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 what I did, for the benefit of other newbies. If you see anything that needs to be corrected, please leave a comment. Thanks!

Barbara

Hello Vanderfolks,

I just had the form rollers on my No. 4 recovered. A very nice gentleman from RotaDyne came to my house to pick up the old ones. He took the whole assembly with him, and they shipped everything back disassembled. I’ve looked through the archives for instructions on putting things back together, but I couldn’t find anything elementary enough for me. I have Sheets 103 and 182B from the manual, but I was hoping to find some step-by-step instructions, or even an exploded view. Is there anything like that out there?

I have one question about Sheet 182B. It says, “4 nyliners are required per bearing bar. 8 per machine….” All I ever had on the form roller assembly was 2 nyliners. Is there something wrong?

Also, I would appreciate your feedback on RotaDyne’s assessment of my roller situation. The rep said that my old rollers had hardness ratings of 32 and 34, and that the new rollers would be 25. He also said that the diameter of my old rollers was 2.480″, that the spec was 2.500″, and that my new rollers would be 2.520″. Did I really need new rollers? I’m aiming for the best print quality possible.

Thanks so much for your help,

Barbara

I’m sorry for having problems two days in a row, but here’s another phenomenon that I’m not understanding. These two drop caps (48-point Rondo) were printed one after the other – same lockup, same ink, same paper, same packing, same everything – yet the print quality is markedly different. What could have made the difference? Are my form rollers out of round? How do you know when they need replacing? When I adjust the roller height, there is a bit of difference (maybe 2 points) between the height at the ends and the height in the center of both form rollers.

This was printed on a Vandercook No. 4 with packing consisting of 0.021″ Kimlon, 1 sheet of 0.006″ oiled tympan paper, and a 0.007″ Mylar drawsheet. The paper was Epson Velvet Fine Art, which is 100% cotton with a coating for inkjet printing. It is 0.019″ thick, for a total thickness of packing plus paper of 0.053″. I do try to feed the paper and turn the cylinder in the exact same way.

A closeup of the photograph is available on Flickr.

Thanks again for your always helpful comments.

Barbara

Hello Vanderblog Friends,

I’m hoping someone can help me solve a problem I’ve been having with ink being where it’s not supposed to be.

The piece I’m printing has two lines on which I’m getting flecks of errant ink. The problem occurs no matter how much ink I have on the rollers, and the ink even shows up when I run the paper through on trip. These two lines are handset brand-new 12-point ATF Caslon Italic. This problem occurs only on these two lines. The rest of the piece, in 18-point Bulfinch, looks fine. These two lines fall an inch and a half from the bottom of an 8 ½ by 11 inch sheet of Epson Velvet Fine Art paper (19 mil). I’m using press points. The press is a Vandercook No. 4.  A close-up of the photo is available on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunadabayletterpress/4633627048/.

I’d appreciate any suggestions you can offer.

Thanks,

Barbara

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

 
Here is the drawing for the form roller pins on a No. 4, along with a photograph of the pins on my unit. Are the pins supposed to be as round as the drawing shows? In other words, is it time I had my pins replaced?

Thanks,

Barbara

Hello. I am a newbie restoring a No. 4. I have cleaned all of the moving parts and am putting everything back in place. When I turned on the motor for the first time and lowered the oscillating and form roller assemblies, I noticed a faint clacking sound that didn’t seem right. I turned off the motor and examined the form roller gears. I saw that, when the clutch is not engaged, there is more clearance between the roller gears and the clutch on the rear roller (closest to the feedboard) than there is on the forward roller. The first photo shows this; for the photo I rotated the gear to better show the difference.

I then examined the brass plate that engages the clutch. There is considerable wear where the plate meets the roller pins, somewhat more wear on the forward side. The second photo shows this. I think this explains the clearance difference, though it also could be influenced by accumulated wear on the roller that moves the brass plate (third photo) or by the brass plate being a bit skewed, though it seems aligned properly.

My question is, how much clearance should there be between the roller gear and the clutch when the clutch is disengaged, and how would I achieve this in my situation?

Thanks,

Barbara

 Hello. I am a newbie in the process of restoring a Vandercook No. 4, SN 18794. My husband, who was in aerospace mechanical engineering for many years, is providing advice and much moral support. He was surprised when I told him that the procedure for lubricating the impression cylinder gear teeth was to apply a light machine oil to the racks with each use. He thought this sounded wimpy for such a massive unit, and actually when we purchased the press these teeth were gummed up with some sort of heavy, and very dirty, grease. From my classroom experience and in the documentation I’ve consulted, the light oil, applied frequently, seems to be the way to go, though as you can see the gear teeth in the “after” photo do look dangerously clean. What is the rationale for this?

Thanks,

Barbara

(The complete project is being documented, for the benefit of other newbies, at http://flickr.com/photos/7929005@N07/sets/72157601399864650/ )