Plomb/Proto Gear Puller Spring Clips?

[catalytic]

Hi,

I just brought home this old Plomb gear puller after a few months of searching. It's the same as a Proto 4011 (and at least one interim company as well).


(I apologize for the low quality pics -- these are the seller's...I haven't had time to break out the camera yet)

The current model ships with a spring clip to be attached to each jaw where it meets the puller bar:

I've never used this style puller before -- can someone tell me what the spring clips do, and in what situations they are useful?

 

[WWIIjeep]

I've never used this style puller before -- can someone tell me what the spring clips do, and in what situations they are useful?

The spring clips go on the t-bar, on both sides of the puller legs to hold the legs in position so they don't fall off or slide out of position while you're setting the puller in place. You don't absolutely need them, but sometimes they're handy, kind of like a third hand.

FWIW, I use the clips sometimes on the newer 3-leg version of that puller, but hardly ever on the 2-leg puller. It's more fun to drop one or both of the legs on the floor and cuss at it than to walk back to the tool box and grab the clips.

 

[catalytic]

Thanks for the reply. Do you guys have any other advice re: setting up this puller?

Its first job will be pulling a large resaw bandsaw wheel off of a 900lb Davis & Wells. This particular machine was manufactured with a wheel bore that is VERY close in diameter to the wheel shaft. This is great when running the saw, but I've been made to understand that setup has to be perfect to pull the wheel successfully.

The current plan is to either use a large wooden handscrew clamp to clamp the puller jaws together so they don't pop off, or alternatively to weld/fabricate a custom clamp to accomplish the same thing.

 

[Outlawmws]

Thanks for the reply. Do you guys have any other advice re: setting up this puller?

Its first job will be pulling a large resaw bandsaw wheel off of a 900lb Davis & Wells. This particular machine was manufactured with a wheel bore that is VERY close in diameter to the wheel shaft. This is great when running the saw, but I've been made to understand that setup has to be perfect to pull the wheel successfully.

The current plan is to either use a large wooden handscrew clamp to clamp the puller jaws together so they don't pop off, or alternatively to weld/fabricate a custom clamp to accomplish the same thing.

How about just a big rubber band or two to keep them in place? less weight and less likely to affect the angle of the pull.

 

[WWIIjeep]

How about just a big rubber band or two to keep them in place? less weight and less likely to affect the angle of the pull.

^^^^^^ +1

I've tried to use clamps before with various puller setups, and it rarely works well, plus it can be a real PITA to set up (that even from the guy who thinks it's fun to drop puller parts during setup).

The spring clips won't help for that either, because they're more of a setup aid and won't stay in place under much sideways pressure.

Did you only get the pair of (4016) long legs? There were (are) 4 styles of legs for the 4011 puller. Unless you have to reach quite deep to get to the back of the wheel, you'd be better off with the short legs (4015). The more distance you have in front of the pull, or between the puller and the "pullee" the harder it is to maintain a straight pull with a crossarm puller. Not that you can't do it with what you've got, just that it might be more touchy.

If you've only got a thin edge to grab on the wheel hub, it would probably be better to use a bearing separator around the hub (if you can get one in there) because you can clamp that so it can't slip off.

Just so you know, the current-production puller legs available from Proto will still fit your old Plomb crossarm. The only thing that they've changed is the screw thread, so your crossarm and forcing screw won't interchange with the current style crossarm and screw. Just something to be aware of if you're shopping for more parts at swap meets or on ePrey.

Here's the long and short puller legs for comparison: