Edison Mandrel Removal Question

[holmes54]

Hi!

I've been working on an Edison Home Model D. The mandrel was completely frozen when I got it but I have since loosened it after using acid on the pot metal bearing. The bearing isn't completely gone but the mandrel is easily turning and I am planning to chip the rest out when I get the mandrel out.
I have never done this before and so I was wondering - should the mandrel just come free? Should I be able to turn it enough to get it out and disassemble it from the feedscrew etc. or is there something else I need to do? All screws have been removed and like I said the mandrel is freely turning now for the most part.
I was wondering if I need to remove the piece which I have circled in red before the mandrel will come out?

Thanks!

[Bob]

As long as the set screws are removed from the belt pully and the bearing the mandrel should come out. There is a set screw on the other side of that bearing. Once you pull the mandrel shaft out the feedscrew and pully will fall right off. You should be able to tap out the bearing too. You don't have to remove the bearing first.

[VintageTechnologies]

I do not recommend tapping out the swollen bearing from the iron casting -- the casting is brittle and the upright that holds the bushing could break off! There is a much better way, as I described on a previous thread two years ago:

The biggest problem is freeing the mandrel shaft from the bushing and then removing the swollen bushing without damaging the machine. The bedplate is cast iron, and the metal upright that holds the bushing could snap off if you are too forceful with it. On the one occasion that I had to replace one, I used a penetrating solvent to loosen up the mandrel shaft and then gradually twisted and wiggled it free without too much force. I did not want to risk damaging the metal or paint by trying to drill or cut the bushing out, so I devised a very simple solution to squeeze it out without any stress to the casting: I found a piece of water pipe whose interior dimension was large enough to slip over the bushing. I cut a piece of that pipe, perhaps an inch long and trued up the ends on a lathe. Then I found a long machine screw that would fit through the hole of the bushing, and a nut. I also found two washers that fit the machine screw, one large enough to butt against the end of the pipe, and one smaller than the diameter of the bushing. I slipped the pipe over the bushing to butt up against the upright holding the bushing. I put the small washer on the bolt and passed the bolt through the bushing until the bolt head with small washer was against the bushing. The bolt was long enough to project beyond the pipe that shrouded the bushing. I slipped on the large washer, then the nut. All I had to do was turn the nut until it pulled the bushing clean through the upright and into the pipe. Nothing could have been simpler or less forceful.

Bronze bearings are available as replacements for the pot metal and are fine for most people, but I went a different route. I tried a Timken needle bearing (http://www.timken.com) for minimum friction. I found a bearing with the correct I.D., but had to machine a metal adapter sleeve to make the O.D. fit the Edison. I simply press fit the bearing into the adapter sleeve. I packed the bearing with LubriPlate, a white lithium grease. My experiment was worthwhile, it extended the playing time per winding.