MECHANICK EXERCISES:
Or, the Doctrine ofHandy-works.Applied to the Art ofLetter-Cutting.
PREFACE.
LEtter-Cuttingis a Handy-Work hitherto kept so conceal’d among the Artificers of it, that I cannot learn any one hath taught it any other; But every one that has used it, Learnt it of his own Genuine Inclination. Therefore, though I cannot (as in other Trades) describe the general Practice of Work-men, yet the Rules I follow I shall shew here, and have as good an Opinion of these Rules, as those have that are shyest of discovering theirs. For, indeed, by the appearance of some Work done, a judicious Eye may doubt whether they go by any Rule at all, though Geometrick Rules, in no Practice whatever, ought to be more nicely or exactly observed than in this.
The making ofSteel-Punchesis a Branch of theSmith’s Trade: For, as I told you in the Preface toNumb.1. TheBlack-Smith’s Trade comprehends all Trades that use either Forge or File, from theAnchor-Smith, to theWatch-maker: They all working by the same Rules, though not with equal exactness; and all using the same Tools, though of different Sizes from those the CommonBlack-Smithuses; and that according to the various purposes they are applied,&c.Therefore, indeed, aLetter-Cuttershould have a Forge set up, as byNumb.1. But someLetter-Cuttersmay seem to scorn to use a Forge, as accounting it too hard Labour, and Ungenteel for themselves to officiate at. Yet they all well know, that though they may have a commonBlack-Smithperform their much and heavy Work, that many times a Forge of their own at Hand would be very commodious for them in several accidental little and light Jobs, which (in a Train of Work) they must meet withal.
But if ourLetter-Cutterwill have no Forge, yet he must of necessity accommodate himself with aVice,Hand-Vice,Hammers,Files,SmallandFine Files(commonly calledWatch-makers Files) of these he saves all, as they wear out, to smooth and burnish the Sides and Face of his Letter with, as shall be shewed;Gravers, andSculptersof all sorts, anAnvil, or aStake, anOyl-stone,&c.And of these, such as are suitable and sizable to the several Lettershe is to Cut. These, or many of these Tools, being described inNumb.1. I refer my Reader thither, and proceed to give an account of some Tools peculiar to theLetter-Cutter, though not of particular use to the CommonBlack-Smith.
Image: Plate 10.
Plate 10.
ThisFileis about nine or ten Inches long, and three or four Inches broad, and three quarters of an Inch thick: The two broad sides must be exactly flat and straight: And the one side is commonly cut with aBastard-Cut, the other with aFineorSmooth Cut. (SeeNumb.1.Fol.14, 15.) Its use is toRuba piece of Steel, Iron, or Brass,&c.flat and straight upon, as shall be shewed hereafter.
In chusing it, you must see it be exactly Flat and Straight all its Length and Breadth: For if it in any part Belly out, or be Hollow inwards, what is Rubbed upon it will be Hollow, Rubbing on the Bellying part; and Bellying, Rubbing on the Hollow part. You must also see that it be very Hard; and therefore the thickestUsing-Filesare likeliest to prove best, because the thin commonly Warp in Hardning.
TheFlat-Gageis described inPlate10. at A. It is made of a flat piece of Box, or other Hard Wood. Its Length is three Inches and an half, its Breadth two Inches and an half, and its Thickness one Inch andan half. This is on the Flat, first made Square, but afterwards hath one of its Corners (ash) a little rounded off, that it may the easier comply with the Ball of the Hand. Out of one of its longest Sides,viz.that not rounded off, is Cut through the thickness of it an exact Square, whose one sideb f,c gis about an Inch and three quarters long; and its other sideb d,c eabout half an Inch long. The Depth of these Sides and their Angle is exactly Square to the top and bottom of the upper and under Superficies of theFlat-Gage.
Its Use is to hold a Rod of Steel, or Body of aMold,&c.exactly perpendicular to the Flat of theUsing-File, that the end of it may rub upon theUsing-File, and be Filed away exactly Square, and that to the Shank; as shall more at large be shewed in §. 2. ¶. 3.
TheSliding-Gageis described inPlate10. atFig.B. It is a Tool commonly used byMathematical Instrument-Makers, and I have found it of great use inLetter-Cutting, and making ofMolds,&c.a athe Beam,bthe Tooth,c cthe Sliding Socket,d d d dthe Shoulder of the Socket.
Its Use is to measure and set off Distances between the Sholder and the Tooth, and to mark it off from the end, or else from the edge of your Work.
I always use two or three of theseGages, that I need not remove the Sholder when it is set to a Distance which I may have after-use for; as shall in Working be shewed more fully.
TheFace-Gageis a Square Notch cut with a File into the edge of a thin Plate of Steel, Iron, or Brass, the thickness of a piece of common Latton, and the Notch about anEnglishdeep. There be three of these Gages made, for the Letters to be cut on one Body; but they may be all made upon one thin Plate, the readier to be found, as at D. As first, for the Long Letters; Secondly, for the Assending Letters; And Thirdly, for the Short-Letters. The Length of these several Notches, or Gages, have their Proportions to the Body they are cut to, and are as follows. We shall imagine (for in Practice it cannot well be perform’d, unless in very large Bodies) that the Length of the whole Body is divided into forty and two equal Parts.
TheGagefor the Long-Letters are the length of the whole Body,viz.forty and two equal Parts. TheGagefor the Assending Letters,RomanandItalica, are five Seventh Parts of the Body,viz.thirty Parts of forty-two, and thirty and three Parts forEnglishFace. TheGagefor the Short-Letters are three Seventh Parts of the whole Body,viz.eighteen Parts of forty-two for theRomanandItalica, and twenty two Parts for theEnglishFace.
It may indeed be thought impossible to divide a Body into seven equal Parts, and much more difficult to divide each of those seven equal Parts into six equal Parts, which are forty-two, as aforesaid, especially if the Body be but small; but yet it ispossible with curious Working: For seven thin Spaces may be Cast and Rubb’d to do it. And for dividing each of the thin Spaces into six equal Parts, you may Cast and Rub Full Point . to be of the thickness of one thin Space, and one sixth part of a thin Space: And you may Cast and Rub : to be the thickness of one thin Space, and two sixth parts of a thin Space: And you may Cast and Rub , to be the thickness of one thin Space, and three sixth parts of a thin Space: And you may Cast and Rub - to be the thickness of one thin Space, and four sixth parts of a thin Space: And you may Cast and Rub ; to be the thickness of one thin Space, and five sixth parts of a thin Space.
The reason why I propose . to be Cast and Rubb’d one sixth part thicker than a thin Space, is only that it may be readily distinguished from : , - ; which are two sixth parts, three sixth parts, four sixth parts, five sixth parts thicker than a thin Space. And for six sixth parts thicker than a thin Space, two thin Spaces does it.
The manner of adjusting these several Sixth Parts of Thicknesses is as follows. You may try if six . exactly agree, and be even with seven thin Spaces; (or, which is all one, a Body) for then is each of those six . one sixth part thicker than a thin Space, because it drives out a thin Space in six thin Spaces. And you may try if six : be equal to a Body and one thin Space; for then is each : two sixth parts thicker than a thin Space. If six , be equal to nine thin Spaces, then each , is three sixth parts of a thin Space thicker than a thin Space. If six -be equal to ten thin Spaces, then each - is four sixth parts of a thin Space thicker than a thin Space. If six ; be equal to eleven thin Spaces, then each ; is five sixth parts of a thin Space thicker than a thin Space.
Now, as aforesaid, a thin Space being one seventh part of the Body, and the thin Space thus divided, you have the whole Body actually divided into forty and two equal parts, as I have divided them in my Drafts of Letters down the Sides, and in the Bottom-Line.
Though I have thus shewed how to divide a thin Space into six equal Parts, yet when the Letter to be Cut proves of a small Body, the thin Space divided into two equal Parts may serve: If it prove bigger, into three or four equal Parts: And of the largest Bodies, they may be divided into six, as aforesaid.
If now you would make aGagefor any number of thin Spaces and Sixth Parts of a thin Space, you must take one thin Space less than the number of thin Spaces proposed, and add . : , - ; according as the number of sixth Parts of a thin Space require; and to those complicated Thicknesses you may file a square Notch on the edge of the thin Plate aforesaid, which shall be a standing Gage or Measure for that number of thin Spaces and sixth Parts of a thin Space.
All the Exception against this way of Measuring is, that thin Spaces cast in Metal may be subject to bow, and so their Thicknesses may prove deceitful. But, in Answer to that, I say, you may, if you will,Cast I for two thin Spaces thick, e for three thin Spaces thick, S for four thin Spaces thick, L for five thin Spaces thick, D for six thin Spaces thick, or any other Letters near these several Thicknesses, as you think fit; only remember, or rather, make a Table of the number of thin Spaces that each Letter on the Shank is Cast for. And by complicating the Letters and Points, as aforesaid, you will have any Thickness, either to make a Gage by, or to use otherwise.
On the other Edge of theFace-Gageyou may file three other Notches, of the same Width with those on the former Edge, for the Long, the Assending, and Short-Letters. But though the two sides of each of these Notches are parallel to each other, yet is not the third side square to them, but hath the same Slope theItalickhath from theRoman; as you may see in the Figure atb b b.
TheseGagesare to measure (as aforesaid) the Slope of theItalickStems, by applying the Top and Bottom of theGageto the Top and Bottom Lines of the Letters, and the other Side of theGageto the Stem: for when the Letter complies with these three sides of theGagethat Letter hath its true Slope.
The manner of making theseGages(and indeed all otherAngular Gages) is thus.
Place one Point of a Pair of SteelDividersupon the thin Plate aforesaid, at the Pointcord(inFig.D inPlate10.) and with the other Point describe a small fine Arch of a Circle; as,e forg h. In this Arch of the Circle must be set off on theGagea110 Degrees, and on theGageb70 Degrees, and draw from the Centrescanddtwo straight Lines through those numbers of Degrees: Then Filing away the Plate between the two Lines, theGagesare finished.
To find the Measure of this, or any other number of Degrees, do thus; Describe a Circle on a piece of Plate-Brass of any Radius (but the larger the better) draw a straight Line exactly through the Centre of this Circle, and another straight Line to cut this straight Line at right Angles in the Centre, through the Circle; so shall the Circle be divided into four Quadrants: Then fix one Foot of your Compasses (being yet unstirr’d) in one of the Points where any of the straight Lines cuts the Circle, and extend the moving Foot of your Compasses where it will fall in the Circle, and make there a Mark, which is 60 Degrees from the fixed Foot of the Compasses: Then fix again one Foot of your Compasses in the Intersection of the straight Line and Circle that is next the Mark that was made before, and extend the moving Foot in the same Quadrant towards the straight Line where you first pitch’d the Foot of your Compasses, and with the moving Foot make another Mark in the Circle. These two Marks divide the Quadrant into three equal Parts: The same way you may divide the other three Quadrants; so shall the whole Circle be divided into twelve equal Parts; and each of these twelve equal parts containan Arch of thirty Degrees: Then with your Dividers divide each of these 30 Degrees into three equal Parts, and each of these three equal Parts into two equal Parts, and each of these two equal Parts into five equal Parts, so shall the Circle be divided into 360 equal Parts, for your use.
To use it, describe on the Centre of the Circle an Arch of almost a Semi-Circle: This Arch must be exactly of the same Radius with that I prescribed to be made on theGagesa b, frometofand fromgtoh; then count in your Circle of Degrees from any Diametral Line 110 Degrees; and laying a straight Ruler on the Centre, and on the 110 Degrees aforesaid, make a small Mark through the small Arch; and placing one Foot of your Compasses at the Intersection of the small Arch, with the Diametral Line, open the other Foot to the Mark made on the small Arch for 110 Degrees, and transfer that Distance to the small Arch made on theGage: Then through the Marks that the two Points of your Compasses make in the small Arch on theGage, draw two straight Lines from the Centrec: and the Brass between those two straight Lines being filed away, thatGageis made. In like manner you may set off any other number of Degrees, for the making of any otherGage.
In like manner, you may measure any Angle in the Drafts of Letters, by describing a small Arch on the Angular Point, and an Arch of the same Radius on the Centre of your divided Circle: For then, placing one Foot of your Compasses at the Intersection of the small Arch with either of the straightLines proceeding from the Angle in the Draft, and extending the other Foot to the Intersection of the small Arch, with the other straight Line that proceeds from the Angle, you have between the Feet of your Compasses, the Width of the Angle; and by placing one Foot of your Compasses at the Intersection of any of the straight Lines that proceed from the Centre of the divided Circle, and the small Arch you made on it, and making a Mark where the other Foot of your Compasses falls in the said small Arch, you may, by a straight Ruler laid on the Centre of the divided Circle, and the Mark on the small Arch, see in the Limb of the Circle the number of Degrees contained between the Diametral, or straight Line and the Mark.
If you have already a dividing-Plate of 360 Degrees, of a larger Radius than the Arch on yourGage, you may save your self the labour of dividing a Circle (as aforesaid,) and work by your dividing-Plate as you were directed to do with the Circle that I shewed you to divide.
In these Documents I have exposed my self to a double Censure; First, ofGeometricians: Secondly, ofLetter-Cutters.Geometricianswill censure me for writing anew that which almost every young Beginner knows: AndLetter-Cutterswill censure me for proposing a Rule for that which they dare pretend they can do without Rule.
To theGeometriciansI cross the Cudgels: yet I writ this not to them; and I doubt I have written superfluously toLetter-Cutters, because I think few of them either will or care to take pains to understandthese small Rudiments ofGeometry. If they do, and be ingenious, they will thank me for discovering this Help in their own Way, which few of them know. For by this Rule they will not only make Letters truer, but also quicker, and with less care; because they shall never need to stamp theirCounter-Punchin Lead, to see how it pleases them; which they do many times, before they like theirCounter-Punch, (be it of AAV v W wVW, and several other Letters) and at last finish theirCounter-Punchbut with a good Opinion they have that it may do well, though they frequently see it does not in many Angular Letters on different Bodies Cut by the same Hand. And wereLetter-Cuttingbrought to so common Practice asJoynery,Cabinet-making, orMathematical Instrument-making, every young Beginner should then be taught by Rules, as they of these Trades are; becauseLetter-Cuttingdepends as much upon Rule and Compass as any other Trade does.
You may in other places, where you find most Convenience (as ati) make a Square, which may stand you in stead for the Squaring the Face and Stems of thePunchinRomanLetters, and also in many other Uses.
And you may makeGages, as you were taught before to try theCounter-Punchesof Angular Letters; as, A K M N V X Y Z,RomansandItalicks,CapitalsandLower-Case. But then, that you may know each distinctGage, you may engrave on the several respectiveGages, at the Angle, AA4&c.For by examining by the Drafts of Letters, what Angle their Insides make, you may set that Angle off, andmake theGageas you were taught before, in theGagefor the Slope ofItalicks.
TheLineris marked E inPlate10. It is a thin Plate of Iron or Brass, whose Draft is sufficient to express the Shape. The Use of it is on the under-edgea b(which is about three Inches long) and is made truly straight, and pretty sharp or fine; that being applied to the Face of aPunch, or other piece of Work, it may shew whether it be straight or no.
TheFlat-Tableat F inPlate10. The Figure is there sufficient. All its Use is the Table F, for that is about one Inch and an half square, and on its Superficies exactly straight and flat. It is made of Iron or Brass, but Brass most proper. Its Use is to try if the Shank of aPunchbe exactly Perpendicular to its Face, when the Face is set upon theTable; for if the Shank stand then directly upright to the Face of theTable, and lean not to any side of it, it is concluded to be perpendicular.
It hath several other Uses, which, when we come toCastingofLetters, andJustifyingofMatrices, shall be shewn.
TheTachis a piece of Hard Wood, (Box is very good) about three Inches broad, six Inches long, and three quarters of an Inch thick. About half its Length is fastned firm down upon theWork-Bench, and its other half projects over the hither Edge of it. It hath three or four Angular Notches on its Fore-end to rest and hold the Shank of aPunchsteady when the End of thePunchis screwed in theHand-Vice, and theHand-Viceheld in the left hand, while theWorkmanFiles or Graves on it with his Right Hand.
Instead of Fastning theTachto theBench, ISawa square piece out of the further half of theTach, that it may not be too wide for the Chaps of theViceto take and screw that narrow End into the Chaps of theVice, because it should be less cumbersome to myWork-Bench.
TheWorkmanhath all his greatFilesplaced in Leather Nooses, with their Handles upwards, that he may readily distinguish theFilehe wants from anotherFile. These Nooses are nailed on a Board that Cases the Wall on his Right Hand, and as near hisViceas Convenience will admit, that he may the readier take anyFilehe wants.
He hath also on his Right Hand a Tin Pot, of about a Pint, with smallFilesstanding in it, withtheir Handles downwards, that their Blades may be the readier seen. These smallFilesare calledWatch-makers Files, and theLetter-Cutterhath occasion to use these of all Shapes,viz.Flat,Pillar,Square,Triangular,Round,Half-Round,Knife-Files,&c.
He also provides a shallow square Box, of about five Inches long, and three Inches broad, to lay his small Instruments in; as, hisGages, hisLiner, some commonPunches,&c.This Box he places before him, at the further side of theWork-Bench.
He also provides a goodOyl-Stone, to sharpen hisGraversandSculpterson. This he places at some distance from theVice, on his left hand.
TheLetter-Cutterdoes either Forge hisSteel-Punches, or procures them to be forged; as I shewed,Numb.1.Fol.8, 9, 10. inVol.I.&c.But great care must be taken, that the Steel be sound, and free from Veins of Iron, Cracks and Flaws, which may be discerned; as I shewed inNumb.3.Vol.I. For if there be any Veins of Iron in the Steel, when the Letter is Cut and Temper’d, and you would Sink thePunchinto the Copper, it will batter there: Or it will Crack or Break if there be Flaws.
If there be Iron in it, it must with the Chissel be split upon a good Blood-Red-Heat in that place, and the Iron taken or wrought out; and then with another, or more Welding Heat, or Heats, well doubled up, and laboured together, till the Steel become a sound entire piece. This OperationSmithscallWell Currying of the Steel.
If there be Flaws in it, you must also take good Welding Heats, so hot, that the contiguous sides of the Flaws may almost Run: for then, snatching it quickly out of the Fire, you may labour it together till it become close and sound.
Mr.Robinson, aBlack-SmithofOxford, told me a way he uses that is ingenious, and seems rational: For if he doubts the Steel may have some small Flaws that he can scarce discern, he takes a good high Blood-Red Heat of it, and then twists the Rod or Bar (as I shewed,Numb.3.Vol.I.) which Twisting winds the Flaws about the Body of the Rod, and being thus equally disposed, more or less, into the Out-sides of the Rod, according as the Position of the Flaw may be, allows an equal Heat on all sides to be taken, because the Out-sides heat faster than the Inside and therefore the Out-sides of the Steel are not thus so subject to Burn, or Run, as if it should be kept in the Fire till the Middle, or Inside of it should be ready to Run. And when the Steel is thus well welded, and soundly laboured and wrought together with proper Heats, he afterwards reduces it to Form.
Now, that I may be the better understood by my Reader as he reads further, I have, inPlate10. atFig.G described the several Parts of thePunch; which I here explain.
G The Face.a a,b bThe Thickness.a b,a bThe Heighth.a c,b c,b cThe Length of the Shank, about an Inch and three quarters long.c c cThe Hammer-End.
This is no strict Length for the Shank, but a convenient Length; for should the Letter Cut on the Face be small, and consequently, the Shank so too, and the Shank much longer, and it (as seldom it is) not Temper’d in the middle, it might, with Punching into Copper, bow in the middle, either with the weight of the Hammer, or with light reiterated Blows: And should it be much shorter, there might perhaps Finger-room be wanting to manage and command it while it is Punching into the Copper. But this Length is long enough for the biggest Letters, and short enough for the smallest Letters.
The Heighth and Thickness cannot be assign’d in general, because of the diversity of Bodies, and Thickness of Letters: Besides, some Letters must be Cut on a broad Face of Steel, though, when it is Cut, it is of the same Body; as all Letters are, to whichCounter-Punchesare used; because the Striking theCounter-Punchinto the Face of thePunchwill, if it have not strength enough to contain it, break or crack one or more sides of thePunch, and so spoil it. But if the Letter be wholly to be Cut, and not Counter-Punch’d, as I shall hereafter hint in general what Letters are not, then the Face of thePunchneed be no bigger, or, at least, but a small matter bigger than the Letter that is to be cut upon it.
Now, If the Letter be to be Counter-punch’d, the Face of thePunchought to be about twice the Heighth, and twice the Thickness of the Face of theCounter-Punch; that so, when theCounter-Punchis struck just on the middle of the Face of thePunch, aconvenient Substance, and consequently, Strength of Steel on all its Sides may be contained to resist the Delitation, that the Sholder or Beard of theCounter-Punchsinking into it, would else make.
If theLetter-Cutterbe to Cut a whole Set ofPunchesof the same Body ofRomanandItalica, he provides about 240 or 260 of thesePunches, because so many will be used in theRomanandItalicaCapitalsandLower-Case,Double-Letters,Swash-Letters,Accented Letters,Figures,Points,&c.But this number ofPunchesare to have several Heighths and Thicknesses, though the Letters to be Cut on them are all of the same Body.
What Heighth and Thickness is, I have shewed before in this §, but not what Body is; therefore I shall here explain it.
By Body is meant, inLetter-Cutters,FoundersandPrintersLanguage, the Side of the Space contained between the Top and Bottom Line of a Long-Letter. As in the Draft of Letters, the divided Line on the Left-Hand of A is divided into forty and two equal Parts; and that Length is the Body, thus: J being an Ascending and Descending Letter,viz.a long Letter, stands upon forty-two Parts, and therefore fills the whole Body.
There is in common Use here inEngland, about eleven Bodies, as I shewed in §. 2. ¶. 2. of this Volumne.
I told you even now, that all thePunchesfor the same Body must not have the same Heighth and Thickness: For some are Long; as, J j Q, and several others; as you may see in the Drafts of Letters: and these Long-Letters stand upon the whole Heighth of the Body.
The Ascending and Descending Letters reach from the Foot-Line, up to the Top-Line; as all the Capital Letters are Ascending Letters, and so are many of the Lower-Case Letters; as, b d f, and several others. The Descending Letters are of the same Length with the Ascending Letters; as, g p q and several others. These are contained between the Head-Line and the Bottom-Line. The Short Letters are contained between the Head-Line and the Bottom-line. These are three different Sizes of Heighth thePunchesare made to, for Letters of the same Body. But in proper place I shall handle this Subject more large and distinctly.
And as there is three Heighths or Sizes to be considered in Letters Cut to the same Body, so is there three Sizes to be considered, with respect to the Thicknesses of all these Letters, when thePunchesare to be Forged: For some are m thick; by m thick is meant mQuadratthick, which is just so thick as the Body is high: Some are n thick; that is to say, nQuadratthick,viz.half so thick as the Body is high: And some areSpacethick; that is, one quarter so thick as the Body is high; though Spaces are seldom Cast so thick, as shall be shewed when we come toCasting: and therefore, for distinction sake, we shall call these Spaces, Thick Spaces.
The first three Sizes fit exactly in Heighth to all the Letters of the same Body; but the last three Sizes fit not exactly in Thickness to the Letters of the same Body; for that some few among the Capitals are more than m thick, some less than m thick, and more than n thick; and some less than n thick, andmore than Space thick; yet for Forging thePunches, these three Sizes are only in general Considered, with Exception had to ÆÆQ, and most of the Swash-Letters; which being too thick to stand on an m, must be Forged thicker, according to the Workman’s Reason.
After the Workman has accounted the exact number of Letters he is to Cut for one Set, he considers what number he shall use of each of these several Sizes in theRoman, and of each of these several Sizes in theItalick; (for thePunchesofRomansandItalicks, if the Body is large, are not to be Forged to the same shape, as shall be shewed by and by) and makes of a piece of Wood one Pattern of the several Sizes that he must have each number Forged to. Upon every one of these Wooden Patterns I use to write with a Pen and Ink the number ofPunchesto be Forged of that Size, lest afterwards I might be troubled with Recollections.
I say (for Example) He considers how many long Letters are m thick, how many Long-Letters are n thick, and how many Long-Letters are Space thick, in theRoman; and also considers which of these must be Counter-punch’d, and which not: For (as was said before) those Letters that are to be Counter-punch’d are to have about twice the Heighth and twice the Thickness of the Face of theCounter-Punch, for the Reason aforesaid. But the Letters not to be Counter-punch’d need no more Substance but what will just contain the Face of the Letter; and makes of these three Sizes three Wooden Patterns, of the exact Length, Heighth and Thickness that the SteelPunchesare to be Forged to.
He also counts how many are Ascendents and Descendents, m thick, n thick, and Space thick; still considering how many of them are to be Counter-punch’d, and how many not; and makes Wooden Patterns for them.
The like he does for short-letters; and makes Wooden Patterns for them, for SteelPunchesto be Forged by.
And as he has made his Patterns for theRoman, so he makes Patterns for theItalickLetters also; for the same shap’dPuncheswill not serve forItalick, unless he should create a great deal more Work to himself than he need do: ForItalick Punchesare not all to be Forged with their sides square to one another, as theRomansare; but only the highest and lowest sides must stand in Line with the highest and lowest sides of theRoman; but the Right and Left-Hand sides stand not parallel to the Stems of theRoman, but must make an Angle of 20 Degrees with theRomanStems: so that the Figure of the Face of thePunchwill become aRhomboides, as it is called byGeometricians, and the Figure of this Face is the Slope that theItalickLetters have from theRoman, as in proper place shall be further shewed. Now, should thePunchesfor these Letters be Forged with each side square to one another, theLetter-Cutterwould be forced to spend a great deal of Time, and take great pains to File away the superfluous Steel about the Face of the Letter when he comes to the Finishing of it, especially in great Bodied Letters. Yet are not all theItalickLetters to be Forged on the Slope; for thePunchesof some of them, as them n, and many others, may have all, or, at least, three of their sides, square to one another, though their Stems have the common Slope, because the ends of their Beaks and Tails lie in the same, perpendicular with the Outer Points of the Bottom and Top of their Stems, as is shewed in the Drafts of Letters.
Though I have treated thus much on the Forging of Punches, yet must all what I have said be understood only for great BodiedPunches;viz.from theGreat-Primer, and upwards. But for smaller Bodies; asEnglish, and downwards, theLetter-Cuttergenerally, both forRomansandItalicks, gets so many square Rods of Steel, Forged out of about two or three Foot in Length, as may serve his purpose; which Rods he elects as near his Body and Sizes as his Judgment will serve him to do; and with the edge of a Half-round File, or a Cold-Chissel, cuts them into so many Lengths as he wantsPunches. Nay, many of these Rods may serve for some of the small Letters in some of the greater Bodies; and also, for many of theirCounter-Punches.
Having thus prepared yourPunches, you must Neal them, as I shewed inNumb.3.Vol.I.
TheCounter-Punchesfor great Letters are to be Forged as theLetter-Punches; but for the smaller Letters, they may be cut out of Rods of Steel, as aforesaid. They must also be well Neal’d, as thePunches. Then must one of the ends be Filed awayon the outside the Shank, to the exact shape of the inside of the Letter you intend to Cut. For Example, If it beAyou would Cut; ThisCounter-Punchis easie to make, because it is a Triangle; and by measuring the Inside of the Angle ofAin the Draft of Letters, as you were taught, §. 12. ¶. 6. you may make on your StandingGage-PlateaGagefor that Angle: So that, let the Letter to be Cut be of what Body you will, from the least, to the biggest Body, you have a StandingGagefor thisCounter-Punch, so oft as you may have occasion to Cut A.
TheCounter-PunchofAought to be Forged Triangularly, especially towards the Punching End, and Tryed by theA-Gage, as you were taught to use the Square,Numb.3.Vol.I. Yet, for this and other TriangularPunches, I commonly reserve my worn- out three square Files, and make myCounter-Punchof a piece of one of them that best fits the Body I am to Cut.
Having by yourA-Gagefitted the Top-Angle and the Sides of thisCounter-Punch, you must adjust its Heighth by one of the threeFace-Gagesmentioned in §. 12. ¶. 5.viz.by the AscendingFace-Gage; forAis an Ascending Letter. By Adjusting, I do not mean, you must make theCounter-Punchso high, as the Depth of the AscendingFace-Gage; because in this Letter here is to be considered the Top and the Footing, which strictly, as by the large Draft ofA, make both together five sixth Parts of a thin Space: Therefore five sixth Parts must be abated in the Heighth of yourCounter-Punch, and it must be but four thin Spaces, and one sixth part of a thinSpace high, because the Top above theCounter-Punch, and the Footing below, makes five sixth Parts of a thin Space, as aforesaid.
Therefore, to measure off the Width of four thin Spaces and one sixth Part of a thin Space, lay three thin Spaces, or, which is better, the Letter e, which is three thin Spaces, as aforesaid; and . which is one thin Space and one sixth part of a thin Space, upon one another; for they make together, four thin Spaces, and one sixth part of a thin Space; and the thickness of these two Measures shall be the Heighth of theCounter-Punch, between the Footing and the Inner Angle ofA. And thus, by this Example, you may couple with proper Measures either the whole forty-two, which is the whole Body, or any number of its Parts, as I told you before.
This Measure of four thin Spaces and one sixth part of a thin Space is not a Measure, perhaps, used more in the whole Set of Letters to be Cut to the present Body, therefore you need not make aStanding Gagefor it; yet a presentGageyou must have: Therefore use theSliding-Gage(described in §. 12. ¶. 4. andPlate10. at B.) and move the Socketc con the Beama a, till the Edge of the Sholder of the Square of the Socket at the under-side of the Beam stands just the Width of four thin Spaces and one sixth part of a thin Space, from the Point of the Toothb; which you may do by applying the Measure aforesaid just to the Square and Point of the Tooth; for then if you Screw down the Screw in the upper-side of the Sliding Socket, it will fasten the Square at that distance from the Point of theTooth. And by again applying the side of the Square to the Foot of the Face of theCounter-Punch, you may with the Tooth describe a small race, which will be the exact Heighth of theCounter-PunchforA. ButAhath a Fine stroak within it, reaching from Side to Side, which by the large Draft ofA, you may find that the middle of this cross stroak is two Thin Spaces above the bottom of thisCounter-Punch; and with your commonSliding-Gagemeasure that distance as before, and set off that distance also on the Face of yourCounter-Punch. Then with the edge of a FineKnife-File, File straight down in that race, about the depth of a Thin Space, or somewhat more; So shall theCounter-PunchforAbe finisht. But you may if you will, take off the Edges or Sholder round about the Face of theCounter-Punch, almost so deep as you intend to strike it into thePunch: for then the Face of theCounter-Punchbeing Filed more to a Point, will easier enter thePunchthan the broad Flat-Face. But note, That if it be a very Small BodiedAyou would make, the Edge of a ThinKnife-Filemay make too wide a Groove: In this case you must take a peece of a well-Temper’d broken Knife, and strike its Edge into the Face of theCounter-Punch, as aforesaid.
Having thus finisht hisCounter-Punch, he Hardens and Tempers it, as was taughtNumb.3.fol.57, 58.Vol.I. And having also Filed the Face of his Punchhe intends to cut hisAupon, pretty Flat by guess, he Screws the Punch upright, and hard into the Vice: And setting the Face of hisCounter-Punchas exactly as he can, on the middle of the Face of his Punch, he, with an Hammer suitable to the Size of hisCounter-Punch, strikes upon the end of theCounter-Punchtill he have driven the Face of it about two Thin Spaces deep into the Face of the Punch. So shall theCounter-Punchhave done its Office.
But if the Letter to beCounter-Punchtbe large, asGreat-Primmer, or upwards, I take a good high Blood-red Heat of it, and Screw it quickly into the Vice; And having myCounter-PunchHard, not Temper’d, because the Heat of the Punch softens it too fast: And also having before-hand theCounter-PunchScrewed into theHand-Vicewith its Shank along the Chaps, I place the Face of theCounter-Punchas before, on the middle of the Face of the Punch, and with an Hammer drive it in, as before.
Taking the Punch out of the Vice, he goes about to Flat and Smoothen the Face in earnest; for it had been to no purpose to Flat and Smoothen it exactly before, because the Sinking of theCounter-Punchinto it, would have put it out of Flat again.
But before he Flats and Smoothens the Face of the Punch, He Files by guess the superfluous Steel away about the Face of the Letter,viz.so much, or near so much, as is not to be used when he comes to finish up the Letter, as in this present LetterA, which standing upon a Square Face on the Punch, meets in an Angle at the Top of the Letter. Therefore the Sides of that Square must be Filed awayto an Angle at the Top of the Face of the Punch. But great care must be taken, that he Files not more away than he should: For he considers that the left-hand Stroak ofAis a Fat Stroak, and that both the left-hand and the right-hand Stroak too, have Footings, which he is careful to leave Steel enough in their proper places for.
The reason why these are now Fil’d thus away, and not after the Letter is finisht, is, Because in the Flatting the Face there is now a less Body of Steel to File away, than if the whole Face of the Punch had remain’d intire: For though the following ways are quick ways to Flatten the Face, yet considering how tenderly you go to Work, and with what Smooth Files this Work must be done, the riddance made will be far less when a broad Face ofSteelis to be Flatned, than when only so much, or very little more than the Face of theLetteronly is to be Flatned.
To Flat and Smoothen the Face of the Punch, he uses theFlat-Gage, (described §. 12. ¶. 3. andPlate10. at A.) thus, He fits one convex corner of the Shank of the Punch, into the Concave corner of theFlat-Gage, and so applies hisFlat-Gage-Punchand all to the Face of theUsing-File, and lets theCounter-Punchtend,viz.the Face of the Punch Sink down to the Face of theUsing-File: And then keeping the convex Corner of the Shank of the Punch close and steddy against the Concave corner of theFlat-Gage, and pressing with one of his Fingers upon the then upper end of the Punch,viz.the Hammer-end, he also at the same time, pressesthe lower end of the Punch,viz.The Face against theUsing-File, and thrusts theFlat-GageandPunchin it so oft forwards, till the extuberant Steel on the Face, be Rub’d or Fil’d away: which he knows partly by the alteration of colour and Fine Furrows made by theUsing-Fileon the Face of the Punch, and partly by the falling away of the parts of the Face that are not yet toucht by theUsing-File: So that it may be said to be truly Flat: which he knows, when the whole Face of the Punch touches upon the Flat of theUsing-File, or at least, so much of the Face as is required in the Letter: For all Counter-Puncht-Letters, as aforesaid, must have a greater Face of Steel than what the bare Letter requires: for the reason aforesaid.
Another way I use is thus. After I have Fil’d the Face as true as I can by guess, with aRough-Cut-File, I put the Punch into an Hand-Vice, whose Chaps are exactly Flat, and straight on the upper Face, and sink the Shank of the Punch so low down in the Chaps of the Hand-Vice, that the low side of the Face of the Punch may lye in the same Plain with the Chaps; which I try with the Liner. For the Liner will then shew if any of the Sides stand higher than the Plain of the Chaps: Then I Screw the Punch hard up, and File off the rising side of the Punch, which brings the Face to an exact Level: For the Face of the Chaps being Hard Steel, a File cannot touch them, but only take off the aforesaid Rising parts of the Face of the Punch, till theSmooth-Filehas wrought it all over exactly into the same Plain with the Face of the Chaps of theHand-Vice.
SomeLetter-Cutterswork them Flat by Hand, which is not only difficult, but tedious, and at the best, but done by guess.
The inconvenience that this Tool is subject to, is, That with much using its Face will work out of Flat. Therefore it becomes the Workman to examine it often, and when he finds it faulty to mend it.
When theyFileit Flat by Hand, they Screw the Shank of the Punch perpendicularly upright into the Chaps of the Vice, and with aFlat-Bastard-Cut-File, of about Four Inches long, or if the Punch be large, the File larger, according to discretion, and File upon the Face, as was shewnNumb.I.fol.15, 16. Then they take it out of the Vice again, and holding up the Face Horizontally between the Sight and the Light, examine by nice observing whether none of its Angles or Sides are too high or too low. And then Screwing it in the Vice again, as before, with aSmooth-Cut-File, he at once both Files down the Higher Sides or Angles, and Smoothens the Face of the Punch. But yet is not this Face so perfectly Flatned, but that perhaps the middle of it rises more or less, above the Sides: And then he Screws it in hisHand-Vice, and leans the Shank of the Punch against the Tach, pretty near upright, and so as he may best command it, and with aWatch-Makers Half-Round-Sharp-Cut-File, Files upon it with the Flat-Side of his File; But so that he scarce makes his forward and backward Stroaks longer than the breadth of the Face of his Punch, lest in a long Stroak, the hither or farther end of his File should Mount or Dip, andtherefore keeps his File, with the Ball of his Finger upon it, close to the Face of the Punch. Then with the Liner he examines how Flat the Face of the Punch is, and if it be not yet Flat, as perhaps it will not be in several Trials, he again reiterates the last process with theSmall-Half-Round-File, till it be Flat. But he often Files cross the Furrows of the File, as well because it makes more riddance, as because he may better discern how the File bears on the Face of the Punch.
When it is Flat, he takes a Small well-worn Half-Round-File, and working (as before) with theSharp-Cut-File, he Smoothens the Face of the Punch.
Having thus Flatted the Face of the Punch, and brought the Letter to some appearance of Form, He Screws the Punch in the Hand-Vice, but not with the Shank perpendicular to the Chaps, but so as the Side he intends to File upon may stand upwards and aslope too, and make an Angle with the Chaps of the Hand-Vice. And holding the Hand-Vice steddy in his left hand, he rests the Shank of the Punch pretty near its Face upon the Tach: and then with a smallFlat-File, called aPillar-File, in his right hand, holding the Smooth Thin Side of it towards the Footing of the Stem, he Files that Stem pretty near its due Fatness, and so by several reiterated proffers, lest he should File too much of the Stem away, he brings that Stem at last to its true Fatness. Then he measures with the AscendingFace-Gage, the Heighth of the Letter: For though theCounter-Punchwas imagin’d(as aforesaid) to be made to an exact Heighth for the inside of the Letter; yet with deeper or shallower Sinking it into thePunch, the inside oft proves higher or lower: Because, as aforesaid, the Superficies of the Face of theCounter-Punchis less than the true measure. But as it runs Sholdering into the Shank of theCounter-Punchthe Figure or Form of the inside becomes bigger than the inside of the Letter ought to be. Therefore the deeper this Sholdering Shank is sunk into the Face of thePunch, the higher and broader will the Form of the inside of the Letter be, and the shallower it is Sunk in, the Shorter and Narrower by the Rule of Contraries.
He measures, as I said, with the Assending Face-Gage, and by it finds in what good Size the Letter is. If it be too high, as most commonly it is, because the Footing and Top are yet left Fat, then with several proffers he Files away the Footing and Top, bringing the Heighth nearer and nearer still, considering in his Judgment whether it be properest to File away on the Top or Footing, till at last he fits the Heighth of the Letter by the AssendingFace-Gage.
But though he have fitted the Heighth of the Letter, yet if theCounter-Punchwere 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 ofAwill 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 theCounter-Punch, and also keep the inside of the Letter deep enough.
But if the Footing be tooFator 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 callAngular 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 ofAis 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 theFile-makerto 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 ofA, with Files proper to the shapes of their Stroaks.