Question re Triumph Motor

[Hailey]

I have a Triumph 3 spring triton motor that I have been working on. When I insert the main shaft back through the spring barrels ( this is the long shaft that has both ends of the shaft ridged out around the diameter of the shaft) and attempt to tighten the set screws at either end of the casting that appear to be there to secure the shaft in place, I note that these screws do not tightened up against the shaft at all. The shaft could actually be pushed through on either side if one would force it due to not being secured. I am positive that these set screws are original, as this machine is untouched. On further observation, is this shaft even supposed to be secured...or is it to rotate with the spring barrels when they turn?
I apologize for my ignorance here...it has been many years since I have had one of these apart! What is the purpose of the ridges around the diameter of each end of the shaft? On first observation, it would appear that they are there to allow these set screws to go far enough down so as to not allow the shaft to come out from the spring barrel.
Any help will be priceless!!

[Hailey]

Hasn't anybody ever had one of these apart??

[phonogfp]

Hasn't anybody ever had one of these apart??

It has been about 5 years since I had one apart. Too much water under the bridge (and machines on my bench) since then...! Sorry - -

George P.

[JerryVan]

I have not had one apart but, I think the obvious question is, do the screw holes go through to intersect with the shaft holes? If so, (and I assume they do), are the screws long enough to reach through to the shaft? If not, then one of two things must be the case; 1. they are the wrong screws, as in too short. 2. the holes were never threaded completely through, as in a manufacturing flaw.

In other words, something must retain the shaft and what seems obviously to be set screws must in fact be. Just gotta figure why they're not doing the job.

[phonojim]

I've had one of these apart too many times in the last 3 years, so I guess that qualifies me to give an opinion. JerryVan is correct. The setscrews are supposed to be long enough to go all the way through the casting and bottom out in the shaft grooves, thus locking the shaft in place endwise and preventing it from rotating within the casting. The barrels and their components all rotate around the shaft. The grooves in the shaft also prevent the setscrews from cutting into the shaft which could make it difficult to remove.

Hope this helps,
Jim

[Hailey]

Thanks for the feedback, thus far. However, the mystery remains, as the screws are original and do not quite extend to the grooves in the shaft. Possibly it is wear that has appeared to shorten these screws...however, there is no sign of wear on the ends of them??? I will be looking at an identical motor in a couple of days in order to hopefully rectify this issue. I quickly recall why I quit working on Edison machines now.

[phonojim]

Short answer: No one knows after 100 plus years why yours is like this. There are various lengths of screws in a Triton motor. Someone may have serviced this one "back in the day" and grabbed the wrong screws for the shaft, or the wrong ones may have been installed on a bad day at the factory. I certainly haven't seen everything, but the Tritons I've worked with have had long screws which bottom out before the head contacts the casting. And, it seems logical to me that the shaft would be locked in place to prevent it from rotating within the iron stanchions. Good luck with it.

Jim

[JerryVan]

Hailey,

Original screws or not, they're not correct. There's not much mystery there. As Jim says, they're probably original screws but not from that location.