Would you like to eliminate the frustration of brooms, beaters, fans and tab strippers? Follow this 10-point setup procedure of the male/female stitch heads.

1. Board Calibration
•Check board caliper with proper instrument
•Dial in proper calibration on equipment

2. Male Stitch Head
•Use designated tab knife for type of board (flute) being run.
•Green = B-flute
•Red = C-flute
•Black = Doublewall
•Yellow = triplewall/doublewall depending on weight of paper
•Check for proper alignment of male slot knife and stitch block

3. Female Stitch Head
•Mount female stitch head on shaft
•Mount female slot knife, spacer and pinch knife to head
•With a magnetic base dial indicator, check the run out of the pinch blade.
•If run out exceeds 0.003 to 0.004 inch slightly loosen the attachment bolts.
•With a soft faced hammer, tap the pinch knife until you achieve 0.004 inch or less total indicator run out.
•Urethane anvil covers

1. Penetration – stitch tab knife should not exceed 1/16 inch penetration into anvil cover.
2. Turning

•Steel anvils

1. Select steel stitch tab knife to match board caliper
2. When adjusted properly the steel tab knife should just “kiss” the hard anvil. Too much pressure will damage the tab knife and anvil.

4. Alignment of Male/Female Stitch Heads

5. Attachment Bolts — Properly Tightened

6. Run Test Panels — Fine-Tune All Alignments
•Stitch tab knife to male slot knife
•Male slot knife to female knives
•Stitch tab knife to pinch knife

7. Tab Removal is a Dimensional Procedure
•Male slotter knife dimensions
•Spacer dimensions

8. Additional Items to Discuss:
•Condition of male/female stitch heads
•Machine level – top heavy provokes jumping
•Motorized yoke condition/wear buttons, etc.
•Running registers tight

9. Training/Operator Finesse

10. Items Needed for Training
•Stitch tab knives
•New pinch knife
•Magnetic base dial indicator
•Soft faced hammer