We made or first Vandercook gripper bar assembly from scratch for a Universal I. The press had lost its bar somewhere, and to get it back into operation, we had to get this one made. This is for the first version of the Universal I press and is basically the same as used on the […]
MoreMore TagAuthor: Fritz Klinke
Stauffacher at age 95
Jack Werner Stauffacher, a San Francisco typographer and printer, is still at his work at age 95. Pino Trogu, who is an Assistant Professor of Information Design at San Francisco State University, keeps me updated on Jack’s activities. Pino worked with Jack with a project yesterday on Jack’s SP-15 and the attached photo shows Jack […]
MoreMore TagWhen Vandercooks Weren’t Selling
Of potential interest is this production record sheet for the week of 2/26/73, only 42 years ago almost to the week. It shows what Vandercook was working on and shipping about a year before it all collapsed. 1973 was not a good year as they posted a million dollar loss. Sales of the RO4 were […]
MoreMore TagVandercook 317 Instructions
I recently rediscovered what appears to be all that Vandercook put out as a manual for the 317 model. There are several still in use so I scanned the sheet and put it on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/53177163@N00/sets/72157639415208743/ and as time permits, I’ll add more material on Vandercooks that I scan from the original Vandercook files and […]
MoreMore TagInk Migration Problem
The research and development division of NA Graphics has taken up the challenge of figuring out why ink migrates from one side to the other on Vandercook inking assemblies. To that end, we are working in conjunction with Dave Seat, who is in residence this week in our main research facility here in Silverton, to […]
MoreMore TagPaper Towers
I scanned the assembly print for the Universal IV paper tower the other day for a customer and thought it may be of some interest. Though for the IV, it applies to the other Universals except for such things as tube length, shaft length, and the main spring (same in III and IV). These assembly […]
MoreMore TagMove Complete
After 12 years of being in the same location, NA Graphics and the Vandercook records and parts inventory successfully completed its move to our new building on Wednesday–and in some respects, it was the move from Hell. I had no idea I had accumulated such a mountain of crap, in addition to the good stuff. […]
MoreMore TagVandercook and Heidelberg Letterpress Instructon
I am pleased to announce a letterpress intensive to be held over President’s Day weekend in February in Denver, Colorado for instruction in either the Heidelberg Platen or Vandercook presses. The Vandercook portion on Saturday and Sunday, February 16 and 17, will be conducted by Paul Moxon. Paul teaches both maintenance and printing classes throughout […]
MoreMore TagUniversal I and III Roller Core Changes
On Vandercook Engineering Change #848, dated 8/15/61, the roller cores for these 2 presses were radically changed. We run into these 1961 and earlier presses with the old cores on occasion, and it makes replacing the rollers much easier to know the serial number, or even better, a photo when recovering the rollers or ordering […]
MoreMore TagNew Building
My attention has been diverted from the Vanderblog and related as of late as we get into putting up our new building for NA Graphics and a move in a couple of months of all the Vandercook records, parts, and related stuff for the business. I’ll have Paul massage a photo of how the structure […]
MoreMore TagVandercook to the rescue
I was visiting our machine shop we use occasionally in Durango last week and Jim Melcher, co-owner of Melcher Machine Works was turning down the end shaft of a huge steel forging used in a coal mine. He handed me some shavings laying near the lathe and asked me if I knew what it was, […]
MoreMore TagGene Wenderski
Many Vandercook owners remember Gene Wenderski, the last Vandercook trained maintenance person at Vandersons, the predecessor company to NA Graphics. Gene literally disappeared in the summer of 1996 as we were buying NA Graphics and numerous attempts to find him failed. It was a sense of great frustration for me as one of the selling […]
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