In addition to poor flow when open, the other shortcoming of my stock of surplus Matrix pneumatic valves is poor sealing (leakage) when operated in NC mode, where the shutter spring is the only force holding back the flow of…
Category: Letterpress
Measuring air valve shutters
Looking deeper into the poor airflow observed on my stock of surplus Matrix pneumatic valves, I did a subjective measurement of the airflow on each port, on a scale from 0 to 5, using a 20PSI supply. At zero, the…
Pneumatic valves for Monotype computer control
The most expensive and bulky aspect of making a system for computer control of the Monotype composition caster is the pneumatic solenoid valves. You need 31 valves, and they typically cost $30-$50 each. They are generally large enough that they…
Cleaning and refilling the Monotype pot
For the casting job I have coming up I want to use Monotype medium alloy (74/10/16% Pb/Sn/Sb) rather than the softer Linotype alloy (84/4/12%) currently in the pot, which I was using to cast spacing. To do this, I got…
More store rearranging
This week we had to get a fresh bale of bleached abaca pulp down from the upper tier of the racking in our store. This meant clearing a path for the forklift, which in turn meant moving almost everything. We…
Will the real Swing Bold please step forward
I’m getting ready to cast some 18-point Swing Bold (Monotype #217) for someone and I’ve found that my test casts don’t match the samples I received for alignment matching. Each group of 3 letters shows the alignment sample between two…
American pump on an English caster? Nope!
As part of test-fitting the parts for lead-and-rule casting, I found that there is a critical size difference between the American and English pump bodies. Both these pumps take a ⅞″ diameter piston. The section of the pump that the…
Converting the Composition Caster to Lead-and-Rule casting
One thing I would like to be able to do with my Monotype Composition Caster is to cast spacing and rule. There is a kit of parts required to make the change-over, and I now have most of the necessary…
18 Point Mould in Pieces Again
With my test casting using the American display mould set up for 18 points I found that the feet of the type were wider (pointwise) than the heads of the type. This was probably due to dirt being caught between…
Yesterday’s dumb move
In my last post I mentioned problems with flash and squirts around the seal between the matrix and the display mould. I have since added a comment alluding to the probable cause of this problem: Forgetting to reinstall the link…
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