I recently manufactured some press parts: a gripper bar lever for a No. 3 inspired by several posts on this blog, a new feedboard for the No. 3, that gets bolted onto two wooden side posts, and a dead bar for a Uni I. The No. 3 is actually for sale now as well. The […]
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No. 3 Gripper Bar Lever Fabrication
Hi, I have a No. 3 (Old Style), and I am planning on fabricating a gripper bar lever for it and I wanted to see if anyone else would want one as well. The more that are made at one time the cheaper they should be, but they definitely should be under $100. The idea […]
MoreMore TagSP15 replacement feedboard and side guide
I’ve recently started up a community workshop in Traverse City, MI – Blackbird Book Arts & Press. We’re getting off the ground with a Pilot clone, 8×12 C&P and this slightly ragged SP15. It came to us out of Indiana without rollers, feed board and brackets to mount it so with a little ingenuity and […]
MoreMore TagVandercook No. 3 Gripper Lever
Finally got around to fabricating a hand lever for the No. 3 grippers. Works like a charm and no longer will I be rolling the cylinder back and forth in an attempt to properly grip/register sheets. I can share the specs with anyone interested… just let me know. Brad.
MoreMore TagHand gripper redux
Goudy said: “The old fellows stole all our best ideas.” Proving it again is this No.4 with a custom-made hand activated gripper bar, similar to the idea for a No.3 discussed on this forum Summer ’08 (archive links here and here). The pedal and chain linkage are still intact, but don’t work, I was curious […]
MoreMore TagSleeve attachment for hand-activated grippper bar
This post related to Hand gripper lever for a No. 3. –PM: Here’s a quick sketch. I don’t have a #3 around me, but if the Gripper Trip Lever is anything like a #4 or an SP-20, you can undo the top 2 screws and let it swing free, slide the tube over, and reassemble.
MoreMore TagHand gripper lever for a No. 3
Here’s an idea for a hand-activated gripper lever to aid sheet feeding on the No. 3 Vandercook. In the drawing at left, a handle attached to the gripper trip lever is pulled toward the operator, thus moving the push rod against the trip bar which forces the gripper stems to rise. A notable “feature” of […]
MoreMore TagWork station
John Horn sent me this photo of his innovative rolling Vandercook work station. John says, “It’s two feet deep and four feet wide. It’s a prototype so it is pretty crude. I love having the furniture cabinet close at hand. I park this work station right behind the operator so that he or she can […]
MoreMore TagUniversal III carriage conversion
Chris Manson, proprietor of Crooked Crow Press, in Rockville, Maryland has converted his Universal III Power Vandercook to a hand-cranked press. He had a retired machinist make a collar extension to fit onto the bearing stub on the impression cylinder (photo 3). Onto this new bearing stub Chris attached a crank from a large Poco […]
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