Hi All,
I read the posts in the Vanderblog archives about SP15 ink drums wobbling because of a broken plastic gear or shorn off screws. Is it the same fix or different on a Uni 1 AB?
On our Uni 1 AB, while printing we noticed that the lower steel ink drum was not inking evenly and was wobbling.
After the press was cleaned, I took off the cover plate and looked at the drum. It is actually loose on the far side (away from the operator’s side) and slightly lower, and the chain is loose. It is hard to see next to the drum because of built up dirt.
What do you think?
Thanks.
Thanks Martha!
I’m glad to hear your bearing replacement was successful.
Thank you Clare, and Paul and Fritz for commenting on this (now pretty old!) problem with the inking drum. We did indeed have the wood bearings replaced. I don’t know all the details about it except that it was an arduous task and I hope we never have to do that again! One piece of information that I remember as being important is that the bearings as coming from Fritz needed to be ground down before they were put on-
Good luck with your press Clare-
“The F-760 wood bearings are in both ends of the ink drum. There is a solid steel core that goes through the ink drum and is held in place by a keeper on each side of the bed casting, on the outside of the press.”
Do the keepers have a part number? We have a Universal 1 that seems to be missing what I was referring to as a “collar” on the outside of the press, which would hold the core in place. The ink drum has a lot of side to side play, but no noise.
The F-760 wood bearings are in both ends of the ink drum. There is a solid steel core that goes through the ink drum and is held in place by a keeper on each side of the bed casting, on the outside of the press. The chain drives a sprocket on the drive end that is attached to the drum, so the ink drum rotates on the fixed core. It is necessary to loosen the set screws that hold this in place–and I looked at the drawing several hours ago, but I recall that there is a collar on each end of the assembly that keeps the position of the ink drum so that when the keeper is moved, and the set screws loosened, that the steel shaft can be withdrawn and free up the ink drum to access the bearings. Wood bearings are not easy to replace, but it sounds like the motion of the ink drum, as Martha described it to me, is caused by a failed bearing. The Universal I manual is useless in this case as it doesn’t even show the ink drum, give any part numbers, etc. I have to dig out the assembly drawing that was drawn originally for the 15-21 press that became the Universal I.
Fritz
I told Fritz about it, but you should call him.
There is a ‘ka-chink’ sound, yes. Either way, it doesn’t sound right.
I believe that the screws holding the drum in place are fitted with a wood bearings (as the No.4 is) and may have broken. Fritz can confirm this. Do you hear a sound like small pebbles tumbling inside the drum?