Disassembling & Moving a Chandler and Price

January 5, 2008

It is a nice start to the new year here at Dolce Press. Over the holiday break, with the help of my boyfriend and my brother, we managed to move a 8×12 Chandler and Price oldstyle from Massachusetts to New York. With helpful advice of Letpress members and the step by step instructions from Green Dolphin Press, the press was disassembled, moved, and reassembled into our shop.

I have to say, since the C&P is an oldstyle, it weighs a little less than the new style (not by much but i’m sure it helped) Since the press is over 100 years old, we were weary about completely disassembling the press so we just removed the bed from the frame so the press was in 2 pieces. We hired a towing/rigging company to winch up the press on their flatbed truck and they transferred the press onto our 24 foot Penske truck. Once the press got to our studio in NY, the press had to be fully taken apart since we had to bring it down a narrow hallway. Following the extremely helpful information found on the website of Green Dolphin Press we were able to disassemble the press beautifully.

Here are some helpful tools we would recommend if you are going to be disassembling a C&P; 12 inch long 2 inch diameter pipe (we purchased at lowes for about $10),300mm wrench, hammer, solid cylindrical object (i.e. end of a broom stick), WD-40, fine grit sand paper, flat head screwdriver, a saw, and excess 2×4 pieces of wood for propping up objects.

These are the step by step instructions from Green Dolphin Press.

1. If possible, locate the press so there is at least five feet
of open space behind it, three or four feet on the flywheel side,
and a couple feet on the front and right side
2. Remove feedboard and delivery board
3. Remove platen
a. Disconnect gripper assembly by removing wheel riding in a
slot attached to the left side of the frame
b. Remove nuts from adjusting bolts under corners of the
platen
c. Lift platen off (may take a little gentle urging with a pry
bar)
d. Leave adjusting bolts in platen (don’t turn) unless they
make moving difficult
4. Remove treadle if there is one
a. Unhook from main shaft
b. Remove brackets at rear of press
5. Close up press and tie bed and frame sections securely
together with strong rope or wire
6. Remove ink disc and supporting brackets
7. Remove fly wheel and shaft
a. Pull belt wheel from end of shaft opposite flywheel, if
there is one
b. Pull gear from end of shaft opposite flywheel (you may have
to heat it with a propane torch to get it off)
c. Remove bolts from shaft retainer plate on flywheel side of
frame
d. Pull shaft from frame–slides out on flywheel side taking
retainer plate with it
e. Flywheel may be pulled from shaft for ease in moving
8. Remove throw-off lever and linkage if there is one
9. Remove brake if there is one
10. Remove motor if there is one attached to the press
11. Remove back plate connecting roller carriers. Don’t let roller
carriers flop down
12. Remove side arms connecting bed and frame
13. Remove roller carrier actuating arm on flywheel side of press.
Hold left roller carrier to prevent flopping
14. Remove roller carriers
15. Untie bed and swivel it back onto the floor without dropping.
Careful, it’s heavy, you may want some help
16. Wedge blocks of wood between arms of bed piece and the floor,
as close to the frame as possible
17. Drive out shaft holding bed to frame. Some presses have
collars with set screws to keep the shaft from moving. If
so, loosen set screws before driving out shaft

If you must strip down the frame (NOT recommended):
1. Pull the gear or wheel on the left side of the frame. Go
easily, using heat, penetrating oil, WD40, prayer,
profanity, or anything else you think might help. Be
careful not to push the shaft to the right as you’re
pulling the gear.
2. Hold the platen block so it can’t flop and move the shaft to
the right until the platen block cam rider disengages
from the main gear. Carefully ease the platen block down,
letting it pivot toward the rear of the press. Finish
pulling the main gear and shaft as a unit.
3. Remove the plates on each side of the frame holding the platen
block (remove bolts and lift plates off)
4. Carefully lift off the platen block
5. Unscrew nuts on ends of cross braces and the frame should slip
apart

Hope these instructions are helpful, I know that it helped us.  If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us, we’d be glad to help if we can.