[GreenKeys] HELP ! my M15 carriage is stuck to the left!

Wed Jun 29 02:43:07 EDT 2016

    I wonder if the lubrication system in the machine depends on the oil 
wicking from a reservoir.  If so perhaps after an extended time the oil 
flows off the bearing surfaces and none replaces it. I don't know the 
details of how the lubrication works. Oil has many properties and I have 
found it difficult to find authoritative information about specific 
applications.

On 6/28/2016 11:01 PM, Gil Smith wrote:
> I have never tried a synthetic oil; only use 30W non-detergent with no
> additives.  But I don't know much about the chemistry of it all, just
> the recommendations of folks.
>
> The evaporation aspect is interesting.  It is certainly something that
> will happen to our machines, unless they get periodic use (a great thing
> to do, but does not always happen that way).  Lucas Red-And-Tacky grease
> -- also a good tip.  Have to look for that.
>
> thx, gil
>
>
> gil smith, AF7EZ
> greenkeys moderator
> gil at baudot.net <mailto:gil at baudot.net>
>
>
>     -------- Original Message --------
>     Subject: Re: HELP ! my M15 carriage is stuck to the left!
>     From: John Nagle <nagle at animats.com <mailto:nagle at animats.com>>
>     Date: Tue, June 28, 2016 10:25 pm
>     To: Gil Smith <gil at baudot.net <mailto:gil at baudot.net>>
>
>     That's why I'm big on using synthetic motor oil, or at least
>     something with no heavy fractions. If you let the oil evaporate,
>     and it contains heavy fractions (the tar and asphalt components of
>     petroleum) the light fractions evaporate first, leaving the machine
>     gummed up.
>
>     I've brought machines back from that. Weeks of work,
>     including a main shaft disassembly and cleaning. Everything where
>     there's a tight fitting bushing on a shaft had to be freed up.
>
>     Synthetic oils have one molecular weight - no heavy fractions.
>     So do some good machine oils, but synthetic motor oil is so cheap.
>     When they evaporate, they just leave behind a dry machine, which
>     is not a big deal. I've been using 0-20W synthetic motor oil
>     and white lithium grease for the parts that need greasing. The
>     motor pinion gets Lucas Red-And-Tacky grease, which resists being
>     thrown off by centrifugal force. That's the only high speed
>     gear that needs it.
>
>     John Nagle
>
>     On 06/28/2016 10:00 PM, Gil Smith wrote:
>     > Hi John:
>     >
>     > Thanks for the troubleshooting tips.
>     >
>     > It looked clean and greased, and I turned it on and had it running for a
>     > few minutes, and it seemed fine, then I turned it off to change the
>     > ribbon and wipe it down a bit.  I suspect that while I was wiping it
>     > down, I touched whatever metal bit triggers the CR function, so when I
>     > turned it back on the carriage zoomed to the left.  This would not have
>     > been too alarming except that the motor sounded like it was grinding as
>     > well, and something started to smell.  Turned it off right away.
>     >
>     > Next thing I did was to turn the motor fan by hand (yes, CCW) to test
>     > the mechanism and it felt very tight (compared to how it felt normally,
>     > such as when I tried the same thing just before turning it on for the
>     > first time in ten years).
>     >
>     > When first rebuilding this unit, I had the carriage jump past the stop
>     > (by tilting the unit on its left side without first moving the carriage
>     > to the left), so this time I had horror flashbacks to that experience.
>     > Back then, it not only jumped the stop but one of the selector bail
>     > parts broke off at the end.
>     >
>     > Anyway, I had completely forgotten about the button on the left that
>     > releases the carriage ("you do know how a button works, don't you?"  --
>     > Roy on IT Crowd) until George reminded me.  Yes it released just fine
>     > and was not past the stop.
>     >
>     > However, it was still very tight when I tried to turn it by hand.
>     > George said to oil 'er up and that was indeed the problem.  The main
>     > shaft took a lot of oil.  I filled the cups and such as well and it came
>     > back to life with a normal sound after just a few seconds of running.
>     >
>     > So, it is a good lesson to not presume that a previously-oiled unit is
>     > still properly lubricated after a decade of storage, even storage
>     > inside.  If it has been a while, lube it up before turning it on.
>     >
>     > Yeah, I should have known better.
>     >
>     > gil
>     >
>     >
>     > gil smith, AF7EZ
>     > greenkeys moderator
>     > gil at baudot.net <mailto:gil at baudot.net> <mailto:gil at baudot.net>
>     >
>     >
>     >     -------- Original Message --------
>     >     Subject: Re: HELP ! my M15 carriage is stuck to the left!
>     >     From: John Nagle <nagle at animats.com <mailto:nagle at animats.com>
>     ><mailto:nagle at animats.com>>
>     >     Date: Tue, June 28, 2016 2:41 pm
>     >     To: greenkeys at mailman.qth.net <mailto:greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>
>     <mailto:greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>
>     >
>     >     > From: "Gil Smith"<gil at baudot.net <mailto:gil at baudot.net> ><mailto:gil at baudot.net>>
>     Subject: [GreenKeys] HELP !
>     >     my M15
>     >     > carriage is stuck to the left!
>     >
>     >     > Turned on my M15 for the first time in a while, and it was running
>     >     > fine.  The print was light so I shut it off to change the ribbon.
>     >     > Wiped it down a bit as well. Turned it back on and the carriage drove
>     >     > to the left.  Does not seem like a normal CR.  The dashpot is
>     >     > depressed fully, so I think it skipped over a stop.  I can manually
>     >     > turn it but it is tight. I have fully been through this machine,
>     >     > though it has been many years.  I believe I had this issue before,
>     >     > but unsure of the fix.
>     >
>     >     Dashpot fully depressed is the normal left margin condition. The
>     >     left margin adjustment is the long screw on the carriage that
>     >     hits the dashpot lever. That's probably not the problem.
>     >
>     >     - Unclear about "I can manually turn it but it is tight".
>     >
>     >     - Can you move the carriage by hand? If you can, then
>     >     it's not stuck, the carriage advance mechanism didn't get
>     >     reset after a carriage return?
>     >
>     >     - If you can't move the carriage by hand, will the carriage
>     >     unlock and move if you press the carriage release button on
>     >     the left side of the machine?
>     >
>     >     - If the carriage will move, if you let it return, does it
>     >     lock into place as the carriage advance mechanism re-engages?
>     >
>     >     John Nagle
>     >
>
>
>
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-- 
Richard Knoppow
1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com
WB6KBL