In this photo from a Vandercook & Sons exhibit at the American Photoengravers Association convention there is a press shown with a reciprocating bed. Is this in the era of the Hacker buyout, or did Vandercook make a press with a travelling bed? Daniel Morris The Arm Letterpress Brooklyn, NY

John Barrett at “Letterpress Things”:http://www.letterpressthings.com/ is trying to find a home for a Vandercook 22 and an HS27. The 22 needs some work and new rollers, but the HS27 is in great shape and probably ready to run. The price is negotiable on both of these. These presses do not have gripper bars so the [...]

Dylan Fareed and I went out to visit John Barrett at Letterpress Things today and he asked me to drag some proof press roller assembly parts back to The Arm to attempt to identify them. I think the second one is a 219 rider roller assembly, but I have no clue on the rest. Anyone [...]

I picked up this Vandercook #3 (serial 13165) a few days ago and am interested in tracking down the parts it is missing. The press seems to have been partially disassembled to replace the rollers and the associated parts were lost before it was put back together. Here is a list of what I am [...]

A video… This is the most recent press to cross the threshold at The Arm. It didn’t take too much fiddling to replace the microswitches across the back of the press, clean out the control box and get it cycling back and forth, but it is pausing for a full five second count at the [...]

My manual for the Universal III shows that it was available with either a 42 inch or 30 inch feed board. Both of my Universal IIIs have the longer one, but also have a bed extension at the far end of the press bed. This makes the press akwardly long and difficult to get around [...]

I am preparing to have a few of these aluminum feed board edges made up by a machinist. Does anybody else need one? So far I think its Bryce Knudson and myself. And Fritz- did you need one for that press out back? The ruled guide next to the slot in which the side guide [...]

I have a few extras of the original knobs (complete with insert and set screws) for the control panel on the Universal I and III power carriage presses. If you are missing a knob or have a damaged one let me know. I could sell them, but would prefer to trade for any of these [...]

I have been trying for a while to find an old style Vandercook sheet side guide for one of my 320Gs and also one of the newer ones for one of my Universal IIIs. If anyone has a spare they could sell or happens to know where I might be able to find one it [...]

I am about to have a replacement dead bar made up for one of my Universal IIIs and the original I am using as a pattern has a raised center block.  Does this block serve any function?  Should I include it in the reproduction or would I be wasting time and money? Does anyone else [...]

I know that Hacker Mfg. was acquired by Vandercook, but this gauge appears to pre-date that merger. Does anyone have any information on Hacker gauges from this era? This particular gauge has two standards (.159 and a .759) which add up to type-high. I would guess it was to be used for checking planed blocks [...]

I have two Vandercook Universal III toggle plate bases with all the toggles and tools and was wondering if I’d be able to use them with photopolymer plates.  It seems to me that with metal backed photopolymer plates they might work were it not for the fact that the toggles themselves would print.  Are the [...]