If anyone wants a free copy of The Vandercook 100, please email me at barbaravhauser@gmail.com. First come, first served. It’s a beautiful book! Sorry — the book has been “sold” out. Thanks for your interest!
MoreMore TagAuthor: Barbara Hauser
Hello! I am new to letterpress, though I was involved in publishing for many years as an editor/writer. I have taken the "Introduction to Letterpress" class at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles (three times), the "Digital Letterpress" class at Otis, and a two-day Vandercook maintenance workshop, all taught by Mr. Gerald Lange.
In the spring of 2007 I purchased a Vandercook No. 4, SN 18794, from the International Printing Museum in Carson, California. I am in the process of setting up a small home studio with the intention of producing broadsides and small editions of handbound books -- someday! I may do just enough commercial ephemera to offset the considerable expenses one incurs in this undertaking -- does it ever stop? :-)
The press was in farily decent shape but needed quite a bit of cleaning. I documented the restoration project on Flickr under the name Lunada Bay Letterpress. My Flickr page also shows how my little studio is shaping up.
FREE copies of “The Vandercook 100”
I succumbed to vanity and bought way too many copies of “The Vandercook 100,” in which I appear. If any of you also appear in this book and would like a copy, please email me at barbaravhauser@gmail.com. If I don’t distribute what I have to fellow book subjects by year end, I’ll extend the offer […]
MoreMore TagRag disappeared into my No. 4 — help!
One my my worst nightmares just happened. I was cleaning the ink drum of my No. 4 and carelessly let the rag slip with the drum rotating. I immediately switched off the power and hoped to see the rag on the shelf below the drum. But it is nowhere visible. I fear it may be […]
MoreMore TagUni I up for auction in Ohio on December 6
Don’t know if everyone’s seen this. Looks nice! http://www.wiredbids.com/auctions/december-printing-bindery-packaging-equipment-auction/lots/vandercook-universal-i-power-pro Barbara
MoreMore TagFlickr set – Installing new form rollers on a Vandercook No. 4
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 […]
MoreMore TagNew form rollers for a No. 4
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 […]
MoreMore TagInconsistent print quality
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? […]
MoreMore TagErrant ink
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 […]
MoreMore TagHow many oil holes on a No. 4?
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 […]
MoreMore TagForm roller pins on a No. 4
 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
MoreMore TagForm roller clutch on a No. 4
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 […]
MoreMore TagLubricating the gear teeth on the Vandercook No. 4 impression cylinder
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 […]
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