Recently, I toured Thornwillow Press in Newburgh, New York where amongst the numerous letterpress equipment on premises is a 1927 Vandercook No. 119 Proving Machine. (The image at left is its entry in one of the early sales record books.) Currently, this press is the only known example of the model in the census.* In […]
MoreCategory: *Model
Vandercook #4 gripper adjustment
We are going through the process of getting our Vandrcook #4 back into use. One issue we have almost solved is the grippers did not move either at the feed table end or the tail end of the bed. In addition, the foot pedal would not move the grippers at the feed table end. We […]
MoreVandercook Model No.14
Hi there, I have just picked up an old No. 14 Vandercook Proofing Press, model no. 7459 from Wellington NZ. The cylinder spent the weekend soaking in a bucket of diesel to un-sieze the mechanism and is now moving beautifully. Judging by the off-set on the cylinder packing, it was possibly printing in South Africa, […]
MoreVandercook ‘The British’ for sale
Hi all, i posted a while ago asking about my 4C MK2 (serial 6453/4) Vandercook press. Just like to say thanks heaps to all who commented and gave me info on the machine, I really did appreciate it. However, it all seemed too hard so I have listed it on ebay (australia) this week. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/printing-press-vandercook-typeset-/180676010370?pt=AU_Business_Industrial_Printing_Equipment&hash=item2a11212182 […]
MoreVandercook No. 4 Oldstyle Ink drum issue
I’m trying to remove the ink drum on our No.4 Oldstyle in order to replace the worn bearings with some new plastic ones. I cannot seem to figure out a way to get the ink drum free in order to get access to the bearings. I have completely taken out the screws on either side […]
MoreCylinder Carriage Bearings Questions
I have been studying the directions in various posts and articles regarding adjusting the cylinder carriage bearings and was hoping for clarification on a couple points. First, on a Universal III, which bearing set are the impression bearings (x-12216) and which are the trip bearings (x-2688)? It seems that the lower set which ride on […]
Moremoving my Universal I
SP-15 Ink Drum Lubrication?
My sp-15 started squealing today; I deduced the noise was coming from either the motor or the ink drum assembly – inspected the motor oil reservoir and topped it up without overfilling. Moved onto the ink drum assembly x 20613 and on removal found the ink drum shaft to be very resistant to rotation. I’ve […]
MoreFor Sale Vandercook SP15
I am selling my Vandercook SP15 proof press. I have had it for about 5 years and purchased it from a man whose family had run a long time print shop in the Atlanta metro area. The serial # is 23805, inspected by H. L. Keller. This is a wonderful press but for the type […]
MorePossible Carriage Problems (Uni I)?
Okay, so it a simple 2 color business cards. A newbie could do this is an hour. But Nooooo. Using polymer plates, we ran the black, then matched up the red plate PERFECTLY on the Boxcar Press base. And guess what? Nothing lines up. So we adjust the plate on the base and run another […]
MoreVandercook #2 HELP
I have a Vandercook #2. It’s a very simple press. No inking and no grippers. The only parts that move as the cylinder goes down the bed are the roller bearings. I can move them with my hands but they are sticky. The press had been in a barn for a long time when I […]
MoreUniversal 1 Motor Questions
Hello all — In the middle of a big job this weekend, my Universal 1 Power started making a persistent new noise –something between a chatter and a squeak. The noise occurs as the carriage is moving, a little more on the return. The noise occurs whether the motor is driving the carriage or whether […]
More