Motorized Dickerson Etching/Lithography Press - 27x48" - Can Load/Ship - Conrad

Description

Return Policy: eBay has recently instituted a minimum return policy of 30 Days (to be considered a "Top Seller") which for used and very often vintage equipment is, in my opinion, too long. And all I sell is used and vintage equipment. I've checked the "No Returns Accepted" box for every item I am offering for sale but that doesn't mean I won't stand behind what I'm selling.
Unless otherwise stated every item will come with a 7 day return privilege from the day you receive it. This is something that I did way back when,
well before
eBay got around to instituting a return policy. And if I've made a mistake (I do on rare occasions) and it is not as described I will also pay for the return shipping. The buyer shouldn't have to pay for my mistakes. However, if you've purchased an item in error (e.g. an FD Canon manual focus lens to use on your EF mount autofocus digital body) or had a change of heart and no longer want the item within the first 7 Days then you're going to pay the return shipping as I shouldn't have to pay for your mistakes or post-purchase decisions. That seems fair to me.
I will also offer warranties of 30 Days or more on certain items. Expect to see that with more user oriented items than with collector oriented items.
Dickerson Combination Press
Hello, and thanks for looking. Here we have a motorized Dickerson Combination Press for intaglio/etching, lithography or relief printing. This is almost identical to the Conrad C-25 combination and as I understand it Conrad bought out Dickerson in the 1990s and essentially rebadged the Dickerson press as a Conrad with some tweaks (like offering handwheel versions). As I further understand this is an earlier version of the Dickerson, with motor on top. Later versions (which I believe are identical to the Conrad) have pressure screws on either side that you turn from the top and the motor is mounted underneath plus the base is set up to easily mount to a table. This one has no provision for that but it wouldn’t be too much to add small angle brackets. It also wouldn’t take too much to mount the motor underneath and add those pressure screws: a drill, new screws with wings for adjusting (or micro-adjusting if you want to get fancy), a bracket to mount the motor and you’d have to re-route the wires from the switch. And you’ll pretty much have a motorized Conrad C-25 (which are 00+ new btw). Back to the press at hand: very nice condition considering it’s probably 50 years old or so. There's a little surface rust on a few nuts and bolts plus the thumb screws, not a big deal in my opinion. You could clean them up if you like. Overall it shows some use and age but I don't think anyone will be upset with its condition. It's not new but it's far from beat up as you'll see in the pictures. Bed is 27x48” and made of some sort of composite material. There’s one edge that has gotten a little beat up over the years - the only genuinely notable flaw. Because it’s at the edge it will have no effect on use even though it doesn't look good in the picture. The bottom roller is 27”, the top about 24 1/2” wide (again the bad edge on the bed extends in only about 1/4" so never comes close to the top roller). Both are 4 1/2” diameter. Rollers had a fine layer of surface rust that cleaned right up. They look good. You could polish them further if you like. I wiped a fine layer of oil on them as you’re supposed to. Motor works fine. Forward or reverse and chain driven (I also oiled the chain) to the bottom roller.
THERE IS NO LITHO SCRAPING BAR.
I don’t think it would be much trouble to make or acquire one from Conrad but I wanted to make sure you knew. Instructions to remove the top roller and install the scraper bar are the same as the Conrad and can be found on their website. Outriggers extend 30” from main housing and are 28” wide making the overall press about 37” at its widest (the main housing with motor and tensioning lever) by 65” long. All the rollers on the outriggers spin freely (oiled them too). Tensioning lever works as it should. There’s a pair of pictures from one end showing the bed down and then up once the lever is engaged. The press works fine in every respect. Remove a few bolts and the outriggers can be tilted up as shown. All bolts are present though I left a few out for the pictures so I could show you how the outriggers swing up. This makes shipping relatively easy. But do keep in mind that the bed is 48” and there’s no getting around that being the longest dimension for shipping purposes. More on shipping below and of course local pick up (and inspection) is welcome here in Easton, PA. Please note that for the pictures the press is on a rolling work table that isn’t perfectly flat. You’ll want to level it properly before use.
SHIPPING:
Buyer arranges shipping. I can remove or tilt up the outriggers, bandstrap the whole thing onto a pallet and load onto yours or your carrier’s truck, van, whatever. I will also gladly bring the pallet to my local Fastenal branch for store to store shipping, a viable inexpensive option worth looking into but not available coast to coast at the moment due to covid (so please check with them first). They’ll load it onto your truck, trailer or whatever at your local branch. Press weighs something over 400 lbs I think. Call it 450, maybe 500, with the pallet. Please keep that in mind when making shipping arrangements. Lastly I can crate it for added protection but that’s going to cost extra. Please inquire about that and with any other questions you may have. I think this press will serve somebody very well for a long time to come.