Chandler and Price Craftsman 2-Up Feeder Modifications

The picture at left is an overview of the press from the front. It shows the modified feeder stack with the two stacks of envelopes. In this case, it is loaded with #2 Stamp Glassine Envelopes (2-5/8" x 3-5/16"). We run this size envelope at an average of 3,000-3,200 IPH, which gives us an output of about 5,750 envelopes an hour after time is alloted for refilling the feeder every 1,000 envelopes. We run a stack of 500 envelopes on each side for best operations. Anything higher than that is too "spongy" and does not allow the pile height dector to work properly.

These are up-close views of the feeder stack. Notice we added a 3/4" cutter stick for the stack divider. It is mounted at the top and the bottom with a 1/4"bolt and spaced out from the back plate with washers to clear the feeder table front edge bar. There is also a notch cut into the top of the divider to accomodate the feeder sucker arm. The wood divider had to be left extended to the top of the back plate, but made thin enough to leave space for the feeder suckers to drop to the feeder stack properly. Because the center divider is mounted to the back plate with the screws, it limits the up and down travel of the the feed table. We added the doubled 3/4" plywood spacer to accomodate this limit in the upward feed table travel.

This is another view of the feeder with the stack dropped down. You can see how the center divider is mounted and spaced out with washers. Also, if you are wondering about all the priority mail tape, someone, probably my uncle, years ago to accomodate some other project, cut sections out of the top of the back plate. These missing sections, of course, had to fall right where they caused problems with an even smaller envelope we run 2-up on this press (a 2x2 fabric lined envelope with extended flap). I ad to fill on a small section with 2 point brass rule held in place with the tape. Then to keep the tape from peeling up with the movement of the feed table, I had to extend the tape down beyond the movement of the feed table. If I had an original back plate, I could get rid of the tape (anyone have one?)

This is an overview of the platen and the deliver system we use for the 2-up printing. We use two register fingers and they operate in opposite directions to position the envelopes towards the outside gauge pins. The printed envelopes are dropped into the delivery box on the delivery table, where we can easily remove them while the press is running and jog them into a neat stack to rebox them. Depending on the size of envelope, the feed and delivery arms use either 1 or 2 suckers per envelope for best handling. With the glassine stock, only one sucker per envelope is really needed to pick up the envelope, but the bigger envelopes are so flimsy, we need the second sucker to keep the envelope from flopping around.

This view shows the platen with the two register fingers and also the indicator lines we use for setting the outside gauge pins to the three different size envelopes we run. When we get to the #4 Stamp Glassine, we have to add a third top edge gauge pin to keep the outside edge of the larger envelope from dipping into the cavity.

This is a close up view of the two register finger actuators. The second actuator is mounted on the shaft backwards so the adjustment locking screw is under the edge of the platen. This allows the register finger to move in the opposite direction, allowing us to have the two stacks closer together in the feeder.

This final picture is our badly abused delivery box. It fell into the press a couple years ago when one of the wire strippers snagged the delivery arm! The bottoms of the box are actually sloped both in to the middle and towards the back (compound mitered slopes). Over the years, I have found this is unnecessary. When I have a free moment, I will build a new simple box.

I hope these pictures are of help to you if you are considering modifying your press to 2-up operations. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at lance@kadetstationery.com, and I will do my best to answer your questions.