Bent arbor

[Brianta]

Hi all,

I am hoping someone can give me some hints on how to best straighten a bent arbor from an Ingraham clock works. I don't have a lathe or anything like that to stick it in, just normal tools. It seems as though I will probably need to remove the wheel and lantern pinion (some how)?

 

[Charles E. Davis]

It takes three hands!
I generally open a vise and rest the ends of the shaft, not the pivots. on it, and rotate to find the highest point. In your case you need to apply taps from a punch next to the pinion.
Keep repeating until it spins with no up or down motion.
It takes three hands!

 

[Willie X]

A forth hand wouldn't hurt!
I use the same method as Charles, except I use a hardwood block or stick against the side/s of the trundle cap/s. Go very slowly, so you don't to bend it past where it needs to be. My hardwood block is about 1/2" x 3/4" and 3" long. Making a small "V" notch across the end will help a lot. Willie X

 

[matthiasi]

I generally use a set of V-blocks. I align these along a hardwood straightedge and clamp them down. I would remove the upper collet and pinion wires before attempting to straighten them as previously posted. The advantage of the V-blocks (a cheap set will do) is that they have the ability to capture the arbour. On the vise they tend to move around too much. Also, as they are steel, you can more effectively straighten the arbour as there is no give or bounce as is the case when using wood.

Doing it this way you only need two hands.

 

[bangster]

If it were me, I'd clamp the bent section in a vise, with the lantern shroud up close to the vise, then grab the wheel & pinion and gently bend it straight with my hands. Probably not the right way. But that's how I'd do it.

 

[harold bain]

Using a hardwood block, make a hole in it the size of the arbor, then gradually push it to straighten it. Use the spin test to see when you have it straight.

 

[bangster]

Better than my idea.

 

[Brianta]

Thanks all for the suggestions! I managed to use an anvil and small punch to gently tap it back straight. I put the short side (un-bent side) in my Dremel and used it to check for "true-ness". I don't see any wobble or anything - looks pretty much perfectly straight again.

 

[shutterbug]

One more option for those searching in the future: Put the bent end in a drill chuck to hold it while bending by hand or with a block.

 

[bangster]

Another idea.

 

[Clockrepairforfun]

Great post. Glad it worked out. Lots of good tips