Improvements in Method of and Devices for Stencilling.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Nov., 1897-Accepted, 24th Dec., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Method of and Devices for Stencilling.
I, PHILIP MASON CABELL, of 3, East Ninth Street, in the City of Wilmington,
County of New Castle, and State of Delaware, United States of America, General
Manager Architects' and Engineers' Lettering Company, a citizen of the United
States; do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
This invention has for its object the production of a novel method of and means
for accomplishing fine, delicate and artistic results in stencilling, suitable, among
other purposes, for decorative and ornamental lettering, etc. of maps, drawings,
charts, etc., and for stencilling intricate tracery, tendrils, vines, and similar work
on metal, glass, paper, etc., as will be hereinafter more particular set forth.
In practicing my invention I avoid the use of bristles or brushes of any kind;
nor in any instance, do I employ any brushing or sweeping movement of the ink-
laying implement; the coloring matter being put on by successive actions, thus
precluding the possibility of depositing too much ink in any given portion of the
design, and also permitting the intensifying of the color at will.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 represents a plate or sheet of very thin metal in which the stencil pattern
is to be cut out.
Fig. 2 represents a metal frame for strengthening the borders or edges of this
plate, to preserve its integrity and increase its rigidity.
Fig. 3 represents the plate with its frame as applied thereto.
Fig. 4 represents a printing or tamping stick, showing the yielding tip thereof
in section.
Fig. 5 represents the yielding tip alone and detached, and
Fig. 6 represents one of the endless varieties of ornamental patterns, which can
be delicately and artistically printed by my improved method and device.
I employ an extremely thin metal in the plate A, so that when the printing or
tamping stick B, hereinafter described, is applied to it by direct pressure, the plate
may be forced down upon, and held firmly and closely against the material on which
the imprint is to be made, thus absolutely preventing the spread of the coloring
matter beneath the edges of the openings in the plate, thereby insuring a clear and
perfect outline in the imprint. In order to avoid damage to the plate from
handling due to its thinness, I strengthen and reinforce it by a frame a' which
stiffens the metal and protects it against stretching and "buckling." By such
reinforcement, moreover, the plate is held level and true, as to its under side, and
lies flat on the material that is to receive the imprint.
A novel and essential feature of my stencil or tamping plate consists of some
visible marks or indications on the same, see a², for the purpose of designating by
their distance from each other, and without the need of a previously prepared
separate scale to serve as guide for each special letter of any one alphabet, the exact.
width of the letter cut through the plate. These marks may be in the forms of
slots, lines, dots, punctures, impressions, or any other style of indication, either on

page_text: the edges or face of the plate, which will accurately show the exact width of the
letter, so that any desired space may be left between any two adjacent letters.
The only line a draughtsman needs to draw, in using my method, is the single
straight or curved guide along which the lettering is to be done.
All the careful
and time-consuming work of laying out" the scaled help lines" for designing
and spacing the letters is absolutely dispensed with, thus saving practically all of
the time and great cost of hand-lettering.
The printing stick B is also of novel construction. Its handle b is made of a
shape convenient for use by the hand, or otherwise, and adapted for the tamping
pressures upon the plate, by which the ink is successively laid on.
Its inking
end is so formed as to firmly hold a tip such as 63, of some compressible or elastic
material, capable of being pressed through the opening in the stencil plate, prefer-
ably similar to the composition used in printers' rollers, said tip being squeezed
into a cavity in the end of the tamping stick that enlarges inwardly, it being held
there by its own compressed volume and elasticity. This ink depositing tip is so
shaped as to permit of being reversed in the cavity so that when one end of it wears
away by frequent use, the other end may be employed by simply removing it from
the cavity, turning end for end and replacing it again.
In any event, the operation of printing by my invention consists of a direct
tamping pressure upon the plate by the composition that carries the coloring
matter, and during the moment of this contact or pressure, the plate is forcibly
held against the paper, or other receptive material, with such closeness and steadi-
ness that it is impossible for any coloring matter to be spread beneath the plate
beyond the edges of the openings forming the designs to be imprinted.
Very thin metal can be employed in my process, and with considerable reduction
of the customary number of connecting "ties" or "bridges" without injuriously
affecting the wearing life of the plate, and which used by my method is practically
indestructible.
Any desired strength of shade can be given to the imprints by varying the force
of the tamp-inking pressures given by the composition in the stick, taken in con-
nection with using more or less coloring matter.
With my invention very stiff and pasty, as well as water-proof inks, somewhat
símilar to what are now commonly known as proofing inks, in daily use by
engravers and others may be employed.
By the aid of my invention a number of draughtsmen may letter on the same
map and secure absolute uniformity of work.
While the best results are attained by using a tamping stick made of the com-
position before mentioned yet very good work can be accomplished by using other
materials. It is essential, however, that the material used for the tip of the stick
be capable of being pressed through the opening of a stencil plate, and be such that
the coloring-matter will adhere thereto; such for instance as buck-skin, felt, or any
other compressible material or composition.
With my invention cheap and unskilled labor proves competent to do the most
expert work with great saving of time.
By the phrase, "tamping or "tamp-inking" employed in this specification, I
mean the impact and momentary pressure of the color-carrying device, which
serves to press through the stencil pattern and upon the paper or material receiving
the imprint, the requisite coloring-matter.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention, and in what manner the same is to performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The herein described improvement in the art of stencilling, which consists in
applying and working in the coloring-matter through the openings in the stencil
plate, by successive tamping pressures of a compressible or elastic material carrying
the coloring matter.
2. A tamping-stick for stencilling, consisting of a holder and a color-applying

page_text: tip formed of some elastic or compressible substance to which the coloring-matter
to be applied will adhere.
3. A stencil or tamping plate in which the pattern to be printed is cut, and on
which by visible indications the exact width of the letter or pattern is shown.
4. The improved method of stencilling herein before described.
5. The tamping-stick for stencilling herein before described and illustrated in
Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings hereunto annexed.
6. The stencil or tamping plate herein before described and illustrated in
Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings hereunto annexed.
Dated this 16th day of November, 1897.
EDWARDS AND CO.,
65 and 66 Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.