Farley Proof Presses
The Farley company, from Croydon England, produced a number of proof presses over the years with various levels of sophistication.
Entry level Farleys like the Model 2 had fairly limited features, however later models like the 26 had automatic inking and washup. Impression control was updated as the range increased which improved the consistency and repeatability of impressions. Whereas early models had fairly coarse adjustments and no easy way of ensuring registration, later models had far finer adjustment as well as gripper assemblies to hold paper in situ for the impression.
Farley Model 2
The Farley Model 2 has the following:
- 18x23" sheet size
- Manual inking
- No Grippers
- 18x23" maximum print area
- Weight: approx 50kgs
- Lever operated roller bearers to adjust impression
The model 2 could also come with a stand, however it was generally used as a benchtop press.
Additionally there was the facility of installing a tray at one end of the press bed.
Damage
I have seen a few examples of the model 2 - however I have not physically seen one that is not damaged (although I'm sure they exist). Every model I have seen has had the carriage ends smashed and brazed back together again. My assumption is that the press has been dropped and the carriage ends have received a blow perpendicular to the travel of the carriage. This force has snapped the cast iron carriage plate with the force then being applied on the opposite carriage plate, snapping that as well. The quality of the repair will likely be reflected in the quality of the impressions the press will give.
Adjustments
There are three adjustments available:
- Impression Adjustment Lever at the end of the press. This lever will bring the impression cylinder down to type height.
- Carriage Adjustment Cam One of the bearings at the base of each carriage end adjusts how snugly the carriage is attached to the rail. This adjustment should only ever need to be performed when setting up the press from new or after the press rails have been resurfaced.
- Rail adjustment screws At each corner of the press there is a rail adjustment screw with a lock nut on it. The purpose of these screws is to ensure that the rails are adjusted to run parallel with the bed of the press and parallel with each other.
Wear
Over time the rail is likely to suffer from some wear as all the impression force is exerted on the bottom of the rail. (The impression force down is translated to an upward force on the rails through the two bearings on the bottom of each carriage plate.) This wear is likely to be uneven as the press is unlikely to have proofed a full forme with each pass, so it may be that the majority of wear is present at one end of the press.
If this wear is not significant it may be likely to have the rails surface ground to be flat with both sides parallel.
Probably the simplest indication of wear is if the press with no forme installed moves smoothly over one end of the press and seems to bind over the other end of the press, OR if the impression cylinder rolls cleanly over one end of the press but stops turning over another section of the press.