We like being a place you call when you’ve got some problem with letterpress.

We got a call from a friend who teaches at Millersville University in Millersville, PA. They had obtained two R. Hoe iron handpresses, but couldn’t get one to work. The bed was too wide to get through the vertical ‘cheeks’. Jill and Ray traveled up to spend a morning working on the press. There ended up being two problems.

First was that with the ‘rails’ (what the ‘bed’ rides on as it slides from the front to the back of the press), one of the pins which keep it oriented correctly was not in its slot which put the rails at a slight angle to the frame of the press. Second, the bed was rotated 180°. This was an easy mistake to make as the only difference in the two ends seemed to be the thickness of the head of the bolts that stuck out from the sides making it a mere 1/8″ too wide on each side.

Once those two things were corrected we attached the leather straps to the ‘ronce’ and the ends of the bed, oiled the rails thoroughly so the bed would slide in and out very smoothly and nearly effortlessly, and the press was once again ready to print.

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