And now, here it is, 100%, COMPLETELY finished :)

Last night I affixed the final 2 pairs of clamps to the last two heads, completing this project I started almost two weeks ago. It's a huge load off my mind and I'm really excited to try it out :)

I think I was actually a little worried that I wouldn't be able to pull it off; a printing press is a precision machine, and I am after all just building this thing by hand out of shit from Lowes. But I'll be damned, there she is :)

Here are some detail shots. And again, I promise better pictures when my cardreader unfucks itself (or I get a new one).


I know as I work with it there will be things here and there I'll need to fix and modify. I sat and talked with my boss about it for a while and he made some suggestions about things I could fix right now--such as reinforcing the platen arm--which is admittedly a bit flexible--with a pair of 2x4s on their side bolted in underneath. The shirt platen is also unlevel, which I'm going to fix with some cardboard shims this evening.

Hmm, I really want to give it a name. And, I've been kinda daydreaming about giving it an awesome nautical/maritime theme paintjob--turn the tabletop into a treasure map, paint a big nautical star on the top crossbar, affix chair legs to the rotating platen to make it look like a ship's steering wheel, and then give the legs a sort of water-like paint job. Heh, and the name should be the name of either some famous ship or ship's captain, maybe a pirate. Was there a pirate named BlueBeard? I seem to remember there being one, that might work ;)

Man, this weekend is really going to be whole big printgasm as I break in my new press, and probably print a new batch of business cards, too :)

Happy weekend to ME :)

-P.