Hatch Show Print, with the help of the venerable Dave Seat, had rebuilt the worn out under rails on their hand-cranked Vandercook Universal I. Worn out under rails yield uneven impression and the inability to maintain registration. Wear is caused by excessive pressure due to these conditions: 1) an unleveled press; 2) grime buildup on the cylinder bearers, bed bearers, […]
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New Gripper Bar
We made or first Vandercook gripper bar assembly from scratch for a Universal I. The press had lost its bar somewhere, and to get it back into operation, we had to get this one made. This is for the first version of the Universal I press and is basically the same as used on the […]
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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 TagCycle Start Issue on Universal 3
A new gremlin has reared its head with my Universal 3, I’m having trouble with the cycle start button. Sometimes when the button is pushed nothing happens, if I hold it down it seems to eventually start the cycle and the time I need to hold it down varies from a second or two to […]
MoreMore Tag“Spring Cleaning”
I thought I’d give my Universal III a good cleaning after it had sat idle for a good deal of the winter while doing some home remodeling. I started out cleaning out the gear racks and noticed that the carriage latch was pretty loose and no spring tension. I pulled it off and found the […]
MoreMore TagRecoating the ink fountain roller
Anyone know the specs or someone familiar with recoating the rubber roller that is part of the ink fountain on a Uni III? My roller is flared at both ends and the rubber is very hard from age. Thanks
MoreMore TagAutomatic carriage problem Universal 3 power
Need advise on trouble shooting our Universal III Power serial # 25118. This is how it is behaving: When set in CYCLE and RUN mode; the cylinder moves forward until the carriage cam releases the 4LS limit switch, then the carriage immediately reverses back to home position. MANUAL mode; using the FORWARD lever the cylinder […]
MoreMore TagUniversal III P Forward/Reverse Problem
I work as the technician at Centre3 in Hamilton, ON Canada. We are really lucky to have a Universal III Vandercook in our studio. Great press, however, recently the forward / reverse stopped working. This has basically rendered the press useless as it’s entirely driven by this and the cycle. Unfortunately the cycle isn’t working […]
MoreMore TagRemoving the handle from a Universal I
I need to remove the handle from my Universal I to fit the press through a doorway. I’ve searched and saw posts about removing the set screw and tapping out the taper pin. The set screw came out with minimal effort however the taper pin will not budge. One end of the pin appears mushroomed […]
MoreMore TagUsing the Ink Fountain on a Universal III
Im in the process of refurbishing a Uni3 that has a lot of options that are not existent on the Uni1 thats been my workhorse for over a decade. The one that has me the most perplexed right now is the ink fountain system. Does anyone have any literature on how to properly use the ink […]
MoreMore TagVandercook Universal III stopped moving
Hi all, My Universal III has been chugging along beautifully for a couple of years, when all of a sudden it just quit in the middle of a job. By “quit” I mean the rollers are still moving, but the upper carriage just won’t go. I took a short video which I’ll link to here […]
MoreMore TagLooking for a starting point for Ink/Pressure issues UNI III AB
I recently attempted to print a very light color of borders that extended from the top of the bed about 10 inches. The ink was mostly composed of white and revealed things about the press that are perplexing. I have several issues going on, and perhaps this was, unwittingly, a test of all of them. […]
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