Good Vibrations

Many thanks go to David Lukens of the Lauchmen Printing Company in Lansdale, Pa. Dave very generously presented me with this paper jogger, a very nice 7” x 10” size perfect for most work. Dave has been a printer for years and years and is still hard at work doing what local print shops have always done: take care of his community’s basic printing needs. Schools, churches, businesses and individuals all make use of his skills and experience. While no longer doing letterpress work, he does all kinds of single and multi-color offset work (making his own plates), binding, folding, etc. His shop looks like a working print shop with cans of ink, paper of every description, boxes of envelopes, and all the misc. debris and brick-a-brac of printing laying about everywhere. While in some trades this is often considered a sign of sloppiness that is reflected in the work, such is most definitely not the case here. The work Dave produces is crisp and clean and he does this with easy efficiency. The old cry of “don’t clean it up or I won’t be able to find it” rings true here. The focus is on being productive and getting quality work out the door when customers want it and not maintaining a museum or laboratory environment. The proof is in the printing and Dave provides excellent work to happy customers.




A paper jogger is probably not one of the most needful things in a small shop, especially an amateur one like mine. But I do confess there have been times I’ve wished I had a way of more easily getting a nice even stack, especially when making pads. I happened to notice the wood table of the little jogger sticking out from among some debris on a bottom shelf while Dave was showing me around the shop and exclaimed, “Hey, what’s that under there?” Once pulled out it was obviously a jogger that Dave said he used to use but it hadn’t worked in a while. He then placed it in my hands and asked me if I wanted it.

Hmmm.

Once home I took it apart, cleaned it out, replaced the cracked and warped table, plugged it in and it was time to give it a workout. It was manufactured by the Syntron Company of Homer City, Pa. and is called the Syntron Paper Jogger, Type PJ4, Style 1763, Serial No. C8PJ65154. It has an on/off switch and a dial control to adjust the amount of vibration. The knob itself is missing and I’ll be picking up a replacement though it’s easy to adjust as it is. Based on the finish, construction and other little things I’m guessing the vintage to be 1930’s or 40’s. Syntron is now owned by FMC Technologies and is still making joggers today. I’m going to write to them to see if they can provide any information about mine from the serial number. But if anyone can narrow the date of my jogger down I’d appreciate it. Well, I’d write more but it’s time for my daily jog.

Holy Perforator!

The restoration of the perforator is complete and it actually works. Huzzah! Given the amount of rust and the condition of the punches it was no certain thing. For the most part cleaning was pretty straightforward if involved as described in my previous post. The punches and the holes they go in were the most tedious and troublesome part.

The perforator takes 365 punches about 1/32” diameter and 13/16” long. There are three parts that have holes for the punches: the punch holder, the stripper, and the die. So I had to clean out as best I could 1095 holes. I had soaked the parts repeatedly in WD40 after I finally got the punches out and after cleaning them completely I used one of the punches to scrape out the holes as much as possible. The last step here was pushing the punch through, wiping the WD40 off the far end, push it through again, wipe again, etc. until all of the extraneous WD40 was out. This actually worked pretty well and when I was done the punches all moved freely in the holes. The concern I really had was if they would go through freely when they had to pass through all three parts at once.

When these three parts were manufactured and the holes for the punches were bored they were clamped together in a jig and the holes bored through all three at the same time. The three parts were stamped with the same number so they could always be matched up. This is how alignment was always assured. Of course, a lot had happened to the perforator since it was new so it remained to be seen if this alignment remained.

I had picked up the replacement screws I needed and after the last one was replaced in the die I reassembled the stripper bar and its stiffener, reassembled the head, and then put the head back on the machine. I was almost done but looking at the punches I realized that I really needed to clean them down to bare, shiny metal and not leave them with any corrosion, no matter how minor. I was concerned about leaving them too long in the vinegar and salt bath because the surface of the metal becomes rough, if only mildly, and I wanted the smoothest surface possible to ease passage through the holes. What all this meant is that I would have to clean each punch one at a time. Fun, fun, fun.

Of the 365 punches the machine takes all had been present and I was able to recover 214 that were straight. There are perhaps 50 or so more that are only slightly bent and which I’m confident I can straighten out at some point and install. The complete row of punches is 24” long but even with only the 214 installed there are enough to perforate anything of a size I’m likely to need. I do plan on buying brand new punches in the near future because the ends on the old ones are not in the best shape and new punches will mean cleaner holes. But it punches good enough for any normal work, certainly not something the average person would notice.

Anyway, one by one using sandpaper I cleaned the punches, rolling them around with the tip of one finger on some chipboard while I sanded away with the other hand. I was careful not to sand in such a way to round over the edges on the working end of the punches but of course they weren’t perfect at this point anyway. This operation took episodes of Marcus Welby, Quincy, Kojak, Deal Or No Deal, the local news, two episodes of Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, and Ghost Whisperer to complete. Whew!

I installed the punches from the center of the head out so the pressure of the punching action would be centered. They went in better than I expected, with a few needing a slight helping hand from the tip of a screwdriver instead of my finger. I put oil on top of the stripper where the punches passed through and then started pumping the pedal. This was to break up remaining “stuff” in the holes and to lubricate things. I put some paper towels in harm’s way and stair-stepped my way to a cleaner, well-oiled perforator. I moved the paper towel with each step and it soaked up the excess “stuff” pretty well. It still leaves a slight residue on the top sheet but there is less each time and it works nice and smooth.

I had taken the tables to work to sand them with a pneumatic random orbit sander. This makes the work go fast and does a great job. The wood is cherry and was originally stained. Even though the tops of both tables had virtually no finish left it was intact on the underside and I found a match for it among some old cans of stain I had. I sanded enough to get rid of the dirt and paper that had been stuck to the wood when it had gotten wet, and to make everything smooth, but not enough to remove the patina. I stained it at home and then applied two coats of orange (amber) shellac, a traditional vintage topcoat. In the end I was surprised that the match was so close. I wasn’t worried about dents, bumps, chips, etc. because these tables have little affect on registration which is accomplished by the fences. Mostly the simply support the sheets.

Next time I’ll explain more about what I plan on doing with it besides the obvious, i.e. making holes. One thing I did realize is that because the holes are so small, this is a nice vintage option for general jobs requiring perfing instead of the more usual slit perf. The paper stays together well but tears very easily. And it won’t tear up the press rollers. Oh, boy!

Stamp Act

I’m in the process of restoring a Rosback treadle-operated round-hole perforator circa 1920. It is 300 pounds of mostly cast iron with a 24” row of hundreds of tiny punches. Philatelically speaking it punches a perforation measurement of 12 which is, or rather was, the standard for U.S. stamps before 1914. Guess what I’ll be printing in the not too distant future? But more on that later.



While in generally good if typically dirty condition, the perforator had one serious problem: at one time it sat someplace where water was allowed to get onto the punch assembly. This assembly consists of three main parts besides said punches: the punch holder, the stripper, and the die. The punches are 13/16” long and a little over 1/32" diameter with a small head on one end like a brad. They drop into holes in the punch holder and down through the stripper bar. When the treadle is depressed the punches are pushed down through the stripper bar and into the die which has corresponding holes. Well, when stored at some point the head which carries the punch assembly was adjusted in such a way that the punches were pushed down below the bottom of the stripper. Add water, time, and neglect and presto! Rusted punches, punch carrier, stripper, and die plate. O joy!



Adding a bit to the sorrow is the fact that at some point someone with more physicality than patience tried to loosen the head and get the punches moving. To do this he inserted some kind of crow bar into the assembly and did what one does with a crow bar. While not loosening the punches it did have the affect of snapping the heads off four of the six screws by which the punch holder is attached to the head. His work apparently done, the perforator was left to get older. On the bright side the tables, while needing refinishing, are in good shape and it has both of its original fences with attachments. Also, it is not rusty to the same degree on all the punches.

Having disassembled and restored any number of antique machines in various degrees of decrepitude, I was reasonably certain that I could get it apart and that it could be cleaned and restored to use. The first step was to somehow get the punch assembly off the head and disassemble it. There was little point in cleaning anything else unless this could be accomplished. I sprayed on a liberal dose of PB Blaster “penetrating catalyst” and let it soak. I was prepared for a long process and this was the first step. Over the next three days I kept adding more Blaster and gently pried and tapped. No crow bar. During that time I was able to remove enough of the punches from both ends to get at the two bolts that hold the stripper bar to the bed. The stripper bar is attached to the bed and normally you can remove the entire head with the punches with the stripper bar remaining behind. But of course the punches were rusted to the bar. So in this case when I was finally able to lift off the head the stripper bar came with it.

Now I had access to the bottom of the stripper bar and after a couple more days of soaking I was able to tap the bottom of some of the punches to loosen them and pull them out. Just like pulling teeth, both descriptively and in terms of it being somewhat difficult. Keep in mind that there are literally hundreds of punches. I haven’t counted all of them yet but have got as far as 238. I got enough out finally to bend the stripper bar slightly and come at the screw heads of the last two screws holding the punch holder to the cast iron head using a right-angle screwdriver. More soaking and more tapping. It took a week but finally the last punch came out. Now all the parts needed to be cleaned down to original paint or bare metal. I don't like repainting unless absolutely necessary but I hate rust. I let the punches and some other parts soak overnight in a solution of vinegar and salt to loosen the rust up. Except for heavy rust this allows you to virtually wipe if off. In the process of removing the punches a number of them were bent or broken but I saved about 230 and I’m hoping they will work once clean. Replacements seem to be available from a couple sources and I’ve been in touch to get particulars. If the price is right I’ll replace them all and keep the old ones as spares.

Four screw heads had been broken off in the head and I had to drill out the remaining parts of the screw. I’ll pick up replacements at the hardware store. Cleaning itself was straight forward using WD-40; sandpaper; 3M green pads; a wire brush on a grinder and drill; and lots of paper towels. I’m not afraid to use sandpaper to get heavy rust off, stopping as soon as I get to bare metal. Then it’s the green pads and finally the wire wheel to make it nice. I used one of the old punches to clean out the inside of the hundreds of holes in the punch holder, stripper bar, and die plate. They weren’t that bad, the punches having provided some protection from direct exposure. But this part of the job was very tedious and cleaning the holes in the three parts took 5 hours. I did this in the evening while watching TV.

The main frame has been cleaned and the die plate reinstalled but for one screw that needs to be replaced. Once I get that screw and the others I need everything can be reassembled. At that point we’ll see if actually works. I hope to refinish the wood tables this week at work. More on that and what exactly I’ll be doing with it will wait for another post.

Spooling Around

All right, that's perhaps the worst heading ever but since it's for a relatively unnecessary post, it's actually appropriate. I just wanted to put up a photo of the label on the spool of stitching wire that came with the stitcher. It's a wooden spool and the vintage label is pretty interesting. The label has the imprint of the manufacturer who made the stitcher but while gluing it back on I noticed that it had actually been placed over the original label. I couldn't see enough to determine the manufacturer of the wire.

BTW, I'm still looking for some additional spools, partial or full, wood or plastic, whatever gauge. I know I can buy them new but this poor printer is hoping to save some money if possible.

Wired!

Many thanks to my friend Alan Runfeldt of the Excelsior Press for having numerous printer's supply catalogs laying around and allowing me to borrow them. In two I found ads for my No. 8 National wire stitcher.

The top scan is from the circa 1950's New York Type Distributors catalog. They were located at 579 Broadway in New York City: just phone Canal 6-6767.

The second scan is from the Zimmer Printer's Supply catalog from 1969. Their main office was at 225 Varick St. in New York City with a sales office in Boston and an executive office in Hawthorne, New Jersey. Orders can be placed by cable using the code: Zimsupco

Don't you just love old catalogs? The information in these two ads tells me virtually everything I need to know regarding the stitcher. Capacity, speed, and clear enough graphics to allow me to reconstruct accurately the table gauge. Fortunately one of the end slides was still attached so I can use it for scale and general construction.

I now need some wire. If anyone has any 5 pound spools of wire they don't need, aren't using, or wish to donate please let me know. Older wooden spools are especially welcome!

A Stitch In Time

I've been on a slight hiatus from posting because I've been without a computer at home for about three weeks. I had an ancient 366 mhz unit that I've exchanged for a less ancient Pentium III at about 800 mhz. I still have dialup so dowloading, etc. is as slow as before, but aside from that I'm cookin' with gas. And it doesn't lock up every few websites. And it has Windows 2000 and Corel Draw, and it's the best thing since sliced bread. Now I'm loking into DSL. Yep, I'm moving right into the 90's.

Anyway, in honor of the first post since my return, I have a nice new addition to the shop to introduce, a National wire stitcher. While I don't plan on doing thousands of binding jobs of my own work, I will do some and want to have the option of doing binding for others on a paying basis. Besides, it's a cool machine and I love machines and because I only paid $50 for it and picked it up locally, I indulged myself.

I picked it up today and while I wasn't surprised by its overall dimensions which were about what I expected, I didn't realize it was so beefy. It's made of heavy castings and is very substantial. I still need to look into its particular specifications, but it certainly looks heavy enough to bind up to at least an inch thick as opposed to the smaller, lighter models.

It was made by the Gitzendanner-Muller Co., Inc. of New York, NY. It's their National Wire Stitcher, Size #8, serial number 1325. There is a supplier's tag on it as well showing that it was sold by the E.P. Lawson Co. Inc. of 426 W. 33rd St., New York 1, NY. The tag indicates they sold paper cutting machines and binding equipment and probably a lot of other things related to printing.

I'm estimating it is from the 30's. This is based on the paint color, style of the maker's and seller's tags, etc. The "New York 1, NY" will be a clue that I have yet to look into. It had a wooden wire spool with some 28 guage wire installed. The spool had a paper label from the same company as the maker of the stitcher but because the label was partly falling off and partly damaged I was able to see that it had been glued over a label from the actual maker of the wire. This is not uncommon as for example Martin guitar strings are sold in Martin packaging but are actually made by a company that makes strings as their main business. I wish stitching wire sold today still came on wooden spools instead of ugly, bright colored plastic. I repired the lbel and reattached it to the spool. Gotta love that wooden spool.

The stitcher is dirty with minor rust on some exposed parts but otherwise seems complete and cycled through when I turned it by hand. I need to replace the cord. If anyone could provide me with scanned catalog pages, instructions, or any other information on this particular stitcher or a similar stitcher I would really appreciate it. I'm pretty good mechanically but am flying blind with this machine.

The photos below were taken by the man I bought it from and aren't so good. I'll take some better ones and post them later.

Foiled Again!

I've given some thought from time to time about the possibilities of hot foil printing, especially in relationship to book covers and the like. But this was a passive interest only until a couple weeks ago when I had the opportunity to pick up a vintage hot foil press that was otherwise destined for the scrap yard. It needs a good cleaning but I've fired it up and tried it out with the included burgundy tape and it works just fine. The two "idler" bars on the automatic feeder that stretch the tape between them and keep it at the right distance from the type were missing but an old catalog showed that they were simply 5/16" diameter round metal rod. I bought a length from the local hardware store and bent it to the right shape and now you can't tell the difference from the factory originals. The hand wheel that moves the upper arm was broken and I replaced it with a vintage part from my old parts pile in the basement. Only the cleaning remains.

The type holder holds forms up to 1" wide and 5 3/4" long. It's actually a rather large machine. The table is 12" x 12" and it weighs a good hundred pounds or so, about the size of a large tabletop drill press. Foil tape seems amazingly low priced so I'll have to pick up some gold and a few other colors. So the Front Room Press has become a bit more diversified in what it can do. Anyone need your name on a book? If anyone has any information on this company or press, I'd be very grateful if you'd get in touch.

Rules Of Thumb...

...sometimes need clarification. In my last post I wrote that my rule of thumb when restoring old equipment is: less is more. Afterwards I realized that I was painting with too broad a brush. This rule is true as far as painting or refinishing in general goes. However, with any piece of equipment, from a stapler to a press, I invariably disassemble it, clean every part and make any repairs as I go. I remove any and all rust and while not a fanatic about polished metal surfaces, will at least make them bright.

Because my usual method of cleaning involves WD-40, green pads and paper towels original paint tends to stay put and I don't usually find a need to replace it or touch it up even if there isn't much left. But there are those cases such as the proof press where there are only bits and pieces of finish left and it was so rusty that sandblasting was the most reasonable method of cleaning. Complete repainting was therefore the only practical option.

So I hope I've set the record straight. I thought it important to do so because I'm a strong proponent of disassembling and cleaning machinery. Not only does it insure that it will operate the way it should because bearing and other surfaces are clean but you gain an intimate knowledge of the machine. You learn its strong points and areas where parts are worn and perhaps must be repaired, replaced or compensated for during operation. Trouble-shooting problems will be much easier if you know the machine inside and out. No machine is perfect, especially antiques, even when they're restored to full operation. I also find that being able to take pride in your equipment translates itself positively to your work.

I've attached a photo of a lead and slug cutter that was covered in rust on the bare metal surfaces but the paint of which was mostly intact. I took it all apart and cleaned everything including the screws, springs, and snap rings. I cleaned the gunk off the paint but otherwise left it alone. I made the base at work from some mahogany we had laying around.