Just A Thank You!
I just wanted to say thanks to the great community Briar Press has. When I first became interested in letterpress I stumbled upon Briar press, found a local workshop, and became hooked on it.
By a stroke of incredible luck I found an old kelsey press in the cob web covered, neglected depths of a storage room. I have been slowly restoring it and documenting my progress, using many of the methods I’ve seen people describe:
http://brannonsolomon.com/the-press-project/
I also scanned and uploaded the Kelsey guide that came with it. There is a link to download the pdf if any want it.
There aren’t any ads on my site, I don’t want anyones money. I just want to share my young experiences in print making.
Thanks all!
-Brannon
The restoration diary is amazing!
Hi Brannon,
That’s some terrific documentation you posted there — thanks so much for taking the time to do it!
This is just the sort of thing that many people would love to be able to FIND. It doesn’t pop up with a Google search, or even with a search for “Kelsey restoration” here on Briar Press. There’s a “Restoring Tabletop Platens” topic on the new Letterpress Commons site, but it’s empty and I can’t imagine that people would want to rework pages like yours to conform to the formal encyclopedic format found there. (And if people were to just start dumping links there it would soon become a messy hodgepodge.)
I don’t know how search engines work. Perhaps there’s a way to edit your web page so that this good tutorial comes up when someone needs it?
Barbara
Thanks so much for the kind words!
That section of my site has only been up less than a month, so once the searching engines (like google) index it, it should start showing up in searches. I don’t know how high it will be, but it’ll show.
I’ll see if I can post some info on the Letterpress Commons.
I hope to have it restored and printing by late March. I have a birthday coming up in March, so naturally I’m going to be asking for new rollers!
-Brannon
“I hope to have it restored and printing by late March. I have a birthday coming up in March, so naturally I’m going to be asking for new rollers!”
-Or sweets :D
Chocolate, rollers, type, Haribo Gummy Bears, all acceptable birthday gifts!
-Brannon
love what you did. my wife eats all our chocolate, my kids eat the gummy bears, all my rollers are shot, what kind of type are you looking for???
love what you did. my wife eats all our chocolate, my kids eat the gummy bears, all my rollers are shot, what kind of type are you looking for???
Oh I’m not sure! I’ll probably wait until I get the press working until I invest in more type.
I have two sets of type that I found with the press, one is listed as Cloisters Old Style, organized in a nice drawer, the other is unknown and in a big plastic bag.
I do browse type and plates on ebay, and I am tempted, but I’m trying to rein in my enthusiasm at least until I have the press working.
-Brannon
Hey Brannon,
I just finished totally breaking down and restoring a Kelsey (6x10) myself recently. If you are looking for other diaries, or tips, you can check out my blog. I don’t have it all organized on one page like you, but here are the links below:
Before pictures: http://www.porcuprints.com/?p=576
The press in pieces: http://www.porcuprints.com/?p=576
Sandblasting, priming, painting: http://www.porcuprints.com/?p=594
Painted lettering: http://www.porcuprints.com/?p=795
Assembling the platen: http://www.porcuprints.com/?p=827
Cutting & Fitting New Dowel Pins: http://www.porcuprints.com/?p=850
Grease & Shims: http://www.porcuprints.com/?p=869
Finally Assembled Photos: http://www.porcuprints.com/?p=890
New Roller Hooks: http://www.porcuprints.com/?p=1061
Making a Wooden Base: http://www.porcuprints.com/?p=1133
Finally Finished!: http://www.porcuprints.com/?p=1212
Thanks Alexia!
I actually found your site before when I found the press! Very nice work you have done there, and it gave me some good info and ideas! I’m gonna add a link to your blog!
-Brannon
Several of us old printers who believe we may have some answers or suggestions to questions enjoy making our contributions. We hope they may be of value. It is a gift made without expectations of any reward.
Isn’t it nice when someone makes a personal thank you, or a thank you here on the forum.
It brightens my day.
Inky
some of us young printers feel the same way.
Brannon - So glad you found my blog helpful! It is always nice to know that someone reads what we throw out on the internet.
Inky — As a young printer, this community’s knowledge is the most valuable resource out there. Thanks for passing it down to the next generation.