Does anyone have access to a manual for a Challenge 15KA? I was helping Green Pea Press in Huntsville Alabama get theirs up and running from a pile of press parts. We are still having trouble with the trip operation. This particular press doesn’t have the roller mechanism installed yet. We were able to get […]
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Hacker press – what parts are missing and what can be done?
I was contacted by someone with a couple of presses he wants to find new homes. One is a Hacker. I haven’t seen it yet, but he said it was missing some parts and sent a few photos. There are 3 rollers that need to be recovered, but probably no other parts of the ink […]
MoreMore TagChallenge M Series Worm Gear Fabrication
I am having a new worm gear and crescent fabricated for a Challenge M series press.* I intend to have a couple of extra sets made. The cost per set will be $1,150 with free shipping within the US and Canada. This is less than having a one-off made. The Challenge census lists forty-one 15MA/MP and four 21MP. The gear […]
MoreMore TagHacker #4 Restoration
I have completed the restoration on this Hacker #4. Here is the history as I know it: 1. The press was purchased 1/31/1929.( A date on the bed said Apr. 12. I assume 1928) The company that bought it was Grey Ketterer & Hansen, Inc. It was later sold to Columbus Engraving Corp. 2. The […]
MoreMore TagAsbern ADR-1 Oscillator
In June, I tuned-up a Challenge 21MP for Andrew Huot at Big River Bindery in Davenport, Iowa. He also has an Asbern ADR-1 that had a gummed up oscillator. I hadn’t serviced one before, so this was a great opportunity to see what it’s innards look like. The main difference is the crescent is set into a collar that […]
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FOR SALE: Vandercook Universal III, C&P Pilot, Challenge Cutter & More
We at Tweedle Press have moved on to greener pastures and although we are reluctant to part with our beloved equipment – we feel certain that they would be happier to be used more often. See below for a list of the major pieces we are selling out of our house in Woolwich, Maine (about […]
MoreMore TagWhat Durometer for Form Rollers for Hacker (or Vandercook)?
I am in the process of purchasing a Hacker 4, and would like advice on what durometer measurement the form rollers should be for printing mainly type or photopolymer plates. Perhaps the durometer would be the same for a Vandercook press. Any advice would be welcome.
MoreMore TagMissing Hacker #4 Part
I am restoring a Hacker #4 and I am missing a part. It is a bar that connects the cylinder to the bed trip lever. I have a picture of the part on another Hacker, and mine without it. If someone out there has the measurements of this part and can post it here, I would be thankful! […]
MoreMore TagHacker 4 Manual?
I am in the process of buying a Hacker 4 proof press. I’m not new to letterpress printing, but I am new to cylinder presses, and having the manual for this press would really help me learn to use it. Does anyone have a manual, or know where I might find one? Thanks!
MoreMore TagRegistration Problem on a Challenge 15KA
I produce limited edition woodcuts on a 15KA Challenge Proof press and in the middle of a run for some reason the ‘top’ element on the block registers with image on the sheet and the ‘lower’ element on the block is printing 3/16th if an inch off register (lower on the sheet). The distance between […]
MoreMore TagRecaro Proof Press
Does anyone on here have any idea where i can find information on a Recaro Proof Press? I have one at my shop, over the weekend, someone stole the print head from it. It was in a secure area just outside my back door in the warehouse section of my shop. It was being stored there […]
MoreMore TagFerdinand Wesel
Ferdinand Wesel (1846-1912) was the founder of the F. Wesel Manufacturing Company, which among other equipment, made some of the first flatbed cylinder proof presses. Born in Frankfurt A.M., he learned the printing-machinery trade, as The Inland Printer once put it, “in the thorough manner characteristic of his countrymen.” In 1866, he emigrated to New York and […]
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