Antique equipment club

[alan802]

1989 Precision Vortex dryer. The beast just keeps on burnin cotton day after day.

I had an all electric oval, not sure what year that thing was. What a horrid piece of machinery. It would slap ink on a shirt as fast as you could load it. It would also rip the necks and sleeves off shirts, misprint 4 in a row, all while maintaining horrible registration. Setting up a 4 color job required a monumental investment in test prints.

Sounds like a beauty.  I bet the Trident was a dream compared to that thing.

We had a 91' American Centurian that looks almost identical to the 2014 models except they've added some tool-less features like squeegee angle adjustment and a few other little things but for the most part, unchanged.  When we started shopping for autos in 07 I really began to appreciate the Centurian because it had more features than most of the new presses we were looking at.  It didn't have central off contact and going from tees to sweats was a PITA and changing squeegee angle took an allen wrench, changing pallets took 20 minutes per change-out but when you look at the entire machine, it stood right up there with many of the new machines and actually stood above a few of them.  Unfortunately the price for a new one was as much or more than an MHM S-type and Challenger 3 so it's little wonder they don't move a ton of those Centurians in most markets I've seen.  I had zero idea how much a new Centurian would be when I got the quote and I damn near fell out of my chair when I saw it.  I always recommend checking them out if someone is looking for a used press but space is usually a concern for those buyers and it takes up a ton of space.

[3Deep]

We have a 91 econo max dryer has been reworked with new parts (thanks Rich) a 2000 workhorse 6/4 manual press and I think maybe late 80's model heat press, cap press everything else pretty much up to date auto press etc.  Equipment will last a long time if you take care of it.

Darryl

[ericheartsu]

1989 Precision Vortex dryer. The beast just keeps on burnin cotton day after day.

I had an all electric oval, not sure what year that thing was. What a horrid piece of machinery. It would slap ink on a shirt as fast as you could load it. It would also rip the necks and sleeves off shirts, misprint 4 in a row, all while maintaining horrible registration. Setting up a 4 color job required a monumental investment in test prints.

Sounds like a beauty.  I bet the Trident was a dream compared to that thing.

We had a 91' American Centurian that looks almost identical to the 2014 models except they've added some tool-less features like squeegee angle adjustment and a few other little things but for the most part, unchanged.  When we started shopping for autos in 07 I really began to appreciate the Centurian because it had more features than most of the new presses we were looking at.  It didn't have central off contact and going from tees to sweats was a PITA and changing squeegee angle took an allen wrench, changing pallets took 20 minutes per change-out but when you look at the entire machine, it stood right up there with many of the new machines and actually stood above a few of them.  Unfortunately the price for a new one was as much or more than an MHM S-type and Challenger 3 so it's little wonder they don't move a ton of those Centurians in most markets I've seen.  I had zero idea how much a new Centurian would be when I got the quote and I damn near fell out of my chair when I saw it.  I always recommend checking them out if someone is looking for a used press but space is usually a concern for those buyers and it takes up a ton of space.

that's how i feel with my current press. When i was going over information for the C3, our sales reps were getting really excited with all of it's new features, but on our current press, all of those features are there, and it was built in 97!

[PhilR]

My exposure machine is an '87 Dainippon plate maker. I'd like to say it works perfectly but unfortunately something seems to be wrong with the relay circuit that activates the main lamp. No biggie, I just wired in a manual switch. The light integrator is still fine.

[Inkworks]

Not sure what year my Guillotine is.... Old. Good ol' Chicago Steel from Challenge.

My Hix dryer is old as dirt too, but keeps on keepin' on. I bought a newer used belt and extended the one side by 18" with some good old 2x4's 

I think my Padprinter is probably ~ 30 years old too.

[StuJohnston]

Hey challenge buddy! I just picked up this wwii era paper drill.



The table and fence were removed for ease
of transport.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Catnhat]

This was finally permanently retired to storage when we sold off the last of our 18x20 frames this past fall.

4 color, single pallet American Rototex.
Owner bought it used sometime around '84-'85 from a local high school art teacher.

[3Deep]

You can say what you want, but this old equipment still works!! just out dated and slower, and they used way more steel back then to build sometime.

[alan802]

that's how i feel with my current press. When i was going over information for the C3, our sales reps were getting really excited with all of it's new features, but on our current press, all of those features are there, and it was built in 97!

Next time I'm in Houston can I come take a look at that X-press?  I'd be willing to bet that it's the only X-press in the state of texas and likely within a thousand miles.  I could be wrong and there are still quite a few Centurians in the state but I haven't heard of there being any of their other models.  I'd like to get a good look at the C3 too and the few that are here in town aren't very open to visitors from other shops.

[kirkage]

10 foot harco dryer from 1987 still running strong. I replaced the temp control with a digital. It's a tank. I could take the legs off of it and cruise around town on it.

[Frog]

10 foot harco dryer from 1987 still running strong. I replaced the temp control with a digital. It's a tank. I could take the legs off of it and cruise around town on it.

Is that the one with the belt re-tracking gadget?

[ericheartsu]

that's how i feel with my current press. When i was going over information for the C3, our sales reps were getting really excited with all of it's new features, but on our current press, all of those features are there, and it was built in 97!

Next time I'm in Houston can I come take a look at that X-press?  I'd be willing to bet that it's the only X-press in the state of texas and likely within a thousand miles.  I could be wrong and there are still quite a few Centurians in the state but I haven't heard of there being any of their other models.  I'd like to get a good look at the C3 too and the few that are here in town aren't very open to visitors from other shops.

yeah of course, right now there aren't any c3s in Houston, at least that i'm aware of.....hopefully that will change in the next couple of weeks ))

[screenxpress]

I use a pretty old Advance Phoenix dryer, and my Workhorse Mach VI is no spring chicken either.

Don't the equipment tend to mimic the owners??   

[Evo]

It didn't have central off contact and going from tees to sweats was a PITA and changing squeegee angle took an allen wrench, changing pallets took 20 minutes per change-out but when you look at the entire machine, it stood right up there with many of the new machines and actually stood above a few of them.

Aside from the AC heads and the ability to go big on image size, I absolutely HATED the Centurian I used to work with. In fact it's the first auto I ever worked with, and I hated it within weeks. After working at other shops on other autos, I hated it even more.

Slow.
Micros sucked and filled with gunk easily.
Single registration fork for totally sloppy reg.
Flash units always broke down.
4-bolt pallets were a TOTAL pain in the ass.
Wood neck guides. Wood. On an auto press. WOOD.
No start/stop sequencing.
Etc, etc, etc.

I can't believe it even exists and is sold anymore. (seriously, who buys one??) It's like a Ford dealership today selling an 80's station wagon.

[alan802]

It didn't have central off contact and going from tees to sweats was a PITA and changing squeegee angle took an allen wrench, changing pallets took 20 minutes per change-out but when you look at the entire machine, it stood right up there with many of the new machines and actually stood above a few of them.

Aside from the AC heads and the ability to go big on image size, I absolutely HATED the Centurian I used to work with. In fact it's the first auto I ever worked with, and I hated it within weeks. After working at other shops on other autos, I hated it even more.

Slow.
Micros sucked and filled with gunk easily.
Single registration fork for totally sloppy reg.
Flash units always broke down.
4-bolt pallets were a TOTAL pain in the ass.
Wood neck guides. Wood. On an auto press. WOOD.
No start/stop sequencing.
Etc, etc, etc.

I can't believe it even exists and is sold anymore. (seriously, who buys one??) It's like a Ford dealership today selling an 80's station wagon.

Most of those weren't ever an issue on our machine.  I never put a wrench or changed a bulb on our HiFlash units.  Wooden neck guides never were a problem except on printing the backs of hoodies but then we just took them off and problem solved.  Without the neck guides it still had less deflection than most other autos.  We had start/stop sequencing, NEVER a registration issue once I got the press calibrated. 

Our micros were true and precise, it didn't require using tricks or adjustments over/under what you needed like you have with most turnbuckle style micros.  It indexes slow compared to most other machines but ours ran at 700-800 per hour.  We had the touchscreen control panel that never had any issues but our toggle switches needed replaced regularly.  It blew fuses every once in a while, proxy sensors went bad, air lines wore holes in them due to rubbing on the metal which is a terrible design flaw, it was far from a perfect machine.  I won't get into exact manufacturers and models of other presses but our Centurian was superior overall than most of the mid level autos we were looking at despite being way older.  At the time we got rid of it I didn't have as much respect for it but the more machines I saw up close and got to know the more I realized it was way ahead of it's time.  As far as them still making it, I have to agree, why would anyone pay that much for one when they could get an RPM for half price, a C3 for less, an MHM, etc?  But if someone wants to buy a used one for a song I can guarantee that an early to mid 90's Centurian would be more enjoyable to have than ANY auto built in the same time frame...assuming it was more like our machine versus your machine.