An Excellent Film for English Monotype Operators

That is, for people who operate an English Monotype Composition Caster (as opposed to the American Lanston Monotype machine). Even more specifically, given the mix of English and American equipment now in use, for users of English composition moulds.

There is an excellent film describing the care and maintenance of the English composition mould available on Vimeo. This film shows the teardown, cleaning, and reassembly of this style of mould, and also shows how the mould and casting cycle operate using a special mould made of transparent plastic. The maintenance instructions also mention the parts of the mould which should not be disturbed, as these moulds contain several eccentric screws/pins which are factory-set to provide proper mutual alignment of some of the parts.

Some of the other English-made moulds have a similar internal structure and much of this film would be applicable to those as well. The way to recognize such moulds is by the hollow screw on the right side, where the oiler attaches. This screw acts as a oil passage to the side of the blade, and also applies spring pressure to the side of the blade during assembly.

On note, though: I find that the audio timing is off by a second or two. You don’t see anyone talking so it is not a lip-sync issue, but there are sequences where they do things like name parts while pointing them out, and I find that the voice seems to be naming the next or previous part through each such sequence.

Also, they specifically use benzene to clean the parts, which would nowadays be discouraged both because of the fire hazard and also because benzene is a carcinogen. For that matter, although I actually like the odour of most solvents, benzene just gives me a headache! For cleanup one can use paint thinner, or for stubborn crud, lacquer thinner, brake cleaner, or carburettor cleaner (although the latter two evaporate in an instant, which may be too fast).

All this with a mix of understated British humour!

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