Some Days are Easier than Others

Today was another day of rust removal. Now my order at Acklands came in and I have better emery-cloth and some rust remover to try out. Had bought a new set of wrenches at Home Depot, an open end - close end ratchet combination set in the typical heavy plastic packaging that you need a set of shears to open. When I came to use the 9/16" wrench I find the ratchet did not work, and looking at it closer it was a used wrench of a sightly different style (still a Husky). Back to Home Depot for a refund, but that was not so easy. Even though the packaging claims lifetime warranty there was a lot of waffling going on, I felt they were of the opinion that they were letting me get away with something. Frustrating.

Here is my friend Tom at the top of Rogers Pass, with the press in tow.

Then a slight, could have been bad mishap. I had attached the thow-off leaver linkage and left the lever pushed forward. Then I worked on cleaning rust off the platen and the tympan bale areas. I left the top bale folded down while I got busy with something else. As I turned the flywheel cleaning the main rocker shaft I felt a bit of resistance on the flywheel. Hm that's not right. As it turns out there id just the right amount of extra space left in the throw-off position so that the bale just gets squeezed a bit - without damage.
 
Note to self:
1. Never leave anything on the platen that could cause damage.
2. Always turn over the press for a full cycle by hand, and check if anything seems to take too much force!
3. Never leave the platen bales open!