A lick of paint and, well, it’s good to go!
The garage stinks of vinegar and Hammerite but I reckon it’s a small price to pay… Next stop, a book or two, and to see how it handles a bit of linocut printing and a bit of collograph. I will be posting these here of course, and should get around to finishing some projects in progress too. But first, some pressing business; my press needs a name – something suitable of course. Any suggestions?
After a couple of days off from the stinking vinegar smells in the garage, I was ready to begin again. As I was turning it around to clean the other side, I noticed that when the press was fully down, one of the arms raised up slightly:
Fearing the worst after such good luck with the rest of the project, I carefully tipped it onto its side for a look beneath and again was surprised to see it in such good condition – just a bit of surface rust:
I gave the underside a good scrub with the wire brush and got rid of the most of the loose flakes. I’ll get some rust inhibitor and give it a coat later on. The big bolts that fastened the arms were good too, and the loose one tightened up ok. Well, it was a bit of a job because I didn’t have a socket big enough to fit, and even if I did this would be an imperial size and not fit properly. So out with the trust spanners and dogs and gave it as good as I could.
The arm is now flush with the base and stays that way when the press is fully closed, but I bet I’ll have to do it up again soon.
So on with the cleaning. Same process as before with the vinegar, salt and wire wool. Oh, and the elbow grease…
There was still a lot of paint splashes on this side that needed scraping off:
Not a great picture, but after cleaning up the space around the press, I gave the bare metal surfaces with the press a coat of liquid wax. I found this tip on an Australian blog that demonstrates ways to maintain power tools, bench saws and the like. I’d like to link it here but I’ll be jiggered if I can find it again.
Again with the elbow grease. Another two coats followed:
So the thing is clean and ready for a lick of paint.
At the hardware store I use I had a bit of a wierd panic over choosing the right colour. I had intended to repaint it black like the original, but came over all indecisive when confronted with the choice of pillarbox red and racing green. Sure, the green would have been really nice with the brass gleaming, but I had one of those ‘little devil on the shoulder’ moments; “go on, you know you want to paint it red.” and the little angel on the other shoulder imploring “you’ll regret it, you know you will.” I bought black.
It went on very nicely, thankyou very much, and I think I made the right choice of colour too:
But there may be a need for a second coat as the gold lines show through a little, but I’ll look at that again when it’s dry:
Ten O’clock, and I’ve had enough for today. I don’t want to begin painting the larger surfaces while I’m tired, so I’ll clean up and head back indoors to see if Mrs.Lestaret still recognises me. Looks nice though, eh?
It’s time to meet the family and sample my cream! (sorry, that really wasn’t necessary, but I couldn’t resist). I had a visit from a dear friend and colleague Hilary on Wednesday who gave me this little leaflet. It’s a promotional piece that came with a cream making machine from way back when – they do pop up on ebay occasionally, and apparently quite collectable. I can’t remember whether she said she still had the machine, but she had kept this promo leaflet. Any guesses why she gave it to me?
Anyway, this thing is great! Do you think Great Aunt Zena would make it into todays marketing?
And if anyone is wondering about what the cream maker actually is, check it out here.
Ok, enough of the lame press gags in the title! Spent a little more time cleaning up this evening; I gave the base a good sanding with some 60 grade paper, and a lathering of the salt and vinegar mix I used yesterday. Probably about 30 minutes in total until I was gagging at the smell again. A wash down with clean water and a fully dried, I got a look at what was underneath the rust – a lightly ribbed surface with no dents or major flaws. To be honest, I had expected it to be in poorer condition, so the restoration gets better each time!
I then decided to see if I could bring the brass handles back to life. I had read somewhere that these were sometimes brass plated rather than solid brass, so before I did anything, checked with a magnet – it won’t stick to solid brass, but will if it’s plated. Solid brass they are!
I rubbed away with various cloths at first, to see if a little elbow grease would bring up the shine, without any success, so I gently rubbed it over with some 600 grade wet and dry paper. Here’s a before and after:
The metal shines up well, and reveals all the dents and scars it has accumulated in it’s life. I’m pretty pleased with the results.
As I said in my last entry, I have only cleaned one side as it is very heavy, so I hope to get some good comparitive shots when I turn it around…
I’ve got a press! At last! Woohoo! After a couple of months of getting stupidly outbid on eBay, where bookbinding presses seem to be much sought after and going for anything upwards of £70 (even the wooden ones can sell for over £100!) I stumbled upon this one that was listed as a paper making press:
I was still the highest bidder with a minute to go, but wary, as previous experience has taught me, this is when the action takes place. I did a little jig around the office when my bid of…£24 won! Twenty four quid. bargain. The press was for collection only, obviously, and was located in a place between Stockport and Oldham. A fair distance, but a call to my excellent brother-in-law Malcolm who lives up there brought it a little closer. Did I mention that he was excellent? I did? Well, he is. So a trip ‘Up North’ was arranged for this weekend, combined with a visit to my parents in Sheffield (United beat Wednesday 3-2!), my sister and her excellent husband out near Stockport, and my brother in Rotherham on the return leg. A few miles covered, some excellent driving routes (I had forgotten just how amazing the Snake Pass is – I was grinning for much of that part of the journey!) and back home to King’s Lynn with a boot full of cast iron and brass!
It was pretty filthy. It had obviously been well used, and then stood neglected for some time (note the cobwebs in the bottom right of the image above) buy the screw turned smoothly and squeakily and I was very pleased with my £24 quid purchase. I had expected it would need some work to bring it back to life and had been researching how to clean cast iron, get rid of rust and bring back the shine to tarnished brass on the internet for the last week.
I couldn’t wait to get on with it, so this afternoon (Sunday) after hauling it from the boot of the car with Mrs.Lestaret (by ‘eck she’s strong) and installing it into the garage, I gave it a light rub down with a wire brush. Immediately, things began to shine:
Encouraged by this, I gave everything but the balls on the handles a going over with some 60 grade sandpaper, to take off any surface rust, loose paint, and ended up using a paint scraper to chip off some of the other stuff that was coating parts of it.
There is not much information on the web on restoring presses, and most of the searches kept directing me to cast iron cookware, bathtub and fireplace restoring. I did find a of good tip though, from a discussion thread on the Briar Press site – a mixture of vinegar and salt used with steel wool to remove surface rust. I love things like this; ordinary household stuff being used creatively. So, with the strong smell salt’n'vinegar in the air I tried it out:
It worked well I think. I washed down all the areas I’d worked on (the other side is still filthy – it’s too heavy to move unnecessarily) with clean water and dried everything off fully. What I hadn’t noticed was that there were some gold lines painted around the base and the shoulders. Faded and worn, but adding something to the cleaning process by revealing itself beneath the grime:
Eventually, the stench drove me out – the garage now smells like a municipal carpark stairwell! But not before a final shot:
I will keep posting as the restoration continues…
I’ve had a load of old boiler plates knocking around for years, courtesy of my father-in-law (who has known to have kept a stick in the corner of his garage for up to 20 years -’just in case!’) and the most interesting of them are fastened to a scruffy bit of wall in my garden. In July, I decided to make some moulds from a few of them, with a view to making some book covers or something. I did all the usual processes to make the moulds – most of which I have already covered here. Here are the four original metal plates:
As I wasn’t sure what to do with any casts made from the moulds, I decided to have a little experiment. Using the last of a batch of terracotta cast – a sort of plaster and iron powder mix – I cast one of each. When they were set, I gave them a quick scrub to bring up the surface, and soaked them in water overnight to set the rusting process off. The results can be found on my Flickr site showing how they looked soon after creation.
The experiment began when I took them home. I did absolutely nothing to them. Just put them outside in the garden and left them to the elements. Of course, the British summer being what it is, they continued to rust and deteriorate. Beautiful colours and textures began to bloom, and the material took on another form:
This last one became very fragile and contained a lot of iron – it must have been the last one cast and got all the sedimentary gunk out of the pot. After a couple of weeks outside, it begun to curl as the iron rusted and expanded. Eventually it shattered, but still make for interesting viewing as it reveals how the iron powder settles to the bottom in the mould and forms a thick crust:
Mmm. Nice. Anyway here are some more photographs – click on them to see larger versions. Enjoy!
This one has some of the paint that was on the original, that was transferred to the mould.
I’ve just been updating my Flickr page. There are over a hundred images already uploaded, all at reasonably high resolution. There are loads of textures – great for Photoshop layers, and general image manipulation. All copyright free and available to use in your own work – just don’t claim you took them, or give me a credit somewhere. If you do use any of them – send me a copy – I’d love to see what you get up to…
Is it just me that’s fed up with all the ridiculous pseudo-science that has crept into modern advertising? I don’t want to put any L.casei Imunitass® in my gut, whether it’s friendly or not! And do I really need Innovative Molecular Precision Technology® in my shampoo? Why are all these women sitting around in coffe bars discussing their ‘bloating’ and constipation? I guess I’m just getting old.
It reminds me of all those old remedies that old people suggest when young people get poorly; ” You want to disolve some Smeckler’s powder with a tincture of vinegar and bicarbonate of soda and spread it on that bruise – I were always coated in the stuff as a lad and it din’t do me no ‘arm.”
I was listening to Small Change by Tom Waits today on the way home from work and the lyrics to ‘Step Right Up’ ring ever more true…
Step right up, step right up, step right up,
Everyone’s a winner, bargains galore
That’s right, you too can be the proud owner
Of the quality goes in before the name goes on
One-tenth of a dollar, one-tenth of a dollar, we got service after sales
You need perfume? we got perfume, how ’bout an engagement ring?
Something for the little lady, something for the little lady,
Something for the little lady, hmm
Three for a dollar
We got a year-end clearance, we got a white sale
And a smoke-damaged furniture, you can drive it away today
Act now, act now, and receive as our gift, our gift to you
They come in all colors, one size fits all
No muss, no fuss, no spills, you’re tired of kitchen drudgery
Everything must go, going out of business, going out of business
Going out of business sale
Fifty percent off original retail price, skip the middle man
Don’t settle for less
How do we do it? how do we do it? volume, volume, turn up the volume
Now you’ve heard it advertised, don’t hesitate
Don’t be caught with your drawers down,
Don’t be caught with your drawers down
You can step right up, step right up
That’s right, it filets, it chops, it dices, slices,
Never stops, lasts a lifetime, mows your lawn
And it mows your lawn and it picks up the kids from school
It gets rid of unwanted facial hair, it gets rid of embarrassing age spots,
It delivers a pizza, and it lengthens, and it strengthens
And it finds that slipper that’s been at large
under the chaise lounge for several weeks
And it plays a mean Rhythm Master,
It makes excuses for unwanted lipstick on your collar
And it’s only a dollar, step right up, it’s only a dollar, step right up
‘Cause it forges your signature
If not completely satisfied, mail back unused portion of product
For complete refund of price of purchase
Step right up
Please allow thirty days for delivery, don’t be fooled by cheap imitations
You can live in it, live in it, laugh in it, love in it
Swim in it, sleep in it,
Live in it, swim in it, laugh in it, love in it
Removes embarrassing stains from contour sheets, that’s right
And it entertains visiting relatives, it turns a sandwich into a banquet
Tired of being the life of the party?
Change your shorts, change your life, change your life
Change into a nine-year-old Hindu boy, get rid of your wife,
And it walks your dog, and it doubles on sax
Doubles on sax, you can jump back Jack, see you later alligator
See you later alligator
And it steals your car
It gets rid of your gambling debts, it quits smoking
It’s a friend, and it’s a companion,
And it’s the only product you will ever need
Follow these easy assembly instructions it never needs ironing
Well it takes weights off hips, bust, thighs, chin, midriff,
Gives you dandruff, and it finds you a job, it is a job
And it strips the phone company free take ten for five exchange,
And it gives you denture breath
And you know it’s a friend, and it’s a companion
And it gets rid of your traveler’s checks
It’s new, it’s improved, it’s old-fashioned
Well it takes care of business, never needs winding,
Never needs winding, never needs winding
Gets rid of blackheads, the heartbreak of psoriasis,
Christ, you don’t know the meaning of heartbreak, buddy,
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon
‘Cause it’s effective, it’s defective, it creates household odors,
It disinfects, it sanitizes for your protection
It gives you an erection, it wins the election
Why put up with painful corns any longer?
It’s a redeemable coupon, no obligation, no salesman will visit your home
We got a jackpot, jackpot, jackpot, prizes, prizes, prizes, all work guaranteed
How do we do it, how do we do it, how do we do it, how do we do it
We need your business, we’re going out of business
We’ll give you the business
Get on the business end of our going-out-of-business sale
Receive our free brochure, free brochure
Read the easy-to-follow assembly instructions, batteries not included
Send before midnight tomorrow, terms available,
Step right up, step right up, step right up
You got it buddy: the large print giveth, and the small print taketh away
Step right up, you can step right up, you can step right up
C’mon step right up
(Get away from me kid, you bother me…)
Step right up, step right up, step right up, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon
Step right up, you can step right up, c’mon and step right up,
C’mon and step right up
from www.lyricsmania.com
There’s no real point to this. I’m not building up to anything, I just wanted to get things off my chest is all…
I picked this poster up at a car boot sale earlier this summer for 30p! Its a lubrication chart for the Austin A30/35 showing what needs doing, where and when. There was an awful lot of faffing about in those days. As a man firmly won over by the sheer reliability of modern Japanese cars, seeing this shows just how far the technology has come since 1951 – cars were machinery which needed regular maintenance to keep them going. Click the image below for a good enlargement of the whole thing.
The car itself was quite stylish when it was first launched (see the link above for a potted history) and paved the way for others, such as the Saab 92 below:
It has been set in that old chestnut of British typefaces, Gill Sans and printed in black and red (the printers choice!) on a stiff cream paper stock. As you can see from the whole picture, it’s in great condition, and conjures up a different age, where cars were cared for and ‘fettled’ by middle aged men in middle class garages. I’d love to see how the modern driving theory test would handle this type information!
I love the language of old technology, and particularly bemoan the loss of grease nipples, for the obvious (and very childish) reasons. Check out this great sketch from Fry and Laurie from about 20 years ago – it reminds me of going to the hardware shop with my Dad as kid and listening to all this strange language spoken by adults! And it’s really funny!
