I need to remove this South Bend center wheel arbor without damaging it.

Anyone have any ideas? It doesn't unscrew or easlily drive out. I tried on the staking set, but didn't want to hit it extremly hard. I want to put this arbor in a solid gold wheel for a "The Studebaker".

Can anyone offer a solution to this problem; I for one would be interested.


Frank

OK, I'll try to describe a procedure that MIGHT work.
This wheel is staked (riveted) to the arbor shaft, in a way similiar to a balance wheel on a staff. Place the assembly in a staking set so that the rim of the wheel is supported, but that all of the steel will pass through the hole. Using a convex stake that will rest on the steel hub (NOT on the end of the pivot) inside of the staking marks, drive out the arbor. This will leave some marks on the gear wheel where the steel hub was driven into the brass to hold it in place. This cannot be avoided. This style of center wheel was not supposed to be taken apart by a watchmaker, replacements were sold as a complete unit. Its too bad we cannot still get them that way from the factory.
Take the arbor shaft and place the hub into a slightly oversize collet and place in the lathe. By tightening the collet you can push the deformed punch marks back into the hub, making it return to its original diameter. Now the replacement gear wheel can be placed on the arbor hub. Supporting the lower part of the pinion gear in a staking set, you can use a four pronged riveting punch to restake the new wheel securely onto the arbor shaft. If you are feeling really adventurous, you can line up the original staking marks and restake each one individually by adjusting the staking table to center on each original rivet and then using a small round faced punch to redo the original rivet, one at a time.

Hi Ed
I was just wondering if eccentricity would be a factor in mounting the wheel, on to another arbor. As far as affecting the gear train.

Frank

Frank,
From a technical standpoint, yes I believe that a lack of concentricity could affect timekeeping by varying the amount of power transmitted through the gear train. From a practical standpoint, the large diameter of the gear wheel should lessen the effect, and as long as the gear wheel isn't grossly out of round, I don't think that the timekeeping will be affected to a measureable degree.

Ed

Thanks for the reply. It was just a question that popped-up in my head, after reading your reply.


Frank