But though he have fitted the Heighth of the Letter, yet if the Counter-Punch were made a little too little, or Sunk a little too shallow, not only the Footing will prove too Fat, but the Triangle above the Cross-stroke of A will be too small; or if too big, the Footing and part of the Top will be Filed away, when it is brought to a due Heighth, and then the Letter is Spoil’d, unless it be so deep Sunk, that by working away the Face, as aforesaid, he can regain the Footing and Top through the Slope-sholdering of the Counter-Punch, and also keep the inside of the Letter deep enough.
But if the Footing be too Fat or the Triangle of the Top too little in the Inside, he uses the Knife-backt Sculpter, and with one of the edges or both, that proceeds from the Belly towards the Point of the Sculpter (which edges we will for distinction sake call Angular edges) he by degrees and with several proffers Cuts away the Inside of the Footing, or opens the Triangle at the Top or both, till he hath made the Footing lean enough, and the Triangle big enough.
But if he works on the Triangle of the Top, he is careful not to Cut into the Straight of the Inside lines of the Stems, but to keep the Insides of that Triangle in a perfect straight line with the other part of the Inside of the Stem.
The small arch of a Circle on the Top of A is Fil’d away with a Sizable Round-File. And so for all other Letters that have Hollows on their Outsides; he fits himself with a small File of that shape and Size that will fit the Hollow that he is to work upon: For thus the Tails of Swash-Letters in Italick Capitals are Fil’d with half-Round Files Sizable to the Hollows of them. But I instead of Round or Half-Round Files, in this Case, bespeak Pillar Files of several Thicknesses, and cause the File-maker to Round and Hatch the Edges: which renders the File strong and able to endure hard leaning on, without Breaking, which Round or Half-Round Files will not Bear.
I need give no more Examples of Letters that are to be Counter-punched: And for Letters that need neither Counter-punching or Graving, they are made as the Out-sides of A, with Files proper to the shapes of their Stroaks.
¶. 4. Of Graving and Sculping the Insides of
Steel Letters.
The Letter-Cutter elects a Steel Punch or Rod, a small matter bigger than the Size of the Letter he is to Cut; because the Topping or Footing Stroaks will be stronger when they are a little Bevell’d from the Face. The Face of these Letters not being to be Counter-punched are first Flatned and Smoothed, as was shewed, ¶. 3. Then with the proper Gage, viz. the Long, the Ascending, or else the Short Face-Gage, according as the Letter is that he intends to Cut, He measures off the exact Heighth of the Letter, Thus; He first Files one of the Sides of the Face of the Punch (viz. that Side he intends to make the Foot of his Letter) exactly straight; which to do, he screws his Punch pretty near the bottom end, with its intended Foot-side uppermost, aslope into one end of the Chaps of his Hand-Vice. So that the Shank of the Punch lies over the Chaps of the Hand-Vice, and makes an Angle of about 45 Degrees with the Superficies of the Chaps of it: Then he lays the under-side of the Shank of his Punch aslope upon his Tache, in one of the Notches of it, that will best fit the size of his Punch, to keep it steady; and so Files the Foot-Line of the Punch.
But he Files not athwart the sides of his Punch; for that might make the Foot-Line Roundish, by a Mounting and Dipping the Hand is prone to; as I shewed, Vol. I. Fol. 15, 16. But he holds his File so as the Length of it may hang over the Length of the Shank of the Punch, and dip upon it at the Face of the Punch, with a Bevel, or Angle, of about 100 Degrees with the Face of the Punch. This Angle you may measure with the Beard-Gage, described in Plate 10. Fig. C. at k. Then Filing with the File in this Position, the Foot-Line will be made a true straight Line. But yet he examines it too by applying the Liner to it; and holding the Punch and Liner thus to the Light; If the Liner touches all the way on the Foot-Line, he concludes it true; if not, he mends it till it do.
Then he uses his proper Steel-Gage, and places the Sholder of it against the Shank of the Punch at the Foot-Line; and pressing the Sholder of the Steel-Gage close against the Foot-Line, he, with the Tooth of the Gage makes a Mark or Race on the side of the Face, opposite to the Foot-line: And that Mark or Race shall be from the Foot-Line, the Bounds of the Heighth of that Letter.
Then on the Face he draws or marks the exact shape of the Letter, with a Pen and Ink if the Letter be large, or with a smooth blunted Point of a Needle if it be small: Then with sizable and proper shaped and Pointed Sculptors and Gravers, digs or Sculps out the Steel between the Stroaks or Marks he made on the Face of the Punch, and leaves the Marks standing on the Face.