THE MAGIC PONY

THE MAGIC PONY
I HOPE MY PONY KNOWS THE WAY BACK HOME

Friday, February 5, 2010

My Hand Made Etching Press



This is my home made etching press. It was built in 1976 (approx.). A friend had an alfalfa farm out in the desert west of Maricopa, AZ. There was an abandoned potato farm (yes, potato farm), many years lost to the desert. He loaned me a cutting torch and I set about hacking up a huge quantity of scrap hoping that among all those pieces would be enough to build a press. When I got home I did not have access to a cutting torch or welding equipment. So all those pieces had to be put together with a hack saw and a drill. That is ALL I used once I got it home. I had to buy one gear for $50.00, and I had the top roller made at a machine shop out of aircraft alloy tube steel with brass bushings. That cost $150.00. The largest plate size I've printed is an 18X24, but that's pushing the limits. I tend to work much smaller in any case. It has served me well all these years. Literally HUNDREDS of prints, etchings, relief prints, embossings, were pulled off this press.

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