How do I open this spring barrel?

[alang]

Today I started working on the motor of my Royal external horn machine. Everything went well until I got to the spring barrel. I could not figure out how to open it. Please see the pics. It looks like some kind of staples on top of the barrel, but I was not able to pull them out or bend or open them. Has anybody seen this before? I appreciate any help.

Thanks
Andreas

[Brad]

Andres,

I believe the "staples" are just part of the barrel protruding through holes in the combination cover plate and gear. Looking at the full size images, it looks like there are tack welds at these tabs. I would look more closely there to confirm and if so, you will need to grind off the welds. A dremel rotary tool would probably do the job. I would not cut the tabs off, I would maintain them as you may need to weld them back.

If they are not welded, then perhaps they are bent to gear plate in place. Can you move the gear plate relative to the barrel?

[alang]

Brad,

thanks for your response. The gear plate does not move or "rotate" relative to the barrel. And the tabs don't seem to be bent, so them being welded into place could be possible. So if I understand you correctly you would suggest to grind off the "tacks" left and right of each of these tabs? What would I use later to weld it back on? I don't have a welder, only a blow torch, do you think it would be enough to solder it on?
Thanks
Andreas

[gramophoneshane]

Have you tried giving the tabs a gentle tap with a hammer?
Sometimes the gear/barrel cover is just a very tight fit on the barrel, and the tabs may be nothing more than designed to prevent the gear rotating or slipping on the barrel.
I find it hard to believe these would be welded or soldered, as the heat from either would cause the grease in the barrel to ignite.

[Brad]

I looked again and I still think I see some tack welds, however, I also agree with Shane, however, an electric spot weld would probably not be sufficient to ignite the grease.

It may be that the sides of each tab that are lower have been peened down to hold the cover in place. I would look to see if this is the case. If so, you will have to file or grind them so they are narrow enough for the tab to slip through the openings.

Shane, click on the images to get a full size rendering and see what you think.

Brad

[Guest]

Brad and Shane,

thank you so much for your continued help. It really was as easy as putting it loosely into a vise and tapping the tabs with a hammer. It looks like the tabs are the only thing holding the cover in place. Strange, why would they make the tabs lower on the side than in the middle? It really looked like spot welds.
Inside the barrel I found a completely dry spring, but I'll leave that for the weekend.

Thanks again!
Andreas

[alang]

Sorry, looks like I wasn't logged in when I posted my reply Yesterday ...

Brad and Shane,

thank you very much for your continued help. It ended up being the simple solution that Shane suggested, just a few taps with the hammer onto the tabs and suddenly it opened. I had tried to pry it open before, but was afraid I would break something if trying to hard. Turns out the lid is only held in place by the friction of these tabs. Not sure why they made them lower on the sides so they looked like weld spots?
Anyway, problem solved. Found a completely dry spring in the barrel, but that's a task for next weekend.

Thanks again
Andreas