PRINT TIME Workshop: Drum Repair with Robert Baxter

Drum Repair Workshop, with Robert Baxter

If you operate a riso and have issues with one of your drums (maybe it's dry, or makes a strange sound, or ink is spilling out), bring it to this repair workshop — we'll refurbish them together as a group!

In this working session, we'll be learning about the internal mechanisms and logic of drums, how to open them and reassemble them safely, and how to clean, calibrate, and maintain them. There will be a little bit of demo at the beginning but mostly we’ll just be working on the drums. You are welcome to take videos of the various processes, if helpful. Things to bring:

1. One problem drum (in its case)! Or a drum you want to convert to a different color.
2. A good (not separated) ink tube for that drum ( in the new color, if you are converting).
3. We'll be providing gloves, rags, and solvent*, but be sure to wear clothes + shoes that can get inky.

*The solvent we are using is odorless mineral spirits. The room is quite large and ventilated, but if you have chemical scent sensitivities, we recommend a respirator!

You're welcome to help out and learn even if you don't have a drum to work on!

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This workshop is brought to you by PRINT TIME, a monthlong exhibition and programming series dedicated to print culture, community publishing, and their surrounding ecosystems. Co-organized by FORTUNE, Ulises, and Icebox Project Space, with generous support from the Penn Treaty Special Services District and Fire Museum Presents.

PRINT TIME will feature an exhibition featuring large print studies by Erik Ruin, Jarrah May, Kocot & Hatton, and Olivia Fredricks — open during Icebox Project Space’s gallery hours (Thursday–Saturday, 12–6PM). Register for our free workshops, each weekend in July, to practice the possibilities of print. And, come to our Big Summer Book Sale on PRINT TIME’s closing day (Sunday, July 27, 11AM–5PM) to visit 30 vendors who print in multiples, toward manifold means of learning.

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Robert Baxter makes small books of small pedagogies — he practices as an independent publisher and public academic. His own work focuses on access to resources and navigating texts + archives + creative practice — his collaborations with friends share collective research, projects, and histories. He is now a traveling act, operating as both an itinerant printer and as a general laborer (and mechanic) in community print spaces.

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Accessibility Details: This event will be in-person and indoors. Icebox Project Space, located within the Crane Arts Building, is wheelchair accessible. There is limited accessible parking at the front of the building, and a ramp leading into the main entrance. The main building door is not automated. Once inside the building, there are no steps leading into Icebox Project Space. Two all-gender bathrooms with multiple stalls are available for use — one with urinals, one without, and both with 1–2 wheelchair-accessible stall(s). Folding chairs will be available for sitting.

Please email printingfortunes@gmail.com with any accessibility questions and requests.