April 21, 2023 – wherein much progress was made in an unusually short period of time.
The pivot frame shown in Episode 9 is held in a position relative to the main frame on the pivot shaft by two metal spacers. If this is not done, the frame (and therefore the bed) can shift, which negatively affects registration. We had only found one spacer in the “big pile o’ parts” (TM), so we needed another one. At some point last week, Don cut a chunk off of a broken cast-iron C&P crank shaft, put it on his lathe, and made one.
Today we test-mounted the pivot frame and Steve determined that the spacers would need to be slightly smaller. Luckily, Don has a surface grinder…
Shown above is the sacrificial C&P crankshaft in pieces, the original spacer, and Don’s new spacer. Steve is shown using a surface grinder to machine both to the same thickness.
Once the machining was complete, Don, Steve, and I mounted the pivot frame (they did most of the heavy lifting), and once in place, we attached the bed and roller arm assembly. Then after Steve and I attached the drive arms, it started to look like a press again.
Next steps: attaching some fiddly bits and getting ready to move the press.