Have you ever tried to remove a drive shaft coupling from a Goss Community press (see Figure 1)?

The normal way is to loosen the setscrews in the spline coupling and then slide the collar by tapping it gently with a hammer.

In some cases, tapping the collar will not cause the collar to slide. If this is the case, you will have to become more aggressive with the hammer. (Getting a bigger hammer is the most common solution to the problem.)

But be careful: Using a bigger hammer or using more force to remove the coupling can cause the drive-side oil case to become damaged if too much force is applied.

What happens when a bigger hammer doesn’t work?

One option is to make a 2-piece collar that will clamp down on the drive shaft close enough to the shaft spline coupling to allow you to use a small hydraulic pump and cylinder to remove the coupling.

Hopefully, at this point the splined drive coupling can be forced off. If the range of the hydraulic cylinder has been reached before the coupling clears the end of the shaft, the hydraulics can be released and the collar can be repositioned enough to partially remove the drive shaft collar. Continue the process until the collar has been moved far enough to allow the drive shaft to be removed.

Making the collar

The locking collar can be made from scrap material (see Figure 2).

I prefer to make the collar at least 2 inches thick and 2 inches in depth. The inside diameter of the collar should be .002 to .003-inch smaller than the outside diameter of the drive shaft.

Once the collar is complete, the collar is then drilled (with a bit that is sized to tap for a .375-inch bolt) on each side so that once the collar is cut in half, the holes in each half of the collar will line up with one another.

The second piece of the collar, meantime, should be drilled out large enough for the .375-inch bolt to pass through the hole that was drilled.

The collar can then be fastened to the drive shaft as shown in Figure 3.

Another option is to heat the coupling in order to enlarge it and loosen any rust that’s formed. But be very careful when using an open flame around oil, ink, paper lint and other materials. While heating up the coupling significantly increases your chances of removing the component, exercise extreme caution if choosing this option.

When all else fails, the spline coupling can be cut in half, but keep in mind you’ll ruin the coupling and the poly spacers contained inside it.

This procedure will cost you an extra $125 for two new spline couplings and two new spacers, but will definitely allow you to remove the drive shaft without causing damage to the press units or to the drive shafts.

Frank Bourlon has more than 30 years’ experience in the newspaper industry. He is the executive and training director for the Newspaper Production & Research Center. He can be reached at 405.524.7774 or via e-mail at nprc@flash.net