We built an etching press this summer. A big one.
We cheated... a little, by canablizing a Herb Fox press that was given to us by the lovely Mrs. Beth Baird.
Herb Fox was awesome. He built lovely, simple presses. By getting to know this press, he inspired us to build our own. We didnt really need another medium sized machine so we disassembled this press and used what parts we could.
It had good bones.
We used oak plywood for the sides of the bench. We got all designy with our rails and borrowed the look of the French tool.
We had new rollers machined. (the most expensive
portion of the project)
The press reassembled fairly easily and the uptake bearings, overbuilt to begin with handled the load nicely.
Moment of truth. Having an architect around, Christopher Campbell, probably helped things line up... a bit.
The side rails are aluminum agle iron. It was an easy solution, and by extending them we were able to avoid bed-stops. Really, most of the work was in building the bench. It got a little fussy there for a while and there are still a few tics but its come together nicely.
Irina and David doing the dance. Printshop ballet.
We had new rollers machined. (the most expensive
