It turns out that the roller saddles on both sides are worn. This isn't a surprise for a platen press, but the right side saddles are worn more than the left. One has wear in an eccentric pattern and the other is worn too wide. A problem with roller size compounds the issue and the rollers actually touch each other on that side as they rise. When they do, the lower roller jumps off the ink disk and shimmys around.
Even though the left side saddle is closer in this shot, you
can still see the abnormal wear on the right side saddle
across the ink disk, behind it. It's much thinner.
The saddles should always hold the rollers parallel to one another, as here.
In this shot, the rollers are traveling up the disk and are touching on the right side!
Friction damage to the lower roller in the dual saddle.
After all this, my next project is to either find replacement roller saddles or have some made. I can only hope for a parts press to pop up. Having them made will be expensive. Poor C&P. I'm already missing her.
2 comments:
Have you considered having your current roller saddles filled with brass and re-tooled to the correct diameter. It would likely be far less costly. Brazing would not last forever, as brass is softer than either steel or iron. It would give you some time to find free or nearly free saddles as replacements.
On a separate note, someone listed a parts 10x15 on letpress this week. They may have the saddles you need.
Best of Luck
Justin
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/is7pjcs10zv7zgy/xHoQ-OgwJc
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