ii 
 
 SCHOOL 
 
STEREOTYPING 
 
 A PRACTICAL TREATISE OF ALL KNOWN METHODS 
 OF STEREOTYPING, WITH SPECIAL CONSIDERA- 
 TION OF THE PAPIER MACHE PROCESS 
 
 TV WHICH IS ADDED AN APPENDIX GIVING CONCISE 
 
 INFORMATION ON QUESTIONS MOST 
 
 FREQUENTLY OVERLOOKED 
 
 BY C. S. PARTRIDGE 
 
 \ 
 
 SECOND EDITION 
 Revised and Enlarged 
 
 A A A 
 
 CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 
 THE INLAND PRINTER Co. 
 1909 
 
SCHOOL 
 
 Copyright, 1892, 
 
 By C. S. Partridge, 
 
 Chicago. 
 
 Copyright, 1909, 
 
 The Inland Printer Co., 
 
 Chicago. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I. INTRODUCTION 7 
 
 II. THE FLONG 16 
 
 III. PREPARING THE FORM 26 
 
 IV. COLD PROCESS STEREOTYPING .... 48 
 V. CASTING 53 
 
 VI. SAWING 71 
 
 VII. SHAVING MACHIN-ES 81 
 
 VIII. TRIMMING 93 
 
 IX. ROUTING AND BEVELING 106 
 
 X. REVISING 113 
 
 XI. BLOCKING . 123 
 
 APPENDIX 134 
 
PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. 
 
 it QTEREOTYPING by the Papier-mache Process," 
 O by C. S. Partridge, first appeared in 1892, and at 
 once became a standard work for practical men, the 
 author being an experienced and practical stereotyper 
 and having an extensive acquaintance in the trade 
 through these qualifications. 
 
 This second edition of his work, revised by Mr. 
 Partridge, has been brought thoroughly up to date and 
 many features added to make it as helpful as possible 
 to the student and more experienced operative. 
 
 THE INLAND PRINTER CO. 
 CHICAGO, March, 1909. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE history of the practical application of 
 papier-mache stereotyping to newspaper work 
 covers a period of less than fifty years, but in that 
 brief time its influence has been felt all over the civi- 
 lized world. 
 
 The early experiments of Vanoni and Dellagana in 
 London, and of Charles Craske in New York, resulted 
 in. the adoption of the papier-mache process by the 
 London Times and the New York Tribune and Herald. 
 To-day every newspaper in the world recognizes the 
 value of the invention and makes practical use of its 
 products. 
 
 The rotary press, with its printing capacity of 
 50,000 sheets per hour, owes its existence to the papier- 
 mache process of stereotyping, whose flexible matrices 
 permit the casting of curved plates, whereby the print- 
 ing surfaces are transferred from the bed of the press 
 to the cylinder. The limited speed of a reciprocating 
 bed has thus been exchanged for the continuous revo- 
 
8 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 lutions of the plate cylinder, and the capacity of the 
 press increased a hundredfold. 
 
 Another important advantage of the papier-mache 
 stereotyping is found in the rapidity with which plates 
 may be reproduced for duplicate presses, thereby pro- 
 viding a means by which a number of presses may be 
 started almost simultaneously and the largest editions 
 of the metropolitan papers printed in a few hours. 
 
 Let the novice imagine himself in the office of a 
 great daily paper. The hour is midnight and an army 
 of compositors are " setting up " the forty pages of 
 matter for the next morning's edition. As fast as each 
 page is made ready it disappears down the elevator 
 shaft to the stereotyping room until at last only one 
 form remains to complete the paper. The hour is 
 growing late ; in thirty minutes 5,000 papers must be 
 printed and folded ready for the fast mail. 
 
 Let us follow this last form to the stereotype room. 
 As the electric bell rings announcing its arrival on the 
 stereotyping floor, two workmen, clad only in overalls 
 and sleeveless undershirts, quickly slide the form on 
 the bed of a rolling machine. One of them planes it 
 down, another oils it, and a third lays the prepared 
 flong on the type and covers it with a felt blanket. So 
 far but a fraction of a minute has been consumed, and 
 in thirty-five seconds more the form has been passed 
 forward and back under the roller. This last page 
 is a " news " page and has in it no large spaces to 
 require " packing," so it can be immediately covered 
 with half a dozen drying blankets and placed on the 
 steam press to dry. Two minutes are allowed to set the 
 matrix and then the form is withdrawn from the press 
 
STEREOTYPING. 9 
 
 and the matrix placed on the " scorcher." In one 
 minute more the matrix is dry, and quicker than the 
 time it takes to tell it the margins are trimmed and the 
 matrix adjusted in the auto-plate machine, which auto- 
 matically casts, shaves, trims and delivers ready for the 
 press curved stereotype plates at the rate of three to 
 four per minute. One after another, the huge presses 
 are started, and soon, with tremendous roar and din, 
 the full complement of machines are vomiting forth the 
 printed, folded and counted sheets, with a rapidity and 
 an accuracy of execution that seems little short of 
 miraculous. Compare one of these modern machines 
 with the printing-press of thirty years ago, and some 
 idea will be gained of what stereotyping has done for 
 the newspaper. 
 
 But it is not only the great metropolitan papers that 
 are indebted to the stereotyping art. Many a country 
 daily owes its existence to this same invention, and 
 nearly all the smaller dailies throughout the towns and 
 cities of the country are glad to avail themselves of the 
 advantages which it places within their reach. 
 
 Let us go, for instance, to the office of a plate- 
 supply house in Chicago. Here we may see enacted 
 many of the scenes which we have witnessed in the 
 newspaper office. The difference consists chiefly in the 
 fact that in the newspaper office sixty pages are often 
 prepared for a single paper, while here a single page is 
 prepared for a hundred papers. Early in the morning 
 the editors and compositors begin their work, and at 
 half past six the form is ready for the stereotypers. As 
 early as seven o'clock trains begin to depart from 
 Chicago for the principal towns and cities within a 
 
10 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 radius of two hundred miles and hundreds of columns 
 of telegraphic news plates must be ready for shipment 
 on these trains. 
 
 The method of molding the form does rot differ 
 materially from that employed in the newspaper office, 
 but the subsequent operations of casting and finishing 
 are somewhat more complicated, for here the plates are 
 cast flat instead of curved, and are afterward sawed 
 into single columns, trimmed on sides and ends, and an 
 angled recess or groove cut on their under surfaces to 
 provide a means for locking them to the bases in the 
 form. Notwithstanding the many operations necessary 
 in the finishing of these plates, modern machinery 
 makes it possible to turn out every forty seconds a 
 complete set of news plates finished ready for shipment. 
 The country daily is thus supplied with the news of the 
 day almost as promptly as its wealthy metropolitan 
 contemporaries. 
 
 Nor is the matter furnished to the press restricted to 
 news alone, as every variety of matter used in news- 
 papers may be procured in plate form at an expense 
 which seems trifling when compared with the cost 
 which would ensue to the publisher were he to attempt 
 to provide, single-handed, the same service. From an 
 educational point of view the benefit of this service is 
 really national, for thousands of pages of bright, fresh, 
 interesting and instructive reading matter are scattered 
 broadcast throughout the country, reaching every vil- 
 lage and hamlet, whose publications would otherwise 
 be restricted to the wealthier magazines and periodicals 
 which alone could afford the expense of purchasing 
 such matter for use in an individual publication. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 11 
 
 Stereotyping provides the advertiser with a cheap 
 and efficient method of reproducing advertising cuts, 
 and is particularly valuable to those who make regular 
 or occasional changes in their announcements, for by 
 employing the separate plate and base system any num- 
 ber of thin plate advertising cuts may be worked in 
 turn from a single base, thus effecting a material sav- 
 ing in metal and transportation charges. 
 
 The utility of stereotyping for the production of 
 book plates and jobwork of all descriptions is too well 
 known to need more than a passing reference. While 
 it is inferior to the electrotyping process for the pro- 
 duction of high-class work, yet the well-known expense 
 of the latter process and the fact that electrotype foun- 
 dries can be conducted with profit only in the larger 
 cities where the volume of work is sufficient to war- 
 rant the employment of a large number of men, are 
 arguments in favor of stereotyping for a large propor- 
 tion of the reproductions required by the news and job 
 printing-offices in the smaller cities and towns. 
 
 HISTORICAL. 
 
 It is not the purpose of this work to describe in 
 detail the plaster and clay methods of stereotyping, but 
 it may be stated in passing that the plaster process was 
 invented about the year 1725 by William Ged, a Scotch 
 goldsmith, and the clay process probably by a French- 
 man near the close of the same century. The use of 
 stereotype plates did not become general, however, 
 until the beginning of the present century. 
 
 The inventor of the papier-mache process is not 
 positively known, but the system undoubtedly origi- 
 
12 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 nated in France. In 1829 M. Genoud of Lyons took 
 out a patent which was evidently designed to cover this 
 method of stereotyping, and he is by some writers 
 credited with the invention ; but, according to Thomas 
 Bolas, member of the Society of Arts, London, Eng- 
 land, a similar process was employed by several per- 
 sons previous to that time. F. J. F. Wilson, another 
 English writer, states that the process was introduced 
 into England in 1846 by an Italian named Vanoni, 
 residing in France, and that it had been in use in 
 France for a short time previously. Mr. Wilson 
 implies that this was the first application of the paper 
 process in that country. That this is an error is shown 
 by the records of the English patent office. In January, 
 1840, six years previous to Vanoni's arrival in Eng- 
 land, a patent was granted to Moses Poole for 
 " Improvements in Casting for Printing Purposes," 
 which, judging from the description given, was fully 
 as practical as the methods employed by Vanoni. 
 Indeed, excepting improvements in the materials used 
 and also in the drying apparatus, by which the time for 
 drying the matrix has been reduced from two hours to 
 six minutes or less, the process described by Poole is 
 the same, practically, as that in use at the present time. 
 While Poole was the patentee of the process in 
 England, he did not claim to be the inventor, for he 
 states in his application that the invention was com- 
 municated to him by a foreigner residing abroad. As 
 the process was in use in France previous to the time of 
 Poole's patent, it may be supposed that he obtained his 
 information from a resident of that country, and pos- 
 sibly from Vanoni. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 13 
 
 The man most prominent in the development of 
 papier-mache stereotyping in its earlier history prob- 
 ably was James Dellagana, an Italian who became 
 familiar with the process in France, and who was 
 employed by the London Times to conduct a series of 
 experiments with the object of duplicating the forms 
 of that journal in order that additional presses might 
 be utilized for the printing of its rapidly increasing 
 edition. The first plates made for this purpose were 
 cast type-high, in single columns; later, in 1859, full 
 pages were cast in curved form to fit the cylinders of 
 the rotary presses in use at that time, and finally, in 
 1863, the casting of semi-cylindrical plates, which made 
 possible the success of the modern perfecting press, 
 was accomplished, and the problem of rapid newspaper 
 printing was solved. 
 
 In America the papier-mache process of stereotyp- 
 ing was introduced in 1851 by Mr. Charles Craske, wfio 
 was at that time a steel and copper plate engraver in 
 New York. In 1854 Mr. Craske made the first curved 
 plate for a Hoe rotary press in the office of the New 
 York Herald. The experiment did not prove entirely 
 successful, however, inasmuch as the process was not 
 permanently adopted at that time. But in 1861 Mr. 
 Craske made contracts, which he successfully carried 
 out, to stereotype the regular editions of the Tribune, 
 Times, Sun and Herald, and from that time the use 
 of stereotype plates in these offices has been continuous. 
 
 An important and constantly increasing business 
 which originated in England in 1858, but which has 
 found its highest development in this country, is the 
 manufacture, at central points, of stereotype plates of 
 
14 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 ready-set matter for the use of the newspaper press, by 
 which means the cost of composition is practically 
 divided among a large number of publishers. The 
 originator of this plan was Mr. Isaac Heyes, of Shef- 
 field, and it was developed into a lucrative business by 
 the National Press Association of London. The plates 
 sent out by that company were cast in single columns, 
 type-high and all metal. They were therefore quite 
 heavy and the cost of transportation soon became a 
 serious item of expense. 
 
 In August, 1871, B. B. Blackwell of New York 
 invented a stereotype plate which could be made in two 
 parts consisting of a block or base and a thin surface 
 plate so arranged that they could be readily separated 
 or locked together in the form. The advantage of this 
 plan was that the bases could be kept permanently in 
 the offices of the publishers, and after the first shipment 
 the surface plates only required transportation. The 
 saving thus effected in freight charges and in the quan- 
 tity of metal required to conduct a business of this kind 
 was very material. The utility of this form of plate 
 was at once recognized, and other devices having the 
 same object in view were patented in quick succession. 
 
 In America Mr. Blackwell was the first to engage 
 in the business of manufacturing stereotype plates for 
 the country press. He continued the business but a few 
 months and was followed by M. J. Hughes, of New 
 York, who manufactured a plate of his own invention. 
 Mr. Hughes shortly sold his patent to Damon & Peets, 
 of the same city, who developed a successful business 
 which they carried on without competition for several 
 years. They were followed by S. P. Rounds, A. N. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 15 
 
 Kellogg, The Chicago Stereotype Works, The Ameri- 
 can Press Association, and others. The present pro- 
 portions of the business are such that there are few 
 newspapers in this country or England, outside of the 
 metropolitan dailies, whose publishers do not make use 
 of ready-set matter in plate form. 
 
16 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE FLONG. 
 
 QTEREOTYPING is the art of duplicating, in solid 
 O metal, type or cuts composed for printing. 
 
 There are three methods of stereotyping : the Clay 
 process, the Plaster process, and the Papier-mache 
 process. Of these the two first named are practically 
 obsolete and a detailed description of them will be 
 omitted. 
 
 The processes in practical use are the ordinary 
 papier-mache and its modifications known as hot 
 methods, and several cold processes. 
 
 Strictly speaking, the term papier-mache is not 
 rightly used, but since it has come to be so well known 
 under this name, or as " The Hot Stereotyping Proc- 
 ess," and such usage having received practically uni- 
 versal sanction, it will be referred to under this name. 
 It is, however, interesting to glean from early technical 
 works dating back to 1809 the method of producing the 
 bona fide papier-mache. " This is a substance made of 
 cuttings of white or brown paper boiled in water, and 
 beaten in a mortar into a kind of paste, and then boiled 
 with a solution of gum arabic or of size to give tenacity 
 to the paste, which is afterward formed into different 
 toys, etc., by pressing it into oiled molds. When dry it 
 is done over with a mixture of size and lampblack, and 
 afterward varnished." The " size " referred to is a 
 
STEREOTYPING. 17 
 
 kind of glue that was made in those days by boiling in 
 water and straining shreds or parings of leather, parch- 
 ment or vellum. 
 
 The papier-mache process may be briefly described 
 as follows : 
 
 A few sheets of thin paper are soaked in water until 
 soft and then pasted together to form a flong. This 
 flong is beaten into a page of type and dried, thus 
 forming a matrix to receive the molten metal, which, 
 when cooled, becomes an exact duplicate of the type 
 page. 
 
 A large number of duplicate casts may be made 
 from the same matrix, either in flat form as required 
 for flat-bed presses, or curved to fit the cylinders of 
 rotary presses. 
 
 The advantages which the papier-mache process 
 possesses over the clay or plaster methods are the ease 
 and rapidity with which the matrix may be made, the 
 large number of casts that may be obtained from it, and 
 the flexibility of the matrix, which admits of its being 
 curved without injury to fit the semi-cylindrical casting 
 boxes in which stereotype plates for rotary presses are 
 cast. 
 
 The first step in the art of papier-mache stereotyp- 
 ing is the construction of the flong, which is accom- 
 plished by pasting together two sheets of soft, tough 
 matrix paper (which have been previously softened by 
 soaking in water) and four sheets of strong tissue 
 paper. 
 
 In the earlier days of stereotyping it was exceed- 
 ingly difficult to obtain paper combining the qualities 
 of softness and toughness, and it was only after 
 
18 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 repeated experiments that manufacturers succeeded in 
 producing, in the required degree, these most necessary 
 features. There are now, however, several mills in this 
 country and Europe which manufacture a special grade 
 of paper for the stereotyping trade. These papers are 
 not all alike, but vary in texture and weight to suit the 
 requirements of different kinds of work. In all matrix 
 papers, however, which are used in the brush method 
 of molding, it is essential that the fiber shall be long 
 and strong and yet soft and elastic. 
 
 It is the custom with most stereotypers to use two 
 kinds of matrix paper in the construction of the flong, 
 the sheet to which the tissues are pasted and the back- 
 ing paper, which is usually added to the flong after it 
 has been beaten into the form. 
 
 MATRIX PAPER. 
 
 To secure the best results with the least labor and 
 expense the matrix paper proper should weigh about 
 forty pounds to the ream, size 20 by 24 inches. A 
 lighter paper would be found difficult to make up with- 
 out tearing, and if much heavier it would require 
 unnecessary labor to beat it into the form. 
 
 The best weight for the second or backing sheet 
 depends upon the material used for filling in the spaces 
 or depressions in the back of the matrix. When 
 " backing powder " is employed for this purpose any 
 common, medium-weight paper will answer for the 
 back, for it does not require to be beaten into the form 
 and can therefore be less tough and elastic than the first 
 sheet. If, however, no backing powder or other filling 
 material is used for packing the spaces the backing 
 
STEREOTYPING. 19 
 
 paper should be about twice the weight of the first 
 sheet, and should also be of fair quality, as it must be 
 beaten into the type in order that perfect unison 
 between the back and the flong may be assured, par- 
 ticularly in the spaces where the greatest strength is 
 required. 
 
 The tissue paper used in the manufacture of the 
 flong is of two kinds, a heavy white and a fine, medium- 
 weight cream tissue. The cream tissue is made of rice 
 straw, is smooth and strong and must be free from pin- 
 holes or other defects. When both white and cream 
 tissues are used the white is laid on first, next to the 
 matrix paper, and the cream is used for facing. Usually 
 two sheets of each kind are employed, but the custom 
 varies in different offices, some stereotypers using three 
 sheets of white and one of cream, and others using one 
 of white and three of cream. 
 
 STEREOTYPERS' PASTE. 
 
 Stereotypers' paste for uniting the different sheets 
 of paper in the flong may be made in a variety of ways, 
 few workmen using exactly the same recipe. All 
 pastes, however, contain practically the same chemical 
 ingredients, although they may vary in proportions. 
 The materials most commonly employed are starch, 
 glue, a mineral or chalk and a preservative. 
 
 A good paste may be made of starch and flour, but 
 the addition of a proper proportion of glue and a min- 
 eral filler give it a desirable paintlike quality of forming 
 a skin or film on the surface of the paper instead of 
 soaking into it, as flour paste will do. To preserve the 
 paste from fermentation, alum, carbolic acid, oxalic 
 
20 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 acid or essential oils are employed. When the mineral 
 ingredient is added to the paste after it is cooked, alum 
 is found to be the best preservative, but when the 
 mineral is cooked with the other ingredients carbolic 
 acid should be employed, because alum, when mixed 
 with alkalis in water, creates a chemical disturbance 
 which impairs the adhesive qualities of the paste. 
 
 A great variety of materials are used by different 
 stereotypers in the manufacture of paste, among which 
 may be mentioned wheat flour, rye flour, farina ; corn 
 starch, potato starch, arrow root; glue, gelatin, gum 
 arabic, gum acacia, dextrin; china clay, kaolin, paris 
 white, barytes, ocher, litharge and zinc white. 
 
 It will be noticed that these substances virtually are 
 equivalents of those first mentioned, and possess no 
 special advantages over them. A dozen or more recipes 
 might be given, in which these different materials and 
 the proportions employed could be varied to a consider- 
 able extent. 
 
 Following is a paste recipe which has been used 1 by 
 the writer with uniform success: Two and one-half 
 pounds Oswego starch (corn flour) ; one-half pound 
 flour (wheat flour) ; six ounces dextrin. Dissolve in 
 10 quarts of cold water and add one ounce powdered 
 alum. Cook (in a steam- jacketed kettle if possible) 
 until the mixture boils thick. This paste may prefer- 
 ably be used without the addition of whiting or other 
 flour. 
 
 Stereotype paste is sometimes cooked by means of 
 steam introduced directly into the vessel containing the 
 materials. In this case some of the steam is condensed 
 and adds to the quantity of water in the paste. It is 
 
STEREOTYPING. 21 
 
 obvious that when paste is cooked in this way less water 
 will be required than when it is cooked over a fire* or 
 by means of a water bath. How much less depends on 
 the dryness of the steam used? This is a point not 
 easily determined, and it is more satisfactory, there- 
 fore, to do the cooking over a gas stove, unless a large 
 quantity is required, in which case a copper kettle sur- 
 rounded by a steam jacket will be found convenient. 
 
 While the paste should never be overcooked, yet it 
 is important that it should be cooked thoroughly that 
 is, the entire quantity should come to a boil. In a 
 steam-jacketed kettle the mixture will boil first around 
 the edges of the kettle ; hence to insure thorough cook- 
 ing, it should be allowed to boil three or four minutes 
 after the first indications of boiling are seen. Whether 
 the paste is cooked by a steam jet or in a steam kettle 
 it should be stirred continually, both to prevent lump- 
 ing and to insure thorough mixture and assimilation of 
 the materials. When cool, the paste should be of the 
 consistency of thick cream. If too thick to spread 
 easily a little water may be added, but it is not advis- 
 able to add more than a very small quantity, as the 
 adhesiveness of the paste will be thereby impaired. 
 
 PASTE RECIPES. 
 
 Here are several recipes for stereotypers' paste, all 
 of which are recommended by practical men: 6 l / 2 
 pounds of Oswego starch, 2.^/2 pounds of flour in 6 gal- 
 lons of water. Then add 12 ounces of common glue, 
 previously dissolved in 2 quarts of water, and 2 ounces 
 of powdered alum. Cook until the mixture boils thick. 
 
 The British Printer recommends the following: 
 
22 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 Dextrin, I pound ; flour, J^ pound ; starch, I pound ; 
 glire, y* pound ; whiting, 2. pounds ; water, 5 quarts, 
 and a few drops of carbolic acid. First dissolve the 
 dextrin in about a quart of boiling water, stirring until 
 a stiff, gummy solution is obtained. Having made the 
 starch into a paste by the addition of cold water, the 
 resulting thick liquid is poured into the dextrin while it 
 is still boiling. The paste and dextrin together should 
 thicken almost immediately. Stir well, and after a 
 short time treat the flour exactly as the starch and add 
 the compound in a cold state. Having arrived so far, 
 add the glue soaked over night and reduced to thick 
 liquid form and continue stirring. The whiting is 
 next taken in hand. This is crushed to a fine powder 
 by the addition of cold water, converted to a thick paste, 
 and in its turn added to the ingredients in the pot. The 
 carbolic acid is added last. 
 
 Here is one more : 10 ounces of gum arabic dis- 
 solved in i l / 2 pints of water; 4^ ounces of flour; 4 
 ounces of starch ; 5^ ounces of china clay in \ l / 2 pints 
 of water. Mix together and simmer over a slow fire. 
 Do not let it boil. 
 
 ROLLER-PROCESS FLONGS. 
 
 Flongs designed for the roller process of molding 
 require a different paste and a softer paper than is used 
 for the brush process. Usually two sheets of very thin 
 blotting paper are pasted together and interlaid between 
 the heavy blotter and the tissue paper. 
 
 Here are two recipes for roller paste : 3 pounds of 
 wheat flour and 4 quarts of water. Mix until all lumps 
 are out of the flour. Have this in one pan. In another 
 
STEREOTYPING. 23 
 
 pan 12 ounces of starch and 3 ounces of carbolic acid 
 and 2 quarts of water. Stir until the acid and the 
 starch are dissolved. Mix all the contents of both pans 
 together and boil until the paste will run in a string 
 from a stick ; when cool keep in earthenware jar. This 
 is a stock mixture which is used in making two kinds 
 of adhesives, as follows : For back paste, take 2 pounds 
 of the stock mixture, 5 ounces of whiting, and 2 ounces 
 of dextrin. Mix together well, add water enough to 
 thin to suit, then pass through a sieve. For the face or 
 tissue paste, take 2 pounds of the stock mixture and 
 2 ounces of whiting. Mix thoroughly, add water to 
 thin and also pass through a sieve. If the tissue sheets 
 do not stick well the paste is too thick ; thin with gum 
 water made by dissolving two ounces of gum arabic in 
 one quart of water. A second roller paste recipe is as 
 follows : 15 pounds of bolted whiting and 5 pounds of 
 Oswego starch, known abroad as corn flour, in 22 
 quarts of water. The paste should boil slowly, with 
 constant stirring, for ten or fifteen minutes. A little 
 carbolic acid may be added to preserve the ingredients. 
 Another roller paste recipe calls for the mixture of 
 i l /t pounds of starch, 2,^/2 pounds of gilders' whiting 
 and 3% pounds of dextriri in water, and cooking as in 
 the previous instance. 
 
 PASTE SIEVE AND SIEVE BRUSH. 
 
 The sieve and brush used in preparing the paste are 
 manufactured specially for the purpose, the former 
 being in the form of a basin with sieve bottom, secured 
 in a wooden frame so that the sifted paste will, fall into 
 another basin beneath. The brush is circular in form, 
 
24 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 made of stiff bristles and provided with a handle to 
 facilitate its operation. Both sieve and brush should 
 be thoroughly washed as soon as possible after using, 
 as it is no easy matter to clean them after the paste 
 has dried. 
 
 PASTE SIEVE. 
 
 SIEVE BRUSH. 
 
 PREPARING MATRIX PAPER. 
 
 Matrix paper, before it is made up, should be 
 softened by soaking in water. For this purpose a zinc- 
 lined sink, provided with a waste pipe and a stopcock, 
 is usually employed. Sufficient paper for the next 
 day's use is placed in the sink and covered with a flat 
 plate of brass, zinc or stereotype metal. The sink is 
 then filled with water and the paper left to soak until 
 needed, when it is placed on a table or flat plate and 
 the superfluous water removed by rolling over it a 
 heavy cylinder of wood or metal. One sheet of the 
 paper is then laid on a smooth stone or iron-topped 
 table and covered with a thin layer of paste, which is 
 
STEREOTYPING. 25 
 
 well rubbed in with the brush. A sheet of tissue is then 
 laid on, one end being held up by an assistant to prevent 
 contact with the pasted sheet, and with the hand or an 
 iron rolling-pin the operator smoothes or rolls the 
 tissue into perfect contact with the matrix paper, taking 
 care to prevent the tissue from wrinkling. A little 
 more paste is then spread on the tissue thus laid, a 
 second sheet of paper added in the same manner, and 
 so on until four sheets of tissue have been laid and the 
 flong is completed. A second sheet of matrix paper is 
 
 PASTE BRUSH. 
 
 now laid on top of the first flong, and a second flong 
 constructed in the same manner as the first. When the 
 required number of flongs have been made they are 
 placed under a wet blanket to prevent evaporation, and 
 may be used at once or kept several days, provided the 
 blankets be dampened occasionally. 
 
26 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 PREPARING THE FORM. 
 
 TYPE or cuts which are to be stereotyped should 
 be clean, carefully justified and surrounded by 
 type-high bearers. When type is made up in full pages, 
 for newspaper work, it is customary to employ type- 
 high chases, with type-high foot and side sticks, the 
 latter being made wedge-shaped to provide a means for 
 locking up the form. A hardened steel screw passes 
 through a threaded hole in the lower end or foot of the 
 chase opposite the larger end of one of the wedge- 
 shaped side sticks, which, being operated by a socket 
 wrench, serves to force the wedges together, thus lock- 
 ing the form in the direction of its width, while addi- 
 tional screws, impinging against the foot stick, serve to 
 complete the lock-up. 
 
 It is sometimes a matter of difficulty to unlock the 
 side sticks. To overcome this difficulty some manu- 
 facturers of chases recess the end of the wedge, turn a 
 shoulder on the end of the screw, and then, by means 
 of a split collar, secured to the side stick, the screw is 
 made to operate both ways, drawing the wedge out as 
 well as forcing it into position. When this is not done 
 it is necessary to loosen the wedge by driving, and in 
 this case a piece of soft metal should be placed against 
 the small end of the wedge to receive the blow of the 
 mallet and protect the side stick from injury. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 27 
 
 The upper inside corner of the chase and also of the 
 foot and side sticks is beveled to provide a recess into 
 which the matrix may be driven to form a bolster or 
 ridge on the mold, which ridge in turn forms a recess 
 in the stereotype cast, along the sides and ends of the 
 plate, thus obviating the necessity of chiseling or trim- 
 ming away the metal which would otherwise appear so 
 close to the column as to blacken in printing. 
 
 In book and job work, where the type is locked up 
 in ordinary low chases, the type-high bearers with 
 which it is necessary to surround the type should also 
 be beveled. 
 
 When the form has been made ready for the molder 
 it should be carefully examined to see that all leads, 
 quadrats and rules are down and that the face of the 
 form is clean. If type or cuts are dirty they should be 
 cleaned with benzine, and the form planed or smoothed 
 
 OIL OR CHALK BRUSH. 
 
 down and brushed lightly with oil to prevent the flong 
 from adhering to it. The oil employed for this purpose 
 should be free from dirt and sticky ingredients. What 
 is called headlight oil is best, as it is thin and clean and 
 but very little is required to accomplish the desired 
 object. A heavy oil will cause the types to stick 
 together, making unnecessary annoyance and trouble 
 for the compositor in distributing. The brush used for 
 oiling the form is a soft goat's hair, about 4 inches long 
 
28 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 by 2.^/2 inches wide. In order that the oil may be evenly 
 distributed, a few drops are poured on a tin plate, from 
 which it is taken up by the brush and applied to the type 
 without depositing an undue quantity in any one spot. 
 
 CAUSE OF " HIGH TYPE." 
 
 Type-metal, like most other metals, is subject to 
 expansion by heat, and in this fact is found the prin- 
 cipal disadvantage of papier-mache stereotyping, for 
 unless suitable precautions are taken to prevent it, the 
 
 BEATING TABLE. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 29 
 
 expansion is likely to be uneven and the type may 
 therefore be seriously injured or even ruined. When a 
 form of type is locked tightly in a solid iron chase and 
 subjected to the heat of the drying press it immediately 
 begins to expand. The chase being of a different and 
 harder metal does not expand to the same extent as the 
 type, and the latter being rigidly confined by the chase 
 is subjected to an enormous squeeze which results in 
 " high type." In other words, the expansion of the 
 type in a lateral direction being prevented by the con- 
 finement of the chase, it is forced to expand in a ver- 
 tical direction, and as the softer types are most affected 
 by the heat the page soon becomes uneven and eventu- 
 ally is ruined. If, however, type is allowed to expand 
 without restriction in both directions, it will contract in 
 cooling to its original dimensions and the injury result- 
 ing from continual heating and cooling will be limited 
 to a gradual destruction of the " life " of the metal, 
 which results finally in brittle or " rotten " type. But 
 this injury is so gradual and the type so evenly affected 
 that it is of comparatively little consequence. The 
 problem is to provide a means of locking the form in 
 such a manner that it shall not be so rigidly confined as 
 to prevent normal or natural expansion. 
 
 DEVICES TO ALLOW EXPANSION OF TYPE. 
 
 With this object in view, a device has been patented 
 by a St. Louis pressman which consists of side and foot 
 sticks provided with springs, which respond to the 
 pressure of the expanding type, thus relieving it to 
 some extent from the squeeze incident to confinement 
 in a rigid chase. This device is said to have given satis- 
 
30 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 factory results, but there is a simpler and less expen- 
 sive plan for accomplishing the same object. This 
 method has been employed by the author for a great 
 many years and its success may be judged from the 
 fact that a dress of type which has been in use for over 
 a year, during which time it has been subjected to the 
 heat of the steam tables from eight to twelve times a 
 day with a steam pressure of eighty pounds (about 312 
 F.), contains no high letters. The plan pursued is very 
 simple and consists in placing a strip of pine wood one- 
 fourth of an inch thick between the side sticks and the 
 chase and between the foot stick and the type, for the 
 purpose of providing an elastic medium to receive the 
 pressure of the expanding type. 
 
 LOCKING FORMS TOO TIGHT. 
 
 As a further precaution, great care should be 
 observed not to lock tighter than is absolutely neces- 
 sary. This latter point is one which should always be 
 strictly observed. The power exerted by the finely 
 threaded screws upon the wedge-shaped side sticks is 
 enormous, and it is safe to say that in a large majority 
 of cases newspaper forms are locked too tight. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF DRYING BEFORE MOLDING. 
 
 It is customary for newspaper stereotypers to slide 
 the forms onto the steam table, unlock them, plane 
 them down and partially dry the water out of them 
 before molding them. Unless this is done all the water 
 in the type must go through the flong before the latter 
 begins to dry, which not only delays the drying, but 
 often causes the matrix to blister on the spaces. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 31 
 
 UNLOCK AND PLANE ALL FORMS. 
 
 When forms contain so little water that they do not 
 require to be thus. dried, they should nevertheless be 
 unlocked by the stereotyper, carefully planed down, 
 and then relocked with just sufficient pressure to 
 " lift." As a still further precaution it is advisable to 
 slightly loosen the screws after the form is in the press. 
 When this is done it is of course necessary to tighten 
 them again before the form is lifted. 
 
 BEATING BRUSHES. 
 
 Beating brushes should be made of extra long Rus- 
 sian bristles, set securely in a heavy hard wood back. 
 The best quality is the cheapest, and great care should 
 be observed in selecting them. The cost of the bristles 
 
 BEATING BRUSH. 
 
 is so high that unscrupulous makers do not hesitate to 
 mix with them bristles of an inferior quality, or even 
 split whalebone. A good brush will cost $6 or more, 
 but will outlast two cheap brushes and will always per- 
 form better work. 
 
 MOLDING. 
 
 The form having been dried, loosened, planed down 
 and oiled, is ready for molding. A piece of flong some- 
 what larger than the form is laid, tissue side down, on 
 
32 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 the type and carefully and evenly beaten into the type 
 until the proper depth is obtained. Care must be taken 
 to make the blows of the brush even and flat. If the 
 beating is done with one end or one side of the brush 
 there will be great danger of tearing the flong. It 
 usually requires considerable practice to make a good 
 mold, but fairly good results may be obtained by the 
 amateur if reasonable care be exercised. The expert 
 molder judges the depth of the matrix by its color. 
 As the paper is beaten into the form it becomes thin and 
 the type shows dark through it. This color is also a 
 guide to determine the evenness of the impression, for 
 if the matrix is dark in one spot and light in another it 
 is evident that it is of uneven depth. If the molder is 
 not sufficiently experienced to be guided by the color in 
 determining the proper depth of the mold, he may raise 
 a corner of the matrix from the form and examine it, 
 provided the portion so raised be carefully replaced and 
 again beaten lightly with the brush, to avoid the danger 
 of " doubling." 
 
 It is much better to strike a large number of light 
 blows with the brush than a less number of heavy 
 blows, for unless the operator is an expert a heavy blow 
 will be liable to split the flong, and moreover, light 
 blows often repeated will drive the flong into the bowls 
 or counters of the types, where depth of impression is 
 most desired, while the heavy blow drives the flong 
 down between the lines of type rather than into the 
 bowls, thereby forming ridges on the face of the matrix 
 which not only give it a rough appearance, but which 
 are apt to become imbedded in the metal cast and torn 
 out, thus injuring or destroying the matrix. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 33 
 
 PACKING THE MATRIX. 
 
 After the beating is completed the depressions in 
 the back of the matrix which have been formed by beat- 
 ing the flong down into the spaces between the para- 
 graphs or display lines should be " packed " in order 
 to give the matrix sufficient rigidity at these points to 
 withstand the weight of metal in the cast, otherwise the 
 metal when poured upon the face of the matrix would 
 force the spaces back level with the face of the type and 
 it would then become necessary to chisel or rout them 
 down to a depth sufficient to prevent blacking or 
 smutting the printed page. As such chiseling or rout- 
 ing is tedious and laborious work, it is obvious that a 
 little care expended in packing the matrix will save 
 much time and labor in the later operations of finish- 
 ing ; and this is especially true when a number of dupli- 
 cate casts are taken from the same matrix, for the time 
 required to pack the matrix need be expended but once, 
 whereas, each of the faulty duplicate casts would 
 require to be routed, every defect in the mold appear- 
 ing, of course, in every cast made from that mold. It 
 is important, therefore, that every precaution be taken 
 by the molder to make the matrix as perfect as possible. 
 
 BACKING COMPOUNDS. 
 
 The material used for packing the spaces may be 
 pieces of old matrices, strawboard or felt, a putty made 
 of marble dust and paste or, better than these, a com- 
 pound in the form of powder, which may be readily 
 spread over the matrix. These backing compounds 
 may be procured of dealers in stereotypers' supplies, or 
 
34 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 may be manufactured by the workmen. The ingredi- 
 ents employed are usually lime and flour, intimately 
 mixed and sifted, which, when moistened by the steam 
 arising from the form and matrix, and the subsequent 
 
 STEAM DRYING PRKSS. 
 
 drying, become a cement hard as stone. As few stere- 
 otypers have the necessary facilities for mixing the 
 materials properly, it is usually cheaper and much more 
 convenient and satisfactory to purchase the prepared 
 compound. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 35 
 
 When pieces of matrix or strawboard are employed 
 for packing they should be cut into pieces somewhat 
 smaller than the spaces they are designed to fill, in 
 order that the ridges or raised places formed by them 
 on the face of the matrix shall not be too sharply 
 defined, thereby offering an opportunity for the metal 
 to become attached to the matrix. 
 
 When the powdered packing compound is employed 
 a quantity somewhat larger than is required to do the 
 work is poured on the matrix, and with a straight edge 
 of rubber, wood or strawboard, it is spread back and 
 forth over the matrix until all the depressions are 
 evenly filled. The superfluous powder is then scraped 
 and blown off and a dampened and pasted sheet of 
 backing paper is laid over it, care being taken not to 
 disturb the powder. 
 
 The form is now covered with from four to eight 
 thicknesses of soft blankets and placed under the platen 
 of the steam drying press. The pressure of the platen 
 should be sufficient to hold the matrix in perfect con- 
 tact with the type while it is drying, and also to crowd 
 the matrix down into all the spaces ; or, in other words, 
 keep the matrix stretched, thereby preventing wrink- 
 ling, but excessive pressure should be avoided, particu- 
 larly on small forms. When the blankets are new the 
 press should be tightened several times during the dry- 
 ing process, as they will pack much tighter after having 
 absorbed water. 
 
 DRYING THE MATRIX. 
 
 The time required to dry the matrix depends upon 
 the nature of the form and the dryness of the steam 
 
36 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 furnished to the press. A form which is reasonably 
 free from water and contains no wood-backed cuts 
 should dry in six or seven minutes, with sixty or eighty 
 pounds of steam pressure (293 to 312 F.). Wood- 
 backed cuts retard the drying materially, as the heat 
 from the press must pass through the wood before it 
 can affect the matrix, and as wood is a nonconductor 
 
 STEAM DRYING PRESS WITH GAS-HEATED STEAM GENERATOR. 
 
 of heat it naturally follows that a long time is required 
 to heat the matrix sufficiently to thoroughly dry it. It 
 is poor policy to place such cuts in forms which are to 
 be stereotyped, for the work is not only delayed thereby, 
 
STEREOTYPING. 37 
 
 but the type in the same forms is subjected to the heat 
 of the press for a much longer time than would other- 
 wise be necessary. The steam table, or steam press, is 
 a closed iron box, oblong in shape and mounted on legs 
 of a sufficient height to bring the upper surface of the 
 table on a level with the beating table. The upper sur- 
 face of the press is machined perfectly flat and smooth, 
 and extending over half its length is an iron platen 
 which is raised and lowered by a screw passing through 
 a yoke which is bolted to the sides of the table. To the 
 upper end of the screw a large hand wheel is keyed, by 
 means of which a sufficient pressure may be exerted on 
 the platen to crowd the soft blankets with which the 
 form is covered into all the depressions of the matrix, 
 making the spaces or raised portions smooth and 
 rounded and holding the matrix in rigid contact with 
 the type, thereby preventing its natural tendency to 
 shrink in drying. 
 
 BLANKETS. 
 
 The blankets used for this purpose should be 
 neither too coarse nor too fine. If too coarse the 
 impress of the web on .the matrix will appear on the 
 reverse side, distorting or destroying the accuracy of 
 the reproduction. Moreover, such blankets are not 
 sufficiently absorbent to hold the moisture evaporated 
 from the form. A thick, soft, medium-priced blanket 
 is most economical and satisfactory. When such blank- 
 ets become hardened by use they may be washed, dried 
 and used over again several times before they will lose 
 their elastic and absorbent qualities. 
 
 Blankets specially designed for this purpose may 
 
38 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 now be purchased of manufacturers and dealers. They 
 somewhat resemble printing-press impression blankets, 
 but are thicker and coarser. The blankets should be 
 thick enough to absorb all the moisture from the form 
 and matrix as it is released, in the form of steam, by 
 the heat of the steam press. 
 
 When the matrix has been thoroughly dried the 
 pressure of the platen is released and the form with- 
 
 ROLLING MACHINE. 
 
 drawn from the steam press. The matrix is now care- 
 fully removed from the type, the edges trimmed with a 
 pair of shears, taking care to leave sufficient margin to 
 go under the gages of the casting box to prevent the 
 metal from flowing behind the matrix. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 39 
 
 HADAWAY ELECTRIC MATRIX DRIER. 
 
 The Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Com- 
 pany are the selling agents for this device, and make 
 the following statement : 
 
 " In the modern newspaper office time is of great 
 importance, particularly in the production of the fre- 
 quent editions of the afternoon papers. These papers 
 find it necessary to get out editions at close intervals 
 and unexpected events are liable to entail sudden and 
 radical changes in the make-up. Each change in the 
 make-up of a page requires a stereotype matrix from 
 which the plates for the presses are cast. The sport- 
 ing edition, in particular, is a source of daily trial and 
 worry. The prestige of being first on the street with 
 the complete record of the sporting events of the day 
 is an asset of value, and each paper strains every nerve 
 in this race against time. In the morning paper office 
 the work is scheduled so that the paper can be dis- 
 tributed in time to. meet the workers on their way to 
 their daily tasks. Transportation conditions, the 
 weather, etc., must all be taken into account, and the 
 forms must be held open until the last minute. A 
 specially desirable story arriving at the last minute is 
 liable to shatter the regular routine, and then the time 
 of going to press is held back to the last minute. 
 
 " Owing to this daily race with time the newspaper 
 offices are the most progressive in the world. The 
 pressroom and the composing-room have been speeded 
 up by the use of the most modern machinery. The 
 casting of the stereotype plates is done by an automatic 
 machine that finishes them ready for the press. The 
 making of the matrix for these plates has remained 
 
40 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 the longest step in the process, owing to the time 
 
 required to dry out the matrix. This takes several 
 minutes. 
 
 HADAWAY ELECTRIC MATRIX DRIER. 
 
 " Steam and gas heated matrix driers have been, 
 heretofore, the only matrix driers which successfully 
 withstood the service in newspaper offices. A number 
 of attempts have been made to increase the speed at 
 which matrices could be dried out, including attempts 
 
STEREOTYPING. 41 
 
 to apply electric heat to the process. Owing to the 
 localization of the heating element so as to transmit 
 the heat directly to the type and matrix, it was evi- 
 dent that this method would be more rapid than any 
 other. A number of efforts were made to perfect the 
 electrically heated matrix drier, but it was not until 
 three years ago that this method was demonstrated to 
 be a commercial success. 
 
 " In order to understand the difficulties to be over- 
 come, it is necessary to consider that the matrix should 
 be completely dried in from three to five minutes. This 
 requires an excessively high working temperature. 
 When the attempt was made to work with the high 
 temperatures on a steam or gas heated matrix drier, 
 the type or slugs were damaged. The beds of these 
 presses were made as thin as practicable in order to 
 transmit the heat rapidly. This made it necessary to 
 raise them to an exceedingly high temperature so that 
 they would be able to heat the type rapidly. In prac- 
 tice it was found that in order to cut down the time 
 of drying the matrix, these beds had to be heated to a 
 temperature that caused serious damage to the type. 
 Mr. W. S. Hadaway, of the Hadaway Electric Heat- 
 ing & Engineering Company, New York city, has 
 made a close study of this matter, and in 1905 this 
 company placed its first installation of electrically 
 heated matrix driers in the Government Printing 
 Office, Washington. Since then several very success- 
 ful installations have been made, and the time for 
 thoroughly drying a matrix has been reduced to less 
 than three minutes in an installation of matrix driers 
 at the plant of the Philadelphia Bulletin. This record 
 
42 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 is made by a Hadaway heater. These driers are 
 equipped with safeguards to prevent their overheating, 
 and in spite of their high working temperature cause 
 no damage to the Linotype slugs. The ability to main- 
 tain a high working temperature in the Hadaway 
 matrix drier arises from the heavy cast-iron bedplate 
 in which the heating element is hermetically sealed. 
 This bed acts as a thermal- storage reservoir and its 
 upper surface is maintained at a very high heat by the 
 heating element embedded just below this surface. The 
 comparatively cool form rapidly absorbs this surface 
 heat and is quickly raised to a temperature sufficient to 
 thoroughly dry out the matrix in a trifle less than three 
 minutes, or in from one-third to one-half the time 
 required by steam or gas heated matrix driers." 
 
 THE MOLDING MACHINE. 
 
 The Rolling Machine or Molding Machine was 
 invented by James Delegana in 1861. It consists of 
 two heavy cast-iron cylinders, mounted in a suitable 
 frame, one above the other. The ends of the upper roll 
 are provided with gear wheels which engage the racks 
 of a bed traveling between the rolls. The shaft of the 
 upper roll extends beyond the frame of the machine 
 and terminates in a worm wheel which is driven by a 
 worm supported by brackets attached to the side frame. 
 By means of tight and loose pulleys on the worm shaft, 
 and suitable mechanism for shifting the belts, the roll 
 may be made to revolve in either direction, thus moving 
 the bed forward or back at the will of the operator. 
 The purpose of the machine is to utilize steam power 
 to perform the laborious work of molding. In opera- 
 
STEREOTYPING. 43 
 
 tion the form is slid onto the bed of the machine and 
 there made ready for molding in the usual manner. 
 The flong is laid on and covered with a thick felt 
 blanket, and the form passed through the rolls and 
 back again. The depressions in the matrix are then 
 packed and the form dried in the usual manner. 
 
 EFFICIENCY OF MACHINE MOLDS. 
 
 The difficulty with machine molds seems always to 
 have been either lack of depth, particularly in the bowls 
 of the type, or lack of sharpness of impression. It was 
 found that the flong as ordinarily made for the brush 
 process were not suitable for the machine because there 
 was so much water in the paste and paper that it was 
 forced through the flong by the pressure of the roller, 
 making the surface of the matrix rough and uneven; 
 and, to add to the vexation, the paste soaked into the 
 paper, making the flong hard and difficult to impress. 
 To overcome these difficulties various compositions 
 have been tried, one of which has for one of its ingre- 
 dients an acid which acts on the paper as a solvent, 
 reducing it to a semi-pulpous condition. In this state 
 the flong is easily impressed, but the depth so gained 
 is largely at the expense of sharpness of impression, 
 due to the paper being reduced by the solvent to a 
 mushy condition. A better method of obtaining the 
 necessary depth, and one which will not destroy or 
 change the nature of the paper, may be found in the 
 use of a paste which, instead of soaking into the paper, 
 will form a coating on its surface, thereby giving to the 
 flong a somewhat waxlike quality which insures a suffi- 
 cient depth of impression without subjecting the type to 
 
44 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 injurious pressure from the roller. There are various 
 recipes for a paste which would fill the requirements 
 noted, but the essential feature of all is the employment 
 of as large a proportion as possible of a mineral or 
 chalk ingredient. A composition which will be found 
 in every way satisfactory is described in Chapter II. 
 This paste may be used with ordinary matrix paper, 
 but is best adapted to use in connection with a softer 
 quality of paper, such as is made especially for the pur- 
 pose by several paper mills in this country. 
 
 The impression blanket used on the machine should 
 be of extra heavy felt, and to insure good work must 
 be kept dry. It is advisable, therefore, to have on hand 
 a sufficient number of blankets so that it may not be 
 necessary to use one a second time before it has been 
 dried. An extra heavy press blanket may be made to 
 answer for the machine work, but it is better to use the 
 special blankets which are now made for the purpose, 
 as they are nearly or quite double the thickness of a 
 press blanket, and therefore admit of a deeper impres- 
 sion and are a better protection to the type. 
 
 An improved Rolling Machine, invented about 1890, 
 has a device for quickly adjusting the impression of the 
 roller so that the pressure may be increased, if desired, 
 between the reciprocations of the bed plate. This 
 machine is designed for the production of an extra deep 
 matrix such as is required for the production of flat 
 stereotype plates which are worked on presses carrying 
 soft impression blankets, and which, if shallow, would 
 be apt to smut the paper. 
 
 The improved machine differs from the ordinary 
 machine in the important respect that the journal bear- 
 
STEREOTYPING. 45 
 
 ings of the upper cylinder rest upon spiral springs of 
 sufficient strength to raise the cylinder vertically away 
 from the bed plate, except when held down by screws 
 which impinge against the upper surface of the bear- 
 ings. These screws are provided with lever handles 
 which are connected by a cross piece pivoted to them, 
 so that the workman, by moving the cross piece to the 
 right or left, operates the screws over the bearings of 
 both ends of the cylinder simultaneously, and thereby 
 depresses or raises the cylinder at will. 
 
 In operation, the form is passed under the roller in 
 the usual manner ; the cross piece is then moved a few 
 inches to the left, thus lowering the cylinder slightly, 
 and the form returned under the roller ; then if a still 
 greater depth is desired, the cross piece is moved sev- 
 eral inches to the right, the back laid on the matrix, and 
 the form again passed under the roller, and, before it 
 is returned, the cylinder is once more depressed. In 
 this manner four distinct squeezes are given to the 
 matrix, thus producing a depth which it would be 
 impossible to obtain with a single impression, and 
 assuring the additional advantage of producing perfect 
 adhesion between the matrix and the back. It is also 
 found that matrices made in this way require no pack- 
 ing except in large places, as the different impressions 
 crowd the flong effectually into the depressions of the 
 form and give to the spaces a curve and consequently a 
 strength sufficient to resist the weight of the metal. 
 
 THE SCHREINER MOLDING AND DRYING MACHINE. 
 
 A more recent invention along this line is called a 
 rapid matrix maker, but perhaps a more accurate name 
 
46 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 would be a rapid matrix molding and drying machine, 
 as it takes the flong at the time when it is ready to be 
 beaten or rolled into the form. 
 
 The device consists of a steam-heated bed like that 
 of an ordinary steam table, upon which is mounted a 
 
 IBHMPP^ 
 
 SCHREINER MATRIX-MAKING MACHINE. 
 
 cylinder bearing upon its face a series of cones, which 
 operate upon a corresponding series of bars which form 
 what may be termed a sectional platen. 
 
 The form upon which a flong has been placed, on 
 which suitable blankets are laid, is placed under the 
 sectional platen, the power is then applied which causes 
 the cylinder to revolve and brings the central cam, 
 
STEREOTYPING. 47 
 
 which is longer than the others, into contact with an 
 anti-friction roller on top of the central section of the 
 platen and forces it down on to the blanket and 
 impresses the flong into the form. 
 
 This in turn is followed by similar action by the 
 other cams upon each side of the center, until the pres- 
 sure is evenly applied to all the sections covering the 
 form. The power is then automatically stopped and 
 the pressure allowed to continue until the flong or 
 matrix is thoroughly dried. This takes from two to 
 three minutes, which is a great saving over the average 
 time of molding and drying the matrix. 
 
 With this machine one handling of the form covers 
 the whole operation, in place of the double one of 
 molding and then placing the form under pressure on 
 the steam table to dry. It is also said that there is no 
 possibility of a " double impression," or of rolling the 
 type off its feet as sometimes happens in the prevailing 
 method of molding, as the pressure is directly down 
 into the form and constant, not being released until the 
 matrix is dry. 
 
 EXPERTS REQUIRED FOR ROLLING MACHINES. 
 
 The operation of the rolling machine should never 
 be intrusted to a novice, for, although type can be 
 molded without injury if the machine is properly and 
 carefully handled, in the hands of a careless or inex- 
 perienced workman great damage may be done by sub- 
 jecting it to unnecessary pressure. This occurs when 
 an attempt is made to obtain a deep impression in a 
 flong too hard for the purpose. 
 
48 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 COLD PROCESS STEREOTYPING. 
 
 THE problem of drying a matrix without heating 
 the type is one which has received the attention 
 of publishers and stereotypers ever since the papier- 
 mache process of stereotyping was first applied to 
 newspaper work. 
 
 The object of such a process would be twofold - 
 first, to avoid the danger of injuring the type by over- 
 heating, and, second, to save time in drying. By the 
 steam press method of drying the type must first be 
 heated before the matrix can be dried. A large pro- 
 portion of the time required for drying is consumed in 
 this way. If a process could be devised whereby the 
 matrix could be dried without thus heating the type, it 
 is obvious that several minutes could be saved which 
 would be of immense value to metropolitan publishers. 
 
 That the desirability of such a method of drying has 
 been appreciated by those interested is shown by the 
 fact that many thousands of dollars have been expended 
 in experiments having this object in view. 
 
 It is obviously a difficult matter to dry wet paper 
 without shrinking it, and recognizing this fact many 
 efforts have been made to mold in dry paper. The 
 essential feature of dry stereotyping paper is the 
 porosity which is produced in the pulp by chemical 
 actions. This dry flong is supplied by the makers ready 
 
STEREOTYPING. 49 
 
 for use, and the results obtained are fairly satisfactory 
 for ordinary letterpress work. The dry process is not 
 suitable, however, for the reproduction of half-tone 
 engraving or fine work of any description. The matrix 
 is made by laying a sheet of the dry flong on the form, 
 covering it with a piece of felt press blanket and run- 
 ning it through the rolling machine. 
 
 The matrix thus made may be placed at once in the 
 casting box. No further drying is required. It is 
 therefore the quickest known method of stereotyping, 
 and for this reason is popular for certain kinds of work. 
 
 Another cold process, which produces very credit- 
 able results, is the invention of Henry Kahrs, New 
 York. By this method the flong is faced with a com- 
 position which does not shrink in drying and which 
 insures a perfectly smooth printing surface. The 
 matrix is composed of one sheet of special matrix paper 
 and two sheets of common news paper, all three coated 
 with the composition. The composition is furnished by 
 the inventor in the form of fine powder and is prepared 
 for use by mixing with water. If preferred, the matrix 
 sheets may be purchased already coated, in which case 
 they require to be dampened slightly to prepare them 
 for use. The matrix is dried by laying it, face up, on a 
 warm iron table or other flat heated surface. 
 
 Another cold process is the invention of Friedrich 
 Schreiner, and, like the Kahrs process, its essential 
 feature is the coating of the matrix paper. The sheets 
 already prepared may be purchased from the inventor. 
 
50 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 THE NIKELLO PROCESS. 
 
 The Nikello process consists in first making the 
 matrix in such a manner that it will withstand greater 
 heat and thereby admit of the use of a harder and more 
 dense metal than is usually possible. By combining 
 these features there is produced a sharper and smoother 
 cast. 
 
 One of the most advantageous points about this 
 process is found in the fact that practically any number 
 of casts can be taken from the same matrix. This 
 number is only limited by a remote possibility of the 
 matrix face becoming cracked by careless handling or 
 accident. 
 
 In all previous attempts at stereotyping fine half- 
 tone screen work, as a rule, but one cast could be made 
 from a matrix, and in many cases this was not a suc- 
 cess because the heat of the metal destroyed the fine 
 dot replicas formed on the face of the flong, and in the 
 use of plaster processes the mold is broken when it is 
 removed from the cast. 
 
 The novelty of this particular flong consists in 
 applying a pasty composition to the usual paper sur- 
 face and allowing it to set slightly, when it is pressed 
 directly on to the face of an oiled block or form. 
 As there is absolutely no intermediary substance 
 between the face of the type or relief surface of the 
 engraving and the composition, an unusually bright 
 surface is secured in the finished matrix. The surface 
 of the walls of the molded impression when dry are 
 said to be as smooth and hard as porcelain, at the same 
 time retaining the flexibility of the usual flong. 
 
 The composition does not contain anything gran- 
 
STEREOTYPING. 51 
 
 ular, so that the letter or other faces must be exact 
 replicas of the originals ; it can be applied to the sur- 
 face of the flong or prepared in the ordinary way 
 according to the custom of the stereotyper, or if the 
 time necessary to prepare layers of tissue is to be elimi- 
 nated the composition can be applied to special backing 
 paper. 
 
 In whatever way it is prepared the flong will keep 
 in serviceable condition for several days, because the 
 paste is treated with a special preservative. The pow- 
 der from which the paste is made is put up in air-tight 
 cans, so will be free from deterioration indefinitely. 
 
 The flong may be beaten in with a brush as usual, 
 but it is recommended by the makers to use a rolling 
 press. It is claimed that the depth secured is practi- 
 cally the same as in electrotypes. The matrix is dried 
 from either the face or back of the type, but in the 
 former case the drying is much slower, a gain being 
 found in the possibility of leaving cuts on their original 
 bases. An ordinary fire, gas or steam chamber may be 
 used. The casting process is exactly similar to ordi- 
 nary procedure. 
 
 NICKEL-FACING. 
 
 Other features of this process are found in the 
 special treatment of the cast face of the stereotype, 
 electrolytically, so as to coat the printing surfaces with 
 a thin nickel coating that protects the face from wear 
 because of the hardness of the nickel. Of course, casts 
 can be printed from direct, as is usually done, but the 
 nickel facing produces a smoother and denser printing 
 surface which will take ink from the printing rollers 
 
52 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 more uniformly than plain stereos, thus avoiding the 
 gray effect in the print so frequently present when 
 nickel-coated stereos are not used. 
 
 There is not the complexity in electrically coating 
 the cast with nickel as would ordinarily be imagined. 
 The electric current may be supplied by a battery or 
 small dynamo; the whole time consumed is but from 
 ten to fifteen minutes, and more than one plate can be 
 done at a single operation. There is little or no atten- 
 tion required, as the nickel anodes, after the bath is 
 once started, will automatically replenish the solution. 
 The hardness of nickel is so well understood that no 
 specific reference to this quality need be made. 
 
 It is in the field of half-tone reproduction that this 
 process is specially adapted because of the faithfulness 
 of the nickello method of molding and the wearing 
 qualities of the cast. Ordinary stereos may stand up to 
 25,000 impressions, but a nickeled stereo will be avail- 
 able for ten times this number of impressions, and as 
 the matrix is good for many re-casts, duplicates' can be 
 produced quickly and cheaply for further use on the 
 same press or to supply forms for other presses run- 
 ning on the same edition. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 53 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 CASTING. 
 
 Q TEREOTYPE furnaces may be round or square ; 
 O the former are made of boiler iron and the latter 
 of cast iron, and in both cases are lined with fire brick, 
 and furnished with grates, fire box and ash pit. They 
 are set on iron legs or feet, so as to leave an air space 
 under them, and the floor, if wood, is protected from 
 the heat by a sheet-iron covering. All metal furnaces 
 should be furnished with a sheet-iron bonnet, connected 
 with the chimney flue, to provide a means of escape for 
 the smoke and poisonous gases. The bonnet is shaped 
 like an inverted cone, with the tip cut off to allow the 
 smoke to escape into the pipe above. One section of 
 the pipe is riveted to the cone and made smaller than the 
 section into which it telescopes, thus permitting the 
 bonnet to be raised and lowered at will. On opposite 
 sides of the bonnet ears are riveted, to which small wire 
 cables are attached. These cables run over pulleys in 
 the ceiling and are secured to counterbalance weights 
 which hold the bonnet suspended at any desired distance 
 above the pot. The bonnet is provided with a door 
 through which the metal may be stirred and skimmed. 
 
 Stereotype furnaces are made of various sizes, their 
 capacity ranging from 100 to 10,000 pounds of metal. 
 
 On page 57 is illustrated a furnace of the size most 
 
54 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 commonly used by the larger foundries. It will hold 
 about 2,000 pounds of metal. 
 
 A furnace of new design is illustrated herewith, 
 which has been adopted by many of the larger news- 
 papers. The kettle will hold several tons of metal, and 
 
 PUMP FURNACE. 
 
 is equipped with a device by means of which the metal 
 is pumped into the casting boxes, thus doing away with 
 the laborious work of pouring the metal with ladles. 
 The furnace is also equipped with a thermometer which 
 indicates the proper heat for casting, and eliminates all 
 guesswork. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 55 
 
 A few of the large newspaper offices are equipped 
 with automatic machines, which not only cast the 
 plates, but shave, trim and deliver them ready for the 
 press at the rate of three to four per minute. This 
 machine is called the Autoplate, and is the climax of 
 
 AUTOPLATE. 
 
 labor-saying mechanism for plate-making. At one end 
 of the machine is the casting mechanism in which the 
 matrix is secured (the operation of securing the matrix 
 occupies less time and may be done with more con- 
 venience than with the present hand-manipulated cast- 
 ing box). Once the matrix is in position the operator 
 at the casting end of the machine throws down a con- 
 trol lever and the casting apparatus proceeds to auto- 
 
56 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 matically cast and deliver plates to the finishing mech- 
 anism which is structurally joined to it. As each cast 
 is ejected from the casting chamber it is automatically 
 moved into the finishing device, where, likewise auto- 
 matically, it is trimmed, head, foot and sides, passed 
 out, its bevels finished and delivered ready for printing. 
 If large blanks throughout the body of the matrix are 
 not properly packed they will have to be dressed out 
 by hand, but all other finishing the machine takes care 
 of. The autoplate is so arranged that a change may be 
 made from one matrix to another with the loss of but 
 one casting operation; thus it is easy (and results in 
 the loss of but the fraction of a minute) to change from 
 the casting of one page to that of another. It should 
 be understood that the change of matrices, which 
 requires the stoppage of casting, in no wise interferes 
 with the operation of finishing all the plates that are in 
 the machine at the time of the change. From three to 
 four men are necessary to attend the machine ; one ,to 
 look after the casting operation, another to look after 
 the supply of metal and the third or fourth to inspect 
 the plates as they are delivered and lift them off the 
 machine. 
 
 COMPOSITION OF STEREOTYPE METAL. 
 
 Stereotype metal is an alloy of tin, lead and anti- 
 mony, the proportions of each varying in different 
 grades. Metal which is used over and over again, as it 
 is in newspaper foundries, must be made of the purest 
 ingredients, and should contain a larger proportion of 
 tin than an alloy which is to be cast but once, or which 
 goes out to the country publishers in the form of news 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 57 
 
 plates and comes back to be melted over but once in a 
 month or six weeks. For newspaper work the propor- 
 tions are about as follows : Lead 75 pounds, antimony 
 
 ' 
 
 MELTING Pox. 
 
 17 pounds, tin 7 pounds. For book work, lead 80 
 pounds, antimony 15 pounds, tin 5 pounds. For 
 country plate work, lead 85 pounds, antimony 12 
 pounds, tin 3 pounds. These formulas are not exact, 
 for no two makers use exactly the same rule, but they 
 
58 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 are approximately so. The antimony is added to the 
 lead to give hardness to the metal and to reduce con- 
 traction when cooling, and the tin acts as a flux. Some 
 stereotypers buy the materials and mix their own 
 metal, but it can always be bought of reputable dealers, 
 ready mixed, cheaper than the materials can be pur- 
 chased separately in small quantities. If, however, 
 the workman should be obliged to mix his own metal, 
 the antimony should be melted first, as it is the hardest 
 of the three metals and a high temperature is required 
 to fuse it. The lead should be added next and the 
 tin last. By observing this order the temperature 
 may be immediately reduced after the antimony is 
 fused, whereas, if the lead were treated first the heat 
 of the furnace would have to be continued until the 
 antimony were melted, during which time the waste of 
 lead by oxidation would be considerable. The tem- 
 perature necessary to melt these metals is as follows: 
 For antimony, 842 degrees ; for lead, 612 degrees ; for 
 tin, 442 degrees. Stereotypes may be cast from metal 
 made of old materials, such as old type, lead pipe, tea- 
 case lead, etc., but the product is not always satisfac- 
 tory, though it may be made to answer in some cases. 
 Type metal contains larger proportions of antimony 
 and tin than stereotype metal, and requires, therefore, 
 an addition of lead to make it suitable for stereotyping. 
 As type founders do not all use the same formula in 
 mixing their metals, the amount of lead which should 
 be added can not be definitely stated, but will average 
 about fifty pounds to one hundred pounds of type. In 
 mixing old metals care must be taken to throw out 
 every scrap of zinc, a small piece of which would ruin 
 
STEREOTYPING. 59 
 
 a large quantity of what would otherwise be good 
 metal. 
 
 Metals, whether new or old, should be mixed in a 
 pot covered by a sheet-iron canopy, or bonnet, which is 
 connected with a chimney flue, as the vapors arising 
 from them are injurious to health. 
 
 CASTING BOXES. 
 
 Casting boxes are formed by two cast-iron plates, 
 hinged together at one end or side, and separated from 
 each other by thin strips of steel, called gages, whose 
 thickness determines the thickness of the stereotype. 
 In operation, the matrix is laid on the lower plate and 
 surrounded on three sides by the gages which rest upon 
 the side margins and one end margin of the matrix. 
 The upper plate or cover is then closed down upon the 
 gages and clamped fast to the lower plate, thus forming 
 a box, with one end open to receive the molten metal. 
 It is essential that the box shall be several inches longer 
 than the desired stereotype, in order that space may be 
 provided for the impurities and air bubbles which will 
 rise to the top when the metal is poured. To prevent 
 the metal from running behind the matrix, which is 
 much shorter than the box, a paper or sheet iron exten- 
 sion, called the tail-piece, is laid under the gages upon 
 the upper margin of the matrix. 
 
 Casting boxes in which full page plates for rotary 
 presses are cast, are semi-cylindrical in form, the lower 
 plate being concave and the cover convex ; the curves 
 corresponding exactly to the plate cylinder of the press. 
 Curved stereotype plates are locked upon the press 
 cylinders by clamps operating against the ends of the 
 
60 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 plates. That the lock may be absolutely secure, the 
 plate ends and clamps are beveled, the latter over- 
 lapping the former and holding it firmly in position. 
 The angle on the plate is produced at one end by the 
 machinery which cuts off the jet or tail, and at the other 
 
 CURVED CASTING Box. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 61 
 
 end by the end gage of the casting box, which is 
 beveled on its under side to form a recess into which 
 the metal flows, thereby producing a corresponding 
 angle on that end of the plate. 
 
 The convex cover of the box is grooved at regular 
 intervals, in the direction of its curve, and the metal, 
 flowing into these grooves, forms ribs on the back of 
 the plate. In finishing the plate to the exact thickness 
 required these ribs only are shaved. This saves metal 
 and work in finishing. 
 
 The ordinary curved casting box is supported in an 
 iron frame on trunnions which are located near the cen- 
 ter of greatest weight, and by the tripping of a dog, 
 which is operated by a hand lever, may be easily and 
 rapidly swung from a horizontal to a perpendicular 
 position and vice versa. These casting boxes used in 
 the larger newspaper offices are necessarily very heavy, 
 and to assist the workmen in handling them a counter- 
 balance weight is sometimes attached by means of a 
 cable or chain and grooved pulley to the cover. In 
 another form of curved casting box the cover is not 
 hinged to the box, but remains rigid in a perpendicular 
 position. The object of the invention is to form a 
 casting box that can be easily and quickly opened and 
 closed, and that will move away parallel, or nearly so, 
 when the parts are set in motion, thereby readily sepa- 
 rating the concave side of the stereotype plate from the 
 core block. 
 
 The machine is made with a suitable frame for sup- 
 porting the core block, and a movable casting box. The 
 core block stands nearly vertical and is stationary. 
 The casting box rests upon trunnions connected by 
 
62 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 standard-moving carriages having slideways upon the 
 frame. The carriages are moved back and forth by 
 links and crank pins to disks upon a shaft which is 
 operated by a lever and pawls and a ratchet-wheel upon 
 
 FLAT CASTING Box. 
 
 the shaft. The casting box is held by a catch and 
 drawn forward in an almost perpendicular position in 
 contact with the semi-cylindrical core block, there being 
 a space necessary for receiving the melted metal which 
 is cast to form the stereotype plate. When the plate is 
 to be removed the casting box is forced back from the 
 core block, carrying with it the stereotype. It is then 
 tipped into a horizontal position and supported by a 
 rest, while the stereotype is being removed or the 
 matrix secured in position. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 63 
 
 SPEED IN STEREOTYPING. 
 
 In newspaper stereotyping speed is one of the great- 
 est requisites, and where a large number of plates are 
 required two or more boxes are provided in order that 
 one cast may be poured while another is cooling. To 
 still further facilitate the work the covers of the boxes 
 are made with a concave recess on their upper surfaces 
 and into the receptacles thus formed water is poured 
 occasionally to cool the cover, which otherwise would, 
 after a few casts, become extremely hot, thereby seri- 
 ously retarding the setting of the cast. When the cover 
 is swung up to remove the cast the water runs from the 
 lower end into an iron pan provided for the purpose. 
 In the box previously described where the cover 
 remains stationary the top is covered, forming a closed 
 basin, and through this a spray of water is kept run- 
 ning by means of pipe connections with the usual water 
 supply and sewer. 
 
 Casting boxes for casting flat newspaper plates 
 differ from those just described. The box and cover 
 are flat instead of semi-cylindrical, and the size and 
 shape of the rib grooves in the cover which form the 
 legs on the back of the plate are not the same. Most 
 newspaper plates are cast thin ; from one to two picas, 
 1-6 to 1-3 inch (.1666 to .333 inch) in thickness, the 
 additional height required being obtained by mounting 
 them on blocks or bases. This is accomplished in a 
 variety of ways, but usually by interlocking one of the 
 legs of the plate with the upper surface of the base, 
 either directly, or by means of a device that will 
 quickly lock the plate and base together in the chase 
 and yet at the same time permit them to be readily sepa- 
 
64 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 rated. In either case one or more of the legs of the 
 plate must be dovetailed or recessed by special machin- 
 ery. It is obvious, therefore, that the disposition of the 
 
 5-CoLUMN Box, SHUT, SHOWING AUTOMATIC CLAMPING ARRANGEMENT. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 65 
 
 grooves in the cover of the casting box which form the 
 legs of the cast plate must correspond as nearly as may 
 be to the requirements of the lock-up. 
 
 Plates which are secured by means of a bevel or 
 rabbet cut on the sides or ends are usually formed with 
 legs to facilitate shaving, but in this case the legs do not 
 require to be located with the same exactness as with 
 the former. 
 
 Casting boxes for book or job work where the plates 
 are to be mounted on wood are made without grooves 
 in the cover and with gages one pica in thickness. The 
 cover of the job box, if small, is usually secured, when 
 closed, by a single clamp consisting of a screw operated 
 by a hand wheel and mounted in a swinging arm which 
 is pivoted at one end to the side frame of the casting 
 box. Casting boxes more than ten or twelve inches in 
 width, however, should be clamped at each corner to 
 prevent the cover from springing. This is usually 
 accomplished by swinging clamps pivoted to the under 
 side of the box and provided with T-head hand screws 
 in the upper or projecting ends. 
 
 Another form of casting box is employed for both 
 job and newspaper work when a type-high cast (.918 
 inch) is required. In this box cores or raised projec- 
 tions are riveted to the box or are machined out of the 
 solid iron for the purpose of economizing as much as 
 possible in the weight of the cast. The metal running 
 between the cores forms the legs, of the finished plate. 
 These boxes are made to cast any number of columns, 
 from one to six, or more, and are a great convenience 
 to publishers who have not the facilities for mounting 
 thin or separable plates. 
 
66 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 On page 64 is illustrated an improved casting box 
 which consists in an automatic clamping device by 
 means of which the workman is relieved of all responsi- 
 bility in this direction and the time consumed in operat- 
 ing the usual hand clamps is entirely saved. 
 
 There are various other forms of casting boxes 
 designed for special work, but as they are all modifica- 
 tions of those already mentioned, it will be unnecessary 
 to describe them here. 
 
 CAUSES OF FAILURE. 
 
 Casting stereotype plates is apparently a simple 
 matter, yet the amateur and even the expert will often 
 find difficulties to overcome. The most common 
 trouble is, perhaps, the " shrink," i. e., a depression in 
 the face of the cast, which sometimes appears in one 
 spot, but most often in streaks down the center of the 
 column. This shrinkage is frequently caused by poor 
 metal, but is sometimes due to unequal cooling of the 
 metal. Iron is a good conductor of heat, and once 
 heated is slow to cool. The face of the cast is protected 
 from the hot iron box by the matrix which comes 
 between the cast and the iron box, while the back of the 
 cast is in direct contact with the heated iron cover. The 
 result is that the face of the cast cools more rapidly than 
 the back, and the natural contraction of the cooling 
 metal draws it away from the matrix. It is plain, there- 
 fore, that the remedy for this trouble lies in the equal 
 cooling of the cast. In book and job casting this may 
 be easily accomplished by protecting the back of the 
 cast with a sheet of heavy paper. After placing a 
 matrix in the box and the gages in position, a sheet of 
 
STEREOTYPING. 67 
 
 paper is laid over the gages and the cover brought 
 down and clamped. The metal is then poured between 
 the paper matrix on the one side and the paper back on 
 the other, and the cooling thus equalized throughout. 
 The paper back may be pasted to the cover of the box, 
 but as it is difficult to make it adhere, and as it some- 
 times sticks to the metal and tears off in spots, it is 
 usually less troublesome to use a separate sheet each 
 time in the manner described. Smooth heavy manila 
 paper is the best to employ for this purpose because 
 the metal is less liable to adhere to it than to more 
 porous paper. This tendency to stick may be reduced, 
 however, by first brushing the paper with powdered 
 French chalk. 
 
 Casting boxes with grooved covers are more diffi- 
 cult to manage, but may be rendered non-conductive to 
 a great extent by painting the cover thoroughly with 
 the following mixture : Equal parts of fine-cut tobacco 
 and lampblack mixed with water and boiled for fifteen 
 or twenty minutes. The casting box is then heated by 
 casting several slugs or blanks and the juice applied 
 with a paint brush. Another slug is then cast and 
 another coat applied, and the process continued until 
 the surface is covered with a thin film. Some time is 
 required to coat a new box, as the paint must be burned 
 on ; but, once coated, it requires to be brushed over but 
 once or twice a week. The writer has used this prepa- 
 ration for a great many years and has found it a 
 reliable remedy for " shrinks." The semi-cylindrical 
 boxes first described are not usually coated, as the water 
 thrown into the cover, after each cast, serves to equalize 
 the cooling. 
 
68 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 Undue shrinkage in the width or length of the 
 plates is caused by using the metal too hot. Up to a 
 certain limit stereotype metal will expand in proportion 
 to its heat, and in cooling will, of course, show a corre- 
 sponding contraction. It is obvious, therefore, that the 
 cooler the metal, the less will be the shrinkage. It may 
 be set down as a rule, that the metal should be cast as 
 cool as possible ; in other words, no more heat should 
 be applied than is necessary to reduce it to a fluid state. 
 
 To produce satisfactory results with cool metal the 
 casting box must be warm but not too hot. Several 
 slugs or blank casts should be made before attempting 
 to cast a plate; otherwise the metal, already on the 
 point of setting, will harden before it reaches the bot- 
 tom of the box. With the box hot, however, the metal 
 is kept in a fluid state until every indentation of the 
 matrix is filled. The shrinkage of a cast twenty inches 
 in length, with the metal of the proper temperature, 
 should not exceed one-tenth of an inch. 
 
 If the matrix blisters in casting it is an indication 
 that the paste was too thin, or not sufficiently adhesive, 
 or that it was not spread on the paper with sufficient 
 care. In making matrices for half-tones it is absolutely 
 essential that the paper shall be thoroughly pasted. If 
 any spots, however small, are left uncovered, the paper 
 will separate and puff up. This sometimes happens 
 when molding forms are made up exclusively of type, 
 but is much more likely on flat surfaces. If the flong is 
 properly made up in the first place, the cause of blister- 
 ing will be found in the use of undried matrices. If 
 any moisture remains in the matrix it will be changed 
 to steam by the heat of the metal and the layers of 
 
STEREOTYPING. 69 
 
 paper forced apart or raised up, " blistered " by the 
 expansion of the steam. The molds should be dried as 
 thoroughly as possible on the type and then laid on a 
 hot surface for some time until the moisture has been 
 entirely expelled. 
 
 CASTING CHALK PLATES. 
 
 The stereotyper in a newspaper office is frequently 
 called upon to cast " chalk plates." This is a different 
 proposition from casting from papier-mache molds. 
 The metal and the casting box must both be very hot, 
 the casting box as hot as the metal. An error is often 
 made in trying to cast with the temperature too low. 
 Shrinks may be avoided by chilling the lower end of 
 the cast first and gradually extending the cooling 
 process to the upper end. This may be done with a 
 sponge or swab soaked in water. The cooling should 
 be done on the side the chalk plate is on. When large 
 type or black cuts come out in the cast concaved or 
 depressed in the center, it may be due to one of several 
 causes. If the concave is in the matrix, it may be 
 caused by hard drying blankets and insufficient squeeze 
 on the drying press, or if a very thin matrix is employed 
 the pressure of the metal in casting will sometimes 
 force down the spaces around the large type or other 
 black surface to an extent sufficient to cause the center 
 of the type mold to spring up slightly, thus forming a 
 depression in the cast. If the matrix is not defective, 
 the depression in the cast is caused by the shrinkage of 
 the metal away from the matrix in cooling. This may 
 be due to one or more of three causes. The metal may 
 be too hot or it may contain too much tin ; or the cast- 
 
70 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 ing box may be tilted in the wrong direction, i. e., so 
 that the pressure of the metal is against the back cover 
 of the box instead of against the matrix. The casting 
 box should lean a little so that the matrix will rest 
 against the lower half. The tendency will then be 
 for the metal to shrink away from the cover rather 
 than away from the matrix. Honeycombed plates are 
 caused by too much antimony in the metal, and the 
 remedy is to add a smaller amount to the mixture. 
 Spongy plates may be due to the presence of zinc in the 
 metal, or to lack of thorough mixing. 
 
 CLEANING STEREOTYPE METAL. 
 
 Stereotype metal should be occasionally cleaned or 
 purified. This may best be done by immersing in the 
 metal a piece of green wood, attached to the end of an 
 iron rod. The wood should be left in the metal until 
 the boiling ceases. Great quantities of gas and vapor 
 are evolved and the acids in the metal are sufficiently 
 reduced. 
 
 Another method is as follows : Heat the metal 
 until the temperature is sufficient to brown a piece of 
 thick white paper without burning, and throw a little 
 powdered rosin into the pot and stir constantly. 
 
 It is claimed that zinc can be removed from stereo- 
 type metal by heating very hot, stirring thoroughly and 
 then scattering over the surface a mixture of three 
 parts of sulphur and one part rosin. Then burn off 
 with oil and skim. Repeat the operation and add a 
 small quantity of antimony. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 71 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SAWING. 
 
 HAVING obtained a good cast, the next step is 
 cutting off the tail, or jet, which is accomplished, 
 in the case of the curved plate, by a " cutting-off cylin- 
 der." This is an iron cylinder mounted on a shaft sup- 
 ported in journals formed in the frame of the machine. 
 Near one end of the cylinder is a rapidly revolving 
 tool whose numerous teeth forming the cutting sur- 
 faces are beveled at an angle corresponding with the 
 bevel required on the end of the plate, which provides a 
 means of locking the plate upon the press. 
 
 The plate having been turned out of the casting box 
 onto the cylinder and secured thereto by a broad leather 
 strap passed around it, the cylinder is slowly revolved 
 by means- of a crank to whose shaft is keyed a small 
 pinion which engages a larger gear wheel secured to 
 the cylinder shaft. The revolving plate is thus passed 
 under the rotating cutter, which severs the jet from the 
 cast, leaving a smooth beveled edge. In some machines 
 the cylinder is revolved by means of steam power 
 instead of the crank, and in others the cutting off and 
 shaving are done at the same time. A description of 
 this machine will be given under the head of shaving 
 machines. 
 
 The rotating or milling cutters used in cutting-off 
 machines are made of the best too! steel tempered to an 
 
72 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 extreme degree of hardness. They .do not require, 
 therefore, to be ground often, but when they are ground 
 it is imperative that the original angle should be pre- 
 served. As few foundries have facilities for grinding 
 such tools, it is customary to send them out to a pro- 
 
 CUTTING-OFF CYLINDER. 
 
 fessional grinder. They may be whetted occasionally 
 with an oil-stone, but even this should be carefully 
 done, and only by an expert. 
 
 In flat newspaper work, the jets are cut off by a 
 circular saw. In the larger foundries the plate is 
 turned out of the casting box onto a flat iron table 
 with the jet projecting over its edge. Immediately 
 
STEREOTYPING. 73 
 
 over the edge of the table, and secured to the ceiling 
 by hangers, is a swinging arm in whose lower end a 
 saw mandrel is mounted. In the upper end of the 
 arm is a counter-shaft and pulleys for transmitting 
 power to the saw. When not in use the lower end of 
 
 STEREOTYPERS' SAW. 
 
74 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 the arm is swung back out of the way of the workmen 
 and kept in that position by a counter-balance weight. 
 The operator by means of a handle attached to the arm, 
 draws the revolving saw toward him, quickly severing 
 the jet, which drops into a waste box. On releasing 
 the handle the arm is returned to its original position 
 by means of the counter-balance weight. 
 
 As the arm swings in a segment of a circle whose 
 diameter is about twelve feet, it is obvious that the saw 
 must be quite large in order to present a cutting edge 
 throughout its travel, which projects below the edge of 
 the table. It is customary to employ for this purpose a 
 cross-cut saw, sixteen inches in diameter, No. 12 gage 
 and with about four teeth to the inch. It should be 
 driven about 2,000 revolutions per minute. 
 
 In smaller establishments no special machine is 
 required for cutting off the jets, the work being done 
 on an ordinary saw table. The disadvantages of this 
 method of cutting consist in the danger of binding or 
 twisting the saw, which is usually small and light ; and 
 the tendency to bend or warp the plate if sawed while 
 hot, which is often necessary. This danger may be 
 avoided to some extent by turning the plate, face down, 
 upon a piece of cardboard, and keeping it in that posi- 
 tion while cutting off the jet. The operator is thus 
 enabled to keep the plate flat upon the saw table, which 
 will prevent its warping and lessen the danger of injury 
 to the saw. 
 
 Sawing machines are of various designs and sizes, 
 but do not differ in principle. On page 73 is illustrated 
 a light, easy-running, but solid and compact machine, 
 designed for general work. The saw mandrel is driven 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 75 
 
 COMBINED SAW AND TRIMMER. 
 
 by a counter-shaft and pulleys which are furnished 
 with the machine, or preferably by a self-contained 
 electric motor. The rear end of the table is hinged to 
 the frame of the machine, and the front rests upon the 
 end of a screw which terminates in a hand-wheel, by 
 means of which the top may be adjusted to any desired 
 height, for sawing mortises, etc. An adjustable side- 
 gage and a sliding end-gage are features common to all 
 
76 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 stereotype saws, as is also the glass saw guard for pro- 
 tecting the eyes of the operator from flying chips and 
 sawdust. 
 
 The engraving on page 75 shows a combined saw 
 and trimmer. The saw is similar to the one shown on 
 the preceding page, but in this machine the saw mandrel 
 projects beyond the side of the table and is provided 
 upon its outer end with a circular wrought-iron cutter 
 head, in which are secured, by counter-sunk set screws, 
 two or more cutters, for squaring up type-high (.918 
 inch) stereotypes. The work is carried to the cutters 
 upon a sliding-bed which is furnished with a right- 
 angled adjustable gage, and mounted upon ways run- 
 ning parallel with the face of the cutter head. 
 
 The cabinet saw shown on page 77 presents some 
 novel features not shown in the other illustrations. 
 The table top is hinged at the front instead of the rear, 
 and is adjusted to height by means of the hand-wheel 
 and worm shown at the right of the machine. This saw 
 is provided with a dust drawer, tool closet, removable 
 shelf, removable ripping fence and throat plate gages. 
 
 To provide a means of rapidly changing the saws in 
 a machine which is used for different kinds of work, 
 such as zinc or brass and stereotype metal or wood, a 
 machine has recently been devised which is provided 
 with two arbors, joined on a swinging arm, one of which 
 carries the soft metal saw and the other the brass or 
 zinc cutting saw. But one mandrel revolves at a time, 
 and while it is in operation, the other mandrel is 
 beneath the machine out of the way of the operator, as 
 shown in the engraving on page 79. The mechanism 
 for changing the swinging arm and its mandrels is 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 77 
 
 operated by the crank handles at the right-hand corner 
 of the machine. The change can be made in a few 
 seconds while the machine is running at full speed. 
 
 Saws for sawing stereotype metal should not be 
 larger than, the requirements of the work demand. It 
 is usually desirable, and sometimes necessary, to employ 
 
 CABINET SAW. 
 
 a thin blade, from 18 to 20 gage, to saw out column 
 rules, or between lines, and a saw of this thickness, 
 if made larger than eight or nine inches in diameter, 
 will be liable to wind; while on the other hand, if 
 the saw is just large enough to project slightly through 
 the work, this tendency will be reduced to a minimum. 
 The diameter of the saw must depend, of course, upon 
 
78 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 the distance between the saw mandrel and the table top. 
 For instance, if the mandrel is three inches below the 
 table top, a nine-inch saw would be required to give 
 sufficient cutting surface above the table and to allow 
 for a reasonable amount of wear and resharpening. In 
 most machines, however, the mandrel is located within 
 two and one-half inches of the top, or even less, thus 
 permitting the use of smaller saws. For general use, 
 and under usual conditions, a cross-cut saw eight inches 
 in diameter, No. 19 gage, and with about five teeth 
 to the inch, is found to be the most practical and con- 
 venient. Such a saw should be driven about 4,000 rev- 
 olutions a minute. 
 
 The impression which prevails among many, par- 
 ticularly among novices, that saws for this class of 
 work require an especially hard temper is erroneous. 
 Stereotype metal is not harder to cut than many kinds 
 of wood, and a saw tempered for wood work is much 
 preferable to a harder temper, for it is less liable to 
 crack, and much easier to keep in order. 
 
 To cut easily and freely without sticking or filling 
 up, saws should be kept sharp, round, evenly set and 
 the teeth should all be filed with the same angle and 
 without hook. 
 
 To keep the saw round it should be jointed or trued 
 up occasionally. This may be easily done by elevating 
 the saw table until only the longest teeth of the saw 
 project through the slot in the top. Then start the 
 machine and with a piece of emery stone grind down 
 the teeth of the saw until they will no longer reach the 
 stone. If on examination it is found that there are 
 some teeth which have not come in contact with the 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 79 
 
 stone the table may be lowered slightly and the grind- 
 ing continued until the shortest teeth are touched. If 
 the saw mandrel fits accurately the hole in the saw and 
 no more filing is done than is necessary to bring the 
 
 DOUBLE SAW. 
 
 teeth to a point, it is obvious that a perfect circle will 
 have been obtained. 
 
 The saw may be set by laying it on a block of hard 
 wood and striking every alternate tooth with a hammer 
 
80 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 or punch, and then turning it over and repeating the 
 operation with the remaining teeth. It requires con- 
 siderable skill, however, to set a saw evenly in this way 
 and it is preferable, particularly for the novice, to use a 
 carpenter's saw-set, which may be purchased at any 
 hardware store. 
 
 To file a saw properly it should be clamped between 
 two round blocks about one inch thick and one inch 
 less in diameter than the saw. The blocks may be 
 clamped together on the saw by placing them in a vise. 
 The teeth should be filed straight across and should not 
 lean forward of a line drawn from the center of the saw 
 to its periphery. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 81 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 SHAVING MACHINES. 
 
 THE modern shaving machine for circular news- 
 paper plates is made in the form of a semi- 
 circular trough of iron, lined with polished brass, to 
 protect the face of the plate from injury. Just inside 
 the edge of the trough and parallel with its length, is a 
 steel stop which prevents the pressure of the shaver 
 knife from forcing the plate out of position. Directly 
 over the center and extending longitudinally over the 
 trough is a heavy steel shaft supported by journals 
 which are part of the framework of the machine, and 
 so located that its center represents the center of a 
 circle, a part of whose periphery would be the inside of 
 the trough. To the shaft is secured a massive iron 
 frame to which is bolted a heavy steel cutting blade. 
 When the shaft is revolved it causes the knife blade to 
 describe a circle, whose periphery corresponds exactly 
 with that of the cylinder of the printing-press for which 
 the cast plate is to be made. In operation, the plate is 
 placed face down in the trough, with one edge firmly 
 held by the steel stop. Power being applied to the 
 shaft, the knife starts on its circular travel, scooping 
 out the superfluous metal from the inside of the plate, 
 leaving it of uniform thickness, and with a perfectly 
 smooth interior. It will be remembered that these 
 plates are cast with ribs to facilitate this operation of 
 
82 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 shaving. It was formerly the custom to cast plates 
 solid, without the ribbed back; and the shaving 
 machine employed to shave the solid plate was made on 
 the principle of an auger, which started at one end of 
 the plate and bored out the interior, an operation which 
 
 CURVED SHAVER. 
 
 consumed several minutes ; whereas the machines now 
 in use perform their work in thirty seconds or less. As 
 the boring machine is now obsolete, a detailed descrip- 
 tion of it will be omitted. 
 
 A novel and effective shaving machine, shown on 
 page 83, which has been invented, is made in the form 
 of a complete cylinder, open at both ends, which re- 
 
STEREOTYPING. 83 
 
 volves around a stationary knife blade, carrying the 
 plate with it, while a rapidly revolving cutter head, 
 carrying two blades, severs the jet from the plate at the 
 same time. The plate is turned from the casting box 
 
 CURVED SHAVER AND TAIL CUTTER. 
 
 directly into the cylinder and firmly clamped into posi- 
 tion by the action of a single screw, operated by a 
 socket wrench. Nearly all shaving machines for circu- 
 lar work are now operated by steam power, but there 
 
84 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 are still in use machines which are operated by a crank 
 with fly-wheel attachment, both secured to an auxiliary 
 shaft on which is keyed a pinion engaging a larger 
 gear-wheel on the knife shaft. The work is, of course, 
 
 HAND SHAVER. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 85 
 
 exceedingly laborious, and requires the combined 
 efforts of two men. 
 
 Shaving machines for flat work are of various pat- 
 terns and sizes, some of which are operated by steam 
 power and some by hand. The hand machine consists 
 of an iron table surfaced perfectly true upon its upper 
 surface and provided with a stop at one end to hold the 
 plate in position. The side edges of the table are also 
 machined true, both top and bottom, and serve as 
 guides for a sliding head to which the knife is bolted. 
 Secured to the rear of the head and traversing the 
 entire length of the machine are steel racks, one on 
 either side, which are engaged by two pinions located 
 on a shaft which is at right angles with the racks. To 
 one end of the shaft a cast-iron spider is keyed, and to 
 the spider long wooden spokes are bolted which afford 
 the means of operating the head. The head is provided 
 with steel gibs so that the wear may be taken up by 
 means of set screws which act on the gibs. 
 
 A modification of this machine consists in the addi- 
 tion of another spoke wheel located on the opposite 
 side of the machine, by means of which the operator 
 may have assistance in shaving large plates. Most 
 machines are provided with a spring roller located in 
 front of, and attached by brackets to the head. The 
 purpose of the roller is to press the plate flat down on 
 the bed of the machine just before the knife begins its 
 cut. A plate which is slightly uneven or warped is thus 
 secured against the danger of " gouging " and the 
 necessity for filing or cutting a bevel on the end of the 
 plate is also obviated. 
 
 In large establishments shaving machines are 
 
86 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 usually driven by power. There are various devices for 
 applying the power, one of which is illustrated in the 
 machine shown on page 87. The shaft and pinions 
 acting upon the rack are the same as in the hand 
 machines described. A large gear wheel is substituted 
 for the spoke wheel on the main shaft and is driven by 
 a pinion to whose shaft power is communicated through 
 intermediate gearing, by means of pulleys shown at the 
 left of the machine. 
 
 When not in operation the driving belt runs upon 
 the central pulley, which is loose upon its shaft. To 
 operate the machine the belt is shifted to one or the 
 other of the outside pulleys and forward or backward 
 motion thus communicated to the shaver head. 
 
 The belt shifters are operated by two pedals con- 
 veniently located under the front of the machine. The 
 head is prevented from going too far back by an auto- 
 matic trip which shifts the belt and at the same moment 
 applies a brake to the driving shaft. 
 
 Shaving machines are usually made so that type- 
 high (.9 1 8-inch) or thin plate work (1-6 inch) may 
 be shaved with equal facility. This is accomplished by 
 adjusting the knife and stop for type-high work, and 
 the machine with a false bed whose thickness equals 
 the difference between the two classes of work. In 
 machines of this kind more or less inconvenience is 
 caused by the necessity of removing the false bed every 
 time the work is changed. To overcome this annoy- 
 ance, machines have been devised with adjustable beds 
 by which work of any thickness from one pica (1-6 
 inch) to one and one-quarter inches may be shaved. 
 The bed rests on steel wedges which are operated by a 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 87 
 
 screw passing through the front of the machine and 
 terminating in an indexed hand wheel. By means of 
 this wheel the bed may be rapidly raised or lowered to 
 any desired height within the range of the machine. 
 (See page 88.) 
 
 POWER REVERSE SHAVER. 
 
 In another form of adjustable shaver the knife 
 is raised and lowered instead of the bed. The knife 
 is bolted to a sliding plate which is mounted on the 
 face of the. shaver head and is raised and lowered 
 by two screws terminating in gear wheels driven 
 by an intermediate gear which is located on the 
 
88 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 same shaft with an indexed hand wheel. By turning 
 this hand wheel both screws are operated simul- 
 taneously, thus accurately adjusting the knife, which 
 always remains parallel with the bed. This machine is 
 of new design and differs in many respects from other 
 makes. The following description is given by the 
 maker : " The knife remains stationary, the plate to be 
 shaved being placed on a table and passed under 
 
 ELEVATING BED SHAVING MACHINE. 
 
 the knife. Power is applied to move the table in 
 one direction only, the power being thrown on and 
 off by a lever handle, not shown, convenient to the 
 right hand of the operator; the backward move- 
 ment is obtained by means of a hand wheel. The 
 
STEREOTYPING. 89 
 
 table is extended beyond the head toward the front 
 of the machine, affording increased bearing surface 
 and equalizing the wear over all parts of its length; 
 the extended portion is made slightly concave on 
 which plates may be bent so that they shall rest 
 properly on the shaving table. At the front of the 
 machine, on the left side, is an inverted plane by which 
 plates may be beveled as is usual to prevent the too 
 abrupt commencement of the shaving operation. The 
 cutting edge of the plane is protected by a hinged 
 guard, which, by a spring, is held a little above the 
 knife but readily yields to pressure and does not inter- 
 fere with the operation of beveling, which is performed 
 by drawing the edge of the plate across the face of the 
 plane." A shaft running through the body of the 
 machine is provided with a pinion which engages a 
 rack bolted to the under side of the sliding table or bed. 
 One end of this shaft terminates in the hand wheel 
 which is employed to reverse the machine and the other 
 is provided with a worm wheel which is driven by a 
 worm secured to a shaft running parallel with the 
 length of the machine, and to which is also attached the 
 band wheel for transmitting power for the forward 
 movement of the bed. 
 
 The accuracy of the work performed by shaving 
 machines depends largely on the grinding and lapping 
 of the knives. The cutting edge of the knife must, of 
 course, be an exact straight edge in order that the 
 shaved plates shall be of equal thickness throughout. 
 To secure this straight edge, and at the same time 
 obtain the proper clearance, the shaver knife is lapped 
 after it is ground. A perfectly flat iron or steel plate is 
 
90 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 covered with fine emery powder and oil, and on this the 
 knife, which is clamped to an angle plate or gage whose 
 face corresponds very nearly to the shaver head, is 
 lapped, first across the plate and then from end to end, 
 
 ADJUSTABLE KNIFE SHAVER. 
 
 and finally in large sweeping circles, frequently chang- 
 ing from one position to another in order that the level 
 of the plate shall not be impaired by excessive wear in 
 one spot. The face of the shaver head to which the 
 knife is bolted is planed to an angle of about fifteen 
 degrees. That the knife may have sufficient clearance, 
 
STEREOTYPING. 91 
 
 the face of the angle gage should have about one degree 
 more, for it is obvious that if the angle of the gage 
 should be the same as the angle of the shaver head, a 
 knife lapped in this position would not shave the plate, 
 but would drag over it. If, however, the top of the 
 knife be tipped forward slightly, the heel of the knife 
 will be raised sufficiently to obtain the necessary clear- 
 ance. As it would require much unnecessary labor to 
 lap the entire thickness of the knife, it is customary to 
 grind away the heel, leaving only about one-eighth of 
 an inch of surface to lap. While it is essential that the 
 heel of the knife should be raised sufficiently to prevent 
 dragging, it is just as important that there should not 
 be too much clearance, for in the latter case the knife 
 would dip or gouge into the plate, particularly when 
 commencing or finishing a cut, thus making the plate 
 too thin at the ends. It is well therefore to make a 
 difference of not more than one degree between the 
 angles of the face of the shaver head and the face of 
 the angle gage. The travel of the shaver head should 
 not exceed twenty feet per minute and for most work 
 twelve to fifteen feet is a better speed. 
 
 It is impossible to shave a plate accurately unless the 
 cut taken be very light. A heavy cut will lift the plate 
 in spite of pressure rollers or any other precaution that 
 may be taken to prevent it. If the plates are cast too 
 thick, the casting box gages should be planed or ground 
 down until the thickness of the cast has been reduced to 
 a point where a very light shaving will be sufficient to 
 finish it. 
 
 The roughing machine is employed in large estab- 
 lishments to take the first or rough cut off from the 
 
92 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 stereotype plate when more than one cut is required. 
 Its chief utility consists in the fact that a large quantity 
 of metal may be removed at one operation. The plate 
 rests upon a traveling bed and is held down during the 
 operation of cutting by two spring rollers, located one 
 on either side of the track of a reciprocating cutter 
 head. The cutter is supported by a tool post formed on 
 the cutter head and the head is arranged to slide on an 
 arm extending over the traveling bed and at right 
 angles therewith. The head is actuated by a pitman, 
 or connecting rod, one end of which is connected with 
 a stud on the cutter head and the other with a crank pin 
 on the driving pulley. The bed is operated in one direc- 
 tion by a worm which is driven by a belt from a pulley 
 on the main drive shaft and is moved in a reverse direc- 
 tion by hand. 
 
 While this machine was originally designed, as its 
 name implies, for rough work, yet a carefully con- 
 structed machine can be made to do its work so accu- 
 rately that no further facing or shaving is necessary ; 
 and in many foundries it really takes the place of the 
 shaving machine. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 93 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TRIMMING. 
 
 FLAT stereotype plates, whether for job or news- 
 paper work, usually require to be trimmed on the 
 sides and ends to reduce them to a standard size. In 
 the case of wood-mounted job plates the trimming is 
 done after they have been mounted on blocks when 
 plate and block can be finished at the same time. 
 
 As a reasonable degree of accuracy is desired in the 
 finished plate, particularly in the case of newspaper 
 columns, the saw is unsuitable for such trimming on 
 Account of its tendency to spring away from the work 
 and because its cut is more or less ragged and uneven. 
 
 Various machines have been designed for the finish- 
 ing of sides and ends of such plates, the most popular 
 of these being the Shoot-board and the Trimmer. The 
 former is used for finishing book plates and small jobs 
 and the latter for general work. For special work, 
 such as newspaper columns and advertising cuts which 
 are worked upon the separable plate and base plan, 
 machinery is employed which finishes both sides of the 
 plate at the same time. 
 
 The simplest form of a trimming machine is a 
 shoot-board in which a plane, supporting an adjustable 
 cutter blade and furnished with a defending tongue, 
 slides freely in a groove or guide way formed in the 
 top of an iron bed-plate. A stop, extending across the 
 
94 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 bed at right angles with the groove, serves as a limit 
 gage and stop for the stereotype plate and also as a 
 guide for squaring the plate. 
 
 Two planes are furnished with the shoot-board, one 
 for finishing the plate with a square edge, and one for 
 producing a beveled edge. The method of operating 
 the machine is illustrated herewith. 
 
 On page 95 is presented a novel and effective shoot- 
 board which is operated by power. The advantages 
 
 SHOOT-BOARD AND PLANES. 
 
 claimed for it are absolute safety to the operator, per- 
 fect accuracy and smooth finish in the work performed. 
 A slot in the crank arm of the drive wheel admits of 
 ample adjustment of stroke to accommodate various 
 sizes of work. 
 
 A very convenient and efficient trimming machine 
 is shown on page 96. A rapidly rotating arbor or 
 spindle carrying a cutter head in which are secured, by 
 counter-sunk set screws, two or more cutting tools, is 
 journaled in a substantial iron frame. 
 
 The work is carried past the cutters on a reciprocat- 
 ing carriage which slides on ways parallel with the 
 face of the cutter head. The carriage is furnished with 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 95 
 
 a right-angled adjustable gage, against which the work 
 rests, and which is operated by a finely threaded feed 
 screw admitting of close and accurate adjustments. 
 These should admit of standardized pica dimensions. 
 
 POWER SHOOT-BOARD. 
 
 For job work the dimensions of the trimmer car- 
 riage are about 12 by 16 inches, but for flat newspaper 
 work where it is often desired to trim the sides and 
 ends of a whole page, the carriage is made as large as 
 
96 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 20 by 24 inches, and may be made even larger, of 
 course, should the work demand it. To perform 
 smooth and accurate work the trimmer head should 
 make about 3,500 revolutions a minute. 
 
 To prevent the work from being drawn into the 
 knives and injured it is essential that it should be held 
 
 JOB TRIMMER. 
 
 securely on the carriage. Large and heavy pieces of 
 work, if they have first been shaved and straightened, 
 may be easily and without danger held by the fingers, as 
 their weight is nearly sufficient to resist the tendency of 
 the tools to draw them away from the guide. 
 
 Long and narrow pieces, such as single column 
 newspaper plates, require to be held at both ends. This 
 
STEREOTYPING. 97 
 
 is a matter of some inconvenience to the operator on 
 account of the long reach involved and because, with 
 both hands thus engaged, he can operate the adjusting 
 screw, by which the plate is fed to the cutters, only at a 
 great disadvantage. To, reduce to a minimum the 
 danger and difficulty of holding such pieces an auto- 
 matic clamp has been devised which relieves the oper- 
 ator from the necessity of holding one end of the plate, 
 thus leaving one hand free for the adjustment of the 
 side gage. In trimming long plates it is obvious that 
 the front end (the end farthest removed from the 
 operator), unless held to the carriage, is liable to 
 chatter or spring up when undergoing the action of the 
 cutters, and to obviate the necessity of holding it by 
 hand, a presser foot is provided upon the carriage 
 which can be automatically raised and lowered each 
 time the carriage is reciprocated in operation. 
 
 Very small pieces of work, such as one, two or 
 three line stereotypes, are held in a special line holder. 
 This is an oblong block of iron ten or twelve inches 
 
 LINE HOLDER. 
 
 in length, two inches in width and one inch high. 
 A dove-tailed groove extending the full length of the 
 side face of the block admits two thin, serrated clamps, 
 one of which is secured by means of a set screw at any 
 
98 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 desired distance from the end of the block, and the 
 other is pivoted to the end of a lever which is operated 
 by a crank handle on the top of the block. The under 
 side of the block is recessed to receive a spiral spring 
 which is attached to the lever and serves to hold the 
 
 LARGE TRIMMER. 
 
 clamps firmly together upon the work except when 
 released therefrom by the action of the crank handle 
 before mentioned. 
 
 In operation the block is placed upon the carriage 
 of the trimmer, the clamp jaws separated by means of 
 
STEREOTYPING. 99 
 
 the crank handle and the work inserted between them. 
 On releasing the handle, the spring, acting upon the 
 lever, draws the clamps together. The work is thus 
 held securely and may be trimmed without danger to 
 the eyes or fingers of the operator, provided the line 
 holder itself be held firmly against the side gage of the 
 machine during the operation of trimming. 
 
 It should be impressed upon the workman that 
 whether trimming small or large pieces, it is important 
 that the carriage of the machine should be kept free 
 from chips. More accidents have been caused by care- 
 lessness in this regard than from all other causes com- 
 bined. A chip or small piece of metal under the work 
 will cause it to chatter or rock when it encounters the 
 cutters, with the result that the workman often loses 
 control of it; and even if he is not injured by flying 
 fragments his work will be destroyed. 
 
 Two kinds of cutters are used in trimming machines, 
 one for trimming metal work and the other for wood or 
 wood and metal combined, such as job or book plates 
 mounted on cherry or mahogany. Both are made of 
 Stubbs tool steel, hardened, and the temper drawn to a 
 purple color. The holes in the cutter head are usually 
 round, in which case round steel, of a size which will 
 accurately fit the holes, should be used for tools. The 
 cutting end of the tools, however, must be squared for 
 at least a half an inch back from the end. That is to 
 say, there must be one right-angled corner to do the 
 cutting. 
 
 As the back of the tool has no work to do, its form 
 is immaterial and it may be left in the shape of the 
 original form of the steel. 
 
100 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 Fig. i, shown below, is a plan view, Fig. 2 a side 
 view and Fig. 3 a rear view of a metal cutter; c is 
 the cutting edge and ci the cutting end of the tool. It 
 is obvious that with a cutter of this shape most of the 
 work will be done by the point, or right-angled corner, 
 d, for as the amount of metal cut from the stereotype 
 plate at one time rarely exceeds 1-16 of an inch, the 
 
 TRIMMER TOOL. 
 
 contact of the tool with the plate will extend only that 
 distance back from the end; while in the other direc- 
 tion the tool will show wear for a distance back from 
 the point corresponding with the travel of the trimmer 
 carriage during the time the cutter is passing the plate. 
 As the cutter has a travel of over 2,000 feet per minute 
 while the travel of the carriage rarely exceeds 30 feet 
 per minute, it is evident that the wear in this direction 
 is not appreciable. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 101 
 
 In order to make the tool last as long as possible 
 without grinding, this corner should be slightly rounded 
 
 TYPE GAGE. 
 
 LINING GAGE. 
 
 as shown at e, in Fig. 3, and the end and side faces of 
 the cutter should be backed off slightly at a and b to 
 provide clearance. 
 
102 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 On page 103 is a view of a machine specially 
 designed to be used in the finishing of that class of 
 stereotype plates having one or more longitudinal legs 
 with inclined side surfaces whereby they may be locked 
 in the form to bases having one or more upward projec- 
 tions adapted to engage the inclined faces of the leg. 
 The operations performed by the machine are the trim- 
 ming of the side edges of the plate, the trimming of the 
 inclined face of the leg or legs, and also the formation 
 of a horizontal under-bearing surface upon the cored 
 or hollow part of the plate. These operations are all 
 simultaneous, and the plate after undergoing them is 
 finished, ready for the press. 
 
 Some features of the invention are, however, well 
 adapted for use in trimming plates having other modes 
 of fastening than that mentioned, and in which the 
 longitudinal leg with the inclined side face is not 
 present. 
 
 The invention consists in two rotary cutter heads 
 adapted to trim the plate edges, placed opposite each 
 other, and at a distance apart corresponding to the 
 width desired for the plate, and an inclined rotary 
 cutter or cutters located to operate upon the side face 
 of the under leg or legs of the plate, with reciprocating 
 carriage for moving the plate up to the cutters. 
 
 The cutter arbors are made horizontally adjustable, 
 by which means the wear of the cutting tools may be 
 compensated for, and errors of adjustment of the cut- 
 ting tools readily corrected. 
 
 The plate-holding carriage is slotted throughout 
 that portion of its length covered by the plate to give 
 access to the under cutter, the plate straddling the slot. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 103 
 
 DOUBLE TRIMMER. 
 
104 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 A vertically acting clamp coextensive with the plate 
 in length is mounted upon the carriage and is used to 
 hold the plate rigidly during the time it is being 
 trimmed, and serves also as a guide for the alignment 
 of the plate. The clamp is operated by a lever handle, 
 which also serves the operator as a handle for pushing 
 the carriage to and from the cutters. 
 
 To prevent injury to the printing surface of the 
 plate the bottom of the clamp is faced with a sheet of 
 rubber or leather. 
 
 The inclined under cutter is adjustable in two direc- 
 tions, thus providing a means of taking up any wear of 
 the cutter and for changing either the depth of the cut 
 or its location. 
 
 The cutters used on this machine are novel in con- 
 struction, those employed for trimming the side of the 
 plate being cup-shaped and furnished with six or more 
 cutting teeth. These teeth are formed so as to produce 
 a shaving cut, the object of which is to enable the 
 operator to crowd the work through the machine more 
 rapidly than would be possible with one or two cutting 
 tools only, and at the same time leave a smooth and 
 finished surface. 
 
 The under cutter is provided with ten teeth so 
 ground as to leave ample clearance at the ends and 
 sides. 
 
 This machine admits of very rapid execution, a 
 good operator having by actual count trimmed six full- 
 length columns, sides and bottom, in forty seconds. 
 
 To produce the best results the side cutters should 
 be driven about 4,000 revolutions a minute. A higher 
 speed would not add to the capacity of the machine 
 
STEREOTYPING. 105 
 
 because the increased friction would result in a wear 
 of the cutters which would not be compensated for by 
 the increased velocity. This fact holds true with all 
 cutting machines that there is a limit to the speed at 
 which they can be operated with economy. 
 
106 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 ROUTING AND BEVELING. 
 
 WHEN stereotypes are produced from molds of 
 zinc etchings or other cuts in which the relief 
 is shallow, or when the matrix of a type form has not 
 been carefully packed, more or less routing or chiseling 
 must be done to deepen the relief sufficiently to prevent 
 blacking or smutting the paper in printing. In news- 
 paper work the curved plates, after having been shaved, 
 are placed on a circular iron horse, or bench, raised to 
 a convenient height from the floor, and the superfluous 
 metal is removed from the edges with an iron hand 
 plane. The reliefs are then deepened, where necessary, 
 with mallet and chisels. The ordinary chisels used by 
 carpenters are too long to be used advantageously for 
 this purpose, but may be made to answer admirably by 
 cutting off one-half the blade and inserting the chisel 
 further into the handle. Three or four sizes of chisels 
 and gouges are employed, some with straight blades, 
 and others bent or off-set so as to facilitate their opera- 
 tion in places where the use of a straight chisel would 
 bring the fingers of the workmen in contact with the 
 plate, or would be otherwise inconvenient. 
 
 Flat newspaper plates are finished in much the same 
 manner except that a flat iron finishing plate takes the 
 place of the iron horse. Both horse and plate are pro- 
 vided at one end with raised stops against which the 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 107 
 
 plate rests during the operation of chiseling. When the 
 quantity of metal to be removed is considerable, as is 
 sometimes the case with illustrated book or flat news- 
 paper pages, the work may be done much more rapidly 
 and accurately with the routing machine, an illustra- 
 
 FINISHING CYLINDER. 
 
 tion of which is shown on page 109. A rapidly revolv- 
 ing vertical spindle carries on its lower end a chuck in 
 which may be secured cutting tools of various sizes 
 suited to the nature of the work. The bearing in which 
 the spindle turns is fastened to a bar, one end of which 
 serves as a handle for guiding the tool over the work, 
 while the other end is pivoted to a second bar which is 
 
108 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 in turn pivoted to the frame of the machine. The 
 double joints thus formed permit the tool to be moved 
 freely in any direction over the surface of the machine. 
 The second bar is supported, at the elbow formed by 
 pivoting together the first and second bars, by a steel 
 segment, and the first bar rests on a straight edge of 
 hard wood extending the entire length of the machine. 
 The ends of the hard wood slide are supported upon 
 spring studs, which hold the handle bar carrying the 
 spindle high enough from the table so that the cutting 
 tool clears the work when not in operation. A pedal 
 attached to a lever underneath the machine offers a 
 convenient means of compressing the springs, thereby 
 dropping the handle bar and permitting the tool to enter 
 the work. The tool spindle is adjustable in a vertical 
 direction to provide for work of different thicknesses, 
 as when a change from type-high to plate work or vice 
 versa is desired. This adjustment is obtained by means 
 of a hand wheel attached to a threaded sleeve in which 
 the spindle turns. The sleeve is provided with a feather 
 to prevent its turning so that a movement of the hand 
 wheel in either direction raises or lowers the spindle. 
 
 The work is held by screw clamps which slide freely 
 in dovetail grooves planed in the bed of the machine. 
 Power is transmitted to the tool spindle by a belt pass- 
 ing over idle pulleys attached to the frame of the 
 machine to the smaller of two cone pulleys which turn 
 freely on a stud, an extension of which forms the pivot 
 for the junction of the first and second bars. The 
 larger of the cone pulleys is connected by an endless 
 belt with the tool spindle. To provide a means of 
 taking up the stretch of the endless belt, the bearing 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 109 
 
 ROUTING MACHINE. 
 
110 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 carrying the tool spindle is made adjustable on the 
 handle bar. 
 
 It will be observed that the location of the pulleys 
 at the pivotal points of the radial arms enables the 
 operator to move the tool spindle freely in any direction 
 without in any way changing the tension of the belt. 
 
 To perform smooth and rapid work router tools 
 require to be driven at a high speed. For routing stere- 
 otype metal the speed should be not less than 12,000 
 revolutions per minute. A machine running so rapidly 
 should, of course, receive careful attention. The bear- 
 ings must be kept clean and well oiled and must not be 
 permitted to become overheated. Router tools for gen- 
 eral work are about the size of a lead-pencil. For 
 special work they are made as small as 1-16 of an inch 
 in diameter, and when it is necessary to remove a large 
 quantity of metal from one spot or where the spaces to 
 be deepened are very large, the size of the tool may be 
 increased to ^2 inch. For ordinary work, however, the 
 size first mentioned will be found most serviceable. 
 The most effective tool for soft metals is made of 
 Stubbs steel tempered to a purple color. The cutting 
 surface is made in the shape of a half moon, as shown 
 in Fig. 4, page 115, the leading point being slightly 
 longer than the heel to prevent clogging. This tool is 
 sharpened by grinding the end only and may therefore 
 be easily kept in order. To operate the machine the 
 work is placed on the bed as near the center as possible 
 and secured by the screw clamps. The tool spindle is 
 then moved over the work and the height adjusted by 
 means of the hand wheel until the tool just clears the 
 plate. The machine is then started and the tool having 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 Ill 
 
 been brought exactly over the space which it is desired 
 to deepen, the operator places his foot on the treadle, 
 bringing the cutter into contact with the plate. By 
 means of the two handle bars the tool may be moved 
 back and forth or in circles until the superfluous metal 
 has been removed, when by releasing the pressure on 
 
 IMPROVED BEVELING MACHINE. 
 
112 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 the pedal, the tool is automatically raised clear of the 
 work and may be moved over to the next space. 
 
 Book plates, when finished ready for the press, are 
 usually mounted on " patent blocks," i. e., iron bases. 
 The plates are secured to the bases by bevel clamps 
 which lap over the edges of the plates. It is necessary, 
 therefore, to provide a beveled edge on the plates. This 
 may be done on a shoot-board by employing a bevel 
 plane, but when a large number of plates are to be 
 beveled, it is more economical and satisfactory to 
 employ a beveling machine. 
 
 This machine somewhat resembles a trimmer in 
 appearance. It has a reciprocating carriage to carry 
 the work to and from the cutters, is provided with 
 gages for the alignment of the work, and may be 
 quickly adjusted so as to produce either a rabbet or 
 beveled edge to the plate, as may be desired. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 113 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 REVISING. 
 
 AFTER book plates have been finished ready for 
 blocking, a final proof is taken from them and it 
 often happens that errors are then discovered which 
 have been overlooked in the first reading. It also fre- 
 quently happens that the author wishes to make changes 
 or corrections in the matter after the plates have been 
 finished. When such changes consist of two or three 
 words, a line or a paragraph, it is customary to set up 
 and stereotype the corrected matter and after cutting 
 out the defective portion of the plate the new piece is 
 set in and soldered. When the changes are no more 
 than parts of a word or single letters, such as might be 
 due to typographical errors or imperfect type, the 
 defective letters are punched out of the plate and type 
 set in and soldered in their place. For this work special 
 tools are required, consisting of a set of punches and 
 chisels, a pair of calipers, a revising stick, a pair of 
 cutting pliers, a blow-pipe, a soldering iron, some small 
 flat files and a light hammer. A set of chisels and 
 punches consists of eight sizes corresponding with the 
 different sizes of type in general use, namely, pica, 
 small pica, long primer, bourgeois, brevier, minion, 
 nonpareil and agate. The thickness of the tools corre- 
 sponds with the letter i in the respective fonts. The 
 calipers are made of two strips of spring brass or steel, 
 
114 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 six inches in length, one-half inch wide at one end and 
 tapering to one-fourth of an inch at the other. These 
 strips are parallel and separated at the wide ends by a 
 block of metal one-half inch in thickness to which they 
 are soldered. The strips are slightly bent so that the 
 narrow ends are separated about one inch. Through 
 the narrow ends and exactly opposite each other two 
 small holes are drilled in which are secured, by solder- 
 ing or riveting, steel points one-fourth of an inch in 
 
 L 
 
 REVISING CHISEL. 
 
 CALIPERS. 
 
 REVISING PUNCH. 
 
 length. These points are so located that when the 
 strips are pressed together they will exactly meet. Any 
 stereotyper possessed of a little ingenuity can make 
 these calipers, and also his revising stick. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 115 
 
 The revising stick is made of a piece of printer's 
 brass rule six inches or more in length to one edge and 
 one end of which a strip of brass one-eighth of an inch 
 square is soldered, as shown on this page. This 
 
 FIG. 4. ROUTER TOOL. 
 
 DANIELS' PLANER TOOL. 
 
 REVISING STICK. 
 
 makes a convenient and indispensable tool for holding 
 a single line of type while fitting it to the slot in the 
 plate in which it is to be soldered. 
 
 A line gage (page 101) is a convenient tool for 
 detecting errors of alignment between the inserted type 
 and the remainder of the line, although its more com- 
 mon use is for the alignment of newspaper headings or 
 other jobs, made up of capitals and lower-case letters, 
 
116 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 in which the capitals only come to the top of the line. 
 In trimming a line composed of a capital letter followed 
 by several lower-case letters, the width of the block 
 must, of course, correspond with the width of the 
 capital, and it is apparent that without a guide it would 
 be difficult to so trim a block that the lower-case letters 
 would all be at an equal distance from the top and 
 bottom of the block. The same difficulty would occur 
 in trimming any kind of a job requiring a margin above 
 and below the matter. The line gage enables the 
 operator to trim the edges of such jobs exactly parallel 
 with the printing face and is therefore an important 
 and almost indispensable tool to the job stereotyper. 
 It consists first of the brass base, a having a right- 
 angled face, a 1 and a groove planed in its upper 
 surface to admit the sliding gage b which is secured in 
 any desired position by the thumb-screw c. In opera- 
 tion the edge of the sliding gage b is set and locked by 
 means of the thumb-screw, at a distance from the face 
 a 1 corresponding with the desired margin on the stereo- 
 type. In revising, the edge b is set in alignment with 
 the line in which the correction is to be made. After 
 the type has been inserted, and before it is permanently 
 secured by soldering, an application of the gage will 
 determine whether the alignment is perfect. 
 
 The blow-pipe is used for soldering in places which 
 can not be conveniently reached with the soldering iron. 
 One form consists of a Y of brass tubing, one of whose 
 arms is connected by means of a rubber tube with the 
 gas supply. By blowing in the other arm of the Y a 
 stream of air is mixed with the gas, adding greatly to 
 the heat. By reason of the flexible connection the point 
 
STEREOTYPING. 117 
 
 of flame may be directed accurately to the exact spot 
 where the heat is required. 
 
 Referring to page 114, the cutting ends of the 
 revising punches are provided with V grooves which 
 give to the tools two cutting edges, thus admitting 
 of a sharp clean cut through the plate just the size 
 of the type which is to be inserted. To correct a plate, 
 the operator first marks, with his calipers, the loca- 
 tion of the defective letter upon the back of the plate 
 which, for this purpose, is inserted between the parallel 
 arms of the calipers until one end of the steel points 
 overhangs the defective letter when the other point, 
 which is exactly opposite, is pressed into the back 
 of the plate or slightly scratched thereon. With a 
 small chisel a groove is now made at the point marked 
 by the calipers to the depth of one-half or more of 
 the thickness of the plate. A punch of the proper size 
 having been selected, the plate is turned over, face 
 up, upon a block of wood and with a quick, sharp blow 
 with the hammer, the letter is punched out. Turning 
 the plate over again, face down, upon the finishing 
 block, the type is inserted in the hole and the con- 
 tiguous metal crowded against it with a chisel, until it 
 is secured against dropping out, when the face is exam- 
 ined to see that the inserted type is in alignment with 
 the remainder of the line, and level with the surface of 
 the plate. Care must be taken to keep the type on its 
 feet, that is to say, it must not lean from a perpendic- 
 ular. Everything being in readiness, the body of the 
 type which has been left projecting through the plate is 
 cut off with the cutting pliers, level with the back of the 
 plate, and a little muriatic acid, in which zinc has been 
 
118 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 dissolved to saturation, is dropped on it. A small piece 
 of solder is now dropped on the end of the type and 
 melted either by the blow-pipe or soldering iron, thus 
 rigidly securing it in position. It is of course necessary 
 that the soldering shall be done with some delicacy, 
 otherwise there will be danger of melting the surround- 
 ing metal or the type itself to such an extent as to injure 
 the face. When cool, the superfluous solder is removed 
 with a chisel or flat file. When necessary to insert sev- 
 eral consecutive letters the slot made by the punch is 
 enlarged with chisel and file to the size of the correction, 
 and the type, which has been previously set up in the 
 revising stick, is inserted and temporarily secured as 
 before. Somewhat more skill is required to make a 
 correction of this kind than to insert a single letter, as 
 the slot must be kept parallel and in exact alignment 
 with the remainder of the line, and this is a more diffi- 
 cult matter than to punch a single hole in the plate. 
 When the slot has been made too large, as sometimes 
 occurs, the types are aligned by crowding the contig- 
 uous metal against that side of the type which is above 
 or below the line. When the types have been properly 
 placed they are usually partially secured by soldering 
 before cutting ofT the bodies, as otherwise there would 
 be danger of disturbing them by the action of the pliers. 
 When the correction consists of several words or 
 parts of lines joining each other, the matter is set up 
 and stereotyped in the usual manner. The corrected 
 piece so made is laid on the plate in the position it is to 
 occupy and with a graver or other sharp-pointed tool 
 its exact outline is marked on the plate. A hole is 
 drilled in one corner and the defective portion of the 
 
STEREOTYPING. 119 
 
 plate removed with a jig-saw. The correction is then 
 inserted, the plate turned face down, and a drop of 
 solder applied to each of the four corners. During the 
 operation of soldering, the plate and the correction 
 
 COMBINED JIG-SAW AND DRILL. 
 
120 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 should both be pressed firmly against the finishing block 
 to prevent any warping or springing of the pieces which 
 might be caused by the heat of the iron. For this pur- 
 pose the cutting pliers may be reversed, the end of one 
 handle being used to hold the plate and the other to 
 hold the correction. 
 
 When the correction consists of an entire paragraph 
 it may easily be made by sawing out the defective por- 
 tion altogether, and soldering in the stereotyped sub- 
 stitute. 
 
 One of the most convenient tools in the foundry is 
 the type gage (page 101). It is used chiefly for com- 
 paring the dimensions of finished work with different 
 standards of patterns, and also for detecting inaccu- 
 racies in the height of finished work. 
 
 The tool is made entirely of steel, case-hardened to 
 prevent wear by friction, and the adjustable jaw accu- 
 rately fitted on the bar upon which it slides. The dis- 
 tance between the points of the jaws is about 6-1000 of 
 an inch greater than at the heels, and the graduating 
 marks, therefore, if the tool is accurately made, will 
 show variations of i-iooo of an inch. In other words, 
 a block which could be inserted the full length of the 
 jaws and fit snugly therein would be 6-1000 of an inch 
 thinner than one which would barely enter the points, 
 and 3-1000 of an inch thinner than one which could be 
 inserted one-half the length of the jaws. Practically 
 these measurements would not be exact, and it is not 
 material that they should be, for the tool is not designed 
 for measuring, but comparing. The essential feature 
 of the tool is that, whatever may be the location of the 
 adjustable jaw upon the bar, the distance between the 
 
STEREOTYPING. 121 
 
 points of the jaws must always be slightly greater than 
 the distance between the heels. 
 
 Every job stereotyper should possess a set of brass 
 standards based upon the printer's universal unit of 
 measurement, the pica. These standards should be 
 twenty-six or more in number, ranging from one to 
 twenty-six picas in length. 
 
 The convenience of such standards will be apparent 
 when it is remembered that all large type, such as is 
 employed for newspaper headings, etc., is made to 
 occupy the space of a certain number of lines pica, and 
 is for this reason called six-line type, seven-line type, 
 etc. A six-line heading, therefore, must be trimmed 
 down to occupy exactly the space of six pica lines, and 
 the use of the type gage and the brass standards enables 
 the operator to do his work with absolute accuracy, for, 
 by locking the jaws of the gage upon his six-line 
 standard and noting the distance the standard will enter 
 the jaws, and afterward trimming his heading until it 
 will enter the jaws to the same graduating mark, he 
 may be certain of absolute uniformity between them. 
 
 In addition to the pica standards the stereotyper 
 should have a steel block about three inches long, one 
 and one-half inches wide and exactly type high, i. e., 
 .918 of an inch. Such a gage is useful for testing the 
 height of finished work, but more particularly for set- 
 ting the knife of the shaving machine, for which pur- 
 pose it is placed upon the bed of the machine and the 
 knife screwed down until it will just touch it. A block 
 of metal is then shaved by the machine and compared, 
 by means of the type gage, with the type-high standard. 
 Should a variation be discovered the knife may be 
 
122 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 adjusted until the shaved block and the standard are 
 uniform. 
 
 Book plates are usually worked upon patent blocks 
 and must be finished exactly eleven points in thick- 
 ness. For testing this class of work a standard should 
 be provided eleven points thick, but c in other respects 
 similar to the type-high standard. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 123 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 BLOCKING. 
 
 BOOK or job plates which are not used on patent 
 blocks are usually mounted on blocks of cherry or 
 mahogany and are secured thereto by screws or tacks 
 or anchored by bolts of metal. 
 
 Owing to its close grain, mahogany is the better 
 wood for mounting stereotypes, but as it is very expen- 
 sive it has given place largely to cherry and cheaper 
 woods. 
 
 To prepare the wood for use, it must first be thor- 
 oughly dried by stacking it up for a sufficient length of 
 time in a warm, dry atmosphere, or by drying it in a 
 kiln. Wood which has been stacked in a yard under 
 cover, in such a manner that the air has had free access 
 to all its surfaces, is preferable to kiln-dried lumber, as 
 it is much less liable to be affected by changes of atmos- 
 phere, but such lumber is exceedingly difficult to obtain, 
 and as a rule the stereotyper finds it necessary to have 
 his wood kiln-dried. 
 
 Having been dried, the lumber must be dressed in 
 such a manner that its surfaces will be perfectly flat and 
 parallel with each other. For this purpose the Daniels 
 Planer is employed. Lumber which has been through 
 the Nichols Dryer, or which has been otherwise dried 
 so that it is perfectly flat, may be dressed by passing it 
 through the shaving machine, but this is a tedious 
 
124 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 process, as it is usually necessary to take off a number 
 of cuts to reduce it to the proper thickness for blocking. 
 The lumber may also, if perfectly flat, be dressed in a 
 Pony Planer, but if warped or twisted, this machine is 
 not suitable, for, while the lumber is flattened by the 
 pressure rollers during the operation of planing, it 
 immediately springs back to the original shape on being 
 released. It is consequently more economical, and the 
 results more satisfactory, to employ a Daniels Planer 
 for this work, although the first cost of the machine 
 might be considered excessive by small establishments. 
 The peculiar advantage of this machine consists in the 
 fact that the wood is always left perfectly flat and level, 
 no matter how badly it may have been warped or 
 sprung before planing. It is possible, therefore, to 
 use lumber which would otherwise be wasted through 
 inability to reduce it to a proper condition for blocking. 
 Referring to page 125 it will be observed that the 
 cutting tools of the Daniels Planer are secured in a 
 revolving disk which is vertically adjustable by means 
 of the crank shown at the extreme top of the machine. 
 Power is communicated to the disk by a belt passing 
 over idlers, at the rear of the upright frame, to the 
 pulley on the disk shaft. One of these idlers is secured 
 to the shaft, which has on its outer end a grooved 
 pulley, and thus provides a means of transmitting 
 power to the worm shaft, shown at the side of the 
 machine, which meshes with a worm wheel that is 
 secured to a shaft which passes under the traveling bed 
 and is provided on its inner end with a small pinion, 
 which engages the rack attached to the under surface 
 of the bed, thus communicating motion during the 
 
STEREOTYPING. 125 
 
 operation of planing. By a simple mechanism which is 
 at all times in control of the operator, the worm is 
 thrown out of gear with the worm wheel, at the termi- 
 nation of the cut, and the bed returned to its first posi- 
 
 DANIELS PLANER. 
 
 tion by hand, for which purpose the worm wheel is pro- 
 vided with a handle. The lumber is held, during the 
 operation of planing, between the jaws of the two ser- 
 rated clamps, one of which may be set and locked at 
 any point on the bed. The other clamp is provided with 
 
126 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 a threaded extension which passes through a slot in the 
 bed and is there connected with a screw extending the 
 full length of the bed and terminating in the crank 
 handle shown at the front of the machine. In opera- 
 tion the first clamp is put in proper position and locked, 
 the board placed between the jaws and the second 
 clamp drawn up to it by means of the crank mentioned. 
 The board is thus securely held in its natural position, 
 without springing or rocking, which on passing beneath 
 the revolving cutter head has its upper surface made 
 perfectly flat and level. The board is then turned over 
 with its flat surface lying on the bed of the machine and 
 again passed under the knives, which reduce it to the 
 desired thickness. The cutter head is raised and 
 lowered by a graduating adjusting screw operated by 
 the crank shown at the top of the machine, and may be 
 thus always returned to the proper height for the finish- 
 ing cut without going to the trouble of comparing each 
 board with a standard. The adjusting screw is also 
 provided with a jamb nut which may be locked after 
 the proper point has been determined, thereby prevent- 
 ing the disk from going below the desired distance 
 from the bed of the machine. The cutting tools for the 
 Daniels Planer, four in number, are of peculiar shape 
 and require some care in grinding in order to preserve 
 the original angles. The cutting nose of the tool is 
 rounded and a knife edge obtained by hollow-grinding 
 the end of the tool back from the point. The heel is 
 raised high enough to provide ample clearance. Owing 
 to the large size of the disk and the fact that the tool 
 sockets are located near its periphery, the machine 
 should be driven at a slow speed. Suppose the disk to 
 
STEREOTYPING. 127 
 
 be eighteen inches in diameter and the cutting tools to 
 be placed eight inches from the center, then the disk 
 running at a speed of 1,500 revolutions would give to 
 the cutters a travel of about 5,000 feet per minute, 
 which is about all that a sharp-edged tool operating in 
 hard wood can be made to stand, as the heat caused by 
 the friction of a more rapid speed would draw the 
 temper of the tools. After planing, the boards are cut 
 into convenient lengths for handling and the plates 
 secured to them by means of wire brads, if the cuts are 
 small. If large, screws are employed in addition to the 
 brads, with the object of preventing the block from 
 warping and drawing away from the plate. Both brads 
 and screws are driven through the thin places in the 
 plate, i. e., the spaces. For the screws, holes must be 
 drilled and countersunk, in order that the heads may be 
 sufficiently depressed to avoid the danger of smutting 
 the printed impression. 
 
 It is sometimes customary also to drill holes for the 
 brads, and this is undoubtedly the safest course for the 
 amateur, although an expert workman will usually 
 drive the brad through the metal unless it is unusually 
 thick. It sometimes happens that a plate will be found 
 to have no spaces in which brads may be driven, as, for 
 instance, a stereotyped engraving. In this case it 
 becomes necessary to " anchor " the plate to the block. 
 For this purpose holes about one-fourth of an inch in 
 diameter are bored through the block and deeply coun- 
 tersunk on both sides. If the plate has been finished 
 long enough to have become oxidized, the back is 
 brightened by filing and it is then laid on the block and 
 secured thereto by small hand clamps. It is then turned 
 
128 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 over on its face and after a very small quantity of 
 soldering fluid has been applied to the plate through the 
 holes, melted solder is poured in until the holes are full. 
 The plate is thus securely anchored to the block. It is 
 important, of course, to have the solder not too hot, as 
 in that case there would be danger of its melting 
 through the plate. When a large number of small cuts 
 are to be mounted, it is customary to tack them onto a 
 board as large as may conveniently be planed, leaving 
 sufficient room between to saw them apart. Should it 
 be necessary to take a final shaving off from the bottom 
 of the cuts, after they have been blocked, it may be done 
 more conveniently if several are shaved at a time than 
 if each one had to be handled separately. 
 
 Very large blocks are apt to warp, in time, in spite 
 of all precautions that may be taken to prevent it, and 
 to reduce this tendency to a minimum such blocks are 
 made in sections, and are called " end blocks," because 
 the ends of the blocks are made of strips of wood with 
 the grain running across the grain of the main block. 
 A crude way of making such blocks is to drill screw 
 holes through the narrow strips, countersink them 
 deeply, and after clamping the block and strips to a flat 
 surface, drive the screws home. The blocks and strips 
 are made of rough lumber, except that the ends of the 
 block and the sides of the strips are finished square to 
 secure a good joint. After they are screwed together 
 the block is passed through the "Daniels Planer, which 
 corrects any unevenness due to careless or inaccurate 
 work. 
 
 While such end blocks are preferable to a block 
 having no protection against warping, they are inferior 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 129 
 
 to a block whose end strips are secured by means of a 
 dovetailed mortise and tenon, for the screwed end strip 
 is secured to the block at intervals only, while the dove- 
 
 DOVETAILING MACHINE. 
 
 tailed strip has a continuous grip on the end of the 
 block. 
 
 For the manufacture of such blocks a machine has 
 been designed which rapidly and accurately fits the 
 different sections. It is called a dovetailing and box 
 
130 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 machine, and for large foundries is a convenient and 
 desirable tool. The cutting tools are a thick gouge 
 saw of about number three gage, which cuts a slot 
 in the board or strip, and a vertical revolving cutter 
 which follows in the slot and changes it to a dovetail 
 groove. The mechanism for driving the saw and cutter 
 is sufficiently explained by the engraving on .page 129. 
 The parallel side gage against which the board is 
 pressed during the cutting of the dovetail can be 
 instantly changed by means of the small lever at the 
 right of the machine, so that either the center or the 
 edge of the strip may be thrown in alignment with the 
 cutters, thus providing a means for cutting the dove- 
 tailed groove in one board and a rabbet on another. 
 The mechanism for changing the side gage from one 
 position to the other is such that there can be no varia- 
 tion in the distance it is moved and whatever position it 
 occupies it is automatically locked therein, thus insuring 
 absolute uniformity of work. The machine may be 
 readily adjusted to operate in lumber of different thick- 
 nesses, from one-half inch to one inch or more. 
 
 Book plates are seldom mounted on wooden blocks, 
 as they can be more cheaply made and more satisfac- 
 torily " worked " on " patent blocks," with a supply of 
 which every large book-publishing house is provided. 
 " Patent blocks " are made of iron, finished one pica 
 less than height of type and furnished with clamping 
 devices, which secure the plate to the base. The best 
 blocks are made in sections and may be readily made 
 up to fit any size of plate. The clamps are beveled so 
 as to overlap the beveled edge of the plate, and upon 
 one side of the block are made adjustable so that by 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 131 
 
 NAILING MACHINE. 
 
132 
 
 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 means of small-toothed wheels, operated by a rack, 
 they may be snugly clamped against the edge of the 
 plate. 
 
 In fastening thin stereotype plates to wood blocks 
 it is necessary to nail them. This is ordinarily done by 
 hand, but recently perfected nailing machines make the 
 work more certain, rapid and free from the risk of 
 
 MORTISING OR REVISING MACHINE. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 133 
 
 injuring the plate through the slipping of a hammer 
 in hand nailing. 
 
 Every stereotyping plant should possess a patent 
 plate-mortising and correcting machine (also called a 
 revising machine), for it is one of the most valuable 
 time and labor saving machines ever brought out for 
 stereotypers. It does away with hand-revising punches, 
 calipers, gravers, etc. A series of variable sized 
 punches are supported on a rotary holder. They can 
 be brought under the plunger, which is operated by a 
 hand lever. The die in the bed is adjustable so that all 
 cuts will be clean and absolutely perpendicular, so that 
 type can be set in with exactness at once, as no burs 
 are formed. Suitable gages help to locate the exact 
 point where the mortise is to be made. Openings that 
 will accommodate type-bodies from 4 to 12 point, a 
 single letter to an entire line, can be formed with a 
 precision that is absolutely unattainable by means of 
 hand punches. When more than one letter to a line 
 has to be corrected the guide or locating gages insure 
 exact alignment. Special punches can be made to fit 
 the type-bodies of any country at a moderate cost. 
 
134 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 AUTOPLATE, THE. The Autoplate consists of com- 
 bined casting and finishing mechanisms which cooperate to 
 automatically cast, shave and trim at the head, foot and sides, 
 and deliver ready for use, curved stereotype printing-plates 
 at the rate of three and a half per minute. At one end of the 
 machine is the casting mechanism in which the matrix is 
 secured (the operation of securing the matrix occupies less 
 time and may be done with more convenience than with the 
 present hand-box). Once the matrix is in position, the oper- 
 ator, at the casting end of the machine, throws down the lever 
 and the casting apparatus proceeds automatically to cast and 
 deliver plates to the finishing mechanism which adjoins it. As 
 each cast is ejected from the casting chamber it is automatic- 
 ally thrust into the finishing mechanism where, likewise auto- 
 matically, it is trimmed, head, foot and sides, shaved out, its 
 bevels finished and delivered ready for printing. If large 
 blanks throughout the body of a matrix are not properly 
 backed up they will have to be dressed out of the pktes by 
 hand, but all other finishing the machine takes care of. The 
 Autoplate is so arranged that a change may be made from one 
 matrix to another with the loss of but one casting operation ; 
 thus it is easy (and results in the loss of but a small fraction 
 of a minute) to change from the casting of one page to 
 that of another. It should be understood that the change of 
 matrices, which requires the stoppage of casting, in no wise 
 interferes with the operation of finishing all the plates that 
 are in the machine at the time for the change. All the waste 
 from finishing sawdust, shavings and tails goes into a 
 receptacle, from which it may be removed with a shovel and 
 thrown back into the furnace; thus all stereotype metal is 
 
STEREOTYPING. 135 
 
 conserved and kept free from the floor dirt which is usually 
 mixed with it. From three to four men only are necessary 
 to the operation of the Autoplate machine one to look after 
 the casting end, another to look after the supply of metal, and 
 the third or fourth to inspect the plates as they are delivered 
 and lift them off the machine. 
 
 BACKING POWDER. The following backing com- 
 pounds are all good and are all patented : ( I ) Four parts lime, 
 one part wheat flour. (2) Equal parts lime, wheat flour and 
 plaster of paris, and one-sixteenth part alum. (3) Forty-three 
 parts marble dust and seven parts wheat flour. 
 
 BEATING THE MATRIX. It is better to strike a large 
 number of light blows with the brush than a less number of 
 heavy blows, for unless the operator is an expert, a heavy 
 blow will be liable to split the flong and, moreover, light blows 
 oft repeated will drive the flong into the bowls or counters 
 of the types where depth of impression is most desired, while 
 the heavy blow drives the flong down between the lines of type 
 rather than into the bowls, thereby forming ridges on the face 
 of the matrix. 
 
 BELTS, RULE FOR CALCULATING LENGTH OF. 
 Add the diameters of the two pulleys together, divide the 
 result by two, and multiply the quotient by 3 1-7; then add 
 this product to twice the distance between the center of the 
 shafts. 
 
 BELTS SLIPPING. A belt slips only when it gets too 
 heavy a load to drive, or when it gets dry and out of condition. 
 When a belt gets saturated with waste oil, an application of 
 ground chalk will soon absorb the oil and make the belt work- 
 able. Belting having joints cemented only is quite as good as 
 if the belt were formed of solid leather from end to end. It 
 lasts much longer and drives better than when cut up with 
 sewing. Belts running over pulleys of small diameter at high 
 speed ought to be as thin and as wide as possible. Orange-tan 
 leather of uniform thickness answers remarkably well. Thin 
 belts, as wide as possible, give by far the best results working 
 vertically. A thick vertical belt will not hug the pulleys. 
 
136 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 BENDING A SMALL MATRIX. Make your matrix 
 soft, i. e., with a minimum quantity of glue, whiting or other 
 stiffening, and depend on felt packing to hold your spaces. 
 Pieces of heavy press blanket will answer, or you can procure 
 a felt packing made especially for the purpose. The packing 
 can be used several times, and when once cut to fit the blanks 
 can be very quickly placed in position. 
 
 BLISTERED MATRICES. Blistering indicates that 
 there is too much water in your paste, that your paste is not 
 sufficiently adhesive, or that it is not spread on the paper with 
 sufficient care. In making matrices for molding half-tones, it 
 is absolutely essential that the paper shall be thoroughly pasted. 
 If any spots, however small, are left uncovered, the paper will 
 separate and puff up. This sometimes happens when molding 
 forms made up exclusively of type, but is much more likely on 
 flat surfaces. 
 
 BLISTERING, CAUSE OR If flongs are properly made 
 in the first place, the cause of their blistering will be found 
 in the fact that the matrices are not thoroughly dried out 
 before casting. If any moisture remains in the matrix it will 
 be changed to steam by the heat of the metal and the layers 
 of paper will be forced apart or raised up, " blistered," by the 
 expansion. The molds should be dried as thoroughly as pos- 
 sible on the type and then laid on a hot surface for some time 
 until the moisture has been entirely expelled. 
 
 BRUSH AND SIEVE. The sieve and brush used in pre- 
 paring the paste are manufactured specially for the purpose, 
 the former being in the form of a basin with sieve bottom, 
 secured in a wooden frame so that the sifted paste will fall 
 into another basin underneath. The brush is circular in form, 
 made of stiff bristles and provided with a handle to facilitate 
 its operation. Both sieve and brush should be thoroughly 
 washed as soon as possible after using, as it is no easy matter 
 to clean them after the paste has dried. 
 
 BRUSHES, LEVELING STEREOTYPE BEATING.- 
 The method most commonly employed is to touch the brush 
 
STEREOTYPING. 137 
 
 lightly to a perfectly flat piece of nearly red-hot iron, then 
 turn the brush end for end and touch it again, continuing the 
 process until all the bristles are burned down to the same 
 length. In England the brushes are usually returned to the 
 manufacturers to be trimmed with shears, and this is undoubt- 
 edly the better method, for the reason that the burning process 
 produces small knobs on the ends of the bristles, which natu- 
 rally do not increase the efficiency of the brush. 
 
 CASTING LARGE PLATES. After the matrix is 
 molded, the form is covered with blankets in the usual way; 
 we then have a ^-inch-thick steel plate, long enough to cover 
 form from end to end ; then put under steam table, tightening 
 down as usual. The eight inches or so which are outside of 
 the platen are held down firmly by this steel plate, which, 
 owing to its thickness, will not spring up, thus giving an even 
 pressure on the entire form. The same idea is followed in the 
 casting of the plate, two plates of *4-inch thickness being 
 employed, the bottom one, on which matrix is placed, being 
 about forty-eight inches long. After the gages are put 
 around matrix, the top plate, which is about three inches 
 shorter than the bottom one, is put on. Now the box is closed 
 and the fourteen inches or so extending out of the box proper 
 are clamped together with four clamps to prevent the plates 
 going apart as the metal is being poured in. Taking every- 
 thing into consideration, the variation in thickness of the plate 
 after casting is very slight. Of course, a little difficulty was 
 experienced at first in casting such long, thin plates, the metal 
 invariably getting chilled before it got to the bottom of the 
 box, but at present we make as perfect plates of the " long fel- 
 low " as of anything else. 
 
 CELLULOID PRINTING-PLATES. In some respects 
 celluloid is a desirable material for printing-plates. It is hard 
 and durable and is not affected by inks containing chemicals 
 destructive to copper. Its plastic nature when warm insures 
 perfect reproductions, and its light weight compared with 
 metal plates makes it particularly valuable for the manufac- 
 ture of plates which are to be shipped to distant points. These 
 
138 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 merits were long ago recognized, and considerable time and 
 money have been expended in experimenting with different 
 methods of production. One of the difficulties in the way of 
 the economical manufacture of celluloid plates has been the 
 cost of the molds. When cement molds are employed, only 
 one cast may be obtained from a mold. When copper molds 
 are employed the cost is so high that the process is impracti- 
 cable except where a large number of duplicates are required. 
 Papier-mache molds have been used to some extent, but the 
 tremendous pressure required to cast the celluloid soon dis- 
 torts or destroys the mold. A new method of making the 
 mold, as well as the plate of celluloid, has been somewhat 
 recently invented in Denmark. It is claimed to be a practical 
 and useful method, inexpensive and adapted to the needs of 
 the average printer. Specimens exhibited by the inventor, and 
 testimonials from reputable printers who have tested the 
 plates, indicate that they possess exceptional merit. However, 
 the celluloid compositions used are the inventor's secret, and 
 may not be published. In the language of the inventor, " The 
 proceeding is as follows: The matrix-celluloid is applied on 
 and melted down the original at a certain degree of heat. 
 After five minutes it is taken off, as a full ready matrix, in 
 every way exactly as fine as the original. After this the 
 cliche-celluloid is made plastic at a certain degree of heat, 
 and, after having been cooled about two minutes, the cliche 
 is ready to be used. Such cliches are to be stuck not 
 nailed on a wooden block. Yet it is absolutely required by 
 producing fine cliches that both kinds of celluloid have the 
 exact properties wanted. The method offers many advantages, 
 not only by its rapidity and surety, the cheapness of the mate- 
 rial, the infinitely little cost of installment, but also by the 
 fact that the material is always at hand without any preparing 
 beforehand. The material may be kept at any place for years 
 without depreciation. When the reproduction is to be made 
 on a smaller scale and not in a manufactory way, consequently 
 in printing-offices, the proceeding is so simple that any person 
 is able to learn it in a couple of days, and the machine and 
 other smaller appliances may be procured at a little amount." 
 
STEREOTYPING. 139 
 
 CELLULOID MATRIX COMPOSITION (patented by 
 Louis Ganen). Peroxid of lead (red litharge) moistened 
 with glycerin to the consistency of putty. It becomes hard as 
 a stone in a few minutes and must be molded at just the right 
 instant while it is setting. It will not stand more than one 
 cast and it is doubtful if any cement can be made which will 
 stand more. 
 
 CELLULOID, SUBSTITUTE FOR. A consular report 
 from Frieburg states that a new substance closely resembling 
 celluloid has been produced by boiling untanned leather in oil. 
 It has the property of being a good electrical insulator and can 
 be used for many purposes. This new material, to which the 
 inventor has given the name " marloid," can be polished on 
 both sides, and in its structure resembles horn and can be 
 pressed or worked into any form whatever, either directly 
 after the boiling process or later, after the hardened hide has 
 been made soft and elastic by being dipped into a salt or alum 
 bath. By means of polishing, this material can be made almost 
 transparent, and it can be given different degrees of hard- 
 ness, so that a substance is obtained which can be kneaded, 
 embossed, stamped, pressed, drawn and twisted into any 
 desired shape, style or design. 
 
 CHALK PLATES. "Air-holes and shrinking in stereo- 
 typing are caused from the irregular distribution of heat in the 
 casting-box and irregularity of cooling. As the metal shrinks 
 in cooling, the part that cools first is solid, and, in becoming 
 so, takes up the metal from the places that are still liquid, 
 and when these places cool they are more or less porous, as 
 they had not- the metal to draw from, as the other parts are 
 set. On this theory, I made a casting-box out of two steel 
 plates a quarter of an inch thick and put my chalk plates 
 between them, making, as it were, an iron box. I heated both 
 sides of the box alike to the temperature of the melted metal 
 exactly. I then poured in the casting metal. When the box 
 was full and stood without chilling, I took a sponge soaked 
 in water and cooled the side the chalk plate was on, thus caus- 
 ing the metal to shrink to the plate before the other side got 
 
140 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 chilled. It is almost impossible to get an even heat in one of 
 those casting-boxes, and to undertake to cool one side off 
 with water would undoubtedly cause it to crack. There is 
 air and gas to contend with in stereotyping, but these gases 
 will go out on the side that cools last. I have stereotyped 
 plates from I inch to 12 by 16 inches by the above method, 
 without the least flaw, and the printing surfaces have that 
 brightness that characterizes the type of the best foundries." 
 
 CHALK-PLATE INGREDIENTS. In the patent issued 
 to Maurice Joyce in 1874, the inventor states that he uses a 
 mixture of ground potter's clay and plaster of paris, nearly 
 equal parts, moistened with water to the consistency of mortar ; 
 but ground soapstone, chalk or other material may be used 
 instead. The material is spread on the metal plate and scraped 
 down to any desired thickness. 
 
 CHALK PLATES, STEREOTYPING. The one all- 
 present trouble with stereotypers in casting chalk plates is the 
 lack of sufficient amount of heat in the casting-box, chalk plate 
 and stereotyping metal. Chalk-plate work is very different 
 from papier-mache work, from the fact that the chalk plate 
 itself will chill the metal, the steel being a good conductor of 
 heat. It is necessary to heat the metal until it will immediately 
 scorch a piece of paper thrust into it. The casting-box must 
 be heated beyond the point of melted metal. This may be 
 tested by placing a piece of metal on the box and heating it 
 until it melts. When in the right condition, metal will run 
 from the casting-box " like water from a duck's back." Holes, 
 sunken portions or porous spots in a stereotype are generally 
 caused by the contraction of the metal in cooling. As all 
 cooling metal must of necessity contract, it is desirable to make 
 the contraction occur where it will not cause any trouble. This 
 is done by making the cast chill from the lower end first, and 
 gradually extending to the upper end. This is accomplished 
 either by placing the lower end of the box upon a wet rag and 
 filling it from time to time with hot metal at the top, or simply 
 by filling the top with hot metal. This latter operation is 
 further benefited by thrusting a stick down into the hardening 
 
STEREOTYPING. 141 
 
 cast and immediately filling the vacancy thus made with hot 
 metal. 
 
 CLAY STEREOTYPING. The clay process is seldom 
 employed, for the reason that it is too slow for most of the 
 purposes for which stereotyping is applicable, and is not satis- 
 factory as a substitute for electrotyping. The composition 
 used for molds consists of ground potter's clay, powdered soap- 
 stone and plaster of pans, thoroughly mixed with water to a 
 consistency of soft putty. The mixture is spread evenly and 
 smoothly on an iron plate, which is clamped securely to the 
 head of an electrotyper's swinging-head press. The first 
 impression in the clay is made with a piece of cotton between 
 the form and the clay, to absorb the superfluous moisture and 
 block out the general shape of the form. Two or three subse- 
 quent impressions are made without the cloth, each a little 
 deeper than the last, by which time the composition has become 
 nearly set. The plate is then removed from the press and floated 
 in the metal-pot until all moisture has been expelled. A bent 
 steel wire is then laid on the plate surrounding the mold on 
 three sides and another iron plate laid on the wire to form a 
 cover. The two plates separated by the wire with the mold 
 between them are clamped together and metal poured in the 
 open side. To prevent shrinkage, water is poured on the 
 plates, beginning at the bottom and cooling gradually toward 
 the top. The process demands considerable skill in the oper- 
 ator, particularly in molding, as the impressions must be made 
 at just the right instant to insure good results. 
 
 CLAY STEREOTYPE PROCESS. A writer in the 
 British Printer describes a new process for making stereotype 
 molds from " flong," which is said to be made of natural clay 
 chemically treated. It is said also to be an improvement on 
 the old blot-and-tissue method more expeditious, cleanly, 
 easily done, economical and effective in bringing out hair-lines 
 sharply. The " flong " is sent out in a dry state by the inven- 
 tors and dampened before using. The mold is obtained by 
 pressure on an ordinary hand press or other machine and also 
 by beating with a brush. 
 
142 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 CLAY VS. PAPIER-MACHE STEREOTYPING. Clay, 
 which is employed for stereotype molds, is a combination of 
 soapstone, kaolin and plaster of paris. While these materials 
 are reduced to a very fine powder, yet there is always more 
 or less fine grit remaining, and it is probable that the wear 
 on the type from this cause is fully equal to the wear caused 
 by beating a papier-mache flong into the type. With the papier- 
 mache process, however, there is another element of danger 
 to type in overheating, particularly when the forms are han- 
 dled by a careless workman. The form should not be locked 
 tighter than necessary to " lift," and the type should be further 
 protected by strips of soft pine wood placed between the type 
 and chase at one side and one end. Then if the type becomes 
 sufficiently heated to cause expansion, the wood will yield to 
 the squeeze, and, when the form is cooled, the type will con- 
 tract to its original dimensions. If these precautions are 
 observed, the papier-mache process of stereotyping will be no 
 more likely to injure the type than the clay process. 
 
 COLD PROCESS STEREOTYPING. There arc at 
 least four methods in present use: First, the dry process, 
 elsewhere described; second, the Dalziel process; third, the 
 Kahrs process, and, fourth, the Schreiner, the three latter 
 being named for convenience after their inventors. The Dal- 
 ziel process consists in spreading evenly on a sheet of matrix 
 paper to the depth of about six points a composition the nature 
 of which is not made public, but which resembles kaolin. When 
 this composition has dried or set to the consistency of putty, 
 an impression is taken on an electrotype molding press. The 
 form with the mold attached is then placed on a warm table 
 and allowed to become quite dry, when the mold is carefully 
 removed and cast in the usual manner. This process is not 
 sold outright, but licenses are sold and the composition sup- 
 plied to printers or others who desire to use it. The Kahrs 
 process is simpler and much quicker. By this method a com- 
 position (also secret) is applied to the paper with a brush, 
 and, when partially dry, is beaten into the form in the same 
 manner as a papier-mache flong. It is then immediately 
 
STEREOTYPING. 143 
 
 stripped from the form and laid on a steam table or other hot 
 surface to dry. It is cast in the same manner as a papier- 
 mache mold. The results obtained are quite satisfactory and 
 the outfit is inexpensive. The Schreiner process also consists 
 of a coated paper, but the paper is prepared by the inventor 
 and needs only to be moistened to make it ready for use. 
 
 CONCAVE STEREOTYPES. There are several causes 
 for concaved stereotypes. If the concave is in the matrix, it 
 is probably caused by hard-drying blankets and insufficient 
 squeeze on the steam table while the matrix is drying, or, if a 
 very thin matrix is used, the pressure of the metal in casting 
 will sometimes force down the spaces around the large type, 
 or other black surface, to an extent sufficient to cause the cen- 
 ter of the type to spring up slightly, thus forming a depression 
 in the cast. If the matrix is not defective, the depression in 
 the cast is caused by the shrinkage of the metal away from 
 the matrix in cooling. This may be due to one or more of 
 three causes. The metal may be too hot, or it may contain 
 too much tin, or the casting-box may be tilted in the wrong 
 direction, i. e., so that the pressure of the metal is against the 
 back cover of the box instead of against the matrix. The 
 casting-box should never be in a perpendicular position, but 
 should lean a little in such a way that the matrix will be on 
 the under side. The tendency will then be for the metal to 
 shrink away from the cover rather than away from the matrix. 
 Concave may be also caused by using different kinds of paper 
 for the matrix and for the back. If the backing paper shrinks 
 more than the matrix, it will draw away from the latter, caus- 
 ing distortion. 
 
 COPPER- PLATING CURVED STEREOTYPES. It 
 would be advisable to use a curved anode for this purpose, or 
 else several small anodes suspended in such a manner that they 
 will be equally distant from all parts of the surface of the 
 curved plate. If a flat anode were employed, the deposit of 
 copper would be thickest at the center of the plate, which 
 would be nearest the anode, and the edges of the plate, which 
 by reason of the curve would be separated a long distance from 
 
144 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 the anode, would receive a very thin deposit. Copper is so 
 easily and rapidly deposited in the acid copper bath (electro- 
 typers' solution) that a current of very low tension should be 
 employed, otherwise the deposit will not be smooth. A ten- 
 sion of one volt would be amply sufficient, and the anodes 
 should be separated from the surface of the plate by a distance 
 of four inches, or even more, if there is any tendency to 
 roughness in the deposit. Under favorable conditions, a suffi- 
 ciently heavy plating will be obtained in from twenty minutes 
 to half an hour. As to the wearing qualities of a copper-faced 
 stereotype, the Newton Copper Type Company claims that 
 the durability of type is doubled by copper-facing, and its 
 claim seems to be amply supported by the testimony of those 
 who have used its product. It is probable, therefore, that the 
 wearing quality of a stereotype would be increased to a similar 
 extent by copper-facing. 
 
 CORRODED STEREOTYPE PLATES. The American 
 Encyclopedia states that, in a moist atmosphere, lead is cov- 
 ered with a thin film of oxid, which combines with carbonic 
 acid gas absorbed from the air, forming with it a film of silky 
 scales of hydrated oxycarbonate of lead. More lead is then 
 oxidized, dissolved and converted into carbonate, and so the 
 process of corrosion goes on. The carbonate can be removed 
 by washing the plates with very dilute nitric acid and immedi- 
 ately rinsing in clean water. 
 
 COST OF STEREOTYPING. The question is a broad 
 one and is analogous to the question : What would it cost to 
 build a house? In order to estimate on the latter proposition, 
 it would be necessary to know the size of the house, the kind 
 of material of which it is to be constructed, the cost of labor 
 and material in the locality where it is proposed to build, and 
 various other data. To estimate intelligently on the cost of 
 stereotyping, it is also necessary that all the conditions shall 
 be known. Some kinds of stereotyping cost more than others. 
 There is a difference in the grades of metal used for different 
 purposes, and a very decided difference in the cost of labor 
 in different localities. Moreover, an outfit of machinery and 
 appliances may cost anywhere from $100 to $3,000. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 145 
 
 CURVED STEREOTYPE PLATE FINISHING MA- 
 CHINE. A machine has been recently patented which is 
 designed to dispense with the tail-cutting machine, shaving 
 machine and finishing block, which have heretofore been nec- 
 essary to finish a stereotype plate, and to save the time and 
 labor incident to transferring the plate to such machines. The 
 machine is wholly automatic. A principal cylinder is provided 
 for the mounting of the plate, and on this the curved plate is 
 positioned and clamped, when the cylinder is set in motion 
 and rotating beveled knives completely finish the top and bot- 
 tom margins of the plate and determine its length by means of 
 the grooves in which they work. The cylinder is then made to 
 take a new motion, advancing lengthwise without rotating, 
 and thus carrying the plate against cylindrical cutters which 
 shave the side margins. When the side trim is accomplished, 
 a rotary carrier revolves the plate one-half and places it face 
 downward in a shaving box, where it is reduced to the proper 
 thickness by the shaving of its inner surface. All that is 
 required of the operator is to fix the plate on the cylinder and 
 set the machine in operation by the depression of a foot lever. 
 At the end of the trimming and shaving operations the plate is 
 brought back to its first position on the cylinder and the 
 machine comes to rest, when the operator may unclamp the 
 plate and set another in its place. 
 
 DEFECTIVE STEREOTYPING. Oven-dried molds 
 are never so perfect as molds dried on the steam table, for 
 the reason that by the latter process the mold is dried under 
 pressure, in contact with the type, and is thereby prevented 
 from shrinking or blistering. However, fairly good results 
 may be obtained by the oven process when the pages to be 
 stereotyped contain no illustrations, for, by observing proper 
 precautions, the shrinkage may be minimized to a point where 
 it will not materially affect type-faces. If there is moisture 
 left in the matrix, the hot metal will convert it into steam, 
 which causes the face of the matrix to puff up in small spots, 
 thus producing corresponding depressions or shrinks in the 
 head-letter or other flat surfaces. Molds dried separately from 
 the type should be dried quickly to insure the best results. 
 
146 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 DROSS. "Dross" is the compound or compounds 
 formed by the action of air upon molten metals. The oxygen 
 contained in the atmosphere attacks most of the metals with 
 which we are acquainted. The tarnishing of most metals 
 when exposed to the air is well known by all. The compound 
 formed in this way is an oxide of the metal. The formation 
 of this oxide takes place more rapidly and in larger quantity 
 the higher the temperature of the metal. In molten metals, 
 high temperature and prolonged contact with the atmosphere 
 lead to the rapid formation of " dross " or oxid, which is the 
 name given to the scum which collects upon the surface of 
 the metal. This oxidation only occurs upon the surface of 
 the molten metal, where the air has access, and not in the 
 center of the mass, at least not to any appreciable extent. It 
 is therefore easy to skim this dross from the metal by means 
 of an iron ladle, and it can then be reduced to metal. The 
 principle of its reduction to the metallic state is this : If such 
 dross is heated in contact with carbonaceous material, such as 
 rosin, the carbon and reducing gases formed in the process 
 take away the oxygen contained in the dross, liberating the 
 metal. This simple process is typical of that used on a large 
 scale to obtain metals from their combinations with oxygen. 
 
 DRY STEREOTYPING. The flong is a thick, spongy 
 paper which packs smoothly under pressure. The matrix is 
 made by laying a sheet of dry paper on the form, covering it 
 with a thin press blanket and a sheet of pressboard, and run- 
 ning it through a matrix-rolling machine. The matrix thus 
 made is dusted with French chalk and immediately placed in 
 the casting-box, no drying being necessary. The process is 
 employed quite extensively in Germany and to a less extent in 
 England, France and the United States. The essential feature 
 of the dry stereotyping paper or flong is its porosity, which is 
 produced in the following manner : The sheets of paper, con- 
 sisting of vegetable fiber, are impregnated with a chemical fluid, 
 which, being brought in contact with another liquid, gives rise 
 to the development of gases. As these gases force their way 
 from the interior of the sheet to the outside, they loosen the 
 fiber, in consequence of which the paper becomes porous to a 
 
STEREOTYPING. . 147 
 
 high degree. For example, the plates may be first immersed 
 in sodium carbonate and then in acid for instance, vinegar 
 thereby developing carbonic acid gas, which effects the loosen- 
 ing of the plate. In this manner the porosity of the plate is 
 obtained. The fiber is treated in a long seine machine in the 
 same manner as roofpaper, care being taken to avoid all pres- 
 sure on the material, in order to maintain the porosity. Finally 
 the sheets are covered on one side with a thin layer of starch 
 paste, to which about five per cent of glycerin has been added, 
 to prevent, so far as possible, the adhesion of the metal to the 
 fibrous material in casting. A German trade journal describes 
 a new dry flong which, it is claimed, is superior to others in 
 the respect that it possesses elasticity, pliability and firmness 
 to a greater extent and therefore permits a deeper impression, 
 smoother surface and will stand a greater number of casts. 
 The pliability is obtained by the use of glycerin, white of egg 
 and alcohol. A glue made from plants with the addition of 
 whites of eggs is used to secure the different layers of paper 
 together. To increase the strength and durability of the flong, 
 soft gauze is soaked in gelatin and then interleaved with the 
 sheets of paper of which the flong is composed. To prevent 
 the flong from becoming hard, a small quantity of calcium 
 chlorid is sprinkled over the paste-covered sheets. The cal- 
 cium chlorid absorbs the moisture in the air and so keeps the 
 flong damp and elastic. 
 
 DRYING BLANKETS, CARE OF. Drying blankets 
 should be washed frequently. It is a good plan to let them 
 soak over night and then boil them. Do not use an all-wool 
 blanket ; a cotton warp will last longer. 
 
 DRYING STEREOTYPE MOLDS BY HOT AIR VS. 
 STEAM. Hot air will not injure type any more than steam 
 heat, provided it is no hotter than steam. The chief advantage 
 of the steam table lies in the fact that the heat is limited to a 
 safe temperature, whereas with gas or coal as a heating agent 
 there is great danger of overheating, because of the difficulty 
 of controlling the heat within safe limits, and the further fact 
 that it is impossible to determine the degree of heat to which 
 
148 . STEREOTYPING. 
 
 the type is being subjected. The steam table is, therefore, by 
 far the safer method of drying molds. A sixteen-inch steam 
 generator will supply all the steam necessary to heat one steam 
 table. Whatever method is employed for drying, great care 
 should be observed in locking up the forms, for even with the 
 steam-table process there is danger of injuring the type unless 
 provision is made for expansion. 
 
 DURABILITY OF STEREOTYPES. The amount of 
 wear which a stereotype plate will stand depends largely upon 
 the quality of metal employed. In newspaper work it is not 
 unusual to run fifty thousand impressions from one plate. 
 
 FLONG, A NEW STEREO. The German AUgemeiner 
 Anzeiger describes a new method of producing stereo flong, 
 which will allow of dry stereotyping, meaning that the flong 
 may be used in the condition in which the flong is sold, with- 
 out damping or other treatment. There are, of course, other 
 dry flongs on the market, but they are nearly all deficient in 
 one or two points; either they will not allow of a perfectly 
 flat or even impression, so as to give the resulting plate a 
 smooth surface, or they will not allow of " beating " to the 
 sufficient depth to allow of the plates being deep enough where 
 there is no type to take impression. In order to do this prop- 
 erly, a flong must possess great elasticity, or perhaps pliability 
 would be a better term. It must also be firm enough in texture 
 to resist the pouring of the hot metal over it once or many 
 times. The pliability of this new flong is insured by the addi- 
 tion to it of a suitable chemical, such as glycerin, white of egg 
 and alcohol. In order to give the flong the necessary strength 
 and durability to resist the beating and pressure, a certain 
 piece of soft, absorbent, gauzy material is soaked in gelatin 
 and then calendered. A special glue made from plants, with 
 the addition of white of egg, etc., is used to fasten the different 
 layers of paper together. When making flong for rotary 
 machine plates, the addition of a little glycerin to the paste 
 will give the molds the necessary elasticity to allow them to be 
 bent into shape. In order to keep the flong from becoming 
 hard, a very small quantity of calcium chlorid is sprinkled over 
 
STEREOTYPING. 149 
 
 the paste-covered sheets. The calcium chlorid is hygroscopic 
 and will absorb any moisture there may be in the air, and so 
 keep the flong always damp and elastic. 
 
 FLONG PASTING MACHINE. Improvements in ste- 
 reotyping processes have been heretofore restricted for the 
 most part to machinery employed in finishing the plates. So 
 far as stereotyping proper is concerned, there has been little 
 change in the methods which obtained thirty years ago. The 
 flong is constructed now, as then, by pasting and superimpos- 
 ing by hand several sheets of suitable paper, and the matrix is 
 formed by heating or rolling the flong into the type-form and 
 drying it under pressure. Various machines have been devised 
 to facilitate the operations of sawing, trimming, routing and 
 beveling the plates, but no effort has been made to substitute 
 machinery for handwork in the construction of flongs. Per- 
 haps this is due to the fact that in newspaper offices this is the 
 one detail of stereotyping in which saving of time would be 
 of no special advantage, for the flongs are here prepared before 
 the rush begins, when time and men are at a discount. But 
 stereotyping is a growing industry and its field of usefulness 
 has extended beyond the daily newspaper office. To such an 
 extent has the business grown that in some establishments the 
 time of three or four men is constantly employed in making 
 flongs. To minimize this item of cost, the superintendent of 
 a Chicago concern has recently invented a machine which takes 
 the stereotype paper from rolls, pastes together the different 
 sheets, rolls them smooth, and delivers the completed flong 
 at the rate of six hundred feet per hour, which is equivalent 
 to about two hundred and fifty flongs of the size of an average 
 newspaper page. The machine consists of a number of brass 
 rolls geared together and so arranged and adjusted that the 
 distribution of paste may be absolutely uniform. Each set of 
 rolls is connected with a small fountain, which is automatically 
 supplied with paste from a large reservoir/ After leaving the 
 rolls, the flong runs on to a carrier which conveys it to a con- 
 veniently located table, where it is cut into desired lengths. 
 It is found that the machine-made flongs are in no sense 
 inferior to hand-made, while the cost of manufacturing is 
 
150 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 reduced more than fifty per cent. The inventor has made 
 application for a patent on the machine. 
 
 FLOORS FOR STEREOTYPE FOUNDRIES. Floors 
 should be wood, covered, if possible, with heavy sheet iron. 
 Cement or brick floors are very objectionable, because more 
 or less grit is swept up with the metal chips and finds it way 
 into the metal-pot and, later, into the casts, where it dulls the 
 saws and trimmer's tools used to finish the plates. 
 
 FRENCH CHALK. While not absolutely necessary, the 
 use of French chalk on the face of the matrix is of great value 
 when a number of coats are wanted, its greasy nature facili- 
 tating the removal of the mold from the cast. The metal may 
 be run a little cooler when French chalk is used than when 
 it is not. 
 
 "FUDGE," THE. This is an attachment to the rotary 
 press, having its own ink fountain, rollers, etc., whereby single 
 or double column latest news notes are printed in from Lino- 
 type lines and type direct. Fitted to a shaft are six two- 
 column miniature "turtles." These are detachable and sent 
 to the composing-room to be equipped. The modus operandi 
 is perhaps best explained in detailing a scene in a composing- 
 room while a league game is being played. At the end of 
 the seventh inning the regular form is closed up, the major 
 portion of a column left blank and the form sent to the stereo- 
 type-room to be molded and cast up as usual and placed on 
 the press. If the make-up has been alert, the stereotyper will 
 have plenty of time, for there are still two innings to hear 
 from. As fast as the news from the ball field is ticked off 
 and given to the machine operator, the lines are assembled by 
 the make-up into the slightly curved, turtle-like " fudges," 
 wedge-shaped brass leads being placed between each line. 
 When the " fudge " is full, a few turns of the lineholder-like 
 side-lock clamp secures the contents, and it is sent to the 
 pressroom and placed in position on the " fudge " shaft as 
 any plate would be on a cylinder. But while the diameter of 
 a plate cylinder is usually fifteen inches, that of the "fudge" 
 shaft is about six inches. In this manner the desired number 
 
STEREOTYPING. 151 
 
 of " fudges " is completed, containing a complete account of 
 the last two innings, with summary, tables, etc., the " fudge " 
 contents printing in the blank portion purposely left for it in 
 the form and plate. It is not an unusual thing to have papers 
 on the street three minutes after the umpire has declared the 
 last " out," with the stereotyper looking on complacently, for, 
 while he has not been shorn of any of his work, he has been 
 spared the heart-breaking finish known only too well to all 
 newspaper workers. 
 
 HALF-TONES IN CURVED STEREOTYPE PLATES. 
 Various schemes have been suggested for casting or other- 
 wise securing electrotypes or half-tones in the curved stereo- 
 type plates from which daily newspapers are printed. Perhaps 
 the method most often employed is to remove the engraving 
 from its base, after the matrix has been made, and curve it 
 to a perfect segment. After the mold has been adjusted in 
 the casting-box, the curved engraving is fitted in its place in 
 the matrix. When the stereotype metal is poured into the 
 casting-box, it surrounds and overflows the electrotype, 
 securely embedding it in the. cast. Another method consists 
 in removing the engraving from its block before molding and 
 filling in the depression in the back of the matrix caused by 
 the absence of the engraving, with packing of exactly the same 
 thickness as the electrotype. After the cast has been made, 
 the electrotype may be curved and then tacked or soldered 
 into the depression. Another method is to remove the half- 
 tone from its base after the matrix has been made, and curve 
 it, either by passing it through a curving machine or by plac- 
 ing it in the casting-box and closing the cover down upon it. 
 After the matrix has been adjusted in the casting-box, the 
 curved half-tone is fitted in its place in the matrix and a piece 
 of corrugated tin or some strips of wood of proper thickness 
 are laid on the back so that when the cover is closed down 
 the engraving will be held securely in its place. When the 
 metal is poured into the casting-box, it surrounds and imbeds 
 the engraving in the plate. 
 
 HALF-TONES, STEREOTYPING. Half-tones should 
 be mounted exactly type-high; if made higher they will pre- 
 
152 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 sent a smutty appearance in the paper. The writer prefers the 
 special half-tone paper. This paper is soft and has a very 
 short fiber. A good paste for half-tone work may be made 
 as follows : 2^2 pounds starch, y 2 pound flour, 6 ounces dex- 
 trin, 2.y 2 gallons water; cook in the usual manner. It is 
 impossible to make a half-tone so deep that it will not fill up 
 with the fuzz of cheap print paper combined with muddy ink. 
 To work half-tones successfully requires care all along the 
 line, not only in making the originals and the duplicates but 
 in presswork and in the selection of paper and ink. B. & O. 
 Myers, of New York, make a special grade of matrix paper 
 for stereotyping half-tones, which is preferable to the usual 
 quality, as it is a soft, short fiber which takes the shadings 
 better than a harder paper. Half-tones do not require oiling; 
 the matrix will stick to them better if the oiling is dispensed 
 with. That is to say, the matrix will be less likely to puff up 
 and double. 
 
 HARDENING AND TEMPERING STEEL. Heat the 
 steel to a bright cherry red and plunge it in water that has 
 been thoroughly boiled and then allowed to cool. It will then 
 be " as hard as fire and water will make it," and too hard for 
 anything except hardened bearings or tools for cutting and 
 drilling glass and very hard metals. To make it stand work 
 without breaking it must be tempered. To do this, polish the 
 surface on a grindstone or with emery paper, so that any 
 change in the color of the metal may be easily seen. Then 
 heat the tool until the cutting edge shows the proper color. 
 Large drills and cold chisels are hardened and tempered at 
 one operation, the cutting edge being cooled and hardened 
 while the upper part is left out. When taken from the water 
 the heat from the shank passes toward the cutting edge and 
 brings it to the right degree of softness. Small drills have to 
 be tempered in the flame of a lamp. A spirit lamp is best, 
 and the neatest plan is to heat the drill a short distance from 
 the point and allow the heat to flow toward the cutting edge. 
 As soon as the right color is seen on the edge, the entire tool 
 is plunged in water and cooled. In this way the shank is kept 
 soft and the tool is not so apt to snap off. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 153 
 
 HONEYCOMBED PLATES. Honeycombed plates are 
 caused by using metal too hard, or pouring the metal into a 
 cold casting-box. If the metal is too hard, add a little lead. 
 If a flat casting-box is used, paste a sheet of paper on the 
 cover. Paper is a non-conductor and wifl prevent the metal 
 from chilling, which is the cause of blow-holes. 
 
 IMPRESSION, DEPTH OF. As the paper flong is 
 beaten into the form, it becomes thin and the type shows dark 
 through it. This color is also a guide to determine the even- 
 ness of the impression, for if the matrix is dark in one spot 
 and light in another, it is evident that it is of uneven depth. 
 
 MATRIX PAPER, BEST WEIGHT. To secure the best 
 results with the least labor and expense, the matrix paper 
 proper should weigh about forty pounds to the ream, size 
 20 by 24. A lighter paper would be found difficult to make 
 up without tearing, and if much heavier it would require 
 unnecessary labor to beat it into the form. The best weight 
 for the second or backing sheet depends upon the material 
 used for filling in the spaces or depressions in the back of the 
 matrix. When " backing powder " is employed for this pur- 
 pose, any common, medium-weight paper will answer for the 
 back, for it does not require to be beaten into the form and 
 can, therefore, be less tough and elastic than the first sheet. 
 If, however, no backing powder or other filling material is used 
 for packing the spaces, the backing paper should be about 
 twice the weight of the first sheet, and should also be of fair 
 quality. 
 
 MATRICES, PATTERN. Some advertisers send out 
 stereotype matrices of their announcements to publishers own- 
 ing stereotyping outfits. This is an economical method of dis- 
 tribution and in some cases answers the purpose satisfactorily, 
 provided the right kind of matrices are supplied. There are 
 certain objections to the plan, however. In the first place, the 
 use of matrices involves an extra remove from the original. 
 When an electrotype is sent to a publisher whose forms are 
 stereotyped, the printing is done, not from an electrotype, but 
 from a stereotype of the electrotype. When a matrix is sent, 
 
154 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 a stereotype is made from the matrix. This stereotype is then 
 locked up in the form and again stereotyped for the press. 
 Usually the first matrix is made from an electrotype pattern of 
 the type, so that the actual printing-plate is four removes from 
 the original type first, the type ; second, the electrotype pat- 
 tern; third, the stereotype, and, fourth, the actual printing- 
 plate. When the ad. is open, the type large, the matrix deep 
 and sharp and the stereotyper painstaking, very little is lost 
 in the reproductions, and the print is generally satisfactory. 
 But, on the other hand, if the ad. is set in small, solid type, 
 or if it contains half-tones of fine engravings, the result is apt 
 to be disappointing and is certain to be so unless the matrices 
 are hand-made and very deep and sharp. Machine matrices 
 are unsuitable for such work, as they can not be made deep 
 enough to insure a sharp stereotype pattern for the newspaper. 
 An instance recently came to the writer's notice where an 
 advertiser had a series of large display ads., containing etch- 
 ings, set in a newspaper office with the object of saving the. 
 cost of electrotypes. The publisher was instructed to supply 
 several other papers with matrices of the ads. The matrices 
 were made by machine and were so shallow that the print in 
 the papers using them was scarcely legible. The result was 
 that the advertising was discontinued until ads. could be reset 
 and electrotyped. In this case the ads. were of such a charac- 
 ter that matrices might have been used to good advantage if 
 they had been made with a brush, instead of by machine. 
 Very often the country stereotyper is blamed for poor results 
 when the trouble lies with the quality of the matrices supplied 
 by the advertiser. 
 
 MATRIX WRINKLING UNDER THE ROLLER. The 
 
 machine is so constructed that the travel of the surface of the 
 roller is the same speed as the bed. Adding the blanket to 
 the roller increases its circumference and causes the blanket 
 to crawl and with it the matrix. To overcome this fault, some 
 stereotypers use a double thickness of blanket, as it is found 
 that the upper blanket only will crawl, the lower one remain- 
 ing stationary. Usually the wrinkling occurs when the chase 
 is a little higher than the type, the matrix seeming to crawl 
 
STEREOTYPING. 155 
 
 on the chase while held by the type. When the chase is a 
 little lower than the type the trouble does not often occur. 
 
 METAL. Stereotype metal is composed of lead, tin and 
 antimony. The cheapest grade, however, contains little or no 
 tin. For newspaper work, the proportions are about as follows : 
 Lead, 75 per cent; tin, 8 per cent; antimony, 17 per cent. For 
 bookwork: Lead, 80 per cent; antimony, 15 per cent; tin, 
 5 per cent. A still cheaper grade contains about 85 per cent 
 lead and 15 per cent antimony. In mixing these metals, the 
 antimony should be melted first. The lead should then be 
 added, and, lastly, the tin. Stereotype metal fuses at about 
 630 F. 
 
 METAL, BRITTLE. Mix pure lead with old stereotype 
 metal until a strip of it poured out on an iron plate and cooled 
 will bend considerably without breaking and the grain becomes 
 fine and smooth. Do not mix electrotype metal, which con- 
 tains too much tin and causes shrinks in cooling. 
 
 METAL, CLEANING. Purifying metal is accomplished 
 by immersing in the molten metal, in a suitable melting pot 
 set over a furnace and provided with a hood or other means 
 to carry away the smoke, a piece of green wood about four 
 inches in diameter and seven or eight inches long. The green 
 wood is attached to an iron rod in any suitable way. The 
 metal must first be thoroughly melted, but must not be over- 
 heated. The green wood is then plunged into the molten 
 metal, the door of the hood closed as much as possible, and 
 the green wood allowed to remain in the metal about twenty 
 minutes, or until the boiling ceases. This green wood is used 
 to purify the molten metal. Great quantities of gas and vapor 
 are evolved from green wood, the metal boils up violently, and 
 the oxids contained in the interior of the molten metal are 
 effectually reduced. After this operation, what remains of 
 the green wood is removed and the metal is then thoroughly 
 stirred and skimmed with an iron ladle. It is recommended 
 to add a few ounces of resin to the molten metal before boiling 
 out with green wood. This reduces the dross on the surface 
 of the metal. Another method is as follows : Heat the metal 
 to a temperature sufficient to brown without burning a piece 
 
156 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 of thick white paper. Throw a little powdered rosin into the 
 pot and stir constantly. A small piece of potato placed under 
 the skimmer and held below the surface of the metal will 
 cause the impurities to rise to the top, when they may be 
 removed to the dross box. 
 
 METAL, " DOCTORING." Stereotype metal sometimes 
 separates; that is to say, the different ingredients become 
 separated not properly mixed. This condition is indicated 
 by an extremely granular texture, and the remedy is remixing, 
 which should be done by a practical man. 
 
 METAL, LINOTYPE. Regarding the use of stereotype 
 metal on Linotype machines, it is not to be' recommended. 
 Stereotype metal of the grade employed by the daily news- 
 papers is too hard, and clogs the machines. The cheaper 
 grades of stereo are sometimes used for Linotype, but are 
 often the cause of annoyance. Linotype metal should be made 
 of refined materials in exactly the right proportions to insure 
 the best results. 
 
 METALS, MIXING. It would not be safe to add old 
 plate metal to newspaper metal. The platemakers buy only 
 the cheapest grades of metal, which, while good enough for 
 the purpose, would soon wear out if melted over and over 
 every day. 
 
 METAL, " ROTTEN." Add pure lead, a little at a time, 
 until a strip when cool will bend to about a quarter circle 
 before breaking. If plates are flat, without grooves in the 
 back, paste a sheet of manila paper on the cover of casting- 
 box, or lay a sheet over the gages after the matrix has been 
 placed in the box, so that the metal will be poured between 
 the matrix and the paper back. The paper is a non-conductor 
 and prevents the metal from chilling too rapidly. If casting- 
 box cover is grooved, paint it with a mixture of lampblack 
 and tobacco in water. The mixture should be boiled for some 
 time. 
 
 METAL, SUBSTITUTE FOR STEREOTYPE. A com- 
 position for stereotyping has been recently invented for which 
 superior merit is claimed. The material is called " flintine." 
 
STEREOTYPING. 157 
 
 It is apparently of the nature of celluloid, but the inventor 
 claims it can be restereotyped without injury. The cost of 
 the material is only about one-third that of celluloid. 
 
 METAL, TEMPERATURE OR If the matrix is dry 
 and the casting-box hot, the metal may be poured quite cool; 
 that is, at a temperature just above the melting point. At this 
 temperature better results will be obtained and less shrinkage 
 observed than when the metal is too hot. A temperature any- 
 where between 280 to 295 C, or 536 to 563 F., has been 
 shown to give excellent results. In order to determine the 
 temperature, a thermometer is used which can be read up to 
 about 600, the bulb being plunged into the molten metal and 
 readings taken when the mercury-level remains constant. 
 Before plunging the thermometer into the metal it should be 
 held about an inch above the hot metal, so as to gradually heat 
 it. It is held in this position for a few moments, and, when 
 it is found that the bulb is hot enough, the thermometer is 
 immersed in the molten metal. Where no thermometers are 
 at hand, the proper temperature of casting may be regulated 
 approximately as follows : Plunge a piece of matrix or manila 
 paper into the molten metal. If it turns brown, the metal will 
 be in the right condition to cast from. A slight color imparted 
 to the paper shows that the temperature of the metal is too 
 low, while a very deep brown or black color shows the same 
 to be too high. 
 
 MOLDING BY PRESSURE. Many attempts have been 
 made to produce stereotype molds by direct pressure, as, for 
 instance, by means of a hydraulic or toggle press, in the same 
 manner that stereotype molds in clay are made, but, so far as 
 the writer has knowledge, such attempts have always resulted 
 in failure, owing to the nature of the material employed. To 
 produce a mold successfully by such means, the material must 
 be plastic, like clay, wax or ozokerite. 
 
 NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES.- Some fine specimens of 
 negative stereotypes have recently been produced by Mr. A. 
 Kerefting, Ruhrart-am-Main, Germany. In his description of 
 the process he calls attention to the fact that not every sort of 
 
158 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 type or ornament is suitable for the purpose. Type with nar- 
 row faces should be avoided, as they do not give a fine negative 
 effect. In the manufacture of negative stereotypes, the fol* 
 lowing materials are required: (i) ink, (2) cardboard, (3) 
 negative powder, (4) alcohol. Pure job ink should be used, 
 such as is to be found in every printing-office. The cardboard 
 must be of a kind which, when moistened on one side with 
 spirit, immediately sucks it up and shows through on the other 
 side. The cardboard is the soul of the matrix and in ninety- 
 nine cases out of a hundred is to be blamed for failure to 
 obtain satisfactory plates. Postal cardboard is best for this 
 purpose, but a sample should always be tested with the spirit 
 before purchasing. Further, the cardboard must be perfectly 
 smooth, for every rough spot will show in the casting of the 
 plate. It would be advisable to try different kinds of card- 
 board until the one best suited for the purpose is found. The 
 negative powder consists of finely sifted dextrin, one per cent 
 naphthalin and two per cent manganese. Any one can make 
 the powder for his own use. The powder must be protected 
 from moisture. Use the common alcohol. It is recommended 
 that one per cent spirit varnish be added to it. For making a 
 negative plate an impression must first be taken on the card- 
 board of the type-form selected for the purpose. Fat and 
 large type and block ornaments require considerable ink; on 
 smaller and leaner type a less quantity will suffice. The fresh 
 impression is then powdered with the negative powder and 
 the superfluous powder removed by knocking on the back of 
 the cardboard. It is well also to blow vigorously on the card 
 to remove any powder which may be left. Now pour some 
 of the spirit on a plate and place the card on it, back down. 
 The spirit at once saturates the cardboard and colors all the 
 powdered parts black. The wet matrix is then hardened by 
 pressing the back of the card on a hot plate. The powdered 
 parts will then swell up and become plastic and hard. When 
 the powder takes the shining gray color of enamel the right 
 degree of hardening has been reached and the matrix is ready 
 for casting. Too much heating will destroy the adhesive power 
 of the powder. In casting, care must be observed not to use 
 
STEREOTYPING. 159 
 
 the metal too hot, which would result in melting the powder 
 and spoiling the matrix. 
 
 NEW STEREOTYPING PROCESS. A circular from 
 the Skandinavisk Exprestypi Company, Copenhagen, Den- 
 mark, announces the production of a perfected process for 
 making cuts from all descriptions of types or plates. The 
 work, it is said, can be done in a few minutes by the printer 
 without recourse to the stereotyper or eleCtrotyper. A plastic 
 mass is prepared, the basis of which it would appear is cellu- 
 loid, and from this, it is said, the first cut can be made in 
 about fifteen minutes, and each succeeding cut in five minutes. 
 The material of which the cuts are made being a chemical 
 substance, no planing or drilling is necessary, the edges only 
 being required to be cut, and they can be then fixed directly 
 on the block by an adhesive substance, which is a part of the 
 process. In fact, everything that would seem to be desirable 
 in a cut is effected by this process, so it is said. The machine 
 for the proceeding occupies only a small space and demands 
 no auxiliary apparatus of any kind. Specimens of the work 
 from half-tone plates look very well and testimonials are 
 offered from prominent printing firms in Denmark. 
 
 NICKELLO PROCESS OF STEREOTYPING. A new 
 process of stereotyping called " Nickello " is said to be superior 
 to all other methods in present use. The essential feature of 
 the new process consists in a pasty composition which is 
 applied to the surface of the paper and which, when partially 
 set, is pressed directly on to the face of the form. This com- 
 position differs from other composition in the respect that 
 while it becomes hard and smooth as porcelain, yet it main- 
 tains the flexibility of the ordinary papier-mache matrix, and 
 may be curved to cast plates for rotary presses. The material 
 is analogous to wax, but practically any number of casts may 
 be taken from the same matrix if reasonable care is exercised 
 in handling. The plates produced by this method are said to 
 be quite as good as electrotypes. The flong may be beaten 
 in with a brush, but the rolling machine is recommended as 
 being more rapid and giving more perfect results. The matrix 
 
160 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 may be dried on the steam table in the usual manner, or by 
 the use of a special apparatus it may be dried from the top, 
 thus eliminating all danger of injury to type or cuts. The 
 casting is performed in exactly similar manner to the ordinary 
 process and with the same appliances. The paste will keep 
 fresh for a considerable time and the matrices may be stored 
 for an indefinite period. The metal may be used harder and 
 hotter than ordinary stereotype metal, which insures a sharp 
 .and perfect impression. By giving these stereotypes a nickel 
 facing they will endure for a quarter of a million impressions. 
 All of the above advantages are claimed by the inventor and 
 practical tests are now being made by a well-known concern. 
 
 NICKEL - PLATING STEREOTYPES. Nickel will 
 adhere firmly only to surfaces which are absolutely clean and 
 free from oxid. If the plates are old and dirty or greasy, they 
 should first be scrubbed in hot lye, then rinsed in clean water, 
 then scrubbed with powdered pumice stone and rinsed again, 
 after which they should be dipped for an instant in water 
 acidulated with nitric acid in the proportion of about two 
 ounces of acid to each gallon of water. After another rinsing, 
 the plates should be immediately placed in the bath. It is 
 important that no time be lost between the last rinsing and 
 the immersion in the bath, for a film of oxid forms almost 
 instantly on exposure to the air. If the plates are new and 
 clean, the preliminary cleaning may be dispensed with, but they 
 should be dipped for a few seconds in the acid and water to 
 remove the oxid, and thoroughly rinsed in running water. 
 
 OILING MACHINERY. It is a fact not generally known 
 that too much oil is almost as bad as not enough for fast- 
 running machinery. A drop of oil would run a router spindle 
 ten hours if it were not stopped. But if it were stopped it 
 would need another drop before starting. Use oil sparingly 
 but frequently. 
 
 PACKING MATERIAL. The material used for packing 
 the spaces may be pieces of old matrices, strawboard or felt 
 paper manufactured for the purpose, a putty made of marble 
 dust and paste, or, better than these, a compound in the form 
 
STEREOTYPING. 161 
 
 of powder, which may be readily spread over the matrix. 
 These backing compounds may be procured of dealers in 
 stereotypers' supplies, or may be manufactured by the work- 
 men. The ingredients employed are usually lime and flour, 
 intimately mixed and sifted, which, when moistened by the 
 steam arising from the form and matrix and the subsequent 
 drying, become a cement hard as stone. As few stereotypers 
 have the necessary facilities for mixing the materials properly, 
 it is usually cheaper and much more convenient and satisfac- 
 tory to purchase the prepared compound. 
 
 PASTE. It is possible to make stereotypes from a flour 
 matrix, but much better results are obtained from matrices 
 made with a paste which contains in proper proportions glue, 
 starch and whiting or other filler. Flour alone soaks into the 
 paper, making the flong hard and lifeless. With such a flong 
 it is difficult to obtain sufficient depth of impression in the 
 bowls of the type, and unless made very shallow such a matrix 
 would be likely to tear out in casting. The addition of a little 
 cheap glue keeps the paste more on the surface of the paper 
 and gives it a certain sponginess. This effect is increased by 
 the addition of whiting, which also gives body to the flong, a 
 smooth and rounded appearance to the spaces between the 
 letters, makes the flong easy to mold, assures a deep bowl and 
 facilitates rapid drying. Starch gives a smooth and glossy 
 finish to the mold and thereby to the stereotype which may 
 be cast from it. 
 
 PASTE, CARE OF. Pastes should be kept in a covered 
 jar when not in use; if exposed to the air they become sour 
 and moldy, which affects their adhesive quality. A little 
 carbolic acid added when cooking will prevent fermentation. 
 
 PASTE, COOKING. While paste should never be over- 
 cooked, yet it is important that it should be cooked thoroughly, 
 that is, the entire quantity should come to a boil. In a steam- 
 jacketed kettle, the mixture will boil first around the edges 
 of the kettle; hence, to insure thorough cooking, it should be 
 allowed to boil three or four minutes after the first indications 
 of boiling are seen. Whether the paste is cooked by a steam 
 
162 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 jet or in a steam kettle, it should be stirred continually, both 
 to prevent lumping and to insure thorough mixture and assimi- 
 lation of the materials. When cool, the paste should be of 
 the consistency of thick cream. If too thick to spread easily, 
 a little water may be added, but it is not advisable to add more 
 than a small quantity, as the adhesiveness of the paste will 
 be thereby impaired. 
 
 PASTE FOR BRUSH MATS. Mix together 6 pounds 
 Oswego starch, 4 pounds flour and I ounce of powdered alum, 
 in 5 gallons of water; then add i l / 2 pounds of glue previously 
 dissolved in I gallon of water. Cook until it boils thick. When 
 cold, add 3 ounces of whiting to each pound of paste, mixing 
 only a sufficient quantity for the day's use. 
 
 PASTE FOR ROLLER MACHINE. Three pounds best 
 wheat flour (strong, not pastry) and 4 quarts of water. Mix 
 until all lumps are out of flour. Have this in one pan. In 
 another pan : 12 ounces of starch and 3 ounces of carbolic 
 acid and 2, quarts of water. Now stir until acid and starch are 
 dissolved. Mix contents of both pans all together, and boil 
 until paste will run in a string from stirring stick. When cool 
 keep in a stone crock. This is a stock paste to be used from 
 to make the two kinds of paste below: For Back Paste. 
 Take 2 pounds of the above stock paste and 5 ounces of whit- 
 ing and 2 ounces of dextrin. Mix all together well; add 
 water to thin enough to suit, then sieve and use. For Face or 
 Tissue Paper. Take 2 pounds of the above stock paste and 2 
 ounces of whiting. Mix whiting and paste ; add water to 
 thin; run through sieve and use. If face of tissues does not 
 stick well, use gum-water to thin face paste. To make gum- 
 water use 2 ounces of gunj arabic to I quart of water ; when 
 gum is dissolved, it is ready for use. 
 
 PASTE FOR ROLLER MATRICES. A good paste for 
 roller matrices is made as follows : Mix 15 pounds of white 
 dextrin, 10 pounds of bolted whiting and 5 pounds of Oswego 
 starch in 22 quarts of water. Stir with the hands until all 
 lumps have disappeared and then cook in a steam-jacketed 
 kettle. The paste should boil slowly, with constant stirring, 
 
STEREOTYPING. 163 
 
 for about ten or fifteen minutes. In warm weather a table- 
 spoonful of carbolic acid may be added to prevent fermenta- 
 tion. Another recipe is: Starch, i l / 2 pounds; gilders' whiting, 
 2 l /2 pounds ; dextrin, 3^4 pounds. Dissolye dextrin in water 
 and add starch as above. Cook in a steam- jacketed kettle. 
 
 PASTE KETTLE. Paste is sometimes cooked by intro- 
 ducing steam directly into the vessel containing the materials. 
 In this case some of the steam is condensed and adds to the 
 quantity of water in the paste. It is obvious that when paste 
 is cooked in this way less water will be required than when 
 it is cooked over a fire by means of a water bath. How much 
 less depends on the dryness of the steam used. This is a 
 point not easily determined, and it is more satisfactory, there- 
 fore, to do the cooking over a gas stove, unless a large quantity 
 is required, in which case a copper kettle surrounded by a 
 steam jacket will be found convenient. 
 
 PASTE MATERIALS. A great variety of materials is 
 used by different stereotypers in the manufacture of paste, 
 among which may be mentioned wheat flour, rye flour, farina, 
 corn starch, potato starch, arrow root, glue, gelatin, gum 
 arabic, gum acacia, dextrin, china clay, kaolin, paris white, 
 barytes, ocher, litharge and zinc white. 
 
 PASTE, TO PRESERVE. To preserve paste from fer- 
 mentation, alum, carbolic acid, oxalic acid or essential oils are 
 employed. When the mineral ingredient of the paste is added 
 after the paste is cooked and cooled, alum is found to be the 
 best preservative, but when the whiting or other filler is cooked 
 with the paste, carbolic acid should be employed, because alum 
 in combination with an alkali in water creates a chemical dis- 
 turbance which impairs the adhesiveness of the paste. 
 
 PASTE RECIPES. The following formula is employed 
 by the writer with satisfactory results : 2 l / 2 pounds starch, l / 2 
 pound flour, 6 ounces dextrin, 2^/2 gallons water. Cook in a 
 steam-jacketed kettle if possible. Here is another : Mix 
 together with the hands until all lumps are dissolved &/ 2 
 pounds of Oswego starch and 2^ pounds of wheat flour, in 6 
 gallons of water. Then add 12 ounces of common glue, which 
 
164 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 has been previously dissolved in 2 quarts of water, and 2 
 ounces of powdered alum. Cook until the mixture boils thick. 
 When cold, take out a quantity sufficient for one day's use 
 and add one-half its bulk of bolted whiting. The whiting 
 should be thoroughly incorporated with the paste and the 
 resultant mass forced through a sieve having about twenty 
 meshes to the inch. Stir continuously while cooking. The fol- 
 lowing paste recipe is recommended by a writer in the British 
 Printer: " Dextrin, I pound ; flour, y 2 pound ; starch, i pound ; 
 glue, t/2 pound ; whiting, 2 pounds ; water, 5 quarts, and a few 
 drops of carbolic acid. First dissolve the dextrin in about a 
 quart of boiling water, stirring until a stiff gummy solution is 
 obtained. Having made the starch into a paste by the addition 
 of cold water, the resulting thick liquid is poured into the 
 dextrin while it is still in the boiling water. The paste and 
 dextrin together should thicken almost immediately ; stir well, 
 and, after a short time, treat the flour exactly as the starch, 
 and add to the compound in a cold state. It will be necessary 
 here to allow for the maintenance of heat, but remember that 
 too much heat will burn the mixture. If boiled over a Bunsen 
 burner, the degree of heat may be easily regulated if desired. 
 Having arrived so far, add the glue soaked over night and 
 reduced to a thick liquid form and continue stirring process. 
 The whiting is next taken in hand; this is crushed to a fine 
 powder and, by the addition of cold water, converted to a 
 thick paste, then in its turn added to the ingredients in the 
 pot. The carbolic acid is added last." 
 
 PLASTER STEREOTYPING. The composition used 
 for making molds in the plaster process of stereotyping is plas- 
 ter of paris of good quality. Forms which are to be duplicated 
 by the plaster process must be set with high quads and spaces. 
 A "molding frame" is set over the type, and the plaster, 
 mixed to about the consistency of cream, is poured into the 
 frame and worked down into the type with the hands, and 
 finally scraped off with a straight-edge level with the top of 
 the molding frame. After standing about fifteen minutes, the 
 frame containing the plaster mold will be lifted off the form 
 and placed in an oven to dry, which may require thirty minutes. 
 
STEREOTYPING. 165 
 
 When thoroughly baked it is placed in a covered iron pan and 
 immersed in the molten metal, which runs through holes in 
 the corner of the pan and fills the mold. This operation 
 requires about ten minutes. The cast is then removed to the 
 cooling trough, when twenty minutes more are required to 
 chill it. All of these operations must be conducted with great 
 care and skill or 'the stereotype will be defective, and in any 
 event considerable "picking" and finishing will be found nec- 
 essary. 
 
 POLISHING MACHINERY. Take a bottle of benzin 
 and put in it a small chunk of paraffin. It will have to set a 
 day or so, as the paraffin dissolves slowly. When a piece of 
 iron is wiped with this the polish will remain for "good." 
 Among machinists it is recognized as the best protection for 
 polished iron. Machinery supply houses sell it as a secret 
 preparation, advertised as " a volatile oil which evaporates, 
 leaving a colorless and permanent coating." 
 
 PULLEYS, RULE FOR CALCULATING SPEED OF. 
 Problem I : The diameter of the .driver and the driven being 
 given, to find the number of revolutions of the driven. Rule: 
 Multiply the diameter of the driver by its number of revolu- 
 tions and divide the product by the diameter of the driven. 
 The quotient will be the number of revolutions. Problem 2: 
 The diameter and revolutions of the driver being given, to 
 find the diameter of the driven, that shall make any given 
 number of revolutions in the same time. Rule : Multiply the 
 diameter of the driver by its number of revolutions and divide 
 the product by the number of revolutions of the driven; the 
 quotient will be the diameter. Problem 3: To find the size 
 of the driver. Rule : Multiply the diameter of the driver by 
 the number of revolutions you wish to make, and divide the 
 product by the revolutions of the driven ; the quotient will be 
 the size of the driver. 
 
 SHRINKS IN STEREOTYPE PLATES. Nearly all 
 kinds of metal are expanded by heat and contracted by cold. 
 Naturally it contracts first where it cools first, which in the 
 case of a stereotype plate is on the matrix side of the cast, 
 
166 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 because the iron cover of the casting-box retains the heat on 
 the back of the cast longer than the paper matrix on the face. 
 Obviously, the way to force the shrinkage to the back of the 
 cast where it will do no harm, is to cool the back of the plate 
 first, which may be done by spraying the casting-box cover 
 with water immediately after pouring the cast. The desired 
 object will be more readily attained if the casting-box be 
 tilted a little beyond the perpendicular when pouring. That 
 is to say, it should lean slightly toward the furnace rather than 
 away from it. If the metal is right to begin with and these 
 instructions are followed, perfect casts should be obtained. 
 It does not necessarily follow that because .metal is new, good 
 casts will result. Stereotype metal must be correctly propor- 
 tioned or trouble will ensue whether the metal be old or new. 
 
 STEAM GENERATOR. A generator, to produce satis- 
 factory results, should be located under the steam table, so that 
 the steam will circulate as it does in a house-heating plant. It 
 would be difficult to heat a building with the steam plant 
 located in the attic, and it is almost equally difficult to heat a 
 steam table with the boiler on a higher plane than the table, 
 for the reason that the water in the boiler frequently siphons 
 into the table, and it is impracticable to trap it back into the 
 boiler. On the other hand, if the boiler can be located on a 
 floor below that on which the steam table stands, or if the 
 generator is small enough to be located directly under the 
 steam table, so that a perfect circulation may be assured, there 
 would be no trouble in obtaining all the heat required. Steam 
 generators of the latter description are now made specially 
 for steam tables and are fully guaranteed by the makers. 
 
 STEAM TABLES, HEATING. The only practical 
 method of heating a drying table is by steam. Some of the 
 manufacturers of stereotyping machinery furnish a small steam 
 generator for this purpose, which occupies little space and is 
 very satisfactory. Either coal or gas may be used for fuel. 
 The drying table should be supplied with a small automatic 
 trap to keep the table free from water without wasting steam. 
 If the generator can be located on a floor below the drying 
 
STEREOTYPING. 167 
 
 table, a trap would not be necessary, as the steam will circulate 
 and prevent the accumulation of water in the table. 
 
 STEREOTYPING MACHINE. A recent invention is 
 described as a " machine for impressing and drying stereotype 
 matrices." It differs from the methods ordinarily employed in 
 the respects that neither brush nor roller are used to produce 
 the impression. The peculiarity of the invention is found in 
 the fact that the mold is made by direct pressure which is not 
 exerted all over the form at the same time, but is brought to 
 bear first on the center of the form and then on the outer 
 portions, working from the center out to the edges, thus 
 gradually expelling the air from under the flong. The platen 
 of the machine is made of sections, the central platen being 
 depressed first, then the sections immediately adjacent to the 
 middle sections are depressed, and the pressure gradually 
 extended until a perfectly clear impression of the entire body 
 of the type has been obtained. After the several platen sec- 
 tions have all been brought in operation the pressure thereon 
 is maintained by stopping the rotary movement of the cylinder 
 over the platen until the impression has set or until the matrix 
 is dried. The drying is accomplished by steam heat, the bed 
 of the machine being cast hollow and heated in the same 
 manner as an ordinary steam-table. As the form is not moved 
 until the matrix is dry, all danger of doubling the matrix is 
 eliminated. 
 
 TABULAR WORK, STEREOTYPING. Unusual care 
 should be exercised in locking up jobs of this description, and 
 even then it is not always possible to prevent rules from work- 
 ing up. The same difficulty often occurs when printing such 
 jobs from type, that is to say, the rules work up on the press 
 just as they do under a brush. The remedy is to lock up the 
 form as carefully as possible, then, if the rules persist in 
 coming up, lift the matrix carefully from the high rule and 
 plane it down, observing great care, of course, to get the 
 matrix back properly. The beating should be done lightly; 
 not less than four tissues should be used on the matrix, and it 
 would do no harm to use five or six. The beating and planing 
 
168 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 should be done very lightly, to avoid cutting the flong with the 
 sharp points and rules, and for the same reason a soft drying 
 blanket should be used. Severe beating or excessive pressure 
 on the drying table, particularly if the blankets are hard, would 
 force the points into the matrix deeper than the type, and cause 
 them to be high in the stereotype plate. 
 
 SOLDERING ACID. In mixing soldering acid, always 
 use new, clean zinc clippings, and keep the basin and brush 
 clean. Wash them every day and put in clean acid every 
 morning. 
 
 TISSUES THAT DO NOT ADHERE. Use plenty of 
 filler, namely, whiting, in your paste, and a soft drying blanket. 
 If you mold with a beating brush, do not pound the spaces 
 more than necessary, but rely on your blankets to force them 
 down. The separation is caused by the water in the paste 
 turning to steam, which expands and forces the tissues apart. 
 By using plenty of whiting, the moisture is partially absorbed 
 and the soft drying blanket stretches the paper tight and pre- 
 vents it from puffing. When high quads and spaces are used 
 this trouble never occurs, because the matrix is forced down 
 to the quads and held there by the blankets. In the absence 
 of high quads the blankets must be relied upon to sti etch the 
 paper to an extent sufficient to prevent separation. When a 
 large number of casts are required, or when the spaces are 
 very large, it will pay to partially fill the spaces with pieces of 
 leads or slugs, so as to provide a contact surface for the 
 matrix. Pieces of strawboard will answer instead of slugs, 
 but a metallic surface is better. 
 
 TYPE FORMS, OILING. To prevent the flong from 
 sticking to the form, brush the type sparingly with thin, clean 
 headlight oil. A thick oil will bake on the types, causing them 
 to stick together. 
 
 TYPE, GROWING. This is an old trouble and one that 
 has been experienced by many printers and stereotypers. The 
 cause is found in the fact that metal expands with heat. The 
 type is usually locked up tightly in a heavy steel chase, which 
 
STEREOTYPING. 169 
 
 prevents expansion in a lateral direction, and, when heat is 
 applied to dry the matrix, the expansion takes a vertical direc- 
 tion. The remedy lies in providing room in the chase for 
 natural expansion. When this is done the type will expand 
 equally in all directions, and, in cooling, will contract again 
 to its original dimensions. A simple method of accomplishing 
 this result is to surround the type with strips of soft wood, or 
 at least to place a strip of wood between the side-sticks and 
 the chase, and between the foot-stick and the type. The wood 
 takes the squeeze of the expansion and relieves the type from 
 excessive pressure. Forms which are to be stereotyped should 
 never be locked tightly. It is a good plan to loosen the screws 
 after the form is on the steam table. The writer has seen a 
 heavy cast-iron, type-high chase, 2^ inches wide, broken apart 
 by the tremendous power of expanding type. It is not strange, 
 therefore, that type should be injured when subjected to such 
 a strain, with no provision to take care of the expansion. It 
 should be remembered that expansion is greater at a high 
 than at a low temperature. Unless absolutely necessary to dry 
 the matrix as rapidly as possible, as is the case with some 
 newspaper pages, excessive heat should not be applied. A 
 little care in this direction will add to the life of the type. 
 Thirty or forty pounds steam pressure on the table will not 
 be nearly so likely to cause injury as eighty or one hundred 
 pounds. 
 
 TYPE SHORTENED BY STEREOTYPING. Why type 
 should become shortened by stereotyping is a conundrum which 
 has never been satisfactorily solved, but there is no question 
 as to the fact that it is sometimes so affected. The natural 
 effect of stereotyping is to elongate the type, the heat of the 
 drying press causing it to expand, but this danger may be 
 minimized by observing proper precautions in locking up the 
 form. The same precautions would no doubt be beneficial to 
 type which shows a tendency to shorten under the influence 
 of heat, but it is probable that no amount of care would save 
 this particular dress of type. The writer, during an experi- 
 ence of many years, has learned that, while type from one 
 foundry may be stereotyped thousands of times without per- 
 
170 STEREOTYPING. 
 
 ceptible injury, an outfit from another foundry would be 
 ruined in a few days or weeks, although the conditions govern- 
 ing the tests were identical. It is also a fact that type from 
 one foundry will be shortened while another make .of type 
 will become elongated by continuous stereotyping. The infer- 
 ence from these facts is that different metal formulas are used 
 by different typefoundries, and that all are not equally suitable 
 for the manufacture of type which is to be stereotyped. It is 
 certainly possible to stereotype from some makes of type with- 
 out injury, provided the forms are not overheated or locked 
 too tightly. The writer has stereotyped the same type over 
 two thousand times without producing any change in its 
 height. Of course, due care was exercised in locking up the 
 forms, but it is also true that the metal in the type was of 
 superior quality. 
 
 WOOD-MOUNTED CUTS. If the form to be molded 
 contains wood-mounted electrotypes, they should be underlaid 
 with hard, thin card until they stand at least a thin lead higher 
 than the type. The heat and pressure incident to molding 
 shrink the block. 
 
 ZINC IN STEREOTYPE METAL. T. B. Look, Port- 
 land, Maine, offers the following suggestions : " Zinc is about 
 the worst thing that can get into metal. I found that it could 
 be worked fairly well by the following treatment: Heat the 
 metal very hot and allow the zinc (which is the lightest) to 
 come to the surface as much as possible ; then throw on with 
 a scattering motion, so as to cover as much of the surface of 
 metal as possible, a mixture of about three parts sulphur to 
 one part powdered resin ; now burn off with oil and skim 
 thoroughly. Then repeat and add a small quantity of anti- 
 mony td the metal. I used this method for five or six years 
 where we sawed both stereotype and zinc with the same saw 
 and melting the sawdust in with the metal. Although we used 
 our metal on job work and cuts and half-tones, we never threw 
 away a pound of metal." 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Acid, soldering, 168 
 
 Appendix, 134 
 
 Autoplate, the, 55, 134 
 
 Backing compounds, 33 
 
 Backing powder, 135 
 
 Beating brushes, 31 
 
 Beating the matrix, 135 
 
 Beating table, 28 
 
 Belts, calculating length of, 135 
 
 Belts, slipping, 135 
 
 Bending a small matrix, 136 
 
 Beveling machine, in 
 
 Beveling and routing, 106 
 
 Blankets, 37 
 
 Blistering, cause of, 136 
 
 Blistered matrices, 136 
 
 Blocking, 123 
 
 Brushes, leveling, stereotype beating, 
 
 136 
 
 Brush and sieve, 136 
 Cabinet saw, 77 
 Calipers, 114 
 Casting, 53 
 Casting boxes, 59 
 Casting large plates, 137 
 Celluloid matrix composition, 139 
 Celluloid printing-plates, 137 
 Celluloid, substitute for, 139 
 Chalk brush, 27 
 Chalk plates, 139 
 Chalk plates, casting, 69 
 Chalk plate ingredients, 140 
 Chalk plates, stereotyping, ^40 
 Clay stereotyping, 141 
 Clay vs. papier-mache stereotyping, 
 
 142 
 
 Cleaning metal, 70, 155 
 Cold process, 48, 142 
 Concave stereotypes, 143 
 Copper-plating curved stereotypes, 
 
 *43 
 
 Correcting machine, 131 
 Corroded stereotype plates, 44 
 Cost of stereotyping, 144 
 Curved shaver, 82 
 
 Curved stereotype plate-finishing ma- 
 chine, 145 
 
 Cuts, wood-mounted, 170 
 
 Cutting-off cylinder, 72 
 
 Daniels' planer, 125 
 
 Daniels' planer tool, 115 
 
 Danish stereotyping process, 159 
 
 Defective stereotyping, 145 
 
 Double saw, 79 
 
 Double trimmer, 103 
 
 Dovetailing machine, 129 
 
 Drill and jig-saw combined, 119 
 
 Dry stereotyping, 146 
 
 Drying blankets, care of, 147 
 
 Drying, importance of, 30 
 
 Drying press, 34, 36 
 
 Drying stereotype molds by hot air, 
 
 Durability of stereotypes, 148 
 
 Electric matrix-dryer, 40 
 
 Elevating bed shaving machine, 88 
 
 Expansion of type, 29 
 
 Failure, causes of, 66 
 
 Finishing cylinder, 107 
 
 Five-column casting box, 64 
 
 Flong, 16 
 
 Flong, a new stereo, 148 
 
 Flong-pasting machine, 149 
 
 Flongs, roller process, 22 
 
 Floors for stereotype foundries, 150 
 
 Form, preparing the, 26 
 
 Forms to be unlocked and planed, 
 
 3 r 
 
 French chalk, 150 
 
 Hadaway electric matrix-drier, 39 
 " Fudge," the, 150 
 Gage, lining, type, 101 
 Growing type, 1 68 
 Half-tones in curved stereotype 
 
 plates, 151 
 
 Half-tones, stereotyping, 151 
 Hand shaver, 84 
 
 Hardening and tempering steel, 152 
 High type, cause of, 28 
 Historical, n 
 Honeycombed plates, 153 
 Impression, depth of, 153 
 Introductory, 8 
 Jig-saw and drill combined, 119 
 
 171 
 
172 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Job trimmer, 96 
 
 Kahrs' process, 49 
 
 Kerefting, A., 157 
 
 Knife shaver, 90 
 
 Line-holder, 97 
 
 Lining gage, 101 
 
 Linotype metal, 156 
 
 Locking forms too tight, 130 
 
 Machine molds, efficiency of, 43 
 
 Matrices, pattern, 153 
 
 Matrix-drier, 39 
 
 Matrix, drying the, 35 
 
 Matrix, packing the, 33 
 
 Matrix-paper, best weight, 153 
 
 Matrix-paper, 18, 24 
 
 Matrix wrinkling under roller, 154 
 
 Melting-pot, 57 
 
 Metal, brittle, 155 
 
 Metal, cleaning, 155 
 
 Metal, composition of, 155 
 
 Metal, " doctoring," 156 
 
 Metal, Linotype, 156 
 
 Metals, mixing, 156 
 
 Metal, rotten, 156 
 
 Metal, substitute for stereotype, 156 
 
 Metal, temperature of, 157 
 
 Mixing metals, 156 
 
 Molding, 31 
 
 Molding by pressure, 157 
 
 Molding machine, 42 
 
 Mortising machine, 132 
 
 Nailing machine, 131 
 
 Negative stereotypes, 157 
 
 New stereotyping process, 159 
 
 Nickel-facing, 51 
 
 Nickel-plating stereotypes, 160 
 
 Nikello process, 50, 159 
 
 Oil brush, 27 
 
 Oiling machinery, 160 
 
 Oiling type forms, 168 
 
 Packing material, 160 
 
 Paste, 19, 6 1 
 
 Paste, care of, 161 
 
 Paste, cooking, 161 
 
 Paste, to preserve, 163 
 
 Paste for brush mats, 162 
 
 Paste for roller machine, 162 
 
 Paste for roller matrices, 162 
 
 Paste kettle, 163 
 
 Paste materials, 163 
 
 Paste recipes, 163 
 
 Paste sieve, 23 
 
 Pattern matrices, 153 
 
 Planer and shoot-board, 94 
 
 Planer tool, Daniels', 115 
 
 Plaster, stereotyping, 164 
 
 Polishing machinery, 165 
 
 Power reverse shaver, 87 
 
 Power shoot-board, 95 
 
 Pressure, molding by, 157 
 
 Pulleys, calculating speed of, 165 
 
 Pump furnace, 54 
 
 Revising, 113 
 
 Revising chisel, 114 
 
 Revising machine, 132 
 
 Revising punch, 114 
 
 Revising stick, 113 
 
 Rolling machine, 38 
 
 Rolling machines, experts required 
 for, 47 
 
 Rotten metal, 156 
 
 Roughing machine, 91 
 
 Router tool, 115 
 
 Routing and beveling, 106 
 
 Routing machine, 109 
 
 Saw, cabinet, 77 
 
 Saw, double, 79 
 
 Saw and trimmer combined, 75 
 
 Saw, stereotypers', 73 
 
 Sawing, 71 
 
 Schreiner molding and drying ma- 
 chine, 45 
 
 Shaver, adjustable knife, 90 
 
 Shaver and tail cutter, 83 
 
 Shaver, power reverse, 87 
 
 Shaving machines, 81 
 
 Shaving machine, elevating bed, 88 
 
 Shoot-board and planer, 94 
 
 Shortened type, 169 
 
 Shrinks in stereotype plates, 165 
 
 Sieve brush, 23 
 
 Soldering acid, 168 
 
 Speed in stereotyping, 63 
 
 Steam generator, 166 
 
 Steel, hardening and tempering, 152 
 
 Stereotype metal, composition of, 56 
 
 Stereotyping machine, 167 
 
 Substitute for stereotype metal, 156 
 
 Tabular work, stereotyping, 167 
 
 Temperature of metal, 157 
 
 Tempering and hardening steel, 152 
 
 Tissues that do not adhere, 168 
 
 Trimmer, double, 103 
 
 Trimmer, job, 96 
 
 Trimmer, large, 98 
 
 Trimmer, tool, 100 
 
 Trimming, 98 
 
 Type forms, oiling, 168 
 
 Type gage, 101 
 
 Type, growing, 168 
 
 Type shortened by stereotyping, 169 
 
 Weight of matrix paper, 153 
 
 Wood-mounted cuts, 170 
 
 Wrinkling matrix, 154 
 
 Zinc in stereotype metal, 170 
 
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