove the rack—be careful with the shims underneath– and tap out the straight pin. Align the bore on the tongue into the side of the rack and reinsert the pin. When removing the screws on the rack, I unscrew them completely then, use a magnet to pull them out.