Taking apart a C&P Old Style 10x15 for moving in Maine

Try this:

http://dolcepress.com/blog/2008/01/05/70/

There’s also this:

http://excelsiorpress.org/photos/2002.0109-Crombie/

Try not to take the press apart, if possible. Taking off the ink table and it’s brackets, the throw-off assembly and maybe the flywheel is fairly straightforward if you really have to. The rest should fit through most doorways and stairways in one piece. Use a come-along or winch to move it up/down the stairs. Take care that the top of the press is controlled as well as the bottom. These things are top heavy. Skids under the press legs are essential.

They’re easier to get into/out of a low trailer; at 1200 lbs most U-haul type trailers are more than enough. The come-along will easily take it up a ramp into the trailer and there are more anchor points in a trailer than a truck for tie-downs.

Go back into the old postings. This has been discussed lots of times here and on LetPress.

My husband and I just moved a C&P 8x12 Old Style.

We managed it quite easily with the help of 4 strong men - one of whom was a machinist by trade which I think helped (he wasn’t daunted at all!)

We hired an engine hoist to lift it up and get it onto the back of a low, flat bed box trailer - same as what Arie has suggested. We then used ratchet straps to secure it tightly to the sides of the trailer.

We had a short but steep driveway to get it down at the other end, but managed it fine. Just make sure it is strapped really securely to the trailer, and inch it down slowly. Slow and steady, no sudden movements.

Make sure you communicate to everyone who is helping that it is top heavy, unbalanced on the flywheel side, and although it is made of cast iron, is actually quite fragile and will break into pieces if dropped!

We removed the ink disc, rollers and feedboard before moving it, but did not remove the flywheel. We just tied it down so it would not rotate in transit.

I wouldn’t have taken ours apart - for starters it was so rusted it would have taken years to do it, but also because I think putting it back together could be a big challenge. Unless you are an expert and know exactly what you’re doing (which I am not!)

Also make sure the platen is closed.

As Arie says, if you search the old postings for ‘moving C&P’ or similar you will find quite a lot of info. Also try searching on Flickr - I found some photos of a few moves that really helped us visualise how we were going to tackle it. (I think one of the moves might have been one Arie did actually?! If so, thanks Arie, those pictures were a huge help.)

I have heard of some people hiring tow truck drivers to move them - I think this could work but it might be pricey? I got a quote from one place and it was ridiculous - twice what I paid for the press! And he wanted to leave it at the top of the sloping driveway - hmm. So in the end we did it ourselves.

I have also seen photos of presses moved by removalists in van type trucks, and then lowered down to the ground. I would not recommend this approach - there have been cases of them being dropped. Use a low, flat bed trailer instead.

I think you can manage it yourself if you have help from a few strong guys and use common sense when moving it.

Good luck!

Ah yes. That’s not my press or my photos, but another local printer who took a lot of photos of my better side while we were moving in his new press. Low trailers, engine hoists, come-alongs and tow trucks are all things I have used to move presses. All were good.

I found tow truck operators to be very helpful in pulling heavy objects out of tight spots. They seem to like the challenge of moving something other than a car and they understand how to safely move heavy stuff…moreso than many so called movers. And the costs weren’t all that bad. It’s not unusual to pay more to move a press from there to here than to purchase the press in the first place.

Thanks for the reminder of removing the feed tables. That’s probably one of the first things to take off. The space between the supports for the lower table can give you a crucial couple of inches to sidle through a narrow doorway.

C&P presses are not all that difficult to take apart and put back together. Almost everything will go onto the press only one way. Exceptions are the side arms, the roller arms (and with both of these it will quickly become obvious that they’re on wrong) The main shaft can be put in with right and left swapped and the throw-off saddle can be put in upside down. Since the throw-off saddle bolts onto the main shaft, this has given me more problems than any other part of reassembly, except maybe replacing the follower cam stud inside the large gear. The throw-off will not operate smoothly unless you have both shaft and saddle in correctly, so that eventually works itself out. The rocker lock spring assembly is also interesting, mostly because you have to be careful this spring doesn’t shoot out at you while you’re trying to put in the cotter pin at the end of its shaft. It take a lot of compression and you don’t want any part of you in the way when it gets away from you.