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 […]
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Removing 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 […]
MoreUsing 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 […]
MoreVandercook 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 […]
MoreLooking 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. […]
MoreUniversal IV electrical problems
I am having problems with the electrical system on my Universal IV and need advice! The cover was off the electrical control box as the carriage has not been breaking consistently on the feed board end for the last couple runs, but it was usable. Recently, when I flipped the press on, I saw a few […]
MoreUNI-1 carriage balking continues
Britt at Banshee Press continues to have a problem with her Universal I Power. In a comment to the previous post, I asked her to check for a loose and/or warped trip rack (X-14854). It’s worth noting that Vandercook made an engineering change to a more rigid part (X-21774 ), first used on press with serial number 21857. […]
MoreUNI-1 carriage balking
Hello, this is Britt at Banshee Press in Denver. I am having a problem with my Vandercook Model UNI-I, Serial # 24389 with auto carriage. On the trip cycle, the carriage balks with an abrupt jerk – sometimes to the point of stopping – at 21 1/2″ measured from the feed-board end of the press. (It […]
MoreUniversal 1 home/start position
Hi Folks, Sorry if this has been covered before… Haven’t printed on this machine yet, but in the course of general lube and clean-up, I detect one issue: in the home/start position, the carriage doesn’t quite sit well-settled to the left/feedboard. it wants to roll off of the correct home/detente position and almost begin travel. […]
MoreGripper Cam Question
Hello All, I own a Uni I. I’m trying to move my gripper cams to accommodate thicker papers and make the gripper pins open higher. I can’t get them to budge. I’ve removed all of the set screws, used penetrating oil, and lots of elbow grease. Any suggestions? This seems so simple, and I’m worried […]
MoreAbout to embark on cylinder carriage adjustment-Universal III AB
The symptom: The top of the bed has less impression. At first I thought maybe the adjustable bed could be at fault, but a level revealed it pretty even from top to bottom center, but the operator side corner top appears to actually rise, in complete contradiction to my problem of less impression at the […]
MoreAuto washup setup for Universal 1
I’m setting up the wash-up tray for my school’s Universal 1. I’m not sure of exactly where to place two rails that form the fixed support for the tray, and I’m also not sure if the moveable support for the tray has all the parts. Also I have two long pieces of steel with triangular […]
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