Deckel FP1: gear lever won't engage fully and gears slip

Hello everyone,

I got hold of an old Deckel FP1, probably from the 1940s. Everything seems to be in good and working condition.


The only problem I have is the right lever for selecting the milling RPMs:

In the "right" position the lever engages fine and the mill can be used with no problem. If I put the lever in the "center" position, the gears seem to not engage completely (picture: red line). If I turn the mill by hand in this position, the gears sometimes don't engage fully and slip. However I am able to push the lever 3..4mm beyond the center position and then the gears fully engage and the mill can be used. (picture: green line)



Only problem: I need to hold the lever in this position by hand, since there is no locking mechanism of the lever beyond the center bore. If I push the lever beyond the center position and then let loose, the lever jumps back into the center bore and thus not engaging the gears fully anymore.

Does anybody know what could be the cause of this error and whether it is easy to fix or a train wreck?

Something is loose or worn.
Shift fork perhaps worn on one side where the position of the gear is not fully engaged when moving to the left...Perhaps a shorn pin and the shaft is no longer in the correct position.
At any rate yo need to investigate.
Remove the cover plate and have a look. Think you may want to drain the oil from the gear box prior.
Cheers Ross

Thanks for your reply.

So I drained the oil and opened the gearbox on the opposed side of the gear levers. On first look everything seems to be in good condition. No metal parts on the floor of the gearbox, no cracks, missing teeth or other visible damage.

This is the engagement with the gear lever in the "red" position óf the picture in the first post. It is visible that the clutch mechanism does not engange.


If I push the gear lever beyond the center position (green line in picture of the first post), the clutch engages fully:



The problem seems to be the assembly of the three gears in the top right, marked with a black "X", I can push those gears a couple of milimetres to the left and right by hand, but in my opinion they should remain stationary. Unfornuately I can't make out how those gears would be axialy retained in place?

Edit: It is not visible on the pictures but the "C"-shaped arms of the gear levers fit tightly on their counterparts on the shafts, so they are not wallored out.