Vanderblog

I recently purchased a Vandercook 219 power, and I’m weighing my options on switching it from 3 phase to single phase. Is it possible to switch out the motor to a single phase motor, or should I just go with a rotary converter?

Thanks!

I purchased a Vandercook #4 about 2 years ago, which had been working beautifully until about a month ago. The roller gears have been grinding against each other when sitting idle. Here’s a link to a video showing the problem.

Vandercook #4 gears grinding

I would appreciate any help I can get. Thank you!

I am having problems getting the correct inking coverage as well as impression for what I’m trying to print. I apologize if you’ve read about this on the letpress listserv or briarpress….I suppose I should’ve posted here all along.

I have a Universal III, and I am printing on 220lb Crane’s Lettra Duplex paper. If all I use is a mylar top sheet, then the print comes out fairly crisp. If you look at the photos, it’s the text on the right that is the problem. My rollers are set to 1/8″ right now. I (my client) want(s) a deeper impression, so I add some packing, and when I do that the text gets muddy. Can anyone lend any expertise here? I’m at my wit’s end! This is such a huge project, it will be 3-colors and the registration is tight around the hat.

I’m also wondering–is my plate set up incorrectly in that I should run the text separate from the art?

Thanks,
Carmela

I have a Challenge Potter proofing press. I’m not sure of when it was manufactured. Here’s a photo if anyone can possibly identify it.

The top sheet that we have on our Vandercooks is 7 mill mylar. I notice that Talas has rolls of both the 7 mill and 10 mill mylar.

Although I don’t see any impact on printing quality the 7 mill will show indents when we’ve run a particularly large edition.

I was wondering if anyone had an opinion that the 10 mill might be better to use.

The University’s Vandercook 325A needs a new set of rollers. I’ve got the old cores, etc. but don’t know the proper dimensions. Also, does anyone have recommendations about where to have them recovered?

I’m writing an article for the American Printing History Association Newsletter about the Vandercook centenary. The focus is on the various celebrations such as our Vandercook Centenary Print Exchange, the recently published Vandercook Book (currently on exhibit around the U.S.) and a series of panel discussions that were held at the Center for Book Arts in New York.

I would like to know if anyone else is planning a celebration. Anything goes: large or small, through a school or book arts center or you basement shop. Tell me about your naked Vandercooking marathon, your Fitzcarraldo-esque press restoration, or good old-fashioned beer-drinking-while-some-woman-plays-accordion cleaning party. Just lemme know. We still have six months to go!

After much successful use, I had to move my Vandercook 4 proof press. In putting everything back where it is supposed to be, I have encountered a problem (actually several problems, but I fixed the sheared drift pin on the gripper foot lever as well as the sticking and bent grippers). After much scouring, I didn’t see a reference to the newest problem. The form roller that makes contact with the ink drum will not move. When the ink drum is rotating, the roller makes contact, but stays stationary. Thus, no ink can be distributed. I am not sure if this is a consequence of my having removed the cylinder to make the press lighter for moving. Is it possible that I did not index the cylinder properly, so that he gear teeth are misaligned? In general, the press does not look out of alignment, but I could be one or even two teeth off without knowing it. The other possible culprit seems to be the clutch assembly. I had problems inserting the bottom frame form rollers, they did not want to seat properly. The roller clutch trip was engaged, and in the way. I cranked the press a bit, the clutch disengaged and the frame dropped into place, but still no movement as it contacted the ink drum.

Any suggestions would be gratefully accepted, I want to get printing again soon.

The Gravity Press census seems like a great idea. I have a Number 0, Serial number 07756, supposedly made in 1953.
But it is my 4T that I need help with. After finally getting all the parts right, new electrical cord and switch, etc., it did not print evenly across the width of the bed. When I checked it with a parallel bar, there was light showing the center section, throughout the bed length. The bed is “dished” to .004 along the centerline. Any ideas on how to remove the cylinder, gripper connection, and so forth so I can have it milled down to flat again? Any ideas are appreciated. Steve S.

I have used an SP-15 and enjoyed it. I would like to get my own press.

However, I’m overwhelmed by the number of types of Vandercook presses available.

I would like a self-inking model.

Which models could people suggest? My space is not really limited.

This photo shows the interior of the Vandercook & Sons plant at 900 N. Kilpatrick Avenue in Chicago. Similar shots are used in catalogs of this era. In the foreground and suspended at left are 219s, further back are what look to be four 22s, a No. 3 and a 17. The plant built by Vandercook in 1928 and used until 1954 it is still standing today.
(Photo courtesy of Don Black Linecasting.)

Just when I thought my SP-15 problems were over, there’s another issue! I apologize for the length of this post, but I’m trying to be as thorough as possible.

I noticed that the press was inking rather lightly, but the impression was good and I had plenty of ink on the rollers. As I adjusted the form rollers I noticed that they were significantly higher towards the end of the bed (away from the feed board). Also, the gear that forces the geared form roller to roll was skipping in the track and would stop spinning shortly after engaging the teeth.

We started by trying to shim the track up. This kept the form roller spinning, but the height was still inconsistent front to rear. Next, we tried readjusting the side bearings – many times. This actually seemed to hurt rather than help. We adjusted the top bearings in trip and the bottom in print to a 0.004″ gap using an automotive feeler gauge, which I believe to be correct. We tried it the other way (adjust top in print and bottom in trip) and the press would no longer trip, leading me to believe that we were running into problems with interference due to the bearings being positioned incorrectly.

After we played with it for a while, we noticed that one of the form rollers sits too low on the gear side of the press and is unable to be adjusted any higher (there is a 1/4″+ ink strike on the roller setting gauge). The other side adjusted fine with a simple turn of the knob. We don’t think that the problem is with unevenness in the bed or bearers because a blind impression is consistently good no matter where we put the plate on the bed. This leads me to believe that the problem is isolated to the form rollers and the associated pieces.

Photos of the inking problem are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45293278@N00/sets/72157617411356816/

So, that’s my situation. Here are my questions:

1 – Is it possible that it’s a bearing adjustment issue?
2 – Is there any way to put spacers on the form rollers to bring the up to where they need to be?
3 – What else might cause the inconsistency in form roller height from side to side and from front to back?
4 – Could shimming the gear track have exacerbated the problem? Was it the correct fix given the problem of the gear skipping teeth?
5 – Is the bearing supposed to roll against the form roller on the geared side (photo at link above)?
6 – Is it possible that my bed or my bearers are uneven?

If you have any other ideas, that would help a lot. I’m fresh out and frustrated. Thanks.

Rachael