The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1885-03-06
MAKING TYPE.
An Hour Among the Skilled workmen In q
Type-F0undry.

| In Walk through Lype-IOunQf
yesterday morning by a Times reportt
the following words from Motley
Rise of the Dutch Republic" wei
quoted by the founder, who accom-
panied the reporter through his estat
lishment, in referring to the art {
printing:
"At the very epoch when the great
ness of Burgundy was most swift
opening, another weapon was secret
forging, more potent in the grea
struggle for freedom than any whicl
the wit or hand of man has eve
devised or welded"
1T may not be generally known,
said the type-founder, "that the frs
quarto bible printed in America wa
the work of Christopher Sauer, of Ger
mantown, who there in 1875 established
a type foundry; but it is to see how
type is made that you come"
''Let us begin with the metal room. ,
About the place where the amalgum
of which type is made were piled hun
dreds of bars of the metal. At the
further end of the room a master work.
man threw into the great kettle Ger.
tain proportions of copper, anthony,
lead, and tin. This is the amalgam,
the exact proportions of which pro-
duce the useful metal that must be
hard without being brittle. ductile but
tough. flowing freely and hardening
rapidly.
A bar was broken in two, and the
beautiful, sparkling grain of the metal
shown. About the apartment were
casks of glittering antimony, bars of
yellow copper, dull bricks of lead, and
blocks of tin.
AS the composition melted the man
at the kettle stirred the molten mass,
and when the proper degree of heat
was reached ladled it out on the molds
that Law on the brick floor at his feet.
Above the metal room the bars were
fitted for the printers use. Before a
machine known as a punch-cutter sat
man surrounded by bewildering
array of delicate tools and guages.
"There are very few men of note for
this part of the work in the United
States" whispered the reporters COM
panion. sit requires delicacy of
touch and perception that is not easily
acquired. On the end of a piece of
steel the workman at the punch-cutter
was forming a letter. He worked
rapidly yet with caution, frequently
testing his gauges until the letter was
Then other letters of the |
alphabet were formed, finishing the
series.
One by one the dies were placed in
stamping-machine, an oblong piece of
copper put under them, and then the
great lever was brought down. The
was left deep in the copper.
This oblong bit of copper is termed
he matrix.
From the punch-cutter the matrices
we're carried to an adjoining room,
where the greatest care is exercised in
heir fitting up for the mold. The
highest variation or irregularity was
aid to be fatal TO the appearance of
he type cast in them.
Perhaps the most interesting things
bout the foundry are tie tiny casting
machines that pour out an endless
tream of type as long as they are at
york.
"These snug little fellows" said the
ype-founder, patting with his hand
he odd little mass of machinery be- {
pre- which he stood, "can throw out
lore type in one day than man, {
Iorking ten hours day, can count in
month" The casting machine is
le invention of David Bruce, Jr.. of
ew York. '
The metal is kept fluid by little +
lrnace underneath the machine and t
projected into the mold by pump. il
he mold is movable, and at every rev. t
ution of the crank is brought to the a
,out, where it receives fresh charge b
the metal. A spring in front of the i
old holds close to it a copper matrix, K
Id the stamp of the letter on tho ma c
tx is directly opposite the aperature p
the mold which meets the spout of n
o pump. a
In boxes the new-made type is car b
ed to the dressing room, where A
ound large stones boys are kept W
lsy rubbing away the rough edges in
the type. The lads wear leather W
owe fingers for protection. As the
pc is rubbed smooth each letter is
up in long lines.
From the nimble-fingered boys the g
les of type pass into the hands of W
g dresser, who has beside him a pow Sc
ful magnifying-glass. The dresser NJ
fly slips a line of type into long W
ok similar to that used by printers, m
,e downward, screws them up tight, ne
d with two rapid movements of tn
,ning-t tool cuts the groove in the bot at
n of the type. This operation is w
own as giving the type legs. w
They must have something to OF
nd on" said the good-natured look ST.
, dresser. After that, with the ha
'gnifying glass, the face of the line We
critically inspected and imperfect SD
es thrown aside to be returned to IN
} melting-pot. pl
This operation practically ends the tn
king of the type" said the founder. en-
fterward the different letters are W;
up in what we call pages and an
ready to be sent out" The mat sh
es and molds, of which the foundry 10;
J collection numbering many thou so
Ids, are kept, when not in use, in a tn
'of vault They are very valuable, no
as they do, the collection thu
many years of labor. re-
complete font of type may be ccm-
sed under nine heads, as follows:
,tfa1c c,oon oa.;ta1s 1oc.oz