Ok, maybe not the most consequential Vandercook query, but this has been nagging at me. I’m currently fixing up my departments’ recently salvaged SP20 (serial #25595), and have noticed that the feed board is ungraduated along the slot which holds the edge guide (missing, of course). In contrast, my SP15 has the customary scale for use with the edge guide in registering paper, and I’m just wondering if this was a common manufacturing variation, and if so, why exactly one would want no scale to measure against? Any thoughts? Also, any clever ideas (i.e. photos) for improvising an edge guide that will provide fine adjustments?
Duncan Dempster
University of Hawaii
Department of Art
geeze, that’s a lot of detective work, but at one point I counted something like 13 different options for ordering a SP-15 I found in some Vandercook literature here in the office. Most of these are explained as purchaser options–the change on drive belt was an engineering change order, etc. The form roller support was an add on that could be bought as an after market thing, or installed at the factory–I have a new set in the parts drawers, and it was clearly an effort to improve the inking on this press. The linkage from the foot pedal to the cylinder grippers went through a couple of design changes, from partial cables to solid rods–again, an exercise in engineering that was usually developed because of customer comments (often spelled complaints). I think Vandercook came up with a hasty design, then spent the next few years trying to fix the flaws with various fixes.
Duncan: For a clever idea to improvise a *side guide* see Gerald Lange’s blog: http://bielerpressvii.blogspot.com/.
My SP15 #21593 doesn’t have the scale on the feed board. I wondered if this might be a feature (among others) that differentiates the SP Test presses from the SP Proof presses. Other differences which I have noticed in the manual (in the SP15s at least) are the gripper opening device (manual shows the Proof press to have a lever off the end of the cylinder shaft and the Test press to have a foot operated lever), the number of end guides and grippers (SP15 Test has four end guides and six grippers, SP15 Proof has two end guides and four grippers), the roller drive motor and belt (SP-15 Proof with X-20956 1/8 HP with V belt vs. the SP-15 Test press X-27175 1/12 HP geared motor with toothed belt X-21723). The SP-15 Test press also has the more advanced ‘bearer controlled form roller support’ with the nylon rollers X-24565. With this information I would speculate that the Test presses were more advanced and more expensive than the Proof presses.
Fritz – is there any pricing information or other documentation to back this up?