Miehle Numbering

Anybody on here have issues with numbering on a Miehle V50? I feel like I solved the problem. I made a short video on Youtube on how I did it. I hope this link works. If not look on Youtube for Warren’s Print Shop. I have a few random videos for Kluges and Miehle. Have a great day! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu02NAsGaOo&feature=share

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IF, it were, possible, practical or affordable, acquiring a set of Numbering Boxes that are driven (in line abreast) from a central single/common shaft, that also registers with the operating *plunger*outside of the Type or Image area, would be a good move, generally, if long runs and numbering are to be the Norm. !

Always locked up with accurate girder/bridge furniture.! With the benefit that being (common) shaft driven, any one box in the train, is virtually impossible to *skip* or drop a figure, on the run.

Probably the better option. on the V.M. with all its Vertical idiosyncrasies.

Good job Warren. I used low plunger machines with locking pawls to solve the problem.

Mick, thanks for the tip. Yes they are expensive. I currently have one forward with the plunger on the side. It’s still in the other Miehle and it does serve it’s purpose. I’ve been using Kluges for the past 10 years and have collected many plunger machines and wanted to use them on the Miehle. I have been fighting the issue of dropped zeros while numbering. Very frustrating when running 12 at a time. I’ve tried rebuilding them with no luck. If you have time can you look at my video on rebuilding one? I’d like your opinion on the job (criticism is welcome).

bppayne, thanks for the suggestion. I tried a lock pawl and it still skipped with the roller backed out as far as possible. It must have not been a low plunger. I’ll research that one. Can you give me some feedback on my number machine rebuild video? It’s on the same YouTube channel. I’m having issues with zeros dropping out before and after the rebuild (straightened the shaft). I’ve had no training on this and info online is difficult to find. My experience is just trial and error.

Good day Warren, watched a couple of your videos, interesting. My only concern and opinion if you could get some formal training from a craftsman in letterpress printing. You have a good start I assume self taught. The craftsman would explain more why you do things a certain way. You would be more efficient and profitable at what you are doing.
I only commented to help not hurt.
God bless and good luck my friend in print!

b.biroscak, thanks for the views and comment. Part of why I created the channel is to learn more myself. Yes I’m self taught mostly and welcome criticism. I do things a bit out of the ordinary like using 5 locks to set up a chase but I found that it makes setup faster with the ability to micro adjust without changing he furniture around. Thinking out of the box is how I came up with putting a Kluge roller on the Miehle press. In this case it worked out but trying odd things can also waste time and supplies. Thanks again for your input and God Bless!

b.biroscak,while you are right that learning from a craftsman would be best, these days surviving craftsmen skilled in letterpress are few and far between. Where I live, I haven’t been able to locate one yet. Even the retired old greyhairs that I know only briefly worked in letterpress during their apprenticeships.

Hi Warren, watched your rebuild video. We always kept spare shafts, but looks like you were able to straighten out the old one. At $6 a shaft it was never a big deal to put in a new shaft. The drop zeros are sensitive and can be easily damaged. Once damaged they won’t print right and all you can do is replace the wheel. So what damaged the drop zero? For us it was usually double sheets, or using the machine for crash numbering carbonless forms. Some work arounds are…use a solid shaft! The first 4 wheels had zeros, and the last 2 wheels near the No were blank-no zeros. Another way is to use a standard drop shaft, with the same arrangement of wheels. In that case, the first 4 wheels had solid zeros that would not get damaged. We also ran larger Leibenger 50 machines when we had room, as those are much more substantial machines, that are prone to less damage. Almost all our machines were Leibenger. We had a Force 5 wheel machine that was great, but never could find more of them. Get a good ultrasonic cleaner and some cleaner fluid. Run that overnight to get the machines totally clean. Use compressed air to dry and then add a drop of oil on each end to lubricate. You don’t have to have the machine apart to clean it with the ultrasonic cleaner, and it gets a lot of hidden gunk out. Looks like you’re on the right track! We did a ton of numbering over the years. Most of the damage came from numbering carbonless forms. Enough for now. Good luck! PS I had a V50 just like your older one!

Hello bppayne, thanks for the info! Solid shafts are a great idea and I’ll research that on my end. I was lucky enough to be able to buy a box of numbering machines (most Leibenger) for a song so not sure what they were put through. However my Kluge runs a bit loose so I’m thinking that might have contributed. I got to the point where I had to borrow some from another shop and didn’t want to risk damage to their machines so I figured out a way to do it on the Miehle. I guess it’s time to finally get the correct chemistry for them as I’ve been cleaning them with roller wash and soaking them in oil. I was storing them in kerosene but had some wheels dissolve in it (strange). Thanks again for the info and have a great day.

Hello bppayne, I was wondering if you had a suggestion on where to buy the parts for the number machines. I’ve done some searches on google but couldn’t find many places. Do you recommend any specific sites? Thanks.

I no longer do numbering, and my main supplier is out of business (Ultimate Numbering). But, I saw a post on here for https://www.incarepair.com/ .You might try them. I’m still seeing a lot of new machines on eBay for very cheap.
So you ask, why did I stop numbering? I could number just fine, but the printers I worked for (almost 200 shops) had problems printing. If they said there were 1000 forms there, there might be 980, or if there were 1000 forms, I’d have to sort out the ones that were falling apart (i e 3 part carbonless). I felt like I cared more than they did. Most small offset shops don’t have quality control.

Thanks for the info. I have the same issues with the shops here in Houston. I also feel like the NCR paper has decreased in quality in the past year. It also bothers me to number forms that I would normally put in the recycle bin. The quality of offset printing has gone down as well. I think it’s a combination of lack of availability of parts (mostly rollers and blankets), and shops like to just throw things on the digital copier and let the press sit. That’s why I made that channel, to put some energy back into the offset and letterpress business. Thanks again.

Mick Hopper is absolutely right. If you want 100% reliability
what we called ‘centre drive’ is the way to go. I used
Heidelberg Flat bed SRA2 presses running 15 to view of 3 inch bank cheques - 3 rows of five - with all the boxes and shafts etc supplied by Lethaby & Sons (‘Leda’ brand) then (1960s) at Andover here in the UK. Worked faultlessly for many years. Heidelberg sold a striker attachment to suit, linked to the feed/print handle. I note with interest that the Bank of England, having switched to plastic stock, seem still to be using the original numbering boxes!!