Swing Frame Removal, Part 2

Posted on by kpmartin Posted in Equipment Acquisition, Repair, and Maintenance, Kevin, Monotype Type and Rule Caster — No Comments ↓

On our new Type and Rule Caster I want to replace the swing frame assembly with one where the crank to raise and lower the pot is above the pot rather than below it, to avoid needing to have my face up close & personal with a lake of molten type metal.

So far I’ve removed everything except the Swing Frame Post, which is the fixed half of the hinge that the pot rotates on.

The three bolts from the Swing Frame Post along with a linkage pin from the pump operating bell crank

This is attached to the main caster frame by three fasteners: a bolt with a 1″ hex head, also about 1″ long (the head, not the bolt), and two large slot-head screws. One of these has a head diameter of about ⅝″ and the other about ⅞″.

To remove these I needed a large slot screwdriver. Search the web for “large”, “giant”, or any such other adjective you can imagine, “screwdriver”, and the largest real screwdriver you find has a ⅜″ blade, hardly sufficient. One exception is that Hand Tool Rescue has one with a 1″ wide blade, but that is too large because these screws are in counterbored holes. I had a vague memory of actually owning a sufficiently large screwdriver, and eventually found it:

Screwdriver, about 67cm/26″ long, with caster centering pin arm for scale

By holding this screwdriver in the screw head with my body, holding a wrench on the shaft with one hand, and hammering on the wrench with the other, I got the screws loose.

There was also the linkage that operates the pump keeping the Post captive on the machine, so this had to be disconnected. The pin between the pull rod in the caster is not very accessible in its idle position:
It is apparently also hard to focus on. Turning on the pump and cycling the caster to the correct position moves this pin to a much more accessible location:

By removing either of the cotter pins the post can easily be removed, allowing the Swing Frame Post to be entirely removed.The next step is to collect the parts to install the newer Swing Frame Post and Swing Frame. The replacement Post I have is fitted with lubrication pipes to allow this bell crank to be easily lubricated, but the pipes are damaged and must be replaced before I install it.

What’s Inside a Paper Pulley

Posted on by kpmartin Posted in Equipment Acquisition, Repair, and Maintenance, Kevin — No Comments ↓

The motor that came with our recently-acquired Monotype Type and Rule Caster was fitted with 2″ a pulley suitable for a flat drive belt to run the caster. Such pulleys are shaped with a bit of a crown, that is, the pulley is a bit larger in diameter near the center of its length and tapers off a bit towards each end. This crown keeps the drive belt properly centered with no need for additional guides.

This particular pulley was, however, quite worn and the belt would not run on it properly, so it would need replacement. It was of an old style not seem much any more (not that flat belts themselves are used much in modern machinery either): a “paper pulley”. The main body of the pulley was just a tight stack of paper, more like boxboard (think of the stuff cereal boxes are made of), packed onto a hub and ends made of a single piece of metal. The metal is likely zinc or a zinc alloy, and was cast as one piece around the stacked cardboard.

One end of the pulley actually bears the markings “Browning Paper Pulleys” and “Maysville KY”, so “paper pulley” is indeed the correct name for these. The Browning company still exists in Maysville, but apparently they stopped making paper pulleys around 1977.

I pulled out most of the paper to see what else was inside. Because the pulley was cast onto the paper, it is actually difficult to remove all the paper cleanly, and much of it is left bonded to the metal in the hub:

One of the flanges has two holes in it, about ¼″ diameter, 45 degrees either side of the setscrew, and these holes continued into the stack of paper. The holes appear to have been drilled after the hub was cast around the paper. In the bottom of the holes there were two filler slugs that appeared to be the same metal as the hub, positioned about halfway lengthwise, and the rest of the holes were filled with cork. I’m not sure what purpose these serve, maybe this is how the pulley was balanced.

I’m not entirely sure how this would have been made. The layers of the paper core would probably be die-cut with a hole in the center to form the hub and a boss for the setscrew, but I don’t understand how they could be held tightly stacked while the hub was cast. There is no evidence of any sort of glue holding them together. It is possible, even likely, that the paper layers started off larger than the final diameter of the pulley, so the stack could have been held and lightly compressed by its edges. This would not, however, allow for much compression because the hub area of the stack would still bulge. Another possibility is that the paper was pressed hard in advance, and before it had a chance to rebound completely, the casting was done, followed by exposure to perhaps steam to soften the paper and allow it to puff up again to get everything tight.

Such pulleys now seem to be pretty much unobtanium, so I’m thinking of making myself a replacement. I’d make the hub and one flange as a single piece, the other flange as another piece, and use four bolts to pull the flanges together and compress the paper. The bolts will also transfer the torque from the flanges to the paper, and ideally the loose flange will be somehow keyed to the hub. Perhaps I can just weld it once the stack is tight.

Actually, McMaster-Carr appears to have a suitable replacement pulley for about $100, so I may just order that rather than taking on yet another side quest.

Howard Iron Works Print Expo & Fair 2025

Posted on by kpmartin Posted in Howard Iron Works Print Expo & Fair, Upcoming Events — No Comments ↓

We’ve just received advance notice that this year’s Howard Iron Works Print Expo & Fair will be on Saturday, September 27th, from 10am-4pm, and will feature as special guest Amos Kennedy, Jr.

We’ll be there with our selection of stuff for sale, and there will be museum tours, demonstrations, and workshops available to those attending.

As the fair nears we expect there will be more details on the events of the day posted at HIW’s web site.

Initial Work on the New Type & Rule Caster

Posted on by kpmartin Posted in Equipment Acquisition, Repair, and Maintenance, Kevin, Monotype Type and Rule Caster — No Comments ↓

While the weather was good for working outside I started to work on getting the new Type & Rule caster operational again, for now concentrating on the pot and pump side of things.

The caster is fitted with a bottom-crank mechanism for raising and lowering the pot, and in this particular case the crank was missing. However, a wrench could be used on the nut that was supposed to retain the crank to turn the shaft and lower the pot. Although I had oiled the raising/lowering screw threads this was still quite hard to turn. After a few minutes of hard work I had the pot lowered, swung out, and the pump removed along with a collar of hardened type metal.

The pot lowered and swung open

The pump, with attached lump of metal. Note this is the special pump for strip casting, which has the nozzle in a different position.

The ultimate goal here is to refit this caster with a top-crank mechanism, which I have as a spare from a scrapped English caster. The bottom-crank is unpleasant to use because to operate it one must bend down with one’s head/face right next to the pot, and it is not unknown for the pot to shift and slosh molten type metal when being raised or lowered. Furthermore the crank and screw have a plain (sliding) surface bearing the weight of the pot, which adds to the friction of turning the crank. The top-crank mechanism can be operating while standing erect, and includes a ball thrust bearing to reduce the effort required to turn the crank.

I plan on replacing parts back to the Swing-Frame Post (38H) because the replacement is fitted with tubes to lubricate inaccessible parts from a small oil tray on the top of the post.

To break things down into lighter individual parts I stripped down the Swing Frame, removing the pot and the entire pump lifter mechanism, leaving just the bare swing frame, which on this caster seems to combine the actual Swing Frame 37H and the Table 37H12 (under the pot) as a single casting. I also removed most of the pump operating mechanism, leaving only the Piston Operating Rod (19H) and its attachments.

It was essentially impossible for me to raise the Swing Frame again as turning the crank nut in the other direction merely removes the nut. So I proceeded to remove the Swing-Frame Screw 39H.

Or at least to try. It should have been possible to hoist the Swing Frame and have it and its raising Screw just slide up, and then turn the screw further to remove it completely out of the top of the Swing Frame and Swing-Frame Post. There was, unfortunately, some combination of rust and gummy dried oil that prevented this. I used our fork lift to lift up either under the Swing-Frame Table or under the bottom of the Screw with enough force to start to tip the caster over but nothing budged.

After swinging the Swing Frame while applying lifting force I got the Screw to rise up 2 or 3mm, at which point it jammed. This also raised the pot enough that it had to be in its closed position to rise any further. I lowered the fork lift and hammered the top of the Screw, and after a few blows it dropped suddenly back to its normal position.

A few up-and-down cycles like this allowed the Screw and Swing Frame to rise to the former’s upper (casting) position. At this point I should have been able to just turn the screw more and pull it out the top, but the screw refused to turn any further. The Swing-Frame Screw Washer 39H2 seemed to be firmly stuck on the screw, preventing it from threading any further upwards.

I applied a torch to this washer in an effort to try to free it, and eventually managed to remove the Screw completely using a combination of a wrench on the crank nut and a pipe wrench on the top of the screw which was now projecting above the top of the Swing-Frame Post. The washer fought me the whole way off, but I eventually removed the Screw and Swing Frame.

The Screw was scarred at the top by the pipe wrench (and hammering it down), and at the bottom by the Washer. I don’t plan on re-using this Screw but if it were needed the damage could be cleaned up on a lathe or, with a little more trouble, using a file.

Scarring at the top of the screw from using a pipe wrench

Scarring at the bottom of the screw from removing the washer

The cause of the problem appears to be an imposter 39H2 washer:There is no way this is a real 39H2 as there is absolutely no reason for this part to include a keyway, and it also does not have the finish typical of Monotype parts. This looks more like a commodity driveshaft spacer that was used instead of the real 39H2, and because it was too close a fit on the screw the edges of the keyway dug into the shaft.

Anyway, now that all this is removed the next item is the Swing-Frame Post, which is just held on by a few large screws, and so far I’ve had little trouble with seized fasteners so this should be easy to remove. That will allow me to test if the newer part fits in its stead.

An Addition to the Type Foundry

Posted on by kpmartin Posted in Equipment Acquisition, Repair, and Maintenance, Kevin, Monotype Type and Rule Caster — 2 Comments ↓

Two years ago I found out that this Monotype caster, fitted for strip casting, was available for free in the Toronto area.
Unfortunately, at the time, I had no room for it and needed to expand our shop space to make room. Much more unfortunately, through a misunderstanding, the owner thought I was not interested in it, and started giving it the (very slow) heave-ho.

The pot controller was removed to make a decorative display, and cutter/stacker was removed to reduce the machine’s bulk and subsequently misplaced. The caster then spent a year outdoors before I picked it up just this week.

Here’s how it looks now:

A very sad state. It is fortunate that the machine had been coated with a machinery storage coating (“Cosmoline”) so the rust has not gone very deep.

My collection of spares should be enough to make up a pot controller, and I have a cutter/stacker in rough condition that I can fit to the machine, so I have the makings of a working strip caster. As well, the former owner will look around to see if the cutter/stacker is still around.

This is actually a Monotype Type and Rule Caster sometimes inexplicably called an “Orphan Annie”, fitted with the attachments for continuous strip casting. It is marked with the improbable serial number 5000:

L-R: Left rear table corner, Rear end of rear pin block, Left end of front pin block

The fact that the same serial number appears on several places implies that this truly is the machine’s serial number, improbable though it may seem to have a number that is an exact multiple of 1000. Unfortunately there does not seem to be any easily-found serial number index or census of machines for Monotype equipment.

I have a series of old parts manuals from various years and I may try to match specific parts against these to determine when the machine was made, but for now the main goal is to chase out all the water and protect against further rusting.

An Addition to the Workshop

Posted on by kpmartin Posted in Basement Workshop, Kevin — No Comments ↓

I just purchased a new-to-me machine for my workshop:This is a DoAll DH-612 manual surface grinder. Based on the serial number this one was made in 1959 and that may have been the first year of production for this model as I have found no references to earlier serial numbers.

The machine needs a good cleaning, and I’m hoping the ways (the surfaces the work table slides on) are in good condition, though if not they can be refurbished.

It is partially fitted with DoAll’s patented (US#2470350) “Cool Grinding” feature which injects coolant into the grinding wheel itself (which is porous) so there is a positive flow out of the working surface, lifting away grinding swarf better that the typical flood coolant system would. By “partially fitted” I mean it has the special coolant control valve and the special grinding wheel flanges required, but otherwise no provision for coolant: No pump, no tank, no hoses, minimal splash shielding, but all these can be made up from generally available items.

This big issue is that the motor runs on 550V 3-phase power, and all I have available is 240V single-phase. A VFD would be able to run a 3-phase 208/220/240V motor but not a 550V one. Some combination of VFD and (auto)transformer(s) might be able to do the job. My first thought was to step the 240V single-phase up to 600V and use a 600V VFD but VFDs in that voltage range require 3-phase input. Another possibility would be to use a 240V VFD and a 3-phase autotransformer to step up to 550V but this would be bulky and the VFD might not like the transformer on its output. There is also the concern that using VFDs (which generate high-frequency electrical harmonics) on older motors can cause issues with the motor lifetime because current is induced in unexpected places like the bearings causing them to wear prematurely, and voltage spikes can also cause premature insulation breakdown.

The grinder has an integrated spindle and direct-drive motor, so I will have to disassemble part of this to allow me to fit a pulley and mounting for a single-phase 220/240V motor to use belt drive. On one other DoAll model (VS-612) the motor can clearly be reversibly disassembled leaving the bare shaft, but on this machine removing the existing motor may be a one-way trip.

Once I have this working I hope to be able to use it to recondition Monotype parts, particularly worn wedges (which determine the width of the cast type) and worn moulds (assuming I can first build up some replacement metal). I might also try to modify some display mould blade insert kits to allow me to cast unusual sizes like Didot-point-sized type. The Didot point (0.0148″) is slightly larger than the almost-American point (0.0138333…″) the Monotype system usually works in, so I currently have to cast Didot-sized type faces on the next size up of type body.

Although this post is tagged “Basement Workshop” this grinder is very much never going anywhere but ground level!

Inside the Beast

Posted on by kpmartin Posted in Beaters, Equipment Acquisition, Repair, and Maintenance, Kevin — No Comments ↓

Last year we purchased a new-to-us Noble & Wood Cycle Beater for beating pulp for papermaking. It has, since then, been sitting in a corner in our shop taking up space. This was mainly because we also had so many other things also sitting around in the shop taking up space that there was no room to work on the beater.

Since then we’ve managed to develop another storage area so there is actually space to move the beater into the middle of the room and remove its top cover.

The cover is a heavy lift for one person in proper posture, but removing it from the beater would require lifting the cover almost at arm’s length, and overcoming not only its weight but also some friction between the cover and the beater roll.

Now that we had room to get the forklift next to the beater we’ve finally removed the cover to have a look:

Inside the beater, Behind the roll, the vertical rod is the adjustment for the minimum gap, and behind that, the pulley for the lifter auger.

This is a view of the roll from the outfall side. The interior of the tank may have been originally galvanized but that has eroded away over the years allowing some rust to form. The beater bars appear to be bronze, and the spacers are wood, perhaps mahogany or maybe teak. They are a bit loose right now but when the beater is in use the moisture makes them swell to a tight fit. They don’t really provide any structural support to the beater bars, but they limit the size of the cavity between the bars to control the overall pulp flow.

One of the wooden spacers seemed particularly loose so I undid the two stainless steel wood screws that retain it and had a look underneath.

One of the beater bar spacers

Under the spacer showing the wooden roll core and one of the holes from the wood screws that retain the spacer

The core of the roll also seems to be a fairly substantial hunk of wood, which the wood screws bed into. The spacer still seemed loose after replacement, so this may require more investigation.

After inspecting the roll, I used the forklift to raise it on its pivots to reveal the bedplate, but foolishly neglected to take any photos of this. There were some lumps of dried pulp to remove, and more surface rust that will have to be dealt with. The bedplate itself looked good, and also not easy to remove as it seems to have been bedded into some sort of tar or pitch to hold it solidly and seal any leaks.

With the roll raised I removed the seized minimum-gap adjustment and this is now soaking in penetrating oil. I have to get it unseized, and also make a handwheel for it so the operator can set a specific gap.

The next step would be to actually remove the roll and its support frame, detaching it at the pivots, and also remove the auger assembly, to give full access to the tank. Then I can bring it outside, clean out the rust, and I would like to try to repair the galvanizing, assuming that’s what it is. The good surfaces inside the tank have a dull grey colour which could be zinc, or perhaps it was tinned so the coating is tin or a tin/lead solder.

This beater has plenty of nooks and crannies that could trap pulp, causing two problems: Trapped pulp holds water and encourages rust, and it also will contaminate the next beater batch if a different pulp is used. This means that being able to do a full cleanout easily is important, and this would require removing the lid and lifting the roll. For doing this regularly it would seem worthwhile to fit the beater with a small hoist, maybe some sort of jib crane, that can lift the cover, swing aside to put it down, and then raise the roll. But for now the forklift will have to suffice for this.

Grimsby Wayzgoose, April 26th, 2025

Posted on by kpmartin Posted in Grimsby Wayzgoose, Upcoming Events, Us — No Comments ↓

The Grimsby Public Art Gallery will be holding their Wayzgoose Book Arts Fair on Saturday, April 26th, 2025, hosted by the Gallery and extending into the Grimsby Public Library space.

This gathering of book artisans has taken place annually since the first event in 1979. Participants offer demonstrations, items for sale, and plenty of conversation about what they do and what they make, with topics including papermaking, marbling, bookbinding, printing, and small press publication.

the Papertrail will have a table at the Fair, selling a selection of new and used books, marbled and handmade paper, and supplies and tools for the book arts, including hand papermaking, marbling, bookbinding, and letterpress.

The fair takes place at the Grimsby Public Library building, 18 Carnegie Lane, Grimsby, Ontario, and runs from 9am to 5pm.

Admission is free, and free parking is available at both the front and rear entrances of the library as well as any of several nearby municipal parking lots. If you want to use public transit, the library is less than a block away from the Grimsby GO station.

As an added bonus I (Kevin) will be turning 65 that day. Sorry, no cake for everyone…

New and Improved Spam Comments

Posted on by kpmartin Posted in About this blog, Humour, Kevin — No Comments ↓

This blog has always received a stream of spam comments, generally consisting of easily-recognized banal statements about how the post was really helpful, or well-written, or some such other positive comment, but with no actual reference to the topic of the original post.

Because new commenters are moderated, you never see these comments, though I have to deal with them when they pile up. There is no point banning the commenter because they are just using throw-away email addresses anyway.

However, just today I found three of a new class of comment wherein the text appears to have been created by generative AI to give the appearance of being relevant to the specific content of the post. They all contain some rather open-ended question, and end with an invitation to visit a web site.

Here is a sample, posted to 2020 Wayzgoose Anthology:

The diverse contributions highlight the enduring significance of print culture in an age of digital media, showcasing how printmakers continue to push the boundaries of their craft while staying rooted in tradition. What was the most challenging aspect of curating the 2020 Wayzgoose Anthology, and how did the editorial team ensure that the collection balanced both historical context and modern interpretations of printmaking? Visit us <redacted web link>

The wording almost seems to make the question rhetorical, inviting a visit to the web site to get an answer. Which is a good thing because my original post never implied I had any editorial involvement in the Anthology so I would be utterly unable to answer such a question.

The same poster made such comments on three very disparate posts on this blog, making it even less likely that they are real comments from a real person.

Of course, there is an infinitesimal chance that one person read all of this blog in one day, and felt the need to ask such questions on three completely unrelated topics, and has the near-supernatural ability to enter three such comments in a period of three minutes, and has a very unnatural way of expressing themselves in English. If this is the case, commenter, I apologize for doubting your authenticity, and invite you to refute my judgement in a comment on this very post…

BOUND Book Arts Fair, December 1st 2024, Downtown Toronto

Posted on by kpmartin Posted in BOUND Book Arts Fair, Past Events, Us — No Comments ↓

December 1st, 2024, we will be at the BOUND Book Arts Fair, at the Arts & Letters Club, 14 Elm Street, Toronto. We will have our stock of marbled and handmade paper for sale, as well as an assortment of other materials and book for papermaking, marbling, bookbinding, and other associated book arts.

The fair features around 3 dozen vendors of supplies for the book arts and finished works, including paper, cards, notebooks, and small press publications.

The fair runs from 11am-4pm, and admission is free. The venue is just off Yonge Street, two streets north of the Eaton Centre, and the nearest subway stop is Dundas on Line 1 (Yonge/University).

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