seems the age old question: uneven inking on craftsmen
I am back with yet another question. (And I apologize for the length of this, but I want to be detailed so people can understand the issue.)
I have been testing out my Craftsmen 5x8 Imperial printing press. With ONE line of type in the center, it prints a kiss nonimpression well. With a small design (1”x1”) on a boxcar plate, it prints a bit darker toward the bottom. But on the “4 corners” test, it is failing miserably. I have verified that all four blocks I have locked up in the corners are type high (I don’t have spacing yet or much in the way of type, so no M’s or W’s).
What’s happening is the bottom two corners print OK (still no impression, though), but the top two barely print at all. I’ve removed all packing per advice I’ve read here. With even packing, it does the same thing anyway.
We’ve tried adjusting the platen screws/bolts to no avail. In fact, on the upper left bolt, no matter how you adjust it — to the left or to the right, it just moves the platen away from the rails, etc., which we figure is more of a relational thing with the settings of the other 3 bolts/screws.
Here’s what’s really weird: it looks like corner of the ends of the tympan bales, when the bales are lowered to secure the typman, stick up a little above the platen, making it so that THEY hit the roller rails and prevent the platen from making contact with the rails, and hence, making good contact with the forme. The typman bales don’t seem to be removable or adjustable (no screws; they are just sort of pinned in).
Other weird, probably stupid, observations/questions: On all tabletop presses, is the platen supposed to make contact with the *rails*, hence stopping any further contact/impression? It seems that there is simply too great a distance between the platen surface and, say, the chase bed, because the rails prevent any furthering of the platen regardless of how it’s adjusted, thus preventing any impression whatsoever. Second dumb question: it seems to me that on the other presses I’ve used, and especially in Kelsey videos, you can kind of (and I KNOW this is bad) push down on the handle to control the “oomph” of the contact/impression. On this press you can’t, because once the platen hits those rails, that’s it. There’s no squish or give.
What am I missing? I swear I have read and reread every one of the many posts, but the adjustments just don’t seem to be making a difference.
Thanks a million in advance!
Katie
Portland, OR
(just in case you know of anyone local I can just PAY to come get it adjusted properly!!!)
As you have found, used presses are not plug-and-play.
You will end up knowing a lot more about your press. Maybe more than you had wished.
With different presses, the impression screws work differently. I do not have a Craftsmen in front of me to walk you through the adjustment.
I can tell you for sure that the rails and bails are not to touch the platen. Neither is adjustable. It is the platen that is adjusted. When the press is closed, The rails are to be about .050” from the platen. That is the approximate thickness of your packing and brings the paper up to your inked form for a nice kiss impression.
It is best to have very specific instructions, or even better, someone who knows what she or he is doing to show you how to adjust the platen.
You will get there.
No press is requires you to feel your way through impression. The press is set to an exact distance, the combination of packing and stock and form height make up the amount of impression when you complete the pull for impression.
Roller tracks should not contact the packing. Trim back the edges.Otherwise you are fighting against every other adjustment you have made.
@parallel_imp: The packing is not hitting the rails (darn, I thought maybe that was it!).
@inky: I don’t have a micrometer yet, but in its current position, the platen is not touching the rails. This is after adjustments. It seems to be parallel, etc.
I am wondering how you check for levelness of the platen itself. It *looks* nice, flat, and level, but there is still so much inconsistency in how the blocks are printing…. (Could be partly the blocks I’m printing, but I turn the chase upside down and then those same blocks print just fine, so it must be the impression screws….)
Another “test” I’ve done is to put a long, thin piece of paper into the press where each printing block is, close it, and then see if I can pull the paper out (I read this somewhere on here, too). Obviously, I have not yet successfully be able to adjust the platen so that all four blocks “grip” that paper with even close to the same force.
Any other advice? It is just a matter of tinkering with those $*#*^ screws? Is there any better method of tinkering with them? If anyone thinks photos would help, I can try to take some good detailed closeups, maybe label them with where I think the issues are….
Thanks,
Katie
I don’t remember the Craftsmen press specifically, but some of those small presses have the adjusting bolts with nuts on both sides of the support for the platen. In order to adjust the platen you must loosen one nut and tighten the other on each bolt, a little at a time, without turning the bolt. Just turning the bolt backs it out of the platen and through the nuts at the same rate, thus not moving the platen.
If you have a type high gauge you can measure the top spacing of the platen (you can’t reach the bottom inside the closed press unless you have a “lollypop” roller gauge, which could serve. My suggestion is take all the packing and tympan sheets off the platen and try to set it so you are getting contact with something type high at all four corners of the chase. I believe the roller bed rails would not be more than type high, probably less, so if the platen surface is type high from the bed it should not contact the rails. But you can measure the rails with a good straightedge and the type high gauge, holding the straightedge across the rails and slide the gauge under it. If your rails are over type high you have problems!
If you can get the bare platen adjusted, you can then back out all four corners a bit to accommodate packing and get to printing.
Bob
Ohhhhh kaaaay! I think I got it adjusted. Much to the chagrin of some, I said “screw it,” or actually, “unscrew it,” and I just took the whole platen off and started over. With the chase removed and the tympan off, I put the platen back on, closed the press fully until the platen was fully and evenly engaged, then stuck a roller gauge in and made sure that the roller gauge fit in evenly with just a bit of play (we are getting a micrometer later today…). I held it all shut like this, then hand-tightened the adjusting nuts, and then replaced the locking nuts, and tightened things a bit. I replaced the typman and added one sheet of mediumish paper (will start getting smart about packing paper as my next trick), ran a test print, which came out pretty good (crispy on the bottom two blocks, faint print on the top two). Finally, using some great advice to be methodical and patient, I adjusted the top screws 1/6 rotation at a time, running a print after each adjustment. (Actually, I left a piece of paper in, and adjusted slightly, checking to see when the impression of the top blocks finally turned into a good print.) It only took a few turns of the top two screws, and then it looked good in all 4 corners and in the center.
I can see the horror on some of your faces at my method, but aside from taking the platen off and starting over, most of it was based on advice and instructions I read here on dear old Briar Press. Inky would be proud to see my hands, although I don’t know that my shirt actually got too much ink on it.
Next: achieving the controversial impression. I am aware of the history of this (or lack thereof!), the limitations of the tabletop printing press when it comes to “force,” and the inherent dangers to press and type (although somehow, the way the Craftsmen press is constructed, it just doesn’t seem possible to mash down the handle much, and that’s probably a good thing). But that’s for another thread, another day.
THANK YOU Briar Press. I am so impressed with the time and patience reflected in so many people’s responses to everyone’s questions.
- Katie