A no pix day

It was hot. I kept going. Prescott to Tucumari. I stopped a few times due to boredom, gas, or food issues, but That. Is. All. Tomorrow may possibly include a visit to the dinosaur museum. If not, on the way back then.

Thanks, Dad

Although you're not here with me, you are here in spirit. I'm living in the house where you and Mom raised me, and feel your presence(s) every time I turn around. The old clothesline, the garage doors, the pantry, and the back porch often bring you to mind. What a secure childhood I had. So thanks. I'm glad I thanked you while you were still here! You were God's blessing to me.

Skyline Type Foundry

On my way to the Wayzgoose, I stopped by Skyline Type Foundry to visit Sky & Johanna. Wonderful new home, and the print shop is immaculate. The typecasting building is full of the most incredible matrices and machines. I helped box a new border (pinecones & needles), printed sample cards for it, and hung out with Sky. Fun day!

Thanks, Dad (Memorial Day)

Dad spent most of WWII at an Air Force Base in Hobbs, New Mexico. He was an auto mechanic before the War, and he trained to be an airline mechanic. B-17s, the famous "Flying Fortresses," were what he worked on.

He toured a B-17 in the 1990s when it visited the Santa Barbara Airport and told me about it, but I was living 300 miles away. Last week, a B-17 paid a return call and I was there. I crawled through the plane and marveled at how little space there was for the crew. Dad, at 6'3", would have been cramped no matter where he sat, despite his very thin build. And flight crew flew in the most primitive location: on wooden drop-down boards in the uninsulated fusilage.

It would have been hot as all git-out on the ground (Hobbs is very close to Texas!), miserably cold in the air, crowded with nervous air crew, and scary to think you'd have to go into actual battle that way! The only way out was by parachute through the back door. A man over six feet tall could not stand up all the way. My Dad, the farm kid, might well wonder what he was doing there. I wouldn't blame him if he were scared. I would be.

Fortunately for me, Dad never saw battle. He was on a ship in Seattle Harbor when the War in the Pacific ended. But he trained, for real, and that took courage and guts. He brought his things home when the war ended, stored his trunk in the garage, and threw a tarp over it. Like so many others, he was busy with living. He never talked about his experiences in the Air Force.

Because of a million other men like him, plain guys doing their patriotic duty, the world was a safer place. Thanks, Dad. You and the B-17s.

Biggify to read!

Gotta Love the Innerwebs

I took Latin for two semesters in high school. It was interesting but I didn't put in enough effort, so I dropped it the following year. Spanish was already enough to satisfy my foreign language requirement, and I successfully completed 5 years worth.

Two things in Latin class made an impression on me. The teacher was a great character and the class was fun. And he presented us with a silly rhyme in ersatz Latin which I've never forgotten. I think of it occasionally to amuse myself but have never quite known how to write it out.

Enter the Innerwebs. A quick search on Sibili Si demgo was enough, and I now have the original ryhme and a few variations!

So, for your amusement, here it is the way Mr. Osborne taught it:

O sibili! Si demgo
Fortibus es inero
O nobili demis trux
Summit caus en summit dux.

If you're out there, Mr. Osborne-- thanks! I learned more than a little Latin doggerel: decoding skills for Spanish & English, and an appreciation of Latin culture. It wasn't your fault I did poorly in Latin. I did well in all the others, and it helped me with those.

But I'll go down the road occasionally intoning O sibili. . .

Hiding in Plain Sight

One of the places our hiking class went this time is the coast at Devereaux/UCSB, where the threatened Snowy Plover has had a small comeback, thanks to fenced areas and volunteers who watch beach users.

It's truly wonderful to be able to see these very small birds nesting only a few feet away, but it's quite hard to see them at first. They blend into the beachscape so well! They look like just a few more smooth stones -- until they move!

This is one pic you will definitely have to click on to biggify. Otherwise you will miss the cutest birds on the planet.

Without further ado, I present my amateur photo of Snowy Plovers. Look carefully! There are more than one in the shot. Have fun counting. Don't miss the one half-hidden in its nest.

Posting from iPad? Not so easy!

Just wrote a whole post and found Blogspot doesn't seem to work from iPad input. Too bad. It would have been totally helpful. Boo, Blogspot/Google for crippling creativity.

Cornering the Market

I fell in love with some corner ornaments Dave Churchman cast several years ago and finally asked him if I could buy all the rest. Here's an example of why.

Arranging the corners yields circles, half-circles, and scrolly lines. I love playing with them. They're not easy to print with, actually. The few times I have tried, the ornaments do not meet seamlessly the way I would like them to. It could be the casting, but I suspect it is a makeready problem.

But aren't they pretty!

What Toads!

Just so you know. There are Toads out there whom I would not bring home, despite their being a trio.

Back to Printing: Counter for a Small Press

I got lucky with one letterpress buy. A counter designed for a tabletop press came with the associated parts.

Not really knowing how it was installed, if it ever was installed, I faked it. The lever needed only a small amount of travel to make the next number click in, so I used a piece of string to find the optimum distance from the lever of the counter to the lever of the press. A 13" piece of braided cable (1/32" size) provided the linkage. It comes with crimp closures.

I crimped the wire to the counter, then to a ring at the end to attach to the press. A small plastic "ty-wrap" holds the ring in the proper position on the arm (lever) of the press.

It might be nice to be able to detach the counter from the arm. A small swivel snap would work nicely, though I don't need to install one immediately. Biggify by double-clicking to see better.

The counter, installed on my 8 x 12 Golding Official. It works great!

Fairy Hammocks! No, really

 On the last hike of the fall season, we went to 19 Oaks. Alongside the trail I spotted a small en- campment where a fairy band must have just spent the night. Their little hammocks were still hanging from the grass.

I was sorry to have missed the fairies, but I'm sure they would not want us to have seen them.



Oh, all right. I know what these really are. But humor me.

Taking Care of Lil Bro

I should be posting about our trip to Germany. Instead, the plethora of photos has me stalled in that department.

Instead, I offer up The Boys again. Cicero takes good care of his Lil Bro Phidian, never mind that Phidian outgrew him in his first year.

These two shots were taken in my lap, with minimal lighting, with my iPhone. The best camera you have is the one you have WITH you!

I love the look of complete trust here.












A late evening bawth is the best kind. Phidian hardly bothers to wake up.

It Keeps On Giving

      Have you ever heard of Cascarones? They are hollowed-out eggs, filled with confetti, to smash on friends' heads during a Fiesta like we have in Santa Barbara. They are the gift that keeps on giving. For at least six months after the city-wide party, you find confetti in your car, your clothing, your house, your driveway. At least if you have friends.
      Yesterday I put away the small tote bag I usually carry during Fiesta. In it, I found a baggie with some confetti and a lone cascarone left over from the parade. I placed the baggie on the table and forgot about it.
      Wrong move. Today, the boys found it. They often perch on the pew and nose around at things on the table. When I emerged triumphant from the sewing room, I was greeted by signs the boys had experienced their own Fiesta while I was sewing.
       Exhibit A (Phidian, skulking)

Annnnd Exhibit B (Cicero, looking innocent)

Management makes no assumptions about the relative guilt or lack thereof of individual suspects. All parties involved have been thoroughly laughed at and found. . . . . . purring!

The Great Roller Fiasco

I had to try to print the last run for a calendar page job today, despite the oddly rising middle roller on my C&P.

Things were going along fairly well for awhile, but I noticed I seemed to be picking off quite a few hickeys. I stopped a couple of times to do that, making sure the inked disk was free of lumps before proceeding. I blamed the ink, which I've had for a couple of years, and suspected. The second time I picked up the hickeys I noticed that one was about the size of a big fingernail cutting-- and rubbery! When I looked at the press, there was a divot on the _top_ roller that matched the hickey. I now knew my rollers' days were numbered. There were roller "crumbs" in the job. I treadled on, hoping to finish the job before things headed south.

Then I noticed some deep cracks on the left side of the middle rollers. But my job was on the right side of the chase, so I kept treadling. But right in the middle of the run, the _bottom_ roller of the three began rising on the _left_ side! Oh no. . . but again, printing was going fairly well still. Hoping against hope, I made a decision to go for broke. I need to finish that job before leaving on our trip, even though the middle roller was scoring itself with the 2 lines I was printing today. Even.

The decision, alas, was made for me a few impressions later. Where the left-side deep cracks on the middle roller were suddenly gave way and a 5" chunk of composition jumped right off the core! I'll finish up the run on my Pearl or Golding Official. Good thing it's the smallest area for the last run. Those rollers looked almost like new at the beginning of this week. They were _not_ new, but they were apparently in excellent shape. I have never had composition rollers go bad so quickly and thoroughly. All mine have been fine for 10+ years. But things happen, and it looks like it was my turn for it :)



My conclusion is that the composition was going bad before it was visibly damaged, and that somehow affected the way the rollers were sticking (or not) to the disk, and possibly the cause of the rising roller ends. I'll get them replaced and then see what happens then. There was no friction problem in the roller saddles, shank, or other parts, all of which were well-oiled.

These shots are of the suddenly fallen-off-the-core chunk of the middle roller. The last shot is of all three rollers, where you can see the divot on the top roller (to the right), the missing chunk and some scoring on the middle roller, and deep cracks on the right side of the bottom roller.

APA Wayzegoose

Sorry, no pics til I get home, but here in Lansing, MI, I'm having a great time hanging with fellow APA members. That's Amalgamated Printers' Association, a group of hobby and other printers.

I'm sometimes not sure how I qualify to hang with such witty and talented folks. It's nice to be able to talk shop, swap stories, and admire other printers' work though. Today we all enjoyed a trip to Owosso Graphic Arts, a company that makes printing plates and commercial dies. Very nice people and an excellent service for printers. They deal with huge businesses and hobby printers alike.

After lunch, we visited a steam train museum whose line has the name of Pere Marquette. What the crossover between letterpress and steam is I can't say, but there is a strong connection. My highlight was riding on a caboose as it was switched from one track to another.

This evening, Joe Warren talked about scoring and die cutting on a platen press. It was a highly useful talk for those of us who have only printed on our presses. Joe showed us examples of scoring matrix, explained the use of a jacket for die cutting, and demystified die cutting with sample dies and their products.

Then Arie Koelwyn gave a talk about using unusual materials to print with. He has used bent rule, children's suncatchers, thin foam cutouts, wood letter cutouts, nature materials, and almost anything flat he can fine, mounted type high, inked, and printed. His printing is always well executed and attractive, so his use of these materials is encouraging.

And that's just the first day of the Wayzegoose. Stay tuned. Tomorrow begins the feeding frenzy: the yard sale in the morning, followed by the auction in the afternoon.

Chase Lifter, Part the Second

Done! And it works. Not bad for a mechanical non-genius. Photo shows the pulley suspended from the "rail rider," with the hooks hanging limply in place. Since I live alone, I don't have a photo of my device in use. Too bad. But here's the photo of the completed device:

To use it: I rest the chase (form) on the left arm of the press, near the counter you can see in the photo. Using one hand to steady it and the other to place the hooks, I engage the hooks under the edge of the chase, in the open areas of the lockup.

To lift the chase, I hold firmly on to the loop (in the photo, it's looped over the counter) with my right hand, and ease the chase into position with my left. Once the chase rests on its ledge, I release the hooks with one hand and engage the chase clamp. (I made the hand loop a more reasonable size after this photo was taken. No danglies.)

The tricky part is when I release the hooks. They want to drop, making the hand loop zoom to the very top of the pulley. With one hand, I have to get one hook end into the hand loop so that the hook ropes form an upside-down Y engaged by the loop. Once the chase clamp is engaged, I can slide the entire lifter assembly back along the rail so it doesn't interfere with the press.

Inspired by Rachel's description of Duane Scott's chase lifter, this is what I came up with. I'm quite happy with it and expect to use it a lot.

Surprise, I'm posting again: Chase Lifter, Partially assembled

On the Letpress List, there has been recent discussion about a helper tool for installing a form into a 10x15 C&P. The form and chase can be very heavy, and installing it to print requires lifting it, leaning forward, and lowering it gently into its bed.

My hands aren't all that strong, and a heavy chase strains the back muscles a bit. What better idea than to install a chase-lifting pulley assembly!

When I went out to survey the territory, I realized I had an advantage: the rail for the rollup garage door runs right over the press. All I needed was some sort of angle iron to rest over the rail, and I could then suspend a pulley and hooks. When I need to open the garage door, the chase lifter can slide back out of the way.

Finding the correct vocabulary for the the hardware store employees was less than easy, but I was lucky enough to be assisted by a couple of young guys who were capable of thinking outside the (tool) box. I had a drawing of what I wanted to do and asked them what parts might function as I desired.

One of them had a brilliant thought: he went into the wood yard and returned with a stud anchor: a piece of strap iron bent into a U with flanges (dare I say "serifs?"). I straightened out the flanges and lo, the sides hang down and the chain links fit into them.

Photo 1 is what I have dubbed the "rail rider," AKA "deck post tie." Attached to it are some links with screw-threaded closures. They meet in a plain ring, and a third screw-threaded closure attaches the pulley to it.

Photo 2 is a view of the rope and hooks. Tomorrow I will cut about 1/4 inch off the end of the hooks to allow the jaws to be large enough to admit the chase. The rope holding the hooks will loop into the pulley rope.

Note: the rope "ferrules" still need to be crushed to hold the ends of the rope from slipping. I will do that in the vice tomorrow.

I don't expect this device to hold the entire weight of the chase/form for long; it is simply a tool which will bear part of the weight of the chase while I jockey it into place. I'm very excited about testing it tomorrow afternoon! Stay tuned: by tomorrow night I hope to have results and a photo of the finished device.

A Done Deal!

I had a bit of trouble getting started on the annual NaNoWriMo thing this year. That's where you basically give up your life to write your heart out in the month of November. NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth. 50,000 words is the goal. You heard me right: 50 thousand!

Last year's novel, yet un-edited, was about some ancestors who survived one of the many kinds of health tragedies the 18th and 19th centures had to offer: an epidemic of Yellow Fever. The family lost 5 children in 8 days. In the middle of that time, the poor mother gave birth to the youngest child. I figured if I couldn't wring a plot and some drama from that situation, I was a washup as a writer. I managed, but was burned out by month's end. The story was just too grim.

This year's novel is youth fantasy, aimed at 5th- 6th grade. Talking animals, you know! I love cats, and have good opportunities to observe them at home and in the shelter where I volunteer. So my story's cats begin in a shelter, escape, live through threats and disasters which many abandoned cats do face, get trapped, wind up in a shelter-- and finally find their own home to settle into. I'm quite happy with it.

Even though this year's novel isn't quite finished, I WON by producing those 50,000 words. Gotta tell you, it feels wonderful to have accomplished those. And I promise, I won't just give up and not edit it, because this story was actually fun to write! Well, fun if you don't count the looming deadline and the sore hands from all the typing!

A theatre costuming teacher I once knew had a mantra: "Done is Beautiful." Said in whatever tone of voice you feel, it works. And so, chanting my costumer's mantra, I wander off into the sunset, with my NaNoWriMo WINNER banner lifted high.

Now, back to the printing press! I've completed two colors of a three-color job today!

Meanwhile, back at the Type Addiction

I found a single piece of wood type, a "sort," at the Printers' Fair in Los Angeles (actually, there are a couple of others, but this one is the problem child). (Event held at the International Printing Museum, Carson, California)

After years of perusing type catelogs I thought it looked familiar. I needed a classy M for the occasional printing I do for myself. When I got home, I eagerly thumbed through a couple of type books, and it isn't there! What is it?

Looks most like something in Dan X. Solo's Solotype Catelog. On page 44, in the left column, is a font he called "Harlech." The M in Menu looks only kind of like my M, as you can tell.

And now, since I am posting this on Letpress, the granddaddy of the Letterpress discussion lists, I hope to be able to post a sequel to this, giving the font my nice M sort comes from.

It's been a long cold summer and then. . .

Monday, it was over 105 here in town. Whew! Summer waited til Fall to show up, but it is now cooling once again. By next week we should be at "normal" (the 70s). I'll take it. But that's not the reason for this post.

This is! I dropped by the local thrift store today, and almost left skonked. But a pair of candle- or lampshades caught my eye. I decided they were so pretty they had to come home, whether or not they saw use for candles or electric lamps.

On my way home, I decided they would be utterly perfect for my vintage hallway/library lamps. The modern, commercial shades didn't do much for the fixtures I'd found on eBay and rewired myself. See the difference (before on the left, after on the right). Aren't the red shades more graceful? I love them!