Category: Things we do

A new Winding Spool for the Monotype

I made myself a Winding Spool for my Monotype caster, to take up the ribbon as the machine reads it. The internal mechanism is similar but not identical to the standard part. The main difference is that the part know

Monotype Ribbon Repair Details

The one ribbon I have to test out composition casting on my Monotype was in rather sad shape. It had several kill lines which cause casting problems by allowing the mould to chill too much, and it had also been

2013 Mulberry Fibre Harvest

It was a bit late, but I finally got around to harvesting the stems off my mulberry plant for fibre. Over the summer we had been pulling off suckers so the stems grow long and thick with little side branching.

Monotype Air Tower Adjustment: Another Method

Having found that my patched-up ribbon would not run through my caster’s air tower because of the low clearance under the raised air bar, I tried a different adjustment procedure to maximize the clearance available for ribbons in poor condition.

Monotype Ribbon Repair

I only have one punched ribbon to test out the composition casting on my Monotype, and this ribbon is wanting in more than one way. For one, it was my first (and I hope only) attempt at punching a ribbon

Monotype Ribbon Feed Mechanism Animation

Well, I managed to fool WordPress into accepting an animated GIF so here’s the one I made of the ribbon feed mechanism being operated manually. It’s a little rough because the original pictures were taken with the tower lying on

Monotype Paper Tower Adjustments, Part 2

Once the operating rod for the paper tower is adjusted, there are four adjustments left, all affecting the Air Bar 2G, Pressure Bar 3G, and air feed. Two of the adjustments are on the Connecting Bar 4G that links the

Monotype Paper Tower adjustments

The book Casting Machine Adjustments provides procedures for adjusting the Paper Tower, but I find that these adjustments are given in the wrong order (later adjustments can affect earlier ones) and some of the adjustments are rote settings which may

One more home-made part for the Monotype

While refurbishing the paper tower for my Monotype caster I found that one of the pivot pins (part 16G, on which the locking pawl pivots) was slightly bent, and was nearly impossible to straighten properly. The bend was hard to

Monotype Ribbon Feed Mechanism

The other part of my caster’s paper tower that received a good cleaning is the ribbon feed mechanism. The ribbon itself is moved by two sprockets whose teeth engage in holes along either side of the ribbon. These sprockets are

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