Dear Paul, I shouldn’t think you remember me as it must be over 15 years ago I sought your advice with regards to my Vandercook SP15 serial #22245 – there was a suspected broken spring. I dismantled the carriage, cleaned it up, re-greased it and put the press back together again! I obviously set up […]
MoreCategory: Carriage Bearings
SP-20 No Impression
I’m working on the rebuild of my (previously) dismantled SP-20 and I’m finally ready to test the impression. After calculating the correct amount of packing for a .019″ sheet (.024) on a cylinder with an undercut of 040 I proceeded to attempt a blind proof. There was nothing, not even when I added another .006 […]
MoreImpression rollers and carriage ball bearings
My 15-21 has a history of the carriage rollers and ball bearings seizing up now and then. This makes moving the carriage very difficult and printing impossible. The last attempt I made to loosen them up involved a vacuum jar and motor oil. The grease inside the bearings was dry and (let’s just say…) “crunchy”. […]
MoreVandercook #4
Hi Paul. We’ve just purchased a Vandercook #4 we think it was originally owned by University of MN Duluth, serial #9903. We removed the carriage for transportation and will be following your directions for reassembly! While it is off we’ve been getting her all cleaned up and noticed that three of the steel carriage rollers […]
MoreLooking for ball bearings for Vandercook “0” – copy
I have tried to find a similar ball bearing on the open market. The closest size I can find fits all measurements except that the screw that goes through the side of the press (held by a nut on the outside of the press) is 2mm bigger. I would need to drill a bigger hole […]
MoreInking issues on SP15
We’re completing the rebuild of an SP15 that was begun by someone else (who is now deceased, so we can’t ask them questions) and we are running into some challenges with the inking system. We were trying to set the rollers to the lightest stripe possible for photopolymer printing, which we did with the press […]
MoreFabricating Replacement SP-15 Impression Cylinder
I’m considering grabbing an SP-15 press but, like many presses out there, getting it into running order will require some TLC. The press bed, cylinder rack, bed bearers, under rails, gripper pedal, trip latch & rail along the bed, steel cabinet, and feed table all check out and seem to need nothing more than heavy […]
MoreProblems and Problems for an old 320G
Hi! We’ve got an (obviously) new-to-us 320G and it had been sitting in a cat friendly/very stinky basement. It’s come a long way already cleaning wise, but we’ve still got bugs to work out…… Our carriage is a BEAR to move down the bed. We have cleaned and oiled and greased a lot of parts […]
MoreVandercook No.4
Hi Paul and all, I am new to this blog. I have a Vandercook No. 4, Serial No 14637. My name is Michael McGarvey, Port Press, Port Republic, NJ. I have been printing for some time, wood engravings and books. I have been using primarily an Iron hand Hoe 6027 for book work. Apparently this […]
MoreUnknown roller bearings
I found some roller bearings (a total of 4 pieces) from an unknown press. They came with another press that they don’t fit to. It is definitely from none of my presses. Paul said it’s probably not Vandercook. I know that they are definitely not FAG. If someone can identify them or if someone is […]
MoreNew metal wear creating a burr
Hi – I am noticing new wear on my Vandy #4. A burr is being created at the top and bottom of the metal shown in the picture. You can see the shiny new metal that has been exposed. This is the operator side of the press. I don’t see anything on the other side. […]
MoreBearings on a No. 03
Hi everyone. While restoring my no. 03 I noticed my bearings were a bit dry and you could feel the metal touching inside, which is, as I’ve been told a sign of the bearing being worn, or spent. So I decided to replace them, but to my surprise these are not standard bearings you get […]
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