Patent ID: 7824522

Claim:
A method of separating a slice beam from a headbox to which the slice beam is mounted, the headbox having a bottom wall, and the slice beam and the bottom wall defining a slice chamber therebetween, comprising the steps of: removing a tending side end cover from the headbox to expose portions of the headbox and the slice beam defining tending side threaded bolt holes used to attach the tending side end cover; removing a drive side end cover from the headbox to expose portions of the headbox and the slice beam defining drive side threaded bolt holes used to attach the drive side end cover; fastening a tending side first bracket to the headbox by extending bolts into a first plurality of the tending side threaded bolt holes below the slice chamber; fastening a drive side first bracket to the headbox by extending bolts into a first plurality of the drive side threaded bolt holes below the slice chamber; bolting a tending side second bracket to a second plurality of the tending side threaded bolt holes in the slice beam; bolting a drive side second bracket to a second plurality of the drive side threaded bolt holes in the slice beam; mounting a transport bracket between the tending side first bracket and the tending side second bracket, to support the slice beam with respect to the headbox; mounting a drive side transport bracket between the drive side first bracket and the drive side second bracket, to support the slice beam with respect to the headbox; freeing the slice beam for vertical and horizontal motion with respect to the headbox; lowering the slice beam toward the bottom wall by vertically adjusting the relative position of the first brackets with respect to the transport brackets; and transporting the slice beam horizontally in a downstream machine direction away from the headbox by a sliding motion of the transport brackets on the first brackets.