Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/684

* TYPE. 592 TYPE FOUNDING. New Testament. There is a large class, however, which more properly fall under the mystical sense of Scripture, and which are called indirect, that is to say, 'adaptive' or 'applied' types. TYPE FOUNDING. The art of founding or easting printers' types. ( See Printing. ) In the early times printers made their own type, but about the middle of the sixteenth century the necessity arose for a division of labor and type founding became a business distinct from printing. The art was first developed in France and from that country spread to Italy, Ger- many, England, and the United States. The first type cast in America was made by Christopher Saur, at Germantown, Pa., about 1735. In 1796 the Scotch type founders Binnj' and Ronaldson established a type foundry in Philadelphia, Pa., which after many struggles succeeded. Between 1735 and 1796 several persons, among whom wag Benjamin Franklin, attempted to found type, but they all failed to make a business success of their attempts. In 1810 Elihu White established a successful type-founding business in New York, and in 1813 the firm of D. & G. Bruce began busi- ness as type founders in the same cit}'. Thesa early type founders all cast their type by hand, after much the same methods, probably, as had been practiced since metal types were first used. Indeed, it was well on toward the middle of the nineteenth century before type was successfully founded by machine to any considerable extent. Hand Founding. The first step in the process of type founding by hand is the cutting of a puncli or die resembling the required letter. The punch is of hardened steel, with the figure of the letter cut, the reverse way, upon its point. On this die being finished, it is struck into a piece of copper about an inch and a quarter long, one- eighth of an inch deep, and of a width proportion- ate to the size of the type to be cast. This cop- per, being so impressed with the representation of the letter, requires to be adjusted to the mold, so that the 'face' or impression of the punch (in the copper) may be bronglit into such relation with the metal which forms the 'body' or stalk of the type, that when the types are 'set up' they may stand at the proper distance from each other, and be in 'line' or range, and also square to the page; this work is termed 'justifying,' and the copper is now a 'matrix.' The matrix is now fixed into a small instrument or frame called the mold, which is composed of two parts. The ex- ternal surface is of wood, the internal of steel. At the top is a shelving orifice, into which the metal is poured. The space within is of the size of the required body of the letter, and is made exactly true. The melted metal, being poured into this space, sinks down to the bottom in the matrix, and, instantly cooling, the mold is opened, and the type is cast out by the workman. This process of easting types is executed with great celerity. Of course, every separate letter in the alphabet, every figure, point, or mark, must have its own punch and matrix. After being cast the types have to be dressed, and this work is per- formed by hand. It consists first in removing the projection or 'jet' of superfluous metal that clings to the end which is toward the top of the mold while the type is being cast; second, in rubbing smooth the sides of the types on grit- stones ; and, finally in cutting a groove in the foot of each type and examining the type with a mag- nifying glass to discover imperfections. Consid- ering the nature of the operation, type casting by hand is performed, by an expert, with remark- able rapidity, about 400 types per hour being pro- duced ready for the finishing process. JIaciiine Founding. Various attempts were made during the early part of the nineteenth century tg cast types by machinery. The first successful machine for this purpo.se was devised by David Bruce, Jr., of New York, and was pat- ented in 1838. As subsequently improved, this machine was extensively used in American type foundries and was introduced into Europe. Brief- ly described, the Bruce type-casting machine con- sists, first, of a small melting-pot, which contains the molten metal, and is placed over a small fur- nace. In the interior of the pot is arranged a forcing-pump and valve for admitting the metal under the piston, and also for preventing the re- turn of the metal into the mass in the pot when the piston is depressed, and thus securing the full force exerted upon the piston being trans- mitted to the molten metal under the piston, and forcing it through a narrow channel leading from the bottom of the chamber in which the pis- ton works to the outside of the pot, where a nipple is inserted, with a small hole through it, com- municating with this narrow channel. Against this nipple the mold in which the type is formed is pressed at the moment at which the piston de- scends, and so receives the molten metal that forms the type. The second part of the machine is that which carries the mold, and to which the mold is firm- ly bolted. The mold is similar to the old hand- mold, but modified to suit the machine; it is much stronger; the 'jets' are shorter, and the orifice by which the metal enters is smaller, so that it may 1» brought exactly coincident with the small hole in the nipple in front of the pot. The mold — as the old hand-mold — is made in halves ; one of the halves is firmly bolted to an arm which, by cams and levers, is made to oscil- late, and carry the mold to and from the nipple in front of and above the pot; the other half of the mold is bolted to another arm, which, by a peculiarly formed hinge, is attached to the first arm, so that the two halves of the mold may be made to open and shut upon each other like the lid of a snuft'-hox ; and so both sides of the mold oscil- late together to and from the nipple in the pot from which they receive the molten metal. The operation of the machine is as follows: The pis- ton being raised in the chamber of the pump, and the chamber being supplied with metal through the valve, the mold is brought against the nipple; the valve closes to prevent the metal being forced back into the pot ; the piston descends, and forces the metal through the narrow channel into the mold; the mold then recedes from the nipple, and in receding the two halves separate from each other and eject the type; the mold again ap- proaches the nipple, and in approaching the two halves close together, and are ready for another operation. A blast of cold air is directed upon each mold to keep it cool. The types produced by the Bruce machine as built previous to 1868 had to be dressed by hand, but in that year Mr. Bruce invented an apparatus for dressing the type mechanically which could be applied to his casting machine. Bruce's im-