As a companion to the Glossary, I’ve created a new Maintenance page, which suggests routine maintenance for common Vandercook models. Check it out and let me know what needs correcting and what should be added.

I’ve created a new Glossary page defining mechanical terms for newbies. It doesn’t include common terms covered in operator manuals or letterpress instruction books. Check it out and let me know what needs correcting and what should be added.

While looking for information on proof presses built by Harrild & Sons, better known for its iron hand presses, I asked Stephen O. Saxe, author of American Iron Hand Presses, what he knew about this British firm. In reply he scanned this page from a 1906 Harrild catalog, shown at left. This press features a [...]

I have a Reprex proof press with old, burned out wiring that needs to be replaced. Can any old electrician do this, or does it need to be someone familiar with presses? Thanks for any input or insight you may have.

Hi All, I just received two newly recovered rubber rollers for a #4, done by Rotadyne. I measured the rollers and one is bigger than the other in diameter by 1/32″. One roller is 2 1/2″ and one is 2 1/2 plus 1/32. I asked the roller company to make them 2.515″ in diameter. Should [...]

I’ve been working on a thorough clean-up of my Uni I which was very grimy and dirty. I’ve already tore down and cleaned the adjustable bed which was frozen. That went smoothly thanks to the fine documentation from previous posts. Currently, I am dealing with a problem of immediately blowing a fuse when I put [...]

Continued thanks to everyone who has the patience and takes the time to answer the many questions that we relatively new printers come up with. I recently asked for step-by-step instructions for installing new form rollers on my No. 4, and the replies I got were extremely helpful. I put together a Flickr set on [...]

I picked up a 1960′s Vandercook 22 from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. It had be sitting in storage for a very long time, but it is in excellent condition. It is a very strange machine, but will be useful for large jobs. The ink rollers (3) and the impression roller move in a continuous [...]

Hello. I have a lovely little SP15 and this is my first mechanical issue I’ve experienced thus far. I hope someone can help me solve it… Yesterday, my grippers stopped working. In looking at the manual and the press, I see the gripper cams are not lined up with the gripper screws. I am not [...]

Revised. David Dodge Vandercook (1901-1975) was the company’s longtime Chief Engineer and the second son of founder R.O. Vandercook. His name appears on 16 U.S. patents, sometimes with his father and brothers or key employees. D.D. Vandercook’s knowledge of engineering was self taught. Too young to serve in WWI, he had to work to help [...]

This day in 1903 saw the birth of Frederick Robert Vandercook. The youngest son of company founder R.O. Vandercook, he was CFO when it was sold to Illinois Tool Works in 1968. Little is known about F.R. Vandercook, his name appears on nine U.S. patents, but  he seems to have not written for publication. Longtime [...]

Our Vandercook No. 4 does not stay in trip.  When printing, the operator has to hold down the trip to keep it in place.  In comparing it to our other No. 4, the trip mechanism is still in place, but the trip bar connected to the handle has a lot of play; there is no [...]