The ink drum on my SP25 has started bouncing up and down at one end as soon as any slight pressure is applied, like when I lower the form rollers or when I wipe off the ink while the drum is turning.
I can’t see any visible irregularities in the chain links or any of the three sprockets. I assume the next step would be to remove the ink drum so I can take a closer look. But I haven’t done that before, so before I take that step, I want to see if anyone has any idea what the problem might be.
An update: It turns out that the motor is bad. Ugghhh. The gears aren’t catching. Completely worn, according to my local motor repair guy. He says I need to replace the motor (and I believe him). He has found one for me (new) but it’s expensive. (04640)So I wonder if anyone knows of any old SP25 motors floating around. It’s a 1/6 hp motor.
If I end up getting the new one, is there anything I need to be aware of? Any words of advice? I trust the repair guy because he worked on my carriage drive motor earlier this year. And he’s got a really cool shop cat (that is always dirty and oily, of course). Wish me luck. And send money!!
Is the drum inking light or not at all at one end? If you grab ahold of the drum, can you move it up and down at the front or the back? It could be that one of the interior bushings has failed and needs to be replaced. If you go in there, swap them both.
DGM
Well, I can’t see anything wrong with the springs. I am tempted to order new springs anyway, just in case that might be the problem. I think I’d rather replace them first and see what happens before I go to the trouble of removing the drum. Thoughts??
Thanks. I looked at the springs and they seemed to look okay, but I’ll take a closer look this afternoon. Thanks for the part #, in case I need it!
Most likely one of the drum springs has failed, meaning simply stretched. Replacements are availble from NA Graphics. You’ll want part X-20563. Removal and installation is made easier with a spring hook tools available in most hardware stores.