Hi Emily,

(I’m a bit cofused, since I don’t think C&P made a 9×13 platen.) The designation comes from the size measured on the inside of the chase. I’m betting it is either a 10×15, or 8×12. Either one is a fine machine, and I’ve owned both and loved them. I’m assuming it is a hand-fed and not automatic, right? OK—oiling it is very important, and in my shop we used to try to oil the press every four or five operating hours, or once a week at least. I found it easy to establish a “route” for oiling, beginning at one spot and going around the press. For example, beginning at the top at the ink fountain, if it is so equipped. No ink fountain? Start at the rear of the ink disc where there are a couple of oil holes for the disc axle. Also, there should be an oil hole for the ratchet arm and end. From there move either direction and wherever you find a hole, fill it with oil. If there are bits that interact against one another, they will need a light coating of oil. The large ring gear and small driving gear on the off-side of the press need grease on occasion. Assuming it is treadle-driven, it’s very important to oil the crank follower arm (between the crankshaft and and the treadle arm), as well as the main bushings for the crank (One on each side of the arm, where it goes through the side-frames of the press.) After you get oil in all the holes you can find, turn the press over a revolution or two and stop in a different position (bed to platen, for example) and see if you can find any more oil holes. Odds are that there will be a couple more holes, hiding out and grinning at your attempts to find them….

I use single-weight 30 or 40 oil, since when these machines were built, there were no multi-grades.

It is very important that the machine is clean, and I suggest following advise already given. You also might ask your roller supply house what they suggest for cleaning your rollers. Oh, and when setting up the machine, begin with a gap between the rollers and the type, and work in toward a nice solid contact. This avoids punching a roller or ruining type.

(I do ramble on….my apologies. I used to teach press operation at our local community college, and I guess one never out-grows the need to explain in painful detail.) How about this: go slowly, follow your instincts, and “when in doubt, back it out!”

Best of luck,

Barb

Puzzling through this and based on my own experience, which really is limited to a couple of V-36 Verticals and a Kelly “B”.  The closest I’ve come to running a Heidelberg was running several KORD and KOR presses. Keeping that in mind——

it seems to me that the cyliinder gear and the bed gear are fixed relative to one another. With all the packing either under the bed or the cylinder, the ratio of the length of contact between the teeth might vary, resulting in scuffing of image or as mentioned, actually tearing the tympan.

So this kinda made my eyes cross, and I did the “Four Period Test”.  This was on a V-36 on which I wanted to print process color. I locked up a 12pt period near each corner of the chase, and tried various packing combinations, trying to get balance between the cylinder and the bed. The result, several hours and (truth to tell) a couple of beers later, I could run four different colors and register was, if not perfect, at least way on the quality side of “commercially acceptable”. I guess the whole exercise affirmed to me the need to keep the circumference within range of the bed gear tolerance by packing evenly. I apologize for the length of the answer, but after all this time, I can now feel that it was for more than just one process job! Life is good….

I hope it helps,

Barb

Hi Laura,

I used to have one for my son to play with while I was in the shop! I can’t for the life of me remember the name, but I will trot out to my “at home” shop and see if it is still around. I assume you aren’t going to do serious printing on it, right? It was certainly a treat–and a trip down memory lane–to see the picture of it!

Thanks for sharing!

Barb

Hi Susan,

Oops….well, to be honest I’ve cleaned them both ways, sometimes putting a bit of solvent on the disc and letting the press run for a minute or two so the ink comes clean easily. I like to take the rollers off simply because my C&P is up on a 2×4 base and the rollers are harder to reach with a wash-up rag. (If you have adjustable trucks, you might want to take a metal punch and tap some divots in the roller axle ends and on the trucks, so you can match them back up the same way they came off.) I don’t think there is a “right or wrong” way to wash the rollers. Some do i on the press, some remove the rollers….the main thing is to get them clean.

Hope it helps,

Barb

Hi Susan,

Are you running conventional ink, or rubber-base? Regular (Oil-based) inks need to come off after the job is finished, while rubber-based inks can remain on the rollers overnight (or so). If you have any question about the kind of ink you are using, or any additives (dryer, tack reducer, etc.) then by all means, play it safe and clean the rollers after the run. Cleaning solvent is cheaper than a new roller….

Hope this helps a bit,

Barb

Hi Gary,

Many, many thanks! It looks like it will be very helpful, and it is just the sort of guidepost I needed to keep me from the usual pitfalls—which, of course, involve broken bits and/or crunched fingers.

When you need composing sticks, let me know and if I have duplicates, one is yours, with appreciation!

Thanks again,

Barb

Hi Gary,

I have a couple of duplicate sticks, if that helps. I’ve been playing with the Ludlow and **LOVE** it!! SO much handier than a Linotype! Not, of course, as fast, but quick enough for hobby-shop use, and nice faces. I’ve got the machine to produce good, solid type, and blank filler slugs, and repeat lines as needed. I’m going to use four duplicate blank square rule slugs to level my C&P bed to the platen, so things are going wonderfully, and I thought I’d just share the good news! (Barb is a happy girl this afternoon!)

Barb

Hi Gary,

I would be in your debt forever! I have an assembly/parts list but it is for a newer model Ludlow, and has no actual operational information.  What I need are the basic steps from locking in the stick on the machine, through casting the line, and removal  of the stick. Seems simple enough, but there are a bunch (!) of safety features built in, and I haven’t even begun to track them all down, make certain they are working, and properly lube them.

It might be interesting if Ludlow people could find one another and pool resources. For example, I have about 70 drawers of mats and (once I get my C&P balanced and operational) I could pull proofs for polymer plates. On the other hand, I have no cleaning tools at all, other than leftovers from when I had Linotypes.

Mainly right now, though, I need operating information. If you can help with that, I will certainly cover whatever costs are involved, and as I mentioned, be in your debt.

Many Thanks,

Barb     >BritbikerBarb@yahoo.com<  

Hi Folks,

Great advice, but if the machine is in a basement or home, the three-phase could be very expensive; either more wiring from the pole, or a phase converter. You might try single-phase. I’ve run Kluges, C&P open and automatic and V36’s, all on single-phase motors. Some of the older motors are built for original equipment rpm control, specifically the motor I had on an 8×12 Snapper, and it worked great. My suggestion? Either have several sizes of primary drive pulley’s around, and change to suit, or find a motor built for a  mechanical speed control.

Hope this helps a bit.

Barb

Quick update: (I may have the only one of these in captivity!) I’ve found why the clutch wouldn’t engage—-there are three large set-screws that screw through the main-shaft bushing and engage the main-shaft itself. They are worn to the point of simply grooving the shaft instead of turning it! With new engagement holes drilled into the shaft, and of course the engagement yoke brazed, she should be humming! Meanwhile, I’m on my way to pick up a Ludlow with four cabinets of mats!

Thus does the saga continues, onward into the fog…..

Barb

Hi Ladies,

Couple things I forgot and remembered as I was reading Danielle’s response; when speaking of cylinders, most people now think of a Vandercook or some other proof press, but cylinders typically (in the press room, not composing) were large stop-cylinder or two-revolution machines, virtually all mechanically fed after the late 1920’s. Production presses, and beautiful machines, but hardly practical for small shops. However,  the Miehle Vertical series (V-36, 45, 50 and 50x), the Little Giant, and the Kelly are cylinders and fairly small. I had a V-36 and did the majority of job work on it. It would run all day at 3000+ per hour, register, deliver and all I had to do was monitor ink and fill oil cups! So it depends on the type of work you are doing. Ultra-short runs (10-1000) I would think would go on a platen, and longer runs on an automatic of some kind.

  The other thing to pop into my mind has probably been tossed around before, but operators do know about the rubber-band and sandpaper on the finger trick, right? Small strip of sandpaper secured to the tip of the first finger on the left hand, for delivering small items (B/C, etc.) from a hand-fed press. Prevents smearing of ink and gives the operator some extra traction.

For whatever it may be worth,

Barb

Hi Cory,

  Back in “Ye Olden Days”, I owned a commercial printing plant, and had open and automatic platens, and cylinders—Miehle and Kelly “B”. In terms of a smaller shop, it is hard to argue with history, and at one time over 95% of the job shops in this country were equipped with C&P Gordons. They are not as well constructed as a Kluge, in terms of things like oil fittings and such, but unless you are going to run two shifts five days a week, it won’t be an issue. There is sufficient impression, and it is fairly easy to level the bed and platen if it should need it. Make-ready is easy, and if you don’t try to set a speed record, they are quite safe. (Having said that, they aren’t called “Snappers” for nothing, and I personally know a couple of elderly gents who were feeders and lost fingertips to C&P platens.) The 8×12 is ideal, and that and the 10×15 are my personal favorites. Oh, and unlike cylinders, numbering heads can face either direction. (On a Vertical, they must face parallel to the cylinder.) The main disadvantage is that a platen must apply impression force all at once, of course, and a cylinder naturally has to apply it only over a very limited area at any given time. One real advantage of the smaller C&P’s is that they are–by comparison–light weight and easy to move around. (Key words: “by comparison”).

  I hope this helps a little bit. If you can pick up an 8×12, I’d say, “Go for it!”

  Here’s hoping!

Barbara

Hi Ladies,

  Thanks for responding. I’ve got two Ludlow composing sticks coming from eBay; however, sadly, heritage press is a continent away. A few years ago I rode a motorcycle from home (65 miles north of Seattle) to N. Carolina–it’s a huge Country, and I just can’t imagine how I would get a Lino all the way out here. Shipping would be prohibitive, as would driving. Wouldn’t it be lovely to have an interconnecting web of letterpress people who could move equipment by stages from Point “A” to Point “B”? Or perhaps there is a business to be made out of making loops of the Country, picking up and dropping off equipment? Hmmm…..food for thought. Anyway, thanks again for responding.

Hi Ladies,

Coming at it from a slightly different angle, I’d suggest a C&P floor model, either an 8×12 or a 10×15. I’ve owned both, and you can’t beat a little 8×12 for kicking out business or calling cards at around 2500 iph, hand-feeding! On the other hand, the 10×15 will give you more image area and more impression strength. As for moving—oy! I’ve moved more presses than I’d care to count, and the floor-model C&P machinery is nicely straightforward. On the O/S 10×15, if it is a treadle, just lift up the treadle arm and unhook it from the crank, remove the pulley and/or drive-gear on the gear-side of the press, remove the three screws holding the flywheel-side bushing in place, and lift the whole flywheel/drive-axle assembly out. It makes it fairly easy to move a 10×15 through a standard door—still fairly heavy, but doable by one person.

   I would, however, worry about the capacity of the floor if it were in a “spare room” unless that room has a concrete floor.

  (Mounting the press on 2×4 boards running parallel to the flywheel and using rollers is an easy way to move the press, as long as it is over a flat surface. I’d be *VERY* nervous about stairs!)

Whatever you choose, go with your instinct. If you love the press, it will perform at it’s best for you. (I really believe that—same with motorcycles!)

Best of luck,

Barb

Hi,

This used to happen a lot on my platens, which is why I loved the V36 and the Kelly! However, to the problem at hand: two things I would try would be to (carefully) thin the ink with reduction varnish or tack reducer, and also running thick vertical borders outside the image area, to relieve some of the tendency of the rollers to mash down over the edge of the image.

This assumes that your rollers are set correctly and are fairly new, and that the temperature of the ink and rollers is within reason.

All else failing, then you might try either thin tissue or Scotch tape as packing under the image area. You can duplicate the image by using a proof sheet as a guide for cutting the packing to fit where you need more impression.

(This used to drive me nuts on a 12×18 Kluge. I had a client who carved in wood, and he would bring in a chunk of fairly flat cedar with an image on it and want me to pull good quality images—as you can imagine, the make-ready was a major expense, but it could be done.)

Please let us know how you solve the problem, OK?

Barb

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