Deckel FP2 chain tension

[Greg Quenneville]

Greetings experts...

I am de-bubbafying my recently acquired 1962 FP2. In the attached photo of the drive chain you can see too much chain slack. In the center of the run there is 42mm/ 1.7" of slack.

Des this mean "Hello Franz" againor is it possible to remove a link and not end up too short?

Also...can anyone tell me the diameter of the spindle handwheel that bolts to the top pulley? (Bubba used mine for a frisbee I guess)

Thanks,
Greg Q
Melbourne

 

[TNB]

Greg

Chain slack is common on Deckels. Yours doesn't look abnormal to me.
It probably makes an annoying ticking noise, but nothing to really worry about.
If you want to chek what a new chain would bring you, you could measure a length of 20/30 links and see how far it is from the theoretical length. But I doubt you will find a significant difference.

Try to borrow a chain tool and see if you can remove a link ? And if it does not the trick, there exist half links. Finding one of the correct width may be tricky though.
Otherwise, the best cure could be to add a chain tensionner (a simple nylon pulley on a bearing, an eccentric shaft and you're done)

 

[AlfaGTA]

Greg:
T. has it pretty well summed up. Your slack is not unusual ,perhaps a bit on the slack side but won't cause any issues i believe.
Most likely the result of wear in the sprockets and chain. Replacing all will get things tighter, but not a bunch.
I have bought replacement chain and sprockets that i made fit (not original kit) from McMaster Carr here stateside.
Believe (from memory) that is an ISO 06B chain.
A chain tensioner is a simple fix...just be sure to fit it to the non drive side of the chain...

OD of the hand wheel should be about 7 1/4" across the outside rim....
Cheers Ross

 

[Greg Quenneville]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions, fellas. I thought the slack a bit much because the chain has been contacting that oil delivery tube at one o'clock on the large sprocket. I found the master link, removed it and discovered less than a half link of slack all told, so I will try to add a tensioner.

Does anyone know the thickness of that blank boss in the casting? (In the centre of the photo). If drilling and tapping a blind hole there is ill-advised I will mount something from the side.

Ross...can you verify that the chain runs clockwise?

Greg

 

[ole.steen]

Guys!

This must be the right invention for you deckelites:

Roll-Ring Chain Tensioner from Renold

Ole

 

[AlfaGTA]

Greg:
Chain runs the same way the hand wheel goes, that is opposite to the horizontal spindle...Or...counter clock as viewed from the rear.
That makes the slack side where the oil delivery pipe is.....
The back of the casting is about 1/4-3/8" thick as i recall. Oil is present for the spindle and feed gearboxes. However between the two boxes where the
sheet metal cover is that holds the oil guns is an open cavity where no oil is present.....Safe to mount a tensioner there. Pull the sheet metal cover and you will see the space.

Ole:
Saw a similar device the other day while looking for some chain info in the McMaster Carr cat. Never seen that used in actual service...wonder hoe well they work.

Cheers Ross

 

[Greg Quenneville]

Thanks Ross...I will pull the oil gun panel today and report back for posterity's sake.
Ole...thanks very much for that link. Renolds has a distributor 20 minutes from here I see, so I shall investigate later this morning. It seems like it would be an elegant solution to the problem.

Thanks Ross too for the chain rotation direction info. I think I have an old 911 solid cam chain tensioner here somewhere that shouldn't offend the Deckel too much :-)

Greg

 

[Greg Quenneville]

Well, some months have gone by repairing other machines and making way for new ones. I finally installed the tensioner today...I used the product Ole.Steen mentioned: Renold roll ring.

Renold only make two sizes of roll ring for ISO 06-B chain; I bought the larger, 36 tooth size which seems about perfect.

The Renold part number is 10603601

 

[JHOLLAND1]

video link

ROLL-RING Chain Tensioner - YouTube

 

[ole.steen]

Greg!

We expect a report
Was it good? Did all the noise disappear? A real improvement, or just another gadget? (I've never tried it myself, just seen it on the webpage)

Ole

 

[Greg Quenneville]

I thought that I had relied earlier, but apparently not: i can't comment on the noise because I never ran the machine. My inspection revealed that the chain was interfering with the oil feed tube so that was the first thing that I wanted to address. The reports are that the roll-ring does make a difference, especially with chain whip.

I am just finishing off my two year FP1 project today so I won't have the FP2 running for a couple of weeks yet. There is an oil leak from one of the lower shafts that I have to repair, and the wiring is a disaster.

Greg

 

[ballen]

Greg, could you please report on the Renold ROLL-RING Chain Tensioner on your FP2. Is it working well? Do you think it's reducing the chain noise? Cheers, Bruce

 

[traditional-tools]

Does look interesting. I'd like to hear how it's working. I am tending to do as Ross suggests, in my case, and leave it be and not worry about it. It wasn't coming off the sprockets, it just looked visually more slack than I would like.

This roll-ring is such an easy install, it could be worth considering. Be curious on the cost. They have distribution in Los Angeles, it looks like, for me to check.

Cheers,
Alan

 

[ballen]

This roll-ring is such an easy install, it could be worth considering. Be curious on the cost. They have distribution in Los Angeles, it looks like, for me to check.

I checked the price at some point in the past, it was around $50 as I recall. If Greg tells us that it works well, it seems like a good deal.

 

[traditional-tools]

I checked the price at some point in the past, it was around $50 as I recall.

Actually that sounds like a pretty good investment, given the improvement on the youtube video.