Something You Gotta See

Not sure this has anything at all to do (directly) with letterpress, but you need to watch this TED clip by Scott McCloud. It's 17 min long - which by today's standards may seem like an eternity. I propose however that it's a bargain you should make. This is related to a program called Comic Life that I'm in the process of using to document some important events coming up in the life of the Freemans.

A Night of Wayzgoose

Some great shots captured by photographer Molly Lee:

using Ryan's battle-tested eyes to check registration.

Ross, Ryan and Tad solve the mystery of the Counter/Incrementer and build a prototype linkage out of fish line - once again making the counter functional. GENIUS you guys.

who's this young apprentice - Ethan or Colin?

Info on Wayzgoose.

Wayzgoose 2011 + Press Runs

Thanks to those good friends who dropped by for Wayzgoose 2011 (Ryan Sorgnard, Jerry Boileau, Molly/Tad/Ethan/Colin, Steve Hansen and Ross Iggulden - engineer on the counter). Next year's Wayzgoose I promise will be more food/fun/beverages - and less tedious letterpress demonstration.

And now that I've successfully run about ten jobs on the press, I've accumulated a good collection of useful 'lessons learned'. It's like having a bunch of (blood, sweat & tears) notches in my letterpress belt. Here are some shots (poor quality photos though they are) of the results: 

this one will be thrown out and replaced/re-run (thanks to the careful eye of 'corrector' JoMarie Hansen)

First Impressions ...

Wow, it's been awhile. A big project at the beach house (something for another post maybe) got in the way of my letterpress hobby - ouch. But the time as finally arrived. Yesterday photopolymer plates from BoxCar Press arrived by FedEx, Cranes Lettra came in overnight and I had picked up more ink from Gans Ink (thank you Rita) in Portland. So, last night I marshalled all forces (Kathy and Renee were there for the virgin outing), worked out details of getting the tympan (drawsheet) on properly, placed guide pins (that was kind of messy the first time), inked the press with dark red, figured out how to position the (photopolymer) plate on the base .. did a test on the tympan sheet - and we were off.

The first run was to lay down the 'Bad Dog Letterpress' type in the banner of my 'services sheet'.  Oh, about that ... we've had a name change.  I'm not saying there won't be a Chinook Letterpress in the future ... but we're casting off as 'Bad Dog Letterpress' which has all kind of history and legend associated with it - and is probably the better name (thanks Molly and Joerg - I'm sure you're right).

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like printing money.

Christmas in April

A couple boxes arrived in the mail this week from NA Graphics in Silverton, Colorado, purveyor of letterpress stuff. In it was California Wash (a mysterious concoction - that's a kinder/gentler solvent for things like my sensitive old ink rollers), my needed trucks for the rollers, two salvaged quoins and requisite quoin key, grippers and gripper feet (this is getting good isn't it), guide pins and a couple of STAR guides - which frankly I have no notion of how to use. Brushes for the motor are still 'in-transit' and there remain a couple other crucial, but backordered items. The process of 'gearing up' is slow indeed - this isn't stuff you go to Home Depot for. See photos below:
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base locked up inside the chase with quoins and wooden furniture

nylon trucks on ink roller

STAR Gauges

Culture

This is too good, not to share. Probably doesn't have much to do with letterpress - except that it's true and pure. Click on Chris Kimball's excellent essay below.

Base, Brushes & Chase

I took the little (weighs what feels like about 75 lbs) electric motor to Scotty's Electric Motor Repair last Friday and the good news is that the two brushes are spent - so we're going to order new ones and there's a good chance that this alone will bring our motor back to the land of the living. Cost: probably about $65 (don't tell Kathy as she's got a mental tally running on every little expenditure). If you're wondering what a brush for an electric motor looks like - here's a picture.

electric motor brush

chase (inside dimensions) measuring 8" x 12"

Had a terrifically fun conversation with Patti and Fritz today at NA Graphics in Silverton, Colorado. I called them to confirm that they could provide trucks for my ink rollers, grippers for the platen, quoins and quoin key for the chase and to discuss 'furniture' which is the odd combination of hardwood sticks that are used as shims basically. The quoins and furniture are the pieces one uses to lock up your base in the chase. They had them all and it turns out Fritz knows well the Chandler & Price 8 x 12 press (he has one there in the shop). This I think, is the beginning of a 'beautiful friendship'.

Next up - the base I ordered from BoxCar Press arrived in the mail today. This is a gorgeous chunk of aluminum with scribed lines for more precisely indexing/aligning your photopolymer plates. And by the way, turns out solid aluminum aint that light.

6" x 9" aluminum 'base'

So, that's it for today. We're inching closer to 'press time'. Need to get some ink in the house and produce art for my first printed piece (a little Chinook Letterpress card I think) in Adobe Illustrator and get it off to the plate maker (BoxCar Press in Syracuse). When that comes back I should be ready to roll the presses (or the flywheel at least). Stay tuned. [And Christine - "yahoo on the last treatment - you rock and roll".]

Motor Rehab

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		This little beaut is headed to the Electric Motor Repair shop Monday for a little R&R. About all I know (which is pitiful little) about electric motors is that there are such things as brushes and armatures and windings that might be improved with some rehab. Failing that, we can look for a replacement motor.

Cover Story

Thanks to the sewing skills of our daughter Liz (and her trusty serger) the press got a nice canvas dust cover this weekend. This protection was necessary only because the press shares a space with a table saw and miter/chop saw and I think letterpress and sawdust don't go together.

dust cover

letterpress fans - Lucy and Kathy

Old School

Been looking over my press the last day or two. One of the little gem features that I find intriguing is the counter. Click on these to get a closer view.

This little mechanical counter is just so, so analog - it's incredibly cool and such a refreshing contrast to the 'all digital - all the time', world we live in today. 1905 must have been a great time to be alive. It was pre-WWI, a young physicist named Albert Einstein presented his Special Theory of Relativity, President Teddy Roosevelt was inaugurated for a second term and published Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter.  Yes, wow!

Press Arrives Its Destination (Safely)

When it comes to moving things - my friend Jerry is the best choice. He's a good thinker, good risk assessor, still has most of his limbs and most importantly  - he usually says yes when I ask for help.

We started Saturday morning with pancakes at my house, then drove our Ryder truck with the 2,000 lb lift gate over to LarkPress to pick up 'Red'. I won't go into the all the details of trying to get a 1,050 lb object onto the lift gate (which had, in my judgement, a bit too steep a transition incline). Suffice it to say - there were some challenges and we would probably still be there 'shuving' without the welcome assistance of a commercial painter (read 'angel') who was working on the building next door.

Our litte red press is a Chandler & Price 8 x 12 - also affectionately known in the trade as a C&P 8 x 12.  One of the bonuses of a new craft (not sure where craft leaves off and technology begins) is that you get to acquire a whole new vocabulary. While I'm working on repairing or replacing the 1/4 hp variable speed motor, I also need to order some trucks (that go on either side of the inking rollers), some tympan parchment, a handful of guage pins, two qouins and qouin key to secure the bed to the chase. And like that.

Chandler & Price 8 x 12 (safely in its new home)

Toad's Wild Ride

I feel a bit like Toadie in the Wind in the Willows when he embarks on his 'automobile' fascination. At Kathy's urging (let's get that out in the open right now) I went searching, fairly casually, for a letterpress and found it (providence in action) at LarkPress on N. Williams Avenue.  Shop owner Jean Sammis had this press and two others and was willing (maybe happily) to let it go to a good home. The press basically looks like this. It's serial number indicates that its date of manufacture was 1905. I love things whose service is measured in centuries rather than years (or months)!A very reasonable question is "what are you going to do with the press Mike?" Future posts will touch on that deep question. For now I'm going to put it in my garage and attempt to get it running. I've rented a truck with lift gate to pick this little gem up from Jean on Saturday morning. It weighs in at 1,050 lbs - so dead-lifting it was out of the question - though my men's group was probably up for the challenge.

I invite you to follow along on this little letterpress journey - and experience with me the joys and maybe the occasional tribulation as I learn how to provision and operate a letterpress. Stay tuned ...