Every boy, at one time or another, gets an attack of printers’ fever, and then he will not be satisfied until he makes or purchases a printing-press. There are, of course, many different kinds of printing-presses. One of the simplest forms is shown in the drawing of the flat-bed press (Fig. 1), which is very easy to make and to manipulate. A flat board one and one-half inches thick, twelve inches wide, and eighteen inches long will form a substantial bed on which to fasten the frame and pressure-plate. The frame is made of hard-wood strips seven-eighths of an inch wide and three-fourths of an inch high. These are glued and screwed fast to the bare board, forming an enclosure five and one-half by six and one-half inches, and large enough to accommodate a chase four by five inches. A chase is always measured from the inside. From one-half to five-eighths of an inch all around should be allowed for the thickness of the metal of which the chase is made.
The pressure-plate is cut from wood one and one-fourth inches thick, and the same size as the outside measure of the frame attached to the bed-board. A stout lever fourteen inches long is screwed and glued fast to the top of this board, which is then attached to the rear strip of the frame by means of three stout iron hinges, so that when closed down the pressure-plate will fit closely to the top of the frame.
The type as it is set up in the chase will stand face up in the frame, and the card to be printed is caught with gauge-pins to the inside of the pressure-plate, as shown in the drawing. The type, having been inked with the roller, gives the impression to the card when the pressure-plate is brought down and held against the type by means of the lever.
The gauge-pins that hold the card in place are made of metal or of ordinary pins. Several forms of pins are shown at Fig. 2. A is made from an ordinary pin, while B and C are other forms cut from thin sheet-brass and then bent into shape with small pliers.
Fig. 3 shows a chase five by seven inches, of cast-iron, which can be purchased at a printers’ stock house for a nominal price. When the types are set up they are blocked into position in the chase, and two wedges, made with bevelled edges to bear against each other, are tapped with a light hammer on the thick ends, so as to wedge the type in place. These are called quoins (Fig. 4).
Fig. 5 shows a small proof-roller made of glue and molasses. It may be purchased at a printers’ shop for a few cents.
A piece of glass or marble will answer very well for an ink-plate or slab, and after using them both the slab and roller should be thoroughly cleaned with benzine. The cleaning must be done directly after printing, else the ink dries on the roller and thus spoils it.
A SIMPLE HAND-PRESS AND ACCESSORIES
Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fig. 5. Fig. 6.
A composing-stick (Fig. 6) may be made from thin wood three inches wide and nine inches long, with a sliding jaw (as shown at A) made of thin wood and caught to the edge with a metal strip loose enough to permit the jaw to be easily moved back and forth.
The types, being first set up in the composing-stick, are then transferred to the chase, and clamped in with blocks of wood and quoins.
An Upright Press
The upright press (Fig. 7) is on the same principle as the flat-bed, but the chase is held in a vertical position, and the back against which it rests is braced to the base-board. This press can be made a little larger than the flat-bed, and will accommodate a chase measuring five by seven inches. At the rear of the sides of the base-board angular cuts must be made with a saw, and corresponding cuts should be made near the top of the upright board which supports the chase. With a sharp chisel cut the wood away between these cuts (Fig. 7). Cut the brace-pins also at each end (Fig. 8 A). A lap-joint is the result, and when fastened with glue and screws a firm anchorage and support is obtained for the upright board.
The pressure-plate is of wood one and one-fourth inches thick, and attached to the strip at the bottom of the upright or chase-board by means of stout iron hinges. Care must be taken when placing these hinges to arrange them so accurately that not a fraction of an inch difference is perceptible at either side or at the top or bottom. Otherwise, uneven pressure will give unsatisfactory results. A lever is made and attached to the pressure-plate as described for the flat-bed press, and a block may be fastened to the base-board for the lever to rest on, as shown in the drawing.
A Lever-press
A perfect wooden lever-press is shown in the large illustration (Fig. 9), which is drawn so clearly that only the measurements will be required to understand its construction.
Fig. 9.
The base-board of this press is twenty inches long, ten inches wide, and one and one-fourth inches thick. The upright board against which the chase rests is ten inches wide, eight inches high, and one and one-fourth inches thick. The pressure-plate is the same width and thickness, but is seven inches high, and bevelled at the bottom, as shown in the side elevation (Fig. 12). The upright board is placed six inches from one end of the base-board, and is fastened in place with screws that are driven up from the underside of the base-board, with side-braces let in to the edges of the boards, as shown in Fig. 8.
The pressure-plate is hinged at the bottom to a piece of wood, which acts as a platform for the lower edge of the chase to rest on. It is seven-eighths of an inch thick and two and one-half inches wide. Strips are glued and screwed at either edge of the upright board to hold the sides of the chase, and at the top the chase is held with a brass spring-clip that can be made and screwed to the wood. Four inches from the pressure-plate base three blocks are arranged to support the lever, which is connected to the back of the pressure-plate with a tongue of iron one-fourth of an inch thick, three inches long, and one inch wide (Fig. 10). Quarter-inch holes are bored at each end just two inches apart from centre to centre. Two blocks of wood are screwed to the back of the pressure-plate one fourth of an inch apart, and a quarter-inch hole made in each, to receive a bolt, which also passes through one hole in the iron tongue.
The wooden lever is fourteen inches long, one and one-half inches square at one end, and at the other it is rounded, so as to make it easier on the hands. The square end is rounded off and cut in with a saw, as shown in Fig. 11, and one inch in from the end a quarter-inch hole is made.
The blocks that hold the lever are set one and one-half inches apart, and a bolt passes through the upper end of them and through the lever near the end of the iron tongue. The hole in the lever through which the bolt passes is two inches from the end hole, and when spaced properly the inside of the pressure-plate should be seven-eighths of an inch from the face of the chase-board when the handle and tongue are in a straight line, as shown in the side elevation of the press (Fig. 12).
Fig. 7. Fig. 8. Fig. 10. Fig. 11.
Fig. 12. SIDE ELEVATION OF WOODEN LEVER-PRESS
Metal type, electrotypes, engravings, and printers’ plates are always made seven-eighths of an inch high. When making a press always bear this in mind, and if necessary the pressure-plate can always be built up with hard paper to meet the face of the type if sufficient pressure is not had at first.
Type, spaces, quads, rule, blocks, ink, and a small roller can be purchased from any printer if there is not a printers’ stock house in the town where you live. If the printer is accommodating, he will answer all your questions about your printing-press, and help you with any details about which you are uncertain.
Stamping
Stamping, or the process of imprinting without the aid of a hand or power-press, is as old as the hills. Away back in the early ages the art of stamping was carried on by means of wooden or stone blocks, on the face of which characters, letters, and various other signs were engraved. Patterns or figures in colors were imprinted on fabrics, parchment, and leathers; and in some of the walls of the ruined houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum there are found well-preserved examples of the stamper’s art, where figures of a running pattern are repeated at regular intervals. Both oil and water-color pigments may be used for stamping; but if the imprint is to be made on paper or leather, then printers’ ink, diluted with a small portion of benzine, should be used.
Every boy may have an imprint of his initials cut on wood, and use it in stamping his papers, school-books, and other property. In the Far East every prominent merchant has his private signet, and always, when signing his name to documents, he certifies it with his stamp, which is placed beside or across the name, as shown in Fig. 13.
In China and Japan these stamps are called “chops,” and are used with a red, brown, or blue ink-paste, which dries hard and indelible on paper, leather, or soft wood.
The author’s imprint so interested a wealthy Japanese merchant a few years ago, that when he returned to Yokohama he had a handsome ivory, bone, and silver “chop” cut by a good maker in that city, and sent it over the sea as a souvenir of his visit to this country. Fig. 14 gives the imprint, and Fig. 15 is a drawing showing the shape of the “chop.” The body part is of ivory and the inlay of silver, while the cap, which fits over the engraved die, is of black bone.
Any boy can make a signet of boxwood or maple for stamping paper and wood. For use on leather he can cut his dies in soft copper, which, when heated, will burn the imprint in the leather.
In Fig. 16 four ideas for imprints are shown. In B and C the initials are combined, while A and D are arrangements of scrolls and lines which will be understood as belonging to a certain person, just as trade-marks are the known marks of certain manufacturers.
In order to cut a wood-stamp, it will be necessary to have some fine carving-chisels, a vise, and sand-paper. Maple, boxwood, or other close-grained wood can be used, and it is best to cut the die on the end rather than on the side of the wood. Cut your block the size required; then draw the reverse of the design, as shown at Fig. 15. Cut this as deep as you need it, so that ink or marking-paste will not clog the low parts; then, when the face is properly finished, the die will stamp an impression as shown at Fig. 14. For large dies it will be necessary to use the wood on the side, as otherwise the blocks would be heavy and hard to handle. Souvenir books or engrossed memorials may be embellished with corner ornaments, as well as with capital letters and borders in red, blue, or gold. Any boy who is interested in this branch of craftsmanship can get ideas and designs from gift books, calendars, show-cards, circulars, and the host of illuminated and embellished printed matter that is in circulation. When making these selections, however, avoid the commonplace printing-house patterns, and favor those to be found in the best magazines, art books, and hand-books of ornament such as are shown in Fig. 17, the several parts of which are a miscellaneous lot of ornaments and letters that can be easily copied by the young die-cutter.
Fig. 13. Fig. 14. Fig. 15. Fig. 16. Fig. 17. Fig. 18.
Diluted printers’ ink is excellent for stamping, and when used it should be spread on a cloth stretched over several thicknesses of flannel and cotton cloth and made in the form of a pad, as shown at Fig. 18. This is a block of wood over which the thicknesses of fabric are laid, the top layer being drawn over the edge and tacked underneath. This block is then placed in a flat box of wood with a hinged cover, so that the pad may be kept enclosed when not in use, and so prevent the ink from drying out. After using the pad a cloth wet with benzine should be laid over the pad; then the lid should be closed and hooked down.
Embossing
In embossing the ornament is raised in low relief, and so lends a rich effect to paper, card, leather, or other ductile material. Embossing is generally done under heavy pressure, and with moisture or heat to facilitate the work. Papers, thin leathers, and some fabrics can be treated in this manner by the boy craftsman after he has mastered the art of making dies. The mode of making bas-reliefs was fully explained in Chapter XI, and for embossing a very low relief is necessary, since otherwise the paper would split or break away on the raised parts. After a well-modelled ornament is obtained, it will be necessary to make a hard casting from it in plaster, and then a casting from this, so that for the work you will have a sharp, clear bas-relief and an intaglio—one the expressed design and the other impressed. Make these of hard plaster, and give their surfaces a coat or two of shellac.
To press a piece of paper or leather, dampen it on both sides with a sponge or wet cloth, and heat the dies in an oven. Place the paper over the bas-relief, cover with the intaglio, and apply pressure. Or place some weight on top of the dies and leave them there for half an hour. On removing the paper you will find a perfect bas-relief which, when thoroughly dry, will hold its shape. Book, card, and mounted leather-work is treated in a hot press, but only for a second or two—just enough to drive the dies together, heat the material, and cause it to hold its shape.