Disassembling a Miehle V-50 press

Best advice is Don’t.

Get a printing equipment or machine rigger to move it if you’re not comfortable doing that yourself - many times once the press is disassembled it never goes back together right, and if it does it probably doesn’t work properly (there’s a reason the come from the factory fully or mostly assembled)..

I was told early on that if a press was too big for a doorway, tear out the doorway rather than disassemble the press. It was a lot easier to find a good carpenter to rebuild the doorway than to put a press back together.

Is there a reason for wanting to take the press apart?
I have moved a v50 using a wheeled pinch bar to lift the press to place skates under the feet and wheel it to a suitable area to lift it with a fork lift using webbing on the top frame cross bar. This enabled me to put it on a pallet and send it on it’s way.

Don’t do it. If you arent comfortable moving heavy stuff like this, find someone who is. As Bill says, better to take out a doorway if you have to. The last time I bought 3 large presses I had them cut a hole in the wall to the outside, and put it back afterwards.

Thanks to listmembers for these responses. Unfortunately, we must remove it from our space, and have not been able to find a new home for it. We do not know if it is operational, and cannot test it because we have been warned by structural engineers that it could damage the foundation of the 100-year-old building in which it sits. Sadly, our only option is to disassemble it and dispose of it.

Given that, if anyone does have any ideas for disassembly, or a possibility of a last-minute new home for it, please let me know.

Jeff

Without knowing the location, it’s kinda difficult to suggest much. many major cities have printing equipment dealers and machinery riggers and they’re usually happy to discuss this sort of thing, have you talked with any? The V-50 is a good press and not especially common, so anything that effectively destroys one, well, it’s like dismantling a 60’s Corvette because it’s in the way. IMHO and all that

In California, there’s Hicks Bros (415-725-1670), or try Boggs Equipment.in Ohio (888-837-8101).

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Without knowing the location, it’s kinda difficult to suggest much. many major cities have printing equipment dealers and machinery riggers and they’re usually happy to discuss this sort of thing, have you talked with any? The V-50 is a good press and not especially common, so anything that effectively destroys one, well, it’s like dismantling a 60’s Corvette because it’s in the way. IMHO and all that

In California, there’s Hicks Bros (415-725-1670), or try Boggs Equipment.in Ohio (888-837-8101).

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I could almost guarantee that it will work, and would be a real shame to scrap it. as for your engineers, they dont have a good concept of how one of these runs- they are quite balanced and smooth in operation.

Because of your email address, can we assume it is in the Boston area?

Thanks to all for these further reflections. This Miehle V-50 Press is in the Special Collections Branch of the Albuquerque Public Library, where I now live. It has not been turned on in at least three or four decades, as far as we know, although Scott Baldwin may be correct that it still works. I understand your skepticism about the engineers, but because it is in a public building owned by the city, we have to listen to them.

I am part of a volunteer team that is putting together a letterpress program for the Library, aimed at the local public of high school age and above, and free of charge. We are not a commercial operation. We have other working letterpresses in the branch library, and will soon be acquiring a Washington Press, so the Miehle is not central to our plans. We don’t want to dispose of it, but we have had a difficult time finding a new home for it.

Best to all, and thanks again for your comments,
Jeff

I should add that if anyone on this list knows someone interested in acquiring a Miehle V-50 who can get to Albuquerque to retrieve it, they can have it for free.

Jeff

PS: I live in New Mexico, but not in the Albuquerque Public Library!

Jeff, have you tried putting a notice in the classified section of the Briar Press and the Ladies of Letterpress site? I bought this same press back in 1988 for $1600 and still have it. A real classic and a beauty! Someone has got to give it a home!

Could check with Sky Shipley at Skyline Type Foundry (in Prescott), he might know of someone who’d want it. (I’d take it, but couldn’t move the machine in the next couple of months).

https://skylinetype.com/

Is the press on the ground level for loading and would there be help to get it loaded? And I assume it doesn’t need to be disassembled to get it out of the building? I’m about 3 hours away from ABQ, definitely interested and would hate to see it scrapped. I know I’ve heard several printers from previous generations say that this is one of their very favorite presses…