Wednesday 30 January 2008

Cleaning a letterpress


I was told that to clean an old letterpress, you need fine-grade steel wool, drill bits of various sizes, a bristle brush, 3-in-1, WD-40, kerosene, 30-weight oil and old rags.

I've discovered the other things you need: a whole lot of time, and a Dad.

I took a good stab at the first stages, although getting around the machine can be a bit tricky now I'm most of the way through my second trimester.

First I brushed at least a decade's worth of dirt and grit off the machine with a pan brush. Then I did it again. It was particularly stubborn dirt because it was "glued" in place with all the oil that's required to run the press and keep it from rusting.

Next: the air compressor. When Nathan and his dad bought that noisy monster I thought there was no way I'd ever need it. I was wrong. It's fabulous for blasting dirt and grime out of places that can't be reached with a brush. I went over the press a couple of times with that and was pretty pleased.

Then I started hunting out the oil holes. Letterpresses have more oil holes than you can poke a stick at, and before you can run one that's been idle for a while, you have to find all the holes (many of which are in mysterious and inaccessible places), clean them out with a drill bit and a Q-tip, and then put in a couple of drops of 3-in-1. It's a long process.


I was partway through the oil-hole mission when Mum and Dad arrived from Australia. If I'd known what a letterpress-restoring powerhouse my Dad could be, I might've been tempted to let him handle the whole job.

Actually, he did. We made a couple of runs to Home Depot and Lowes to get extra supplies Dad knew we'd need, and then he went to work.

I wouldn't let just anyone take a stab at fixing the letterpress. It's more than a century old, huge, heavy and dangerous – and despite its bulk it can be ruined. But Dad's spent the best part of his life restoring vintage cars to their former glory. He really knows his way around expensive and complicated old machines.

Well, Dad took over the letterpress corner and was basically unstoppable. One day when I have more time and memory-power, I'll try to make a list of the countless things he did. For now, I'll just go with the old picture's-worth- a-thousand-words... when Dad arrived, the letterpress looked like that (see picture above). Even before he was finished with it, it looked like this (below).

And it worked.

11 comments:

  1. wow. that really made a difference. what a wonderful piece of machinery.

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  2. Wow! You're dad is a powerhouse, and the letterpress is beautiful.

    You should post a pic of one of the cars your dad has restored. I'd be interested in seeing one.

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  3. Man, your dad rocks! This is something I'd have to recruit my brother for. How is it that some people have the patience for this, I'll never know.
    Can't wait to see some new letterpressed items.

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  4. Thanks everyone!! I'm really excited about it.

    Jewelstreet, I'll have to see what I can dig up. I don't think I have any of the reeeeally old cars Dad's done (and he's still traveling the world right now so I can't call on him to provide pictures!) But I'll find something!

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  5. You have really gotta love dad's. He's done a fabulous job. Congratulations!

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  6. Helen, Your dad is a legend!! Is he interested in a career as a letterpress restorer? I'ld be more then happy to have him come around to my house and clean up my C&P for me!!

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  7. I love the photos of your letterpress. Seriously, those photos are art in themselves!

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  8. I'm definitely finding your posts about cleaning your press very helpful. I just bought a c&p 10x15 and finding lots, and LOTS of dirt and grime built up on it.I'm starting to think in the 80 or so years of its existence, it's never been cleaned! thank you so much for the guidance.

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  9. I'm finding this post SO helpful as I'm trying to tackle cleaning a C&P 10x15 I recently purchased. I'm starting to think the thing has never been cleaned since its creation.... thank you for the guidance!

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