Curtis & Mitchell Caxton

Greetings,

I just had some rollers recovered and they were made at 1 1/4” I didn’t think to specify a particular diameter. The trucks I have are 15/16”.

Does anyone know what size of rollers a Curtis & Mitchell Caxton 4x6 should use?

Should I have the rollers shrunk or can I purchase correct size trucks (if the 1 1/4” is the correct size…)

Sorry if this is a stupid question as the only press I have used before is an Albion.

Thanks in advance.

Z.

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A 4x6 press would probably use rollers about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter. One way to tell the maximum is to measure the distance between centers of the roller hooks, which is the maximum possible size, and round it down to the nearest 1/4 or 1/2 inch for the best roller size. If your trucks are 15/16 inch, that’s a somewhat odd size and roller makers may not stock that size, but 1 inch rollers would work OK with them.

Bob

Thank you Bob. I sent some badly damaged composition rollers off so they may have estimated the size from those (flattened, cracked and warped as they were).

15/16” is my best guess holding a steel rule across the middle. 1” does seem more likely and I can always tape the trucks for the 1/16” if I need to. 5/16” of tape is a bit much….

I did just hear back from a seller on eBay who has some new rollers and trucks for the same press, and they are 1” in diameter.

The roller hook distance isn’t much help in this case as the 1 1/4” rollers do fit… Just.

When determining this ratio, the same principal applies to all press rollers. However, it is ideal to know the truck diameter of the original press you are working with. Perhaps someone with an orig press such as yours can verify the truck size you have.

A starting point would be to measure the height of your rails above the bed of your press by laying a flat edge from rail to rail. If this space is type high then you have the best scenario. NEVER rely on someone telling you what size truck & roller diameters you need before knowing this answer and how to arrive at it. I see this as the most underestimated bit of knowledge for a most repeated question. Ideally your roller should be about 1/16” diam larger than the trucks. If the space between bed and rails is other than type high you’re destined for a larger learning curve.

Searching in the BP discussion under “roller height”, “roller diameter” or similar will overwhelm you with fixes as the topic has been repeated numerous times. Avoid the “tape” fixes whenever possible. Many times it is assumed that the trucks & cores are original when they have been replaced from a larger press. With these small table-top presses, keep in mind that cores need to be of a diameter small enough to hold sufficient rubber or composition without making the roller radius too thin.

In the rush to get started printing many people just think ordering a set of rollers for an old press gets them up and running when in fact they soon loose interest because they can never get it quite right. The press gets sold to another unsuspecting individual and the problem gets passed on. Much frustration can be avoided by learning the rail to type bed height… and then doing the math for the trucks, cores, and rollers.

Thanks Butch,

The trucks I have are 15/16” and the rails are type high.

My assumption was that sending in original rollers (I am pretty sure they were) would give them the information that they needed.

Based on the responses here, measurements and so on these rollers should be 1” which matches with the truck size plus 1/16”. The cores on these rollers are 3/8” in diameter.

I will not be reselling this press, I will make it work. However all of my experience was with an Albion which was not self inking in any way. In those circumstances roller size is not quite as relevant.

If I had the room and the money I would be looking for an Albion… But I don’t.

Is it worth Suggesting/Pointing out, that the difference between 15/16” and (Point) .918 is very, very little.???????

Greetings Mick,

The rails that the trucks run along are type high, the trucks are a hair under one inch…

The rollers are 1 1/4” so the rollers are pressed on to the type by about 1/8”. While I don’t have a roller gauge I am pretty sure that this is way too much.

The three possible solutions to this would be…
Taller rails, but these are built into the press and not easy to modify.
Larger trucks, but these trucks (based on the response from an eBay seller and Bob above) are probably original.
Smaller rollers, this is the solution I am pursuing at the moment.

My suspicions we’re that either the trucks or rollers we’re the wrong size. In this case the evidence points to the rollers.

rubber would be same sizes as trucks on that press. diameter will affect how much ink you can carry, to big and you will not get a full rotation on ink disk and possibly hit grippers. original was 15/16” . I make mine one inch.

Thank you Todd,

You were the eBay seller I contacted, and if I didn’t have rollers already made I would be purchasing them from you. I might still order a spare set anyway.

Advanced are regrinding the rollers for me at no cost.

Thanks once again.