In preparation for casting last Saturday, I moved a few mats in the matcase I was using so there would be low quads where the ribbon expected them. The ribbon also expected a 10-unit space to exist, so I placed…
Category: Letterpress
Misdiagnosis Results in Broken Part
Last Saturday I tried again to do a run of composition casting. At some point, the galley mechanism stopped working, and a very long line developed in the galley. I stopped casting and looked for the cause of the problem.…
Result from Last Weekend’s Casting Run
Despite all the difficulties I encountered in last weekend’s attempt to do some composition casting, I still ended up with some type cast, which I proofed on my Challenge MA15 and annotated: From this it looks like my matcase arrangement…
A Manual Punch for Monotype Ribbons
In the process of patching together the only ribbon I have for my Monotype, some of the holes have been blocked and needed to be re-punched. Furthermore, repairing the edges of the ribbon requires re-punching all the tractor holes. Finally,…
Monotype Display Mat Storage
The question came up recently on the Typecasting mailing list as to the best way of storing American-style display mats. These originally came in boxes with a slotted wood insert and a covering made of heavy cardboard covered with faux-leather…
Composition Casting Followup: Type Carrier Repair
While trying to do some composition casting last weekend I found that an internal part of my type carrier was broken, so I had to give this part a quick servicing. There aren’t actually that many internal parts to deal…
Composition Casting Followup: Nozzle Problems
During this weekend’s attempts at composition casting I had problems with type metal flow, both flowing where I don’t want it, and not flowing where I do want it. I had many problems with nozzle freeze. On each casting cycle,…
It Speaks! Well, mumbles, anyway…
I spent the weekend trying to do some composition casting on my Monotype caster, using the ribbon I had keypunched while I was at Mono U 8 last summer. By Sunday evening I had something I could take a proof…
Monotype Mould Signalling Lever
The Monotype caster has a small lever which is used to control the opening of the upper mould blade to produce low spaces. This lever is actuated by an arm that descends from the bridge, which in turn is controlled…
Cleaning the “Scissors” on a Monotype Display Mould
While waiting for other things to resolve themselves, I set out to clean the display mould that I has last used on my Monotype caster. This particular mould is an English-style display mould, which uses replaceable inserts to change body…
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