The American Printer: A Manual of Typography / Containing practical directions for managing all departments of a printing office, as well as complete instructions for apprentices; with several useful tables, numerous schemes for imposing forms in every variety, hints to authors, etc.

by Thomas MacKellar

LOCKING UP FORMS.

First, carefully examine whether the pages of each quarter are of the same length; for even the difference of a lead will cause them to hang. Test their exactness: place the ball of each thumb against the centre of the foot-stick, raising it a little with the pressure, and, if the ends of both pages rise equally with the stick, it is a proof they will not bind; then fit quoins between the side and foot-stick of each quarter and the chase. After pushing the quoins as far as possible with the fingers, make use of the mallet and shooting-stick, and gently drive the quoins along the foot-sticks first, and then those along the side-sticks, taking care to use an equal force in the strokes, and to drive the quoins far enough up the shoulders of the side- and foot-sticks, that the letter may neither belly out nor hang, and the lines be kept straight and even. Quoins should be slanted on one side only, but the edges should not be bevelled. The several quarters of a form should be partially tightened before either quarter is finally locked up; otherwise the cross-bar may be sprung.

Before locking up the form, plane the pages gently over all the face. If this be properly done, a second planing is hardly necessary, provided the justification is perfect and the pages are all of the same length. But, as this is seldom the case, the second planing can hardly be dispensed with.

It often occurs that the quoins, when locked up wet, stick so tight to the furniture as to render it troublesome to unlock them: in such cases, drive the quoin up a little, and it afterward unlocks with ease.

Before lifting a form after it is locked up, raise it gently a short distance, and look under it, to ascertain whether any types are disposed to drop out. If all is right, carry it to the proof-press, and pull a good proof. Then rub it over gently with a ley-brush, rinse it well, and place it in a rack, and deliver the proof, with the copy, to the proof-reader.