#vandercookno4

[reflexletterpress]

THE REVEAL! One year ago today, a grungy piece of neglected printing machinery arrived in Charlestown from Tulsa, after a tortuous trip through various points in between. A new taper pin, fresh rubber rollers and a lot of scrubbing later, she started a new life here at Reflex Letterpress. And here's the kicker: SHE'S NOW 75 YEARS OLD! Yup, she was made in 1948, which means this is her Diamond Jubilee! In celebration, I pulled a four-color 5×7 Diamond Jubilee print, numbered in two editions of 75. One is printed on Colorplan 100# Pristine White, and the other printed on SunPak 0.008″ press packing paper actually used on the press itself. And the diamond printing block was a fortuitous appropriate eBay find... Maybe even a good omen. 😁 To get one of these birthday cards, all you have to do is go to the Reflex website, join the mailing list, and select which paper stock you'd prefer. I'll stuff one in an envelope and it'll whisk its way across the country to your doorstep. Also, a possibility for local folks: a birthday party sometime later in the spring. Does that sound fun? I think it sounds kinda fun. If you agree, let me know in the comments, if there's a groundswell of interest we may just make it happen. #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #vandercookno4 #75thanniversary #diamondjubilee #madein1948 #75years https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqa9QWyutUJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[reflexletterpress]

Here you go, folks... the reveal! I managed to score a 1948 Vandercook No 4 from some folks in Tulsa in March. It was a pretty terrible eBay listing, and I kinda expected nothing would come of it, but I managed to make contact with the woman in charge of selling the press and we dickered a good deal -- not a steal, but a good fair price for its condition and provenance. Motor freight took their sweet ass time getting it to me -- took a couple sightseeing tours in Pennsylvania and Southie for some reason -- but arrived in one piece. The trip/print shuttle was loose and the taper pin holding the footpedal to the gripper actuator had sheared, but those were easy fixes. I had to remove 20+ years of grime and old ink, but underneath it all was a machine in pretty good shape. Some new rollers, plenty of oil, and voila -- a successful proof. I wanna run it through its paces -- look out, APA folks! -- and see what other tweaking it needs, but I'm pretty happy with the new acquisition. I hope to use this as a production press for hardcore renters, leaving the original No 4 for classes, fun, noodling and whatever. And before the Peanut Gallery pops up in this thread, yes the pressbed could use some scrubbing and burnishing, yes I should tear it down to bare metal and rebuild it with only OEM materials and paints, yes I forgot a space in HELLO WORLD. All I'll say is, I have a five year old in preschool, and @paul.moxon seems to be on board with the project. 😉 Oh, yeah -- if you're in the Greater Beantown area, hit me up and come take a look. It's still a bit cluttered in both studios but I think I've gone over the hump and the worst mess is behind me. #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #newpress #vandercookno4 #helloworld #tulsa #motorfreight #thatllbuffrightout #oldink #grime #newtome #overthehump #clutteredbutclean #apa963 #apabundle #amalgamatedprintersassociation https://www.instagram.com/p/CdhZuclO1Wu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[reflexletterpress]

Stopped by @albertinepress to borrow some solvent and Mr. Sloan posed in front of their Vandercook No 4. Chatted a bit with Hannah until Mr. Sloan declared it was "time to say bye-bye". . #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #vandercookno4 #solvents #timetosaybyebye https://www.instagram.com/p/CJbgKBzBirS/?igshid=1a06xngihcoba

[reflexletterpress]

I'll just put these here... #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #rollers #formrollers #newrubber #likebuttah #ramcocollers #vandercookno4 https://www.instagram.com/p/CbK0vF6LmmI/?utm_medium=tumblr