The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Guillotine Shear blade doesn't fully clear

Well, been a while since I've been on the Bolt, lots of other prioritys have been dragging me
away. In fact, Old Blue has been sitting in the garage idle since last Thanksgiving and all she
needs is for the generator to be rebuilt, and Ken got me the kits around Christmas.
So....a few of the things that have had me busy the past year are the powered bead roller that
I made, the English wheel that I made work on the Cyclekart that I'm scratch building all the parts
for 'cept for the wheels, tires, engine and chain. And.....the thing that gives me reason to open this
thread, a foot stomp shear.
My big bro passed on about ten years ago and left a pretty complete fabrication shop with his son.
The nephew doesn't have any use for the tools and I just brought a 50" Grizzly slip roller and
52" Grizzly foot shear.
The shear has been giving me headaches for two weeks now. It's the typical foot stomp type shear
seen in many small shops, in fact, I had the exact same model in my shop when I was working at
the lab. Unless you have one of these or have access to one you might not understand what my
problem is. After the cut the blade is returned to the up position by two large compression spring
which are 'compressed', when you step on the foot pedal/bar. This one does not fully return the
blade and it is still engaged for about 4-6". To position the sheet for the next cut you have to lift
the foot pedal and hold it while you place the sheet, the return springs simply are not strong enough
to open the gap by them selves. The adjusting nuts are backed of as far as they go, in other words,
it can't be adjusted any further. A call to Grizzly was useless, the tech new nothing more than to
read the instructions in the manual for adjusting the blade.
Oh, also, this is actually a new machine that was virtually never used, it still had the cosmoline
on the blades when I brought it into my shop last month, as was the same condition that the
roller was in. I believe my brother bought the tools just before he passed and never had a
chance to use them.
So......has any one got one of these in their shop and have you run into similar problems
with it??????
Thanks,
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Welcome back Denny, I missed you!!
If you shorten the existing springs, it may help some?
That means taking them off, heat to red/yellow hot where you want to bend it, to hook back in shorter.
I'm thinking this would be a temp fix and the problem would be back.
Piggy back a couple springs on the original springs?
How about another couple return springs added to the foot pedal?
Old garage door springs, cut to what you need may also be an option.
I'm talking about the long ones that were along the door rails.
These are just idea''s and would like to know how you solve this problem.

If I get up your way, I will definitely call and stop by.
Don

Just looked up the http://www.grizzly.com/products/52-Sheet-Metal-Shear/G5772 Shear.
Those are expansion springs.
I would look into adding helper springs to the foot pedal after you make sure all bearings and joints are lubed and in good shape.

Another thought, Could there be something bent, Say the linkage?

Just thoughts And let us know how you fix it.
Don

Right.....compression springs. Thought about putting a shim under the bottom, but that would
entail building a spring compressor to work with those 2" (approx) diameter springs.
Nope, this shear is in "like new" condition. Nothing bent, properly lubed all moving parts, everything
is free to move, just appears that there is not adequate spring to return it all the way.
Tried a couple of 3/8 Unistrut beam clamps with screw hooks, one on the very front lip of the table and
one below it on the foot pedal. This is spaced out so that a pair of a 3/4"x8"x.110" springs put just enough
tension on the pedal to pull the blade all the way up. Problem is.....the stroke of the foot pedal at that point
is about a full 10". My pair of six dollar 8" springs after the first stomp are now 11" springs. You can't stretch
8" tension springs out to 19" and expect them to come back to their original size. Way beyond their yield point.
So...back to the drawing board. Might see if I can find one of those garage door tension springs Don, I'd have
to cut it way down cuz with clamps and hooks, there is only that 8" distance to fit one in there.
These shears were/are all made the exact same way whether they are branded Grizzly, Northern Tool,
Penn Tool, Baileigh, Woodward Fab, etc. This couldn't be the only one that was sent out with a weak set of
return springs. .
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny

Have you tried giving the pivot points a shot of oil? Maybe after sitting for so long, they're just a bit stiff. Costs nearly nothing and it's worth a shot.
Maybe it's that simple.

Just another thought.
How about some kind of another foot stomp pedal, to be placed under the down stroke pedal.
It could be used to to help raise the blade back up.

Just trying to think outside the box and make something work.
Don

Edit: If you opt for trying out the garage door spring. Check out your local garage door repair shops.
They probably just take used ones to the scrap yard.
Hook one end to the pedal and the other to to the rafters.
Just a thought.
Don

Have you tried to contact grizzly? They sell parts

Due to GW's suggestion, I looked up what may be the springs you need.
http://www.grizzly.com/parts/FOOT-PEDAL-SPRING/P5772041

But, with the old ones failing with not much use, I would hesitate about buying new ones, that may fail just as quick.

Just my thoughts.
Don

Thanks guys, Tried all that before I posted the thread. New tool about 10-12 years old, stored inside, probably
not used more then a few times, oiled, greased, checked adjustments within the past two weeks.
Doesn't make sense to have to jerry rig ropes and pulleys from, the ceiling or such as there are tens of thousands
of these in use and have been made the same way for many decades. No reason original compression springs
should have lost their "spring" just sitting in a shop for 10 years.
Reread the thread GW.....first step was to call Grizzly, their tech hasn't a clue, simply looked up the adjustment
in the manual, same as I did before calling.
thanks, but....I'm moving on and will just chalk this up to another piece of crap that comes out of China.
dg.

Is there room behind your machine (wall space) to add a cantilever bar with an adjustable weight? Similar to the upright versions on sheet metal brakes? Of course, you would be working against that weight when applying foot pressure.

Not gonna get all that involved MN. Easy enough to just hold the foot peddle up with my
knee when positioning the sheet. I'll just have to live with that. Tried multiple bungees at
various points along the peddle side bars, NG.
Made up my mind to get on with life and keep it simple, just pull the pedal up to get the
blade clear.
dg

Ok, so I lied! Update for anyone who runs into a similar problem.
I can't leave well enough alone you know.
I added a 10" bias spring to each side of the foot pedal and the
blade now returns to full open.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/167643991
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

That doesn't look too obscene.

Beats the ell out of hanging a weight on a pulley from the rafters.
dg