Plate 17.
MECHANICK EXERCISES:
Or, the Doctrine of
Handy-works.
Applied to the ART of
Mold-Making, Sinking the Matrices,
Casting and Dressing of
Printing-Letters.
§. 15. ¶. 1. Of making the Mold.
The Steel-Punches being thus finish’d, as afore was shewed, they are to be sunk or struck into pieces of Copper, about an Inch and an half long, and one quarter of an Inch deep; but the thickness not assignable, because of the different thicknesses in Letters, as was shewed in §. 2. and shall further be shewed, when I come to the sinking and justifying of Matrices. But before these Punches are sunk into Copper, the Letter-Founder must provide a Mold to justifie the Matrices by: And therefore it is proper that I describe this Mold to you before I proceed any farther.
I have given you in Plate 18. at A, the Draft of one side or half of the Mold; and in Plate 19. at B, its Match, or other half, which I shall in general thus describe.
Every Mold is made of two parts, an under, and an upper Part; the under part is delineated at A, in Plate 18, the upper part is marked B, in Plate 19, and is in all respects made like the under part, excepting the Stool behind, and the Bow, or Spring also behind; and excepting a small roundish Wyer between the Body and Carriage, near the Break, where the under part hath a small rounding Groove made in the Body. This Wyer, or rather Half-Wyer in the upper part makes the Nick in the Shank of the Letter, when part of it is received into the Grove in the under part.