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…
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…
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…
One part of my Challenge MA15 proof press that I cannot figure out is the lockup bar, used as a quick way of clamping the type in position on the bed. The bar has a locking lever which turns an…
The display matrices I had purchased in the recent Anderson auction were heavy enough that it would have cost several hundred dollars to ship them. Instead I took a couple of days to drive to Terra Alta, WV, to visit…
My first attempt at making a rubber mould of a Lanston display matrix ended up with a fatal flaw due to an air bubble. I made a second attempt, hoping to avoid repeating this flaw. The instructions for the casting…
This post was written on January 31st, but for some reason I forgot to actually publish it! This year’s mulberry branch harvest has been sitting in a bucket of water to keep it fresh, but it has also been sitting…
One thing I have wanted to try for a while was the duplication of a Lanston Monotype display matrix. It it probably not worth the trouble to copy an entire font of mats, but it would be useful for replacing…
Last Saturday the 36th annual Wayzgoose was held at the Grimsby Public Library and Art Gallery in Grimsby, Ontario. We were fortunate to have our sale table right next to the front door so we didn’t miss any visitors. Lily…
When I was fixing my Monotype caster to do some composition casting a few months ago, I broke the small pin wrench that I use for turning some of the adjustments on the caster. The wrench seemed to be too…
Proof presses are subjected to a lot of sideways forces when used, caused by the carriage hitting its stops at either end of its stroke. These can be reduced by slowing down near the end of the stroke, but there…