12x18 Chandler and Price Craftsman AKA The Beast.

Howdy, hi there, hello! For those of you keeping score we've been pretty busy with a new office space, the Renegade Craft Fair in Austin and most importantly some new to us printing equipment.



Weighing in a few pounds shy of a Chevrolet Camaro and able to frighten the most steadfast of men, let me introduce our 12x18 Chandler and Price Craftsman press. Serial numbers date the press to late 1928 and although it was running pretty good upon purchase it was beginning to show its age. We've taken an as-thorough-as-practical approach to cleaning and refurbishing focusing mainly on preventative maintenance and repairs.





The most pressing issue we had was the degradation of the main shaft bushings on the driven side of the press. When running the shaft had approximately one quarter of an inch of freeplay to wobble around which had led to some fairly gnarly damage to the press's gear drive. Additionally it made the ground vibrate with a pounding bang so loud that it caused most individuals to flee from the room in alarm. After some careful measurements and a delivery from Mc Master Carr industrial we're back in action with a newly pressed in self lubricating bronze bushing.



We've spent countless more hours cleaning grease and goo, replacing hoses and fasteners, and locating replacement parts. There's still much more work to be done, but for now a preview of the payoff- a quick video of the press in action.