Sculpey 301 - The Basics of Cleaning a Pasta Machine (continued)

Tightening Loose Pasta Machine Rod Nuts
Described by Carl Krucke, photography by daughter Lauren (age 10)

Materials and Tools:

• In addition to the tools needed for disassembly, you will need something small and pointed to pry the cap out of the adjusting knob.   A small but sharp flat blade screwdriver or an old knife will usually do the trick. That's what I used anyway, your mileage may vary...
• You will also need a 2nd 10mm wrench of some sort, a pair of pliers at a minimum.

Directions:

• Remove pieces in reverse order of assembly until the crank handle side plate is off and the blades are out.   Slip the two spacer tubes off of the threaded rods.

• Prying the cap out of the center of the thickness adjusting knob is the hardest part.  Some are pretty tight, others give up fairly easily.  Use the small sharp flat bladed screwdriver and just keep prying around until the cap pops out.   A knife can work if the cap isn't too tight.   This one broke the tip off my old knife because I had put it back in tighter than it had been before, because I knew I wasn't going to have to take it apart again.   I guess I wasn't thinking about writing this How-To page...   Anyway, please be careful, because when it does come off, it's usually rather sudden and I'd rather we all avoided injuries.

• If you should happen to bend the knob or cap, it's easily bent back into shape with a pair of needle nose pliers.   File off sharp edges if necessary.
   
• Inside the knob you will see a nut, with a spring behind it.   Use your 10mm wrench and loosen (counterclockwise) the nut.

• The spring will follow the nut off the end of the adjusting roller's shaft.   Don't let it get away from you!   Note that the spring is conical and the small end is to the outside.

• The knob can now be removed, nothing else is holding it.

 

• Remove the small screw holding the side cover on and remove the side cover.   (It's starting to be old hat now, isn't it?)

• Now you can see the nuts and rods that were spinning, as well as the bracket that joins them.   Remove this assembly by holding the rods and pushing them through the side plate.   You may have to wiggle it a little before the tabs that align the rod on one side let go, but it will slide right out.   If the shaft in the middle of the adjustable roller starts to come with it, just push it back through with your finger like I'm doing here.

• Okay, we've gotten to the heart of the problem.   The fix is to firmly tighten the pairs of nuts on each rod against each other, with the bracket in between.   This is where you need your 2nd 10mm wrench.   You want these to be tighter than the ones on the other ends of the rods will ever be, otherwise the rods might spin again the next time you clean the machine, so don't be scared and make them good and tight.

• The pair of nuts on the other end of the bracket are a little more troublesome because most wrenches won't fit onto the nut that's between the aligning tabs.   I usually use a set of pliers to hold the sheltered nut still and tighten the other nut with my usual wrench.

• If that's not working out for you, an alternative method is to jamb a small flat blade screwdriver between the nut and the aligning tab and try to hold the nut still that way.

• Make sure both pairs of nuts are good and tight because you don't want to have to do this over again.   While this job isn't that hard, it's still taking up time that could be spent working polymer clay!
   
• Reassembly is basically the reverse of disassembly.   First put the rods/bracket assembly back in through the two holes in the side plate.   You'll probably have to guide the shaft that runs through the adjustable roller into its hole in the bracket as you push the assembly into the side plate.

• Make sure the two aligning tabs go into their slots and give it a good squeeze to bottom it out.

• Reinstall the side plate cover with the small screw.   As usual, screw it in only far enough to just hold it on, not so far as to have a knuckle nicking amount of the end of the screw sticking through the other side.   This is such old hat to you now, I'm not even including a picture.

• Now rotate the shaft that runs through the adjustable rollers until the rollers are as close together as they can be.   The flats on the end of the shaft should be horizontal, as would have been seen better here, were my hand not in the way quite so much.

• Put the adjusting knob back on.   It should go right on with the knob in position number 1.

• Here's where we put the spring and nut back on.   Remember, the spring goes on first, with its small end facing out.   I find it easier to start the nut onto the threads if I first use one finger to compress the spring as shown on the inset.   Run the nut on until it just bottoms out.   Make sure you don't get the end of the spring pinched between the nut and where it bottoms out.

• Tighten the nut, but not real tight, just bottomed out and snugged up a little more past that.

• Put the adjusting knob cap back on.   Press it in as much as you can with your fingers, then give a few taps around the edges with the handle of the screwdriver (or other non-marring hammer-like object...) to even it out.

• After that, just slide the two spacer tubes back on and you're back where we started.   Good job!

• Of course, we're not really finished.   Just done with that little side track.   Click here to get back to the Basic Pasta Machine Cleaning page.