WORKING CONDITIONS
The die-maker should work upon the surface of an imposing table. First, he places on the table the chase in which the die is to be locked up. Second, he fills in the chase with regular printer’s wood furniture, leaving space in the center for the die, and placing locking quoins near the top of the chase and on the right-hand side of the chase. Third, the cutting and creasing rules are set in the open space in the center of the chase, filling in with metal or wood furniture. Fourth, after the die has been carefully set and blanked out, the entire job is locked up with the aid of a quoin-key and the quoins.
Note these points: Printers’ wood furniture is not as high as black walnut or cherry wood used inside the die, and the printers’ wood furniture is only used as locking-up material on the outer sides of the die.
There are several varieties of printers’ quoins, but the best quoins for the die-maker’s purpose are called “Hemple Improved Quoins.” They are of iron, wedge-shaped, and contain ridges which make them hold tightly. By inserting a quoin-key between the “teeth” of a pair of quoins, and turning the key one way or the other way, the quoins are locked or unlocked.
The quoins should not be placed directly against the sides of the chase, or against the sides of the wood furniture. Small strips of reglet, 6-points wide, placed on either side of each pair of quoins protects the wood furniture from damage by the quoins, and prevents loosening of the quoins at the sides of the chase.
An assortment of printers’ leads and brasses—2-point leads and 1-point brasses, in the smaller sizes, will be of great utility to the die-maker in blanking out. A lead or brass, inserted here and there between the furniture in the die, will often solve intricate construction.
Looks like plan for a monoplane, but is layout for steel die form for small drug carton. Plain lines represent steel cutting rules. Dotted lines represent steel creasing rules. As many as 24 complete dies are run together in one large form.