Setting up Acorn Anchor Book Arts Studio

In late April I bought three new pieces of equipment, dedicated for use at the Acorn Anchor Book Arts Studio. My friend Stevyn Prothero of Iron Feather helped me move them in one long-haul day, May 1, 2008. I left Windsor with a rented Ford cargo van at 5:00 a.m., picked Stevyn up in Denver at 6, and drove south through Colorado Springs to Canon City, arriving by 8:30 a.m. There, the seller met us at the Clock Tower antique store where they were situated. They were on the ground floor, and a big double door gave us plenty of space to get them out. The 26" Peerless Gem (serial no. 9409) was going to be a tight squeeze, and I was counting on being able to remove the turning wheel and its threaded shaft at the top. This was accomplished, but the seller couldn't figure out how to get it strapped onto his engine hoist, as promised. I was preparing to put together my wooden ramp and winch it into the truck, when some guys started to assemble (by this time we had the Chandler & Price 8 x 12 sitting out on the sidewalk). Myron "Smitty" Smith stopped by; he knew a lot about the history of this equipment. Chuck arranged for his buddy to drive a forklift down the street and help us. This really saved the day! The Peerless Gem was a very tight squeeze into the cargo van - so tight that even inside (where there's a little bit more head room than at the door jamb) only two inches separated the top of the Peerless Gem from the van's roof (notice in the upper left of the picture):

Behind the Gem is the C & P 8 x 12, which was relatively easy to load with the forklift, although it almost slipped sideways off the forks. And behind that is the Rosback Perforator, which we just lifted in (weighs about 350 pounds). We also loaded a pretty heavy vintage motor, which works and has a really interesting 110-volt variable speed lever that shifts the coil over the armature windings. Also got two corner rounders and a coil binder machine.

After 1½ hours of wrestling iron, Stevyn and I were having Subway sandwiches by 11 a.m. I strapped everything down as well as I could.

Driving up through Colorado Springs, it started raining and snowing, all the way through Denver past Longmont. At one point near Castle Rock, the southbound lanes of I-25 were a parking lot for 15 miles. However, our drive, thank Gutenberg, was quick and uneventful. The cargo van was rated for a 3200-pound payload; I estimate the equipment weighed 2300; Stevyn and I 400; tools, motor, boards and miscellaneous another 150. So, we were safely under the limit. The van drove well; about $85 in gas for the 370 miles.

By 2:30 we were rolling up to the Acorn Anchor BAS off Meldrum & Cherry in Fort Collins. John, the departing renter, met us there. It wasn't raining; but it was quite chilly. He was moving equipment out and had agreed to let me move the equipment in early. It took Stevyn and me 2 ½ hours of lugging, shifting, pushing, and dragging. I took the top piece off the Gem so it would slide out easily. The Gem was a pain in the a** - it must weigh at least 1000 pounds. One really needs to get creative in solving the unexpected issues that arise when moving heavy equipment.

Stevyn Prothero at Acorn Anchor, May 1, 2008. Gem without top (foreground, lower left); C&P w/ flywheel (center);
Rosback Perforator (in front of Stevyn).

Got the rental van back by 6 p.m., and drove Stevyn back to Denver. I was home just after 8 p.m. - drove about 500 miles that day. These three pieces of equipment will be the backbone of the letterpress operations at Acorn Anchor.

I was able to begin setting up the equipment on May 4, as the previous renter had vacated early. I was able to move the Peerless Gem and the 8 x 12 Chandler & Price into their places myself by using roller pipes.