The Monotype caster has a part called a fence which separates the accumulating line of type from previous lines already pushed onto the galley. This fence has a guide pin at the rear end which fits into a hole in…
Category: Things we do
Freeness Testing Demonstration
A while ago we had a spare freeness tester for sale, and for the occasion I had started making a video demonstrating how they work and how they are used. We have since sold the tester but I never finished…
Determining the evaporation rate in my basement workshop
One of the things I noted when trying to electroform a Monotype matrix last May was that by the time I put that project on hold, half of my plating electrolyte had vanished. I was using an open tank so…
Composition Mat Cases In Their Final Home
I have catalogued the contents of all the composition matcases, both the ones from Rich Hopkins and the dozen or so that I already had in various locations. The cases have also been placed in their permanent home (barring major…
Composition Matrix Cases Finished and Filled
The first set of five cases I made to hold Monotype composition matcases turned out to be insufficient to hold them all. I have since made two more cases, and have placed all the matcases I received from Rich Hopkins…
Finished Composition Matrix Cases—Just One Problem
I have completed my five cases for holding Monotype composition matcases. Despite my efforts to get the grooves uniformly deep, I found after assembling the cases that some grooves were too shallow. This meant that I spent a lot of…
Cases for Monotype Composition Matrices
I returned from picking up my display matrix purchases with several matcases of composition mats as well, and so far I have no good place to keep them. The few I had have been stored in the same drawer as…
Adventures in Matrix Copying – Part 3
My last post on this subject showed the initial copper plating almost covering the graphite. An hour or two of further plating produced a nice bright copper layer over the entire surface of the rubber mould. The plating was fairly…
Defective Column Pusher Spring Box Fixed
A while ago I made a new spring for the operating lever latch on my Monotype caster, based on specifications passed to me by Bill Welliver. The problem was that when the line length was incorrect, the column pusher was…
Challenge Proof Press Lockup Bar Working
My previous post described my confusion as to how the lockup bar for my Challenge proof press works. As I mentioned in a comment to that post, I found my answer online in US patent number 3288062 which shows how…
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