Replacement Impression Screw for a 10x15 C&P?

I’ve been working on restoring a C&P 10x15 (new style) press this spring and ran into an issue while I was reassembling the platen. I was tightening down the impression screws and snapped one of them clean in half.

After cleaning up both the sockets in the platen and the threads of the bolts, there really wasn’t any resistance. Everything was well lubricated and seating down smoothly just as you’d expect - so the break was a bit of a shock (the bolts are pretty hefty).

I was wondering if anyone here knew if (by some stroke of luck), there was someone who had replacement Impression Screws … or could recommend a good machinist?

Log in to reply   13 replies so far

I think I may have answered my own question. I was doing a search and found that NA Graphics sells replacements.

If anyone finds themselves in my shoes: they’re listed as “C&P Platen Bolt for 10x15 and 8x12 presses”.

if you have 4 bolts, never tighten one without slackig off the other opposite equally once you are a “touch fit”, then you can work round the platten, diagonally, vertically, horizontally on either left or right top or bottom

J.L.J. Sir, Unless your thread holes have been re tapped to a metric size, which is very, very unlikely,>> your machine will have imperial threads all over I.E. Whitworth, A.F. B.S.F, etc which means it is inconceivable that you have to seek machine shop facilities (unless U.S.A. is back in the dark ages, or 100 miles down the Interstate) to find a common or garden hardware shop, that stocks nuts, bolts, washers, studding (threaded rod) etc etc etc ad infinitum should be 5 minutes around the corner!!! Look up Namrick U.K. W W W etc. They ship Worldwide, but am sure they will point you in the right direction for your local equivelant. And then possible purchase say 4 (four) high tensile ALLEN bolts, with locking nuts,!! and Allen key, or set!! WHY Allen bolts? with spanner driven hex head bolt, adjustment is just a little hit and miss!! With Allen bolts, with milled heads, and judicious use of marker pen/tippex etc in/on say every third mill slot, fine incremental adjustments, by sight and feel,>>or to be super critical!! 4 strips of say, acetate sheet behind/under all 4 bolts, used as feeler guages initially, as primary contact, and then fine tuned.!!!???

We can have one made for you if we don’t have one in stock.

Tom

651-730-0986

[email protected]

www.tandtpressrestoration.com

What kind of Opportunists are you apparently dealing with, Re Busted Bolt etc, I.E. “N.A. Graphics sells them” (bet they dont make em) and/or “We can have one made etc” IF I need a replacement bolt, I take my damaged original to the local Nut and Bolt store, put my original on the counter, within seconds they size it up with a thread/pitch guage and a few seconds later they put choice of six in front of me, mild steel, high tensile steel, stainless steel, hex head, allen head, etc etc. I dont have to trawl the internet, and get only whats is commercialy viable, (whether it is suitable or not) I dont have to wait for it to be shipped, half across the U.K. or worse!! I am operational within minutes!! It costs (comparitevely) pennies/cents per bolt etc. And the best bit is just 2 miles away there is an engineering firm running, Capstan Lathes, or Cam Autos, running day and night churning out bolts etc by the thousand. O.K. they are now probably turning exclusively metric product, but its a racing certainty that the contributors above, can still buy in ready made, imperial bolts in bulk for pennies, and then put 1,000% on top and still create the impression, “we can have one made” etc. THE Country that gave you/us Detroit Motors, The Colt Armoury, (Inc Colt Armoury Presses) etc etc,>> cant be that far behind surely.?? Its a shame that “Preston Thomas Tucker” is not still with us!!! He would be building “The Presses of tomorrow Today” He P.T.T. would throw some proverbial C*** at the proverbial Fan and make the opportunists sit up and take notice, unless of course you still have (as is suspected) one or two “Homer Fergusons” lurking in the background???

Mick, it’s not that simple on this side of the pond.

and i thought i got up early.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but these are hardly standard bolts?

Aren’t the C&P bolts two different threaded sections on both sides of a centre nut, with non-threaded sections (one lower than the threads and one higher, of different widths) on both sides of that nut. All of which must be correct to function with the remaining bolts.

I have some decent hardware stores around here, but I’m pretty sure that they’d just shake their head and tell me to find a machinist if I came walking in with one of those things.

Even if the local machinist could make a replacement, it would probably take me a few hours to find that machinist.

Now, I wonder what is the most expensive, calling and buying from a letterpress-specific vendor who knows exactly what I need within seconds, or spending 3 hours of my valuable time driving around to find a machinist willing to stop whatever he/she is doing and turn a new bolt (or a set) for me?

Opportunists is a rather strong word for the handful of people who still service this community with replacement parts, Mick.

I agree with Mick, if i need anything i first run to the hardware store, but Kimboe is right, these are not a standard bolt, if i need something thats not standard i think i’d call Mick???

After seeing so many presses being sent off for scrap, I decided that it was time to do something to help rescue these presses from the scrap heap. Letterpress Rescue is the purpose of this page.

Dick, thank you, I appreciate that in some, but very very few cases, (and in view of the vintage of most of the machines in question) and bearing in mind “A” that a recognised standard would have been the norm, NOT special purpose!! And “B” Kelsey, Sigwalt, Colt Armoury. etc etc would Not have Made/Marketed a product where they had to bump the price up with special purpose fittings, because the next Company down the line would surely have left them in the dust??? If I do not see this in its correct light, put me right ONLINE!!! I can handle it, and maybe a few can also learn.!!! AND one more, if our friends!!! as above are “HELPING” Multi National PRINT Corporations to keep their 10 Colour Perfectors Running, because “time is of the essence” for the Good of the Shareholders, etc >FINE!!< screw em to the hilt!!! BUT as it would seem that the new recruits are “A” trying for the pleasure of learning and reviving an almost lost art, and “B” advancing the cause, for the good of many, with possibly/only slim chance of becoming rich and famous, should the “friends” as above have the courtesy and sympathy to say, Yes we can Make/Acquire that which you need, For “X” amount of dollars??? But Joe Bloggs or Fred Carno, just around the corner can supply same for 25% of “X” Motor mouth Mick speaking from the wrong end AGAIN..NO incorrect!!! Last eve 1-2 A.M. No disturbances? Turned a set of Roller Bearers (trucks) for my own machine, trial and error, with no drawings, from aluminium stock about 5 dollars worth, with about 2 dollars worth of electricity, plus 4 cups of coffee, (Red mountain From Kenya) of course, ***see footnote also”“” Total cost to me less than 10 Dollars as opposed to our equivalent, of N.A. Graphics quote of £35 sterling, 54 U.S. Dollars. As you appear to be the Spiritual home of stock cars at Sebring, Watkins Glen, Daytona etc etc there must surely be whole herds of Decrepit Old F***s (as in flatulence) like me just around “your” corner, more than happy to turn up (if needed) special purpose parts, Support your local Buddy, perhaps, or pay the price!!!??? “”Footnote”” Fantastic Safari Holiday(s) in Kenya, East Africa, x 2 with a few hours to spare in Niarobi and Mombasa, had to have a little nose/poke about in side streets and alleyways to the sound of Letterpress Machines running, (as one would of course!!) Surprise, Surprise, All up H/Berg Cylinders, Full Letterpress, H/Berg Platen(s) and One Wharfedale? Chundering away alongside, Multiliths, A B Dick,s, Rotaprint,s etc, no problem!!! When I mentioned that we had virtually scrapped, almost all, L/Press in favour of litho and having to scour, then/now half the states in Africa to re-import L/press machines with weeds growing in the cylinders etc, for reconditioning back to cutting/creasing standard,?? the look (no speech!!) just said “You think of Us” as third world and backward, Mick hang your head in Shame etc. Have WE progressed or do the NEW ones deserve a little support for clawing back Some “street cred”

Dick, Thank you, I could and have made on my Lathe 2 stage bolts, so I would imply that it is not that hi-tech for the appropriate high tech price, for those struggling to get of the ground!!! KIMABOE, sincere apologies for my inappropriate terminology, it is never my intention to offend, but occasionaly delicate/genteel words get no results, and consequently provoke NO reaction, so nobody (including myself) gets any clarification or learning curve improvement!!! Girl with a Kluge, Fair point and observation, I understand that many things are different in the U.S.A. and sincerely wish to know or at least try, if I am learning on line, hopefully many others are as well for whom it is far more relevant!!! Thank You. Mick

I made a quick sketch of what I believe my impression bolt is on a 10x15 new style.

One thing I’ve learned is that many of the screws on the C&P’s were turned on a lathe, and the operators did NOT use standard UNF threads. More often than not, they left the machine set to one thread pitch, say, 12 tpi, and then cut all the bolts to that pitch, regardless of diameter.

BEWARE: this means your 5/8” tap in your tool box can NOT be used to clean out the 5/8” tapped hole on your press. Same for the die.

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