The motor/chain on my Uni I recently started getting louder. I applied some serious grease and it seemed to quiet a bit, but not much. I also noticed the rollers aren’t distributing ink thoroughly on one end (closest to the chain). I experimented with raising and lowering the roller height and it doesn’t make much […]
MoreUNI III Missing parts
Hi – I am missing the friction fingers (X-21714), and I want to understand the function. Also, the UNI I parts list has a friction spring (X-21715) listed. I am guessing that this was dropped on the UNI III as it does not appear in my UNI III manual. or is the Vandercook technical writing team again doing […]
MoreBunting Base(s) and Uni III
Hi – We have a MB 811 Bunting base and looking at alternatives to get a larger form for posters, Etc. Has anyone purchased a custom built base to accommodate such endeavours? We have not priced the alternatives, but we are wondering if this is a good approach or if one should acquire a few […]
MoreRollers stop spinning
Hello, we have an SP-15 used by college students in a typography studio. A problem occurs with the rollers when you move the carriage over the the bed. To start the rollers ink up fine and evenly, but as you begin to turn the carriage handle all of the rollers suddenly stop spinning. They seem to […]
MorePresses stored in Barns
Three colors down on a four color job. My latest Vandercook, a Universal I with all the whistles and bells, including power cylinder, is chuggin’ right along. During the washup the oscillator locks up. Well @#$%^! a broken crescent in the worm gear. It’s been a long time since I removed one from a Universal […]
MoreUniversal III P just stopped
First, I’m looking for someone in the general vicinity of Delaware that can troubleshoot and possibly repair an automatic Vandercook Universal III. Know anyone? If not, is there some kind of electrician I might try contacting. Obviously, I need more than someone to hook up a 3-phase here. We were running our III the other […]
MoreSP-15 Ink Drum Squeak Problem
Hello, I am hoping someone will have an idea of why my press has developed an extremely loud, shrill squeak that is emanating from the ink drum/vibrator assembly. The noise occurs each time the drum [oscillator] travels away from the operator’s side of the press, primarily when the rollers are engaged at feedboard position. The […]
MoreChallenge 20 KP Rollers
Hello, I just picked up a Challenge 20 KP and the 3 rubber rollers are shot. I would greatly appreciate any info such as size and durometer so I can replace them. Thanks, Coby
MoreUniversal III Register Rack Question
We are cleaning up a newly acquired UNI IIIP, and have noticed something which is disturbing. Under the register rack (X-2831), is a shim that looks approximately 2pts thick and resides nearest the feed table. A smaller shim is at the end nearest the floating rack. We are assuming that these have been put in place to solve a […]
MorePrinting forms over type high
This question comes via email: Q: Is the Vandercook letterpress capable of printing forms larger than type high? I have a woodblock that I’ve carved, and it is about 1/8″ higher than the type. A: It is possible only if you have a press equipped with an adjustable bed (e.g: 219 AB, 15-21, Universal I […]
MoreSP-15 Trip/Print blocked
We’ve been working on cleaning up our SP-15 in the new UAFS Letterpress Shop. I took the motor cover off to clean a large pile of old ink next to the drum roller. After putting everything back in place, now the Trip/Print lever is stuck in PRINT. Doesn’t matter if the cylinder is in home […]
MoreRegistering deckle-edge paper…
We were printing a wedding invitation on Somerset paper on a Vandercook Universal III. The invitation is 22″ wide and has the deckle at both ends. The only thing I did special to start was that I added a second paper registration down the long edge of the paper to make sure it was fed […]
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