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…
Category: Equipment Acquisition, Repair, and Maintenance
(Un)Plugging Cooling Water Passages
One of the moulds for my Monotype Composition Caster, specifically the type U Lanston display mould fitted for 36 point body size, had completely blocked cooling water passages. This would seriously limit how fast the caster could run, even more…
Can anyone answer a Whitlock question?
The Mackenzie Printery & Newspaper Museum maintains a print shop at the Wainfleet fairgrounds in Wainfleet, Ontario, and one piece of equipment there is a Whitlock 2-rotation cylinder press. Note that there is a different model of Whitlock press that…
Tagged with: Whitlock Cylinder Press
Monotype Composition Caster Pot Temperature Controller
Over the past few months, I’ve had to replace the old Partlow temperature controller on the pot of my Monotype Composition Caster. On my caster the old mechanical controller has failed; each time I ran the caster I found that…
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…
Progress on the Mackenzie Printery’s Linotype (Lower Reed Comb)
This is yet another repair I had to make on the Linotype at the MacKenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum. The keyboard assembly has a row of 91 short pushrods, known as the Lower Reeds, which push up when a key…
Tagged with: Linotype
Linotype Knife Block R&R
The knife block on the Linotype at the Mackenzie Printery Museum was pretty much impossible to adjust due to dried out lubricant. This block controls the position of the right knife which trims the thickness of the cast slug to…
Tagged with: Linotype
Progress on the Mackenzie Printery’s Linotype (Broken Upper Reed)
One of the tasks I had in getting the Linotype at the Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum working was to repair one of the keyboard reeds which I had broken (I blame the service manual for failing to warn of…
Tagged with: Linotype
Monotype Repairs: An Enclosure for a New Pot Temperature Controller
While using my Monotype Composition Caster recently, I’ve noticed that the pot temperature has been drifting. On several occasions I’ve found it to be quite a bit hotter than the setpoint, to the point where I had to select a…
Air Compressor for the Monotype Caster
I’ve been using a compact air compressor to run my Monotype Composition Caster. The machine uses pneumatics to control what matrix it casts, when to start a new line, how wide to make the adjustable-width casts, etc. Originally the caster…
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