I was telling you about books ...

And here I am, weeks later. I didn't mean to neglect you, but sometimes things come up.

In this case, two things.

The first was a classified ad for a 5 x 8 Kelsey. It was less than an hour away, so I inquired. There was some dithering. I failed completely to negotiate (well, in my defense, the seller did say that the rollers were from NA Graphics, so I based my idea of a reasonable price on that). I now own a very small press, which has functional rollers - though I am quite certain they aren't from NA Graphics, which is too bad. It doesn't really matter, though, because it's still a functional press, and definitely worth having. Besides, if the rollers do crap out, it's an excuse to learn how to cast gummi bear rollers.

Of course, it's still two weeks until I can make it out to Printer Nerdvana, Letterpress Things.

Before I'd even recovered from committing to buy the Kelsey, someone else put up an ad for a 14" paper cutter. For a reasonable price. Even more locally. So I contacted that seller, set up a time, and went to get that too. It's a project - I have to take all the paint off before I can even get the pieces off and check for rust, it needs to be sharpened (although it does still cut better than anything I've ever owned, so I'm not complaining), and I need different tools to get at the bolts that are holding the blade on. I can't pick this one up - it's a lot bigger, and that's a whole hell of a lot of cast iron, let me tell you. At least it's not as heavy as the one I drove three hours to pick up with a friend of mine. (She got a better deal, though: three blades, newly sharpened. It cuts really well.)

So I've been sort of roaming around saying things like "I need to stop collecting cast iron," "We don't really need a kitchen, right," and "Oh my god, what have I done." Of course, I know what I've done, and I fully intend to buy a font of Greek. (Sadly, the classicist I work with is a Latinist.) We'll see what I do with it. (I still want one of the wee Albions or a Washington, so if you know someone who wants to sacrifice theirs to a very good cause, I can give it a loving home. I'm sure no-one will mind if I replace the dining room table with a press or two.)