[GreenKeys] Sprocket feed paper for Kleinschmidt TT-98? Also, a reproduction platen crank!

[Mark J. Blair]

I have a number of pieces of Kleinschmidt equipment in my military radio collection. They're generally used with roll paper, but some of them such as my TT-98 page printers have retractable sprocket pins. The FN-59/GC table I have under one of them even has a shelf with brackets to keep a box of fanfold paper in place, and guides for routing the paper up into the printer.

These printers don't use "common" 9.5" wide computer fanfold paper, of course. They use 8.5" wide paper, and it appears that the sprocket pins are about 8" apart.

By any chance, is there any remaining source for 8.5" wide sprocket feed fanfold paper that's suitable for these machines? I have not yet found the magic formula for finding any amidst the noise of computer printer paper in Google searches.

While I'm here, I think I'll share a little project that I have in progress. Anybody who collects the Kleinschmidt military gear may have noticed that page printers like the TT-98 seem to greatly outnumber platen cranks for page printers like the TT-98. The cranks seem to have a tendency to wander off and get lost, as do the 180 Hz tuning forks for setting the motor governor speed. I have projects in the works to deal with both of those shortages, and I've just made some progress on the crank. I got the idea of making a CAD model of one of my original cranks, then having the major components 3D-printed in a steel+bronze process at Shapeways. I just received my first prototypes, and here they are pictured under an original crank:

https://twitter.com/nf6x/status/731501888646959104

I don't have the shoulder screw and spring I need to complete the assembly yet, but I should have them from McMaster-Carr within a week. The 3D-printed parts needed some fitting, drilling and tapping, and that 3D-printed steel+bronze material is not easy to machine. It was challenging to tape the screw hole for the spinner without snapping off the tap, and I ended up using a diamond grinding tool to fit the bayonet lugs. The 3D printing process I used doesn't provide great dimensional accuracy, so hand-fitting is generally necessary for functional parts.

I think the reproduction will work well once it's done. Of course, parts made in a more original manner would be nicer, but I'm working with the capabilities I have easy access to. I believe that the original crank blank was cut on a lathe as a straight piece, had the bayonet fitting machined on a mill and the handle mounting hole stilled and tapped, and then was bent 90 degrees in some sort of jig. I think the handle spinner is machined in aluminum on a lathe.

My other project for dealing with the tuning fork shortage involves hacking a cheap Harbor Freight LED flashlight to turn it into a 180 Hz strobe lamp. That one's just in the design stage, with nothing sent out for fabrication yet.

-- 
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
http://www.nf6x.net/