Removing rear motor panel on old SF-600

[Old Grey]

I forgot that I did this 5 years ago, so I'll share what I did.

Newer SF-600's have a bolted on motor panel with a foam gasket, so it's an easily bolt off and on.
But old SF-600's have wood screws with the panel glued down with a strong silicon type sealer, that is seamanly unmovable.

The regular procedure from SF - this is what Bill Jones was told by Harrold Bettes from SF -, was that you cut a hole in the cabinet and work through there.

I had Bill's notes in my hand, and had marked out the hole, but I just didn't have the heart to cut it. I thought if I brute force it with a very large heavy duty screw puller, it might come off.

This is what I did

1 - Remove the rear reversing disk valve. I think all the old benches used silicon, but you can feel around the inside to make sure the meniscus is silicon.

2 - I got a strong piece of 4" x 2" wood about 24" long and drilled a hole in it. Can't remember the actual length so it might have been only 16", but whatever fits, with the longer the better.

3 - I passed it through the left rear motor blow hole - the holes for revering the motor flow - and lay it vertically flat against the inside of the motor panel so that the hole faced me.

4 - I slid a 1" diameter threaded rod through the hole and put a steel plate/washer and nut on the inside. I think I actually used a ¾" rod, but the bigger the better. You have to push the setup far left in the hole, so that you can get your hand in on the side as well.

5 - Next I got a 5ft length of 4" x 2" x 3/16" wall square tube with a hole drilled about a third of the way along, and passed that over the 1" rod so that the 5ft SHS spanned horizontally across the back of the entire bench.

6 - I packed the ends of the 5ft SHS where it rested on the cabinet, so that it rested on the thick step of the plywood cabinet, not the thin protrusions.

7 - I greased the threaded rod and put a nut and washer on the outside, and started screwing. I keep screwing, and screwing, and was about to give up because there was so much pressure, but I put my hand into the hole with a knife and started stabbing/prying the gap as a last ditch effort. Then I heard silicon tearing, so it was more screwing, then waiting until the silicon was quiet, and just repeating that slowly until one side was free.

8 - Swap everything to the other hole, and continue until the panel comes off.

The motor panel bows quite a bit but I didn't hear any wood cracking, so I continued. If the panel did snap I suppose it not hard to make another.
The panel did de-laminate on one edge, but if you are gluing it back down just remove the high spots.
You could convert it to bolts and foam gasket, which would require the damaged areas be routed down and repaired with wood strips.

It was lucky that I went with the puller because the electrical termination block on the 240 volt benches is mounted on the inside of the right side, and I would have cut it to pieces if I cut the hole in the side.

I think SF got so used to gluing the panel on their non ratiometric SF-110, that they continued it on all their benches not realising that ratiometric benches doesn't loose accuracy with a motor chamber leaks, just capacity.

[Old Grey]

More info from Dave

I am impressed with your perseverance.
I just got the wood chisels out to take off that panel.
I think I asked them "what were you thinking?"
Then ordered a replacement panel (that they no longer glued down) so everything matched colorwise.

If you are in the US, Dave's idea is another option. Elsewhere, you could remake the panel.

I thought about this after for the screw puller, but you might be able to angle the 4" x 2" internal wood diagonally and put a spacer on the end so it pushed directly on the corner, and that might make it easier to start the panel separation because the force will be on a smaller area.

[sleeper sedan]

Thank you for that post, I'm about to remove the back panel from my SF-600... It was manufactured in 1995. I am considering a motor change. I'll post in a different section regarding the motors soon.

Thanks,
Clark

[Old Grey]

Thank you for that post, I'm about to remove the back panel from my SF-600... It was manufactured in 1995. I am considering a motor change. I'll post in a different section regarding the motors soon.

Thanks,
Clark

Cool

The diagonal idea might not work because it's dependant on the length of the internal wood, and there is not much room to turn it inside the cabinet.

Just remember to go big, it makes it easier.

Threaded rod from the hardware is about $20-$30, and that was the only cost because everything else was lying around.

Tell us how you went, and take some pics for the forum.

[Malvin]

Here is pictures that Chad Speir took you must be log in to see SF 600
hope this helps you guys you can thank Chad for the pictures
http://www.flowbenchtech.com/forum/view ... ?f=5&t=798

[1960FL]

Sleeper,

Welcome to the Forum, While you have your bench apart do you think you could do us a favor and put a micrometer on the orifice disk there seams to be some need to find out exactly what the thickness is on a stock SF bench.

Thanks

Rick

[sleeper sedan]

Here is pictures that Chad Speir took you must be log in to see SF 600
hope this helps you guys you can thank Chad for the pictures
http://www.flowbenchtech.com/forum/view ... ?f=5&t=798

Malvin, thanks for the link. Much appreciated.

Clark

[sleeper sedan]

Sleeper,

Welcome to the Forum, While you have your bench apart do you think you could do us a favor and put a micrometer on the orifice disk there seams to be some need to find out exactly what the thickness is on a stock SF bench.

Thanks

Rick

Hi Rick,

Funny thing, I actually joined the forum somewhere back in 2008 and then lost my way with... well, life. It gets busy sometimes. All is good though.

The forum has gone through some changes too since 2008, it's nice to see what Bruce has done with the place! I have been lurking off-n-on over the years and I finally "rejoined" the other day, been meaning to for quite a while now. I have a few questions I will be asking soon, trying to do my due diligence researching before asking.

I ask for a little bit of patience and I would be happy to post any pictures and take notes. Right now I'm trying to get my ducks in a row, it may be a couple weeks [or more] before I crack open the big blue pinball machine (as my wife calls it).

Clark

[1960FL]

Thanks Clark look forward to your posts.

Rick

[Old Grey]

Sleeper,

Welcome to the Forum, While you have your bench apart do you think you could do us a favor and put a micrometer on the orifice disk there seams to be some need to find out exactly what the thickness is on a stock SF bench.

Thanks

Rick

I wouldn't worry about the orifice disk because your bench is probably one of the early brass disks, and the disk is too hard to get to anyway - it's not in the motor area -.

I wanted to know the thickness of the SF SS orifice disk so that I know at what thickness the disk stays flat using laser cutting, but because SF use plasma cutting it's moot now.
It was all explained here numerous times.

http://www.flowbenchtech.com/forum/view ... f=5&t=1142

See, no disk


Also, I can't remember if I removed the rear reversing disk valve or not - I remember disconnecting it -, so use your judgement.