I have a vandercook # 2 serial #3046. After taking a short coarse on Letterpress at the South West School of Art in San Antonio on there #14 , I have a question on the #2 having two tension bars for the packing—Is this for a double tapered packing or maybe a felt pad? Ratchets on both […]
MoreSP-20 Cylinder Wiggle
Hello – Ready for my daily SP-20 question? I truly appreciate all the shared knowledge and help I’ve received along the way. Anyway, a few days ago I noticed that I can wiggle the cylinder back and forth with out the cylinder moving down the bed. There is 1/16th to 1/8th of play before the […]
MoreNew metal wear creating a burr
Hi – I am noticing new wear on my Vandy #4. A burr is being created at the top and bottom of the metal shown in the picture. You can see the shiny new metal that has been exposed. This is the operator side of the press. I don’t see anything on the other side. […]
MoreHandy Lockup Bar Maintenance
My Handy Lockup Bar is not working. I took the bar apart thinking that the mechanism might be dirty, but that doesn’t seem to be the problem. Along with the NR-255 Cam Rider, NRS-23 Spring, and NS-399 Block Extension I also found 4 washers. Do the washers actually belong in the lockup bar? It seems […]
MoreSP25 gripper problem
The SP25 at our school press (Virginia Commonwealth University – Bowe House Press) is experiencing difficulty when trying to raise the grippers. We tried oiling the exterior items that are attached – the X-22516 Gripper Shaft, but this did not help. This problem began in the past two weeks, before there was no indication of […]
MoreA Dutch advert, 1952
I found this advertisement of a repro-company in the 1952 Christmas issue of the Dutch Federation of Printers. They proudly announce the purchase of a second Vandercook proof press. The quote at the top of the advert is from an article that appeared earlier in a publication of the Amsterdam Typefoundry. In the article, the progress […]
MoreSP-20 Motor (Shaft Key) and Ink Drum Removal
Hello – I removed the ink drum chain this morning and noticed that there is quite a bit of movement in the gear that comes out of the motor. Is this normal? Or do I need to push the pin (that is sticking out) further in? Here is a video. I am sorry about the […]
MoreImpression variation
To go along with my previous post about plate movement, I noticed the leading and trailing edges of my prints have a noticeably deeper impression than the middle. I ran off a blind print of a small leaf plate so you can see it here. My packing is 4 sheets of tympan and 1 sheet […]
MorePlate movement
For those of you that use Patmag bases, what do you do to keep your steel-backed plates from moving? I have a pretty large solid – about 15″ x 4″ – that I’m running and I discovered, upon running the second color, that the plate had continually moved throughout the run. Makes registration a damn […]
MoreSP-20 Wash-up Blade
Hello – Has anyone found a replacement source for wash-up blades? Any leads or even blade specs would be greatly appreciated!
MoreO.C. Geffken
Otto C. Geffken (1901–71) was an engineer at Vandercook & Sons and is named in at least one patent. The card, set in Kaufmann Bold and Stymie, is ca. 1938. Geffken appears in catalogs and model brochures of the era such as this one at right. (R.L. Pelland, another engineer, is believed to be second from the left).
MoreSP-15 Motor Belt
The oscillating roller on one of our SP-15 presses began hesitating this week, out of the blue, just like the video posted in January. For that poster, it seemed the solution was a new belt. However, both the motor and belt on our press are relatively new, so I figured that might not be the […]
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