I don't have any real plans, but my story of how I built it might help you in designing your own: I started with the idea that our kitchen island table would be the base of the press. It's topped by a 3ft by 5ft butcher-block wood slab. I clamped an oak board (about 2ft long, 3" wide and 3/4" thick) to the edge of the table. To that, I attached small hinges which allow a guide frame to hinge up and down. This guide frame is designed to align the print block. It has wooden dowels sticking up to engage holes in the print block. I used a pencil sharpener to taper the tops of the dowels, and drilled the holes just barely large enough to fit over the dowels. It's a tight fit - I wanted the print block to be in exactly the same position each time it came down. So I sanded the dowels until the block slid on without too much resistance, but with no free play. Also attached to the first oak board I mentioned are two short boards that stick up to act as hinge points for the main pressure lever. That lever is made of two oak boards with a hinge at the point. The hinge remains at a fixed angle during use, but I thought that a hinge was an easy way to join two boards coming together at a small angle - plus it helps the device fold up for storage. This main lever has a cross piece, positioned above the center of the print block. This cross piece presses onto the top of a rounded bit of wood that sticks up from the center of the print block to make the downward pressure even across the block.It can exert quite a lot of pressure. The dimensions, and the location of the print block were chosen to allow Mary to print in the center of the largest sheets that she anticipated using. The press itself has no provision to position the paper. That work was done with masking tape on the table surface. She'd use a waste piece of paper to get the position where she wanted it, and marked that paper's position with tape on the table - then each final paper would be carefully placed, then the impression made. Her linoleum cuts are on the slabs of linoleum only - so she adhered them to the print block with double-side tape. She found that the tape would often last for several letters before the stickiness wore off. If you prefer to use linoleum mounted on wood, then you could design a print block that would hold your wood blocks.
I don’t usually take time to comment but wow! I absolutely love this.
black and white version was great too.
Your hubby stepped up to the plate. I see what you did there. Great work. Love the press.
These are beautiful ... would like a quick tour of the press - would love to have one made.
A pleasure to watch.
Brilliant setup and great design skills the prints are beautiful
You are speaking my language 🥰
What lovely meticulous work! Well done, and what a great press. Very pleasing video. Well done.
Brilliant!
muitissimo bacana o trabalho .. adorei tambem a prensa ... parabesns desde Brasil
Has she done other versions of the alphabet? I screenprinted posters of the alphabet as a job. It was a design really similar to this.
👌🏾
Beautiful! What kind of paint did you use to color the letters? Thanks
Mary says she used gouache.
I love it
Awesome!
Are the plans for your ingenious press available?
I don't have any real plans, but my story of how I built it might help you in designing your own:
I started with the idea that our kitchen island table would be the base of the press. It's topped by a 3ft by 5ft butcher-block wood slab. I clamped an oak board (about 2ft long, 3" wide and 3/4" thick) to the edge of the table. To that, I attached small hinges which allow a guide frame to hinge up and down. This guide frame is designed to align the print block. It has wooden dowels sticking up to engage holes in the print block. I used a pencil sharpener to taper the tops of the dowels, and drilled the holes just barely large enough to fit over the dowels. It's a tight fit - I wanted the print block to be in exactly the same position each time it came down. So I sanded the dowels until the block slid on without too much resistance, but with no free play.
Also attached to the first oak board I mentioned are two short boards that stick up to act as hinge points for the main pressure lever. That lever is made of two oak boards with a hinge at the point. The hinge remains at a fixed angle during use, but I thought that a hinge was an easy way to join two boards coming together at a small angle - plus it helps the device fold up for storage. This main lever has a cross piece, positioned above the center of the print block. This cross piece presses onto the top of a rounded bit of wood that sticks up from the center of the print block to make the downward pressure even across the block.It can exert quite a lot of pressure.
The dimensions, and the location of the print block were chosen to allow Mary to print in the center of the largest sheets that she anticipated using. The press itself has no provision to position the paper. That work was done with masking tape on the table surface. She'd use a waste piece of paper to get the position where she wanted it, and marked that paper's position with tape on the table - then each final paper would be carefully placed, then the impression made.
Her linoleum cuts are on the slabs of linoleum only - so she adhered them to the print block with double-side tape. She found that the tape would often last for several letters before the stickiness wore off. If you prefer to use linoleum mounted on wood, then you could design a print block that would hold your wood blocks.
Thanks so much.
great
Wonderful