Like most other appliances in printing, this simple device was changed in the second half of the nineteenth century. ![]() A tap or two with the shooting stick and mallet in the opposite direction would loosen the quoins and enable the compositor or pressman to make corrections in the form. A minimum of two are needed to lock up a form, one for vertical hold, one for horizontal.įor over 400 years quoins were short wooden wedges, used in multiples, that were driven with a ‘shooting stick’ and mallet against long tapered sticks called side and foot sticks, When the quoin was driven against the side or foot stick by taps from the mallet, they filled a wider space in the chase while still remaining parallel, and had the effect of locking the page of metal type into place. Quoins are a locking tool used to hold type or bases snug on the press bed. The architectural word quoin, denoting an angular stone or wedge-shaped block, entered the language as a printing term in 1570. Often used as “leading” or “spacing” for wood type, they are commonly cut to any length. Reglets are also made of wood but are only available in 1/2 and 1-pica widths. Old or neglected furniture may not lock up evenly or solidly. Furniture is cut to exact measurements, and should all match perfectly. Since the width and height are nearly the same, 4 pica wide furniture will usually have a groove cut down the top side signifying which side faces up. This means the smallest piece of furniture available is 2×10 picas, and the largest commonly available is 10×60 picas.įurniture is commonly stored in a wedge-shaped cabinet, housing 5 or 6 pieces per size, short at the top, long at the bottom, and narrow on the left to wide on the right. Furniture is absolutely necessary for every letterpress shop, and the more complete your set, the more versatile you will be.Ĭut to be shorter than type high, furniture comes in a standard series of lengths and widths. Furniture and Regletsįurniture is the wooden (or occasionally metal or resin-composite) blocks that surround your form or plate base to hold it in place. An alternative guide can be made using paper, cardboard, or sticky foam. ![]() This usually breaks the pin or guide too. Take care when aligning your guides: a misplaced guide will easily crush type, a polymer plate, or damage a base. Higher-quality guides lock into the press on both ends with a lever system and are called Quad Guides (and are sold under the brand name Kort Adjustable Quad Guides). These come in a variety of specific styles but are all essentially the same. Megill pins include a sharp end that punctures your tympan, and a brass tongue and square end which holds the sheet. Today they are still made and sold the gauges have not changed over the years. These patented gauge pins were in general use over 100 years ago. ![]() Soon more elaborate devices were made, culminating with several varieties of gauges that clamped to the tympan paper, made by the Edward L. On the nineteenth century platen press, this function was filled at first by bent pins inserted into the tympan, or quads pasted on the tympan, to which the sheet of paper was fed. The point-holes on incunabula leaves can be useful bibliographical indicators. On the hand press, the function of keeping the paper in register was supplied by “points” on the tympan, which pierced the dampened paper easily and kept it from shifting. One of the most remarkable devices of all is the simple gauge pin.
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