Replies

1. 
   DonfromUtah | Dec 08, 2008 10:00pm | #1

   There is a Classifieds section for this sort of thing that can be found here: http://forums.taunton.com/fw-classifieds/messages

2. 
   forestgirl | Dec 10, 2008 04:59am | #2

   I'm curious, what's meant by "printer's saw"??

   Off to look up #32.....!

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
1. 
   Napie | Dec 10, 2008 05:10am | #3

   Check this out:

   http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=7283

2. 
   mapleman | Dec 10, 2008 09:20pm | #4

   I'm curious, what's meant by "printer's saw"??

   FG,

   Since I spent almost 20 years in the printing industry, I feel qualified to answer that. These saws were used in the die-cutting and foil-stamping departments of most printshops from the 40's up till the present. Kind of a long explanation but here goes:

   When you die-cut or foil stamp printed paper, the die is held in a steel frame (called a chase). There is a large assortment of scrap hard maple on hand to space these dies where you need them in the chase (side to side and up and down). To move the die around you add or subtract wood from the sides/top/bottom to get it in a close position to where you need it. There is a small metal device which expands when you insert a wrench into it (kind of looks like a t-head allen wrench) You put two of these in the chase (one on the top or bottom and one on the side) in place of the last wood scrap.. That device locks the die and wood into the chase so it can be mounted in the press. From there you can move the stack of paper in the press' feeder to fine tune the position of the die relative to the paper.

    

   Hope this helps. We threw a couple of these away at one of the print shops I worked at when they down-sized the die-cutting department. For the life of me I cannot figure out why these are selling for upwards of $800. They will not take a 10 inch blade, they have a relatively small top, and a low (1 hp or so) motor. They have a neat gizmo which you can see in the OP's photo which acts as a miter gauge with an acme thread for  length adjustment. But that doesn't make them valuable IMHO.

    

   Lee

1. 
   zolton | Dec 11, 2008 03:39am | #5

   Lee,

   Those devices used to firm up the blocks in the chase; would those be quoins? I've won a few Scrabble games with that word. My dad was a hobbiest printer, and had all that stuff lying around underfoot..

   ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon

1. 
   mapleman | Dec 11, 2008 04:36am | #6

   Zolton,

   While I never heard them referred to as such, you are right in that the correct name for them is quoin:quoin

   n 1: expandable metal or wooden wedge used by printers to lock up

   a form within a chase [syn: coign, coigne]

   2: the keystone of an arch [syn: coign, coigne]

   3: (architecture) solid exterior angle of a building;

   especially one formed by a cornerstone [syn: corner] I forgot to mention the most ironic part of the story - we always called the wooden blocks furniture. No kidding.Lee     

2. 
   kreuzie | Dec 11, 2008 06:44am | #7

   Lee--

   In the early days of my newspaper career, we used "hot metal". The entire page was made up in a chase, then a "mat" of 1/8" thick fiber (like thick cardboard) was placed over the chase, and a press bore down on the mat with great pressure, creating an impression on the mat of the page.

   The mat then was arched into a semicircle, and molten lead was poured over the mat. this semicircular casting was then attached to the printing press, and contacted the paper after being inked.

   As far as the saws, we had several of them. They were used as you describe, and some were even used to cut out pieces of lead from pages and individual illustrations from advertising "mat" services.

   When we converted to offset in 1975, these saws were practically given away. I doubt they would make a very good woodworking saw.

   kreuzie

3. 
   forestgirl | Dec 11, 2008 07:02am | #8

   Thanks, Lee, interesting stuff.  I wonder if they use(d) those when they make die-cut sportscards.  Have had plenty of experience with those, LOL.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)