Hi all. I used my Vandercook 4 successfully for about a month, then began hearing a clanking sound behind the belt guard, which turned out to be the upper pulley rubbing against the guard. When the motor is on, the belt gradually moves toward the operator side of the pulley, then starts to move off […]
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Vandercook 4 repairing clutch plate
A prelude leading up to a repair question- I am restoring a Vandercook 4, serial # 10877, that I’ve had for a few years now. I’ve been mostly removing accumulated layers of ink, grease/dust and mild rust, and lubricating moving parts. With a couple of exceptions nearly everything appears in order. One of the first […]
MoreWorm Gear Fixed!
A few weeks back, I wrote about a worm gear with a blunted point that was causing my oscillating roller to stop during it’s run back and forth. I tried filing the point down myself, and while I was able to get it smooth, I was not able to make a nice, sharp point. Last […]
MoreInk drum side play
Do any of you #4 Vandercook owners have any side play on your ink drum? That is, when wiping from side to side, does the drum move a little, or not at all?
MoreDamaged Worm gear on 4/215
The oscillating roller is hanging up at one point in its travels. Fritz wrote that this is probably due to damage somewhere on the worm gear, the center shaft of the oscillating roller. He was right; one of the points on the worm gear was chipped, and that is where the crescent rider is hanging […]
MoreVandercook 4 cylinder carriage problem
I’ve been working on and off for several months cleaning a Vandercook 4 that I purchased this summer. The press had been unused and in an Iowa garage for 5 years. My problem: the cylinder carriage moves easily down the track in trip mode, but gets very tight in print mode once the cylinder trip […]
MoreMoving a #4
In two weeks I will finally take possession of my #4. It is being moved by a professional machinery mover, but I would like to give him some specific advice concerning the press itself. The move is only about 50 miles, however getting it into my space will be tricky as it’s going to a […]
More#4 Ink Roller MR-110 Pin
I sent my form rollers to be recovered and got them back without the MR-110 pin that goes into the end of the shaft, the one with the rounded head that connects to the gear clutch. The roller company says they never saw them. When I prepped the rollers for shipping, I stripped off the […]
MoreVandy art
Here is a nice illustration of a No. 4 Vandercook, with a split vibrator and riders, featured in a two page ad for ink manufacturer Interchemical Corporation. (The Inland Printer, September 1953, p.24-25, from the library of Fritz Klinke). Is anyone familar with the pen-stick ink applicator shown?
MoreForm 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
MoreForm 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 […]
MoreLubricating 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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