Category: Troubleshooting the press
Later topic: Martini Book Sewing Machine Help
Earlier topic: Noise from Vandy Uni 1

Baltimorean 10

I picked up this little press recently and am beginning the trouble shooting process! I’ve noticed 3 things off the bat.

1. The ink disc is too big. This is a problem, not sure what to do about that.
2. The arms that the roller sits in don’t roll together. They wiggle independently. They twist and the roller pops out.
3. The U that holds the roller is a wide U. When it encounters any bump, the roller pops out.

So far, the ink disk being too big is a problem. I made a mock up of a smaller disk but I’m still having trouble with the roller popping out of the arms that hold it. Not sure how I should proceed / if I should try to get this press functional.

I don’t want to do anything destructive. Maybe it’s just too old to function.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance

image: bpress.jpg

bpress.jpg

image: IMG_6671.jpg

IMG_6671.jpg

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Just adding another picture of the U that holds the roller. A photo I’ve seen online the U seems tighter. Is this stretched? Should I research trying to restore a tighter U. I don’t want to take it apart and break anything tho :)

image: IMG_6672.jpg

IMG_6672.jpg

  • mb_prints
  • on 28 Feb 25 (14:20)
  • Updated 28 Feb 25 (14:22)

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  • mb_prints
  • on 28 Feb 25 (14:20)
  • Updated 28 Feb 25 (14:22)

.

Roller hooks are usually more U shaped, or ? shaped, than this, which I’d say is a shallow J at best :)

This is a relatively easy part to fabricate.

If the arms don’t move in sync, the spring might be either too loose or too tight. If the pull on the roller is right, it should keep tension and the roller should move evenly without twisting.

An improvement you’ll often see on modern rollers are locking bearers, so that they do not spin independently from the core. This might also help, but would require you to do some machining.

Thank you kimaboe for the ideas. I’m going to start with restoring a U to that shallow J. I would like to gently remove those arms and get that shape back to a U. I wonder if I can bend them (gently) I don’t want to break them tho. Wishful thinking maybe. If that’s too risky, I’ll look into getting something made.

Hopefully solving that piece will get me headed in the right direction.

Press could use a soak and rub down with penetrating oil.
Disk is to big, need a friend with a mini lathe to cut down.
See shape hook should be.

image: IMG_0759.jpeg

IMG_0759.jpeg

Thank you Toddspresstime for all these ideas. I look forward to getting this little press running. Now the fun begins!