OF CASES AND FRAME. As per case and a lower case, together, make what is technically called "a pair of case" They are each made similar as to length, breadth, and depth; viz. 2 feet 8 inches long-1 foot 2 inches wide-and, generally, 1 inch deep. The outer frame of each case is about three-quarters of an inch broad, in order that the ends of the several partitions which form the cells, and which are made of more slender strips of wood, may be let into its substance. The hithermost side is about half an inch higher than either of the other sides, so that when the galley, or another pair of cases are set upon them, they may rest against that higher ledge, and not slide off. Both the upper and lower cases have a partition, one inch broad, dove-tailed into the middle of the upper and under rail of the frame, to divide each case into two equal rectangles; and grooves are made on each side of it, to correspond with certain other grooves in each end, in order to admit the ends of those partitions which divide the cases lengthways: and the bottom board is well nailed to this partition as well as to the outer frame of the case. The pieces or strips of which the several cells are formed, are about the thickness of an English body. Each half of the whole length of the upper case is divided into seven equal parts; and its breadth containing also seven like divisions; the whole upper case is consequently divided into ninetyeight square boxes, whose areas are all equal to one another. But the two halves of the lower case are divided in length into eight equal parts, and its breadth into seven; but instead of the partitions being continued throughout, as in the upper cases, there are four several sizes of boxes, so arranged that the largest may be conveniently seated for the compositor's hand, because the European languages run most upon the particular letters to which the large boxes are appropriated. The number of boxes in the lower case is fifty-four, the arrangement of which will be at once exemplified by the schemes of cases; and the frontispiece will show the manner in which, when used, they are placed on. FRAMES, of which no further description than a reference to the frontispiece, will be necessary to enable any joiner to make one. THE GALLEY is a simple instrument made of three-eighths inch board, generally mahogany, with two serated sides, not quite so high as quadrat height; their size varying for octavos, quartos, bios, &c. THE IMPOSING STONE s made of marble, Purbeck, York, Welsh slate, or any other stone that will take a flat and Booth face the harder it is the better; and therefore marble, possessing this quality in a Dater degree, and its pores being closer, is preferable to either of the others. It should i mounted upon a strong frame, and bedded with saw-dust, plaster, or paper; and its face lie about 3 feet 2 inches above the floor. The frame under the stone is commonly up with draw-boxes to contain quoins, reglet, furniture, leads, &c. &c. The usual of the stone is 4 feet 8 inches, by 2 feet 3 inches ; those dimensions being sufficient da sheet of royal. LETTER BOARDS are of an oblong shape, 2 feet 2 inches long, by 1 foot 10 inches wide, and 14 inch. thick, for demy, for royal, 2 feet 4 inches long, by 2 feet wide. The upper side is planed very flat and smooth; and the under side is clamped with pieces about two inches square, dove-tailed into the board cross-ways, about four inches from each end, as well to keep it from warping as to bear it off the stone or bulk; or to admit of one board standing over another without touching the letter which may be upon the under ones. FURNITURE, QUOINS, REGLET, SCALEBOARD, &c. includes head-sticks, side and foot-sticks, gutters, back-sticks, reglets, quoins, &c. which are made with dry wainscot, quadrat high. The gage of the furniture is by quotations, beginning at narrow-quotation; then broad quotation; broad and pica; double narrow; double-broad; &c. &c. All below narrow-quotation is named by body of letter; as, twoline great primer; two-line english; english; and down to pearl; which is followed by scale board of two kinds, thick and thin. All furniture and reglets are supplied by the printer's joiner, in lengths of a yard each, by the dozen yards. ones. SIDE-STICKS are the fixed wedges to lay against the sides and feet of the pages when they are about t be made fast in the chase. They are usually made with, from three-quarters to an inch shoulders; the sharp angle is generally taken off from the bevelled ends and both these and quoins are made to about quadrat height. The wear of side-sticks is so great from continual locking-up and unlocking, as to have induced the experiment of using meta Brass has been tried for the purpose, but it proves too soft and expensive; and cast-iron is found too heavy. In order to obviate the main objection against the use of th latter metal, recourse has been had to grooving out the upper and under sides of the sticl until the hollows nearly meet at the larger end, passing gradually towards each surface a the smaller point; the face, or that part which lies in contact with the type, being file perfectly flat, they are found to answer many valuable purposes, and are calculated to say which is made after the same principle, and still further lightened by two entire perforation of considerable length. It will be evident to those at all acquainted with the art, that th iron furniture can only be applied to works of a regular size: and perhaps it is to larg demy octavos and royals that they are most particularly appropriate, as the wood, wher used in works of this nature, will soon, by the immense pressure at one time, absorption of lye and water in washing and laying up, then lying loose to dry, imposing again, an going again and again through the same routine, cause a defect in register-in the running heads-in the sides of the pages, and in the exact parallelism of the lines-which can nevel happen in a judicious use of the metal furniture. QUOINS. THE wooden ones are still made use of; and, if they are properly used, no substitute is wanted. They are the moving wedges that fasten up the pages in a chase; and upon the manner in which they are used, chiefly depends not only the safety, but also the fair and straight standing of the matter in a form. Their shape is irregular, having three of their sides truly squared, and the fourth slanted or bevelled to correspond with the degree of inclination or slope of the side-stick, when the shooting-stick is applied to the end to force them forward to a proper tightness. CHASES. A CHASE may be described as a rectangular iron frame, for containing the pages which form one side of the sheet. The usual size for demy is about 2 ft. 2 in. long, by lft. 9 in. broad, the rim being three-quarters of an inch wide, by five-eighths of an inch deep, and set so flat as to bear equally upon the imposing-stone on all the sides and angles; the inside requires to be filed perfectly straight, square, and smooth. There are two cross-bars to every perfect chase, called the long and short crosses; the short-cross is about three-quarters of an inch in width; the long one, three-eighths of an inch. A dove-tail, filed away upon a bevil, from the under to the upper side, forms each end of these crosses, so as to make the under side of each dove-tail narrower than the upper side. These dovetails are fitted into four dove-tail mortices filed in the rim, each of which divides its side into two equal parts upon the inside; and each is made wider on the upper side than on the under, so as to fit the corresponding dove-tails of the crosses, and prevent them from falling through to the lower side. Similar mortices are also made about 24 inches from those in the long sides of the chase; and also 2 inches from those in the short sides— the former for shifting the short cross for imposing twelves; and the latter for shifting the long cross for imposing eighteens. As the crosses when placed in the frame must intersect each other in which position soever they are put, one is lapped into the other by notches filed half through each, at such points as correspond to the mortices in the rim, and so that they may stand precisely at right angles one to another, at either place of intersection. In the middle, between the two edges of the upper side of the short cross, are made two grooves, parallel to the sides, beginning at about two inches from each end, and extending to about five inches in length towards the middle of the bar; which grooves are about a quarter of an inch wide, and about three-eighths deep; and are made to receive the points from the tympans. Chases made purposely for broadsides have no crosses or dove-tail cuts, but must be broader in the rim to give all the resistance possible to the locking up. For a work of unusual dimensions, where it is necessary to contrive every possible means for gaining room even upon a double-demy press, a plan has been devised for saving both the space, weight, and expense of side and foot sticks (which for such a purpose must have been made of iron), by forming a chase having two sides of irregular angles, the other two being at right angles, so placing only a reglet for the quoins to run against; the irregular ides of the chase forming the inclined planes to give the pressure against the type. THE SHOOTING-STICK commonly made of box wood, but well-seasoned holly is preferable, besides being cheaper, and more easily obtained. L |