Warped linoleum block

I don’t know what your climate is like, but here in humid Costa Rica I had a wood-mounted copper engraving warp because of the humidity. I put it in a toaster oven with the door propped slightly open, and set the temperature to “warm” and ran it for about 15 minutes a couple of times. As the block dried out it flattened out and I was able to print it. Could be a little trickier with a linoleum block, but monitor the temperature carefully and it should be OK. The essential part is to get it warmer than the surrounding air so the moisture leaves the wood base. You might be able to do the same thing with a hair dryer, laying the block face down on a cool surface to protect the linoleum.

If you can get hold of some chemical drier like silica gel you could put the block and the chemical drier in a plastic bag and seal it up and the chemical would draw the moisture out of the wood.

Bob

I have had some success with warped wood bases. I cut several saw kerfs about 3/4 of the way into the base parallel with the warping. This basically reduces the single base into several smaller ones. You will not be able to put much pressure on the sides parallel to the kerfs when locking up the form, but you should not need much anyway. If it still is warped, you can force some card stock or paper into the kerfs to widen them slightly to help flatten it.

John Henry