Spent last Sunday in my workshop trying to fix a 30 year old book press I picked up at an estate sale

Got it for $40 near Portland. The screw was totally stripped and the wooden base had a crack. Took me like 6 hours with clamps and a tap and die set from Harbor Freight. Got it working but man, old tools are NOT always better. Has anyone else had luck restoring old bindery equipment or is it just me?

2 comments

2 Comments

harperb467d ago

Well, you're braver than me taking on a stripped screw with just Harbor Freight tools! I've restored a few old bookbinding tools over the years and honestly, the older ones can be a real pain. That cast iron often gets brittle and cracks easier than you'd think, especially if they were stored in a damp garage. The tap and die set is a solid move though, I've used mine to clean threads on old press bolts that were caked in rust. Once you get past the initial headache, there's something satisfying about bringing a tool back from the dead that probably made books for forty years before you found it.

linda6266d ago

I was actually the same way with old tools like this until I took on a beat up 1940s nipping press three years ago. That one had a screw so locked up I used a cheap impact driver and it snapped the head clean off, left me staring at a half inch of stuck bolt. @harperb46, your point about brittle cast iron is dead on - that press had been sitting in a damp shed and the metal was flaking in spots I couldn't even see. The tap and die set saved my bacon too, but I learned the hard way to go slow and use penetrating oil first, not just brute force.