Have you ever gone to the store to buy something, only to buy something else and return without what you set out to buy in the first place? This is one of those stories.
While having some negatives made at the local newspaper today the printer and I got to talking about Linotype machines. In the course of the discussion, I asked him if he had a Hammond Glider. The Hammond Glider is (was) the top-of-the line in printer's saws, a small, high-precision sliding-table saw for cutting lead linotype blocks. Unfortunately, the pressman said he scrapped their Glider a few years ago.
Out of sheer curiosity when I got home I decided to call a few newspapers in the area to see if they had a Hammond Glider. One paper said they had a couple printer's saws and I was free to have a look at them. The price? Scrap value. So I jumped in the truck for the 45-minute drive to the newspaper.
Upon arrival I was greeted by the shop's production manager, Dave. We wound our way though a maze of passages, several flights of stairs and a short ladder into the attic of the turn-of-the-century newspaper building. Walking to the back of the attic I spied a Morrison printer's saw:
The Morrison saw was not the Hammond Glider I was looking for, which was slightly disappointing. As I was walking away, I spied this under a pile of junk:
It's a Pexto Model #132B 32" stomp shear in NEW condition! My heart jumped a little bit...
Me: "What about this shear, is it for sale?"
Dave: "Yep."
Me: "Scrap price?"
Dave: "Yep."
Me: "Sold. Now how do we get it out of here?"
As it turned out, the freight elevator in the building should be termed a "fright elevator" as it's scary as hell! Rather than risk killing anyone, we decided I should take it apart and Dave would help me carry it down the stairs. The freight elevator is at the end of the attic on the far right in this photo:
Here's the shear coming apart. Each piece weighs between 75 lbs. and 150 lbs:
And a nearly disassembled Pexto shear with it's slightly gloating new owner:
The machine has no perceptable wear, even on the gibs. The shear blades are new, the bed is unscratched, the paint is original and there's only the lightest coating of rust fuzz on the bed. It is essentially new! The only thing the machine has ever cut is lead and not even much of that.
One of the shear ram turnbuckles is bent slightly, but that is the only damage and it's an easy repair. I'll be cleaning and reassembling this machine shortly.
The search for the Glider isn't over yet. I have 11 more small-town newspapers to call in my phone book. I wonder what I'll find in their attics?
While having some negatives made at the local newspaper today the printer and I got to talking about Linotype machines. In the course of the discussion, I asked him if he had a Hammond Glider. The Hammond Glider is (was) the top-of-the line in printer's saws, a small, high-precision sliding-table saw for cutting lead linotype blocks. Unfortunately, the pressman said he scrapped their Glider a few years ago.
Out of sheer curiosity when I got home I decided to call a few newspapers in the area to see if they had a Hammond Glider. One paper said they had a couple printer's saws and I was free to have a look at them. The price? Scrap value. So I jumped in the truck for the 45-minute drive to the newspaper.
Upon arrival I was greeted by the shop's production manager, Dave. We wound our way though a maze of passages, several flights of stairs and a short ladder into the attic of the turn-of-the-century newspaper building. Walking to the back of the attic I spied a Morrison printer's saw:
The Morrison saw was not the Hammond Glider I was looking for, which was slightly disappointing. As I was walking away, I spied this under a pile of junk:
It's a Pexto Model #132B 32" stomp shear in NEW condition! My heart jumped a little bit...
Me: "What about this shear, is it for sale?"
Dave: "Yep."
Me: "Scrap price?"
Dave: "Yep."
Me: "Sold. Now how do we get it out of here?"
As it turned out, the freight elevator in the building should be termed a "fright elevator" as it's scary as hell! Rather than risk killing anyone, we decided I should take it apart and Dave would help me carry it down the stairs. The freight elevator is at the end of the attic on the far right in this photo:
Here's the shear coming apart. Each piece weighs between 75 lbs. and 150 lbs:
And a nearly disassembled Pexto shear with it's slightly gloating new owner:
The machine has no perceptable wear, even on the gibs. The shear blades are new, the bed is unscratched, the paint is original and there's only the lightest coating of rust fuzz on the bed. It is essentially new! The only thing the machine has ever cut is lead and not even much of that.
One of the shear ram turnbuckles is bent slightly, but that is the only damage and it's an easy repair. I'll be cleaning and reassembling this machine shortly.
The search for the Glider isn't over yet. I have 11 more small-town newspapers to call in my phone book. I wonder what I'll find in their attics?
It pays to spend time looking and digging where no one else will go.
