The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-01-14
THE GzonETRIc LATHE
Only -Four Men I'm the World AneW
How TO Operate is.

OHiF cur men N tac s"AAN
How TO Operate AZ.
81 Me- oGas
II vou viii look at the picture upon
81 bill. you will see that the portrait of
Martha Washington or of Stanton IS COM
posed altogether of curved or straight
hne<-the only kind OF engraving that IS
allowed TO DC done in the eu-eau, because
unless il Is done in this manner, and I'M
less the lines are cut very deep. the en-
cravings cannot be used. Now this por-
trait was engraved in a piece of steel by
the use Of very sharp little instrument
known as graver.
Every little scratch on the steel plate
will, in printing. show black line. so
you will see how very CAREFUL the engraver
has TO be that he shall not make any false
scratches, and that the lines shall be just
so long and just so broad
Now. steel engraving is the direct op-
posite OF wood engraving. The scratches
and cuts made on a wooden block will be
white In print. and 1t IS only the uncut
portions of the block that print black.
while on the steel the unscratcned portion
leaves the paper white.
When design has been cut on steel
plate, and ii is ready TO be printed, the
ink Is put on the plate or block. and all
the cuts and scratches become hiled with
ink. Then the ink is carefully rubbed of
OF the surface, so that none remains ex-
cept what is In the lines. When a piece
of dampened paper is placed on the plate
and subjected to a very heavy pressure. 1t
sinks into the lines: and when 1t is taken
OF il draws the Ink out with 1t, and thus
the picture Is printed on the paper.
1t takes an engrayer about six weeks or
two months TO complete one portrait, and
a man who engrayes the portrait never
does any other kind of engraving. Each
engrayer does only q certain portion of
the work on note; no one Is permitted
To engrave an entire note: so that besides
the portrait engFavers, there are some who
DO nothing but engrave the figures, the
seal, the lettering, the border, etc. In this
way 1t would be i'm possible for an engrayer
to make a complete engraving for his own
use, If he were dishonest enough to want
TO do such a thing.
Besides this manual work, some of the
engraving is done by machinery, as for ex-
ample, the background of the portrait and
Of the borders. and the shading of the
letters, this being done by what is known
as the ruling machine, which can rule
several hundred perfectly straight lines
within AN inch. The intricate scroll and
lace-like work around the figures on the
face and the back of the note is done by q
metric lathe. This machine consists OF q
large number OF wheels of all sizes and in
ali sorts of arrangements, together with q
complicated mechanism of eccentrics and
rods, all of which is incomprehensible to
any one but an expert machinist.
BY proper adjustment of its parts the
delicate diamond point that moves about
over the face of the steel is made 10 work
out perfect and artistic pattern with
greater accuracy and much more speed
than could be done by hand. and hence
this delicate and intricate part of the en-
craving is one of the greatest obstacles
with which the counterfeiter has to con-
tend. tor he finds IL next to impossible to
initiate it correctly.
Fortunately for Uncle Sam, the geo.
metric lathe il a very complicated and
very expensive machine, and the counter
feiter is generally poor man; and even il
he did manage TO lay up enough money to
buy the lathe. it is hardly likely he would
live long enough TO learn how 10 use it
properly; for there are only four men in
the world who understand how 70 oper-
ate IT,
Indeed, the man who now has charge Of
the geometric lathe at the bureau OF en-
craving and printing is the only one in the
United States at the present time who
knows how 10 manageit and if anything
should happen TO him, it might tangle
matters up for awhile in this important
branch of our Uncle Sans big govern
ment.