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MMD > Archives > February 1999 > 1999.02.27 > 07Prev  Next


Leather Pouch On Early Ampico Air Motor Governor
By Bruce Clark

Re: Missing Ampico parts

Terry Smythe inquired about Ampico stop collars.  Sorry I do not have
any of these.  However I would like to respond to your paragraph:

> The tempo governor, as shown in illustration 7 (lower right), has
> what may be a strange modification.  In the absence of a clear
> illustration of its bottom side, we are not sure what's supposed to
> be under the leaf spring.  A crude round leather valve would appear
> to allow atmospheric pressure to enter a cavity beneath it, then
> connected to the treble end of the action".  We presume "action"
> means "stack".  If we knew what the purpose of this valve is, we
> might be able to figure out how to restore it to its original
> state."

This leather pouch is an addition Ampico placed on their air motor
governor, in an attempt to add more tension to the governor spring when
the expression called for more vacuum.  (When this occurs, the vacuum
on the tracker bar, can slow down the air motor.)

This device was supposed to compensate for drag on the paper, as it
moved over the tracker bar during high vacuum demands.  It is connected
to the treble end of the stack.  I cannot say that it made much differ-
ence, and when the leather got the least bit porous, it did nothing.
I think it was discontinued in later models.

Bruce Clark


(Message sent Sat 27 Feb 1999, 12:51:53 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Air, Ampico, Early, Governor, Leather, Motor, Pouch

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