Vanderblog

The rollers are in excellent condition and it prints wonderful. I have printed posters using linoleum, wood and metal type, and photopolymer.

Buyer responsible for moving, I can recommend an equipment mover here in the Dallas are that hauls across the USA.

I am not using the press as much as I would like and making room for another smaller press.

Casey McGarr
Inky Lips Press

Hello everyone,

Fritz Klinke posted a photo on the Letterpress Flickr site showing a C&P press label that refers to “about thirty-seven oil holes” that the pressman needs to attend to http://flickr.com/photos/53177163@N00/3008271735/in/pool-letterpress. I’ve always wondered — and maybe after a year-and-a-half of owning my press, I should have moved beyond the wondering stage before now — just how many oil holes there are on a Vandercook No. 4. Mine is a later model, SN 18794 shipped in October 1957.

I count 19: 8 on the operator’s side, 1 on the gripper foot pedal, and 10 on the side opposite the operator. If there are more, please, along with your condolences, give me a hint as to their whereabouts. I’m referring only to holes marked as such, and not the fill cups on the motor.

Thanks so much,

Barbara

Last week I was looking at a plain (no frisket) power Universal I AB which was running erratically; turns out the driving gear had loosened and was binding against the housing that covers it. Then we tried to readjust the clutch according to the manual. But when there is just enough clutch friction to pass the trip cam, it isn’t enough to get over the cylinder check cam from the feed board position. Next we’ll disassemble the clutch and clean it and see if that improves the situation.

Then, trying to follow the limit switch cam adjustment instructions, the cylinder stops at 1″, rather than the specified 1 -5/16″, and that difference happens to be the same as the thickness of a bumper leather. There are the mounting holes for bumper leathers behind the cylinder, but they are only present at the front.

So, can anyone tell me if bumper leathers should be present behind the cylinder on this press? Or are they not used in direct contact with the bumper springs?

I have a couple of questions regarding roller adjustment on my SP-15. Recently when checking the roller height, I discovered that the ink stripe on the gauge was about twice as thick in the middle of both rollers than on the ends, leading me to think that the rollers are for some reason slightly sagging or bowing towards the middle (although this is not apparent when looking at them straight on). Secondly, when testing the roller height at different points along the bed, the height increases the further the carriage is rolled down the length of the bed. I’ve checked with a level in both directions and the readings say the press is not out of balance. These rollers came with the press so I’m not certain of their age, but they have no visible defects that I can see. I brought one along to a class I took with Paul several months back and he (and his durometer) were of the opinion that the roller was in very good condition. Any advice about how to correct either of these issues would be much appreciated. Thanks!
–Sylvia

I’m looking for a set (2) of Friction Fingers for a Vandercook 32-28. If anyone has one or two please email me.

Thanks,

Casey
casey@inkylipspress.com

Hello. I have been searching tirelessly for a Vandercook Proof Press (preferably #3 or #4, Universal or SP) in working condition to purchase for use in a printing job I am working on. I would greatly appreciate and advice or suggestions that I can get to help me find one.

Thank you.

I am missing a 219 OS Feedboard. Specifically the metal lip. I’ve exhausted all the sources I know about and have been unable to find a spare part. If you have one or know of one please email me at jordananne@yahoo.com . I posted something similiar a year ago but this is my last ditch effort to find an original before I have Fritz manufacture one.

Thank you!

During my recent move to Arkansas, apparently the switch on my Vandy 215 was pushed in from the frame, separating it from the metal housing bracket

Today marks two years of Vanderblogging. Thank you everyone. On the run-up to the Vandercook centenary our forum has continued to enlarge the common store of proof press knowledge. Here are a few stats compared to a year ago: registered users have increased 171% (from 147 to 252), authored posts 190% (from 114 to 217), comments 173% (from 495 to 860), and post views 268% (from 33,984 to 91,138).

Perhaps most surprising is the 124% growth in the Vandercook Census. Last year 994 had been counted, now the number stands at 1240 worldwide. There are still gaps in the data and several members have yet to reply to my personal appeals. So again I ask, how many more are still out there? How many Asberns, Challenges, FAGs, Reprex et al.?

A perusal of the serial number/model record cards, held by NA Graphics, revealed that Vandercook & Sons exported presses via multiple foreign firms beginning in the late 1920s through the 1960s. Most of them are listed in adverts found in The Inland Printer as well as The British Printer. This data is complied on the Erstwhile Dealers page.

A later, separate initiative licensing the manufacture of Vandercooks in Great Britain began in the early 1950s. A number of photos provided by press owners in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel show nameplates stating the licensee. These models differ in cabinet and feed board style from Chicago-built presses, but appear to have the same trip mechanism and inking system. To date, four firms are represented: Hunter-Penrose Ltd. (later Hunter-Penrose-Littlejohn), FAG Equipment Ltd. (the London subsidiary of the Swiss press maker), and Western Manufacturing, which later changed its name to Pre-Press Ltd. Each of these licensees used serial number ranges separate from Chicago-built presses.

While no Vandercook company documents concerning licensing have been found, it is likely that these agreements superseded one another rather than being simultaneously in effect. However, two print references mention British manufacturing: the monograph Story of A Visit to the New Vandercook Plant (1954) and an article on Western Manufacturing/Pre-Press Ltd. in The British Printer (July 1960). British Printer adverts also show that Hunter-Penrose-Littlejohn and Western Manufacturing produced presses independent of Vandercook. It is also widely known that in Switzerland FAG produced a range of hand-cranked and power carriage models. See the Other Brands page For more info.

Thanks to Edward Denovan for providing me the BP article and a photo of his press’s nameplate, and to Alistair Wooton and Donald Kerr for their photos.

After 12 years of being in the same location, NA Graphics and the Vandercook records and parts inventory successfully completed its move to our new building on Wednesday–and in some respects, it was the move from Hell. I had no idea I had accumulated such a mountain of crap, in addition to the good stuff. First to be moved was the ATF type collection, and Alex Brooks spent 2 weeks here reshelving many thousands of packages of type. Next to move were the very precious Vandercook records, blueprints, and related paper material. That collection occupies 19 file cabinets. Then the task of moving 5 Monotypes, 3 Vandercooks, a Miehle Vertical, Model 31 Linotype, Little Giant, Elrod (and Elrod, the resident cat), and C&P to another location took much effort, especially the stuff in our basement print shop, not to mention 450 cases of type. Then all the office stuff, inventory, and employees and getting the business reestablished was made more difficult working without electricity, phone or water for a while. We still have no water or sewer or heat, and we are now seeing frost in the mornings, but all will be in order in due time.

I apologize to anyone who needed something and we didn’t get your call or missed your email. We are now back in action full time and things will get better service wise, once I find what’s in a room full of boxes. The Vandercook parts are readilly accessible. We did take 40 or 50 Vandercook rollers to be recycled today, but it was stock that had been sitting here for 12 years without a single inquiry. We did keep some nifty all steel rider rollers for rolling equipment on. I kept some representative samples in case someone needs rollers for a 30-26 4-color proof press, but I sort of doubt that will ever happen.

My advice to anyone contemplating a basement shop–don’t. We had the advantage of a 5 foot wide concrete stairway with a built in ramp and winch system, but what an ordeal. Gravity was not on our side. Paul Moxon, who has been in the old shop several times, would marvel at a cleanly swept concrete floor with not even a brass or copper space defiling the place. The new owners of our old space were incredulous that we actually pulled it off, but it took the services of about 10 people, not all at once, working from early July until September 3rd. There are not too many more of these moves left in this old body.

Fritz

We have reached our goal of 100 printers for the Centenary Print Bundle. Thank you to everyone who pledged. Thanks to John Christopher who got the ball rolling. As prints are received I will post jpegs on the Print Bundle Gallery page.

I am accepting names for a wait list as it is likely that a few pledges will drop out at some point, but hopefully, in time for alternates to step in. If the wait list continues grow a second bundle invitation may be extended. To sign up use the contact form.