Hello everyone, I’d like your input please. I need to know… Is NevrDull abrasive? I know their website says it’s not abrasive, but, does it remove steel from surfaces? I read somewhere, some time ago that whenever your cleaning fabric turns gray it means that there’s metal being removed. Also.. Is a Nylon scouring pad [...]

Is it possible to remove the reel rod on the No. 4 ? I want to get in there real good with a brush, it’s nasty in there. I found two hex nuts and tried both ways but couldn’t get it out. I also unscrewed the ratchet but I can’t see how the reel rod [...]

Hello everyone! I’ve undertaken the task of restoring my 03. I’ve started with paint thinner to degrease the bearings system where the previous owner had it all greased up, and thus it gather a severe amount of gunk. I disassembled the carriage and down to the impression cylinder. I’ve gotten most of the grime off. [...]

This will likely be of interest to owners of British-built Vandercooks: Chip Coakley (the Jericho Press) emailed me with the serial number on his No. 4 made by Pre-Press Ltd. and to let me know that its original brass bearing blocks had British Standard Whitworth interior threads. When he bought replacement blocks from NA Graphics, [...]

Hi again, thanks for your input. Here are some more pics of the unit and parts not attached. Is this unit too far gone for restoring? (keeping in mind I have never had anything to do with this!) I don’t even know how it works! Please forgive my ignorance. I might yet give it a [...]

Greetings all. First time here for me. I have in my shed a Western Manufacturing (Reading) Ltd. England ‘The British’ 4C Mk2 under license from Vandercook serial 6453/4. Can you tell me when it was made? I had a look at the site , but can’t see one here. All the bits roll and move [...]

We are cleaning up a newly acquired UNI IIIP, and have noticed something which is disturbing. Under the register rack (X-2831), is a shim that looks approximately 2pts  thick and resides nearest the feed table. A smaller shim is at the end nearest the floating rack. We are assuming that these have been put in place to solve a [...]

Hi all, Does anyone have, or now where I can track down a decal/sticker for my Uni I AB. The one I ma after is the oval one on the front left of the cabinet. Failing that has anyone evr produce a good high res bitmap or vector file of this decal that I can [...]

Hi All I’m cleaning up my 325G and noticed someone had painted the Bed, Bearers and Racks. Will that affect printing (packing, etc.) and is it necessary to strip it all down to bare metal? If so, can anyone advise on the best and/or least toxic way to go? Thanks for any help! Steve

Hello, fellow printers. After years of searching for an SP-15, I’ve finally acquired one from Kurt Hansen in Auburn, California.  It has been sitting for some time, however, and needs some service before it’s ready to roll. Though I am familiar with the operation of the press, I am not trained in how to restore [...]

I am happy to announce that I’ve been chosen to receive a Fulbright award to study Book Conservation at West Dean College in West Sussex England. I’ll be studying for two years, beginning September 2010. Community engagement and cultural exchange are integral parts of the Fulbright program, and accordingly I am looking to conduct free [...]

So, as some of you may remember, I’m restoring an SP20 currently (yeah, I know, I should be done by now… but I’m not.) Well, I’m finally having the rollers recast, and I noticed something yesterday I thought I’d pass along. I was cleaning the gunk off of the ends of my cores to send [...]