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 […]
MoreRollers Universal I
The rollers on my recently acquired press are in a bad state and I will have to get them re-covered. Any indication as to what kind of hardness of rubber I will have to ask for? Soft, hard, medium? Any advice is welcome.
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
Horace W. Hacker
Horace Wardner Hacker (1879–1968) was the founder of the Hacker Manufacturing Co. in Chicago, which made plate gauges, and test presses that featured reciprocating beds with stationary carriages. Hacker held 14 U.S. Patents for various gauges and press mechanisms (and four later patents unrelated to printing). Like R.O. Vandercook, he was a proponent of pressroom […]
Moreserial number
The Vandercook Universal that I bought last week bears the number 21258. Could you tell how I can find out what year it was built? And would you like to add it to the census?
MoreSP-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 […]
MoreScrew threads: British vs. American
This will likely be of interest to owners of British-built Vandercooks: Chip Coakley (the Jericho Press) emailed me with the serial number on his No. 4 made by Pre-Press Ltd. and to let me know that its original brass bearing blocks had British Standard Whitworth interior threads. When he bought replacement blocks from NA Graphics, […]
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 […]
MoreR.L. Pelland
Raymond Louis Pelland (1893-1977) was a draftsman and design engineer at Vandercook from at least 1935 to 1947. His name appears on many assembly drawings and on four U.S. Patents including the large 4-color 604. (His first was a tie stitching machine for a previous employer). During World War I, Pelland was a private in […]
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