Quoins for the C&P 10 x 15

Hi everyone,

Firstly I have to say that this is an amazing community. Every question I have ever asked has been answered quickly and has been a great help to me.

I have a chandler & price 10 x 15, which I am in the process of setting up. I recently purchased some quoins from someone interstate. I asked for quoins that’ll work with a 9 x 12 inch base and I was sent two which are approximately 5 - 6 inches long.

Would these work with a 9 x 12 inch base, or should I return them and buy some longer ones?

I’m new to this and wondering whether the size of the quoins can influence any movement in the base.

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Those quoins should be perfectly fine.

Brad.

Perfect! Thanks, Brad. I will put them to good use once I find a suitable base.

Angela.

As the C & P @10 x 15, the H/Berg Platen, @10 x 15, & the Thompson British Auto platen, Marginally bigger than both!!
Have been, and could be, still, considered, to all intents and purposes as needing identical lock up, according to the weight and nature of the forme ???
On behalf of many who cringe at the AMAZING lock ups, (or otherwise) seen here on B.P. the following is offered:-
I.E. to see one block/plate/cut etc locked up with just one length of furniture traversing the forme, with one quoin only!! is frightening,** in the extreme** least of all for the safety aspect, primarily Operator, then the machine, then the image, TRY IT??? lock up one item, in this fashion and see how LITTLE pressure is needed to pop it out/down before it is lifted.
It is appreciated that New Ones want to go to it S.A.P. and have to learn in detail how to run up ink etc, but should learn how to lock up equally as well.
Way back, lock up instruction would normally have involved, *horses for courses* basically, one solid, one-piece, block/plate/cut @ 50/60% of the chase area, would possibly need 3 standard quoins on the long side 2 on the short edge.
If the forme were in the nature of a full out Magnetic Base or full out Type Matter, (obviously heavy) 4 on the long side 3 on the short side would usually be regarded as max.
More would spring or burst the chase.
Way back, lock up technique would have been taught thus:-
hand set type matter would have been justified with 1/2 point per10 ems extra in justification to allow for squeeze, (loose type always squeezes down on lock up, even on the Monotype the same applies,) type matter when used with accurate furniture must have some squeeze factored in.
This method usually ensures lock up with minimum number of quoins rather than Vice Versa.
YES admittedly did not always work, as witness, spaces rising on the run, especially on the Vertical Meihle, (notorious) & frequently UNSEEN space/spaces SPIKED with a bodkin, (by the Minder/Operator) on the run to hold the whole line in!!!
As standard quoins (generally) are made in several formats i.e. in single, double, triple, manner!!
7 standard single quoins would seem to be adequate for a single installation, One C & P One Chase!! @ 10 x 15.!!!
A selection of singles, doubles, triples, (if possible) would be an advantage!! one small reason being if a triple can be utilised occasionally, 3 cams on one body gives a far better/accurate/ less pressure lock up, and is far kinder to the quoin key(s) if it hurts the fingers on lock up,(with the key) it will also hurt the chase.??
N. B. Assuming that Quoins, Stateside, are similar to U.K. supplied, wether they be Original or pattern/aftermarket or repro, examine carefully the threaded wedge(s) are manufactured in either *Steel* or *Aluminium* the aluminium type have limited life span and should be avoided***? Trawl E Bay possibly, never ever mentioned???
Apologies for the Epistle, but may just help a little.

Challenge Machinery introduced the HiSpeed one piece expandable quoin back in 1932. It soon became the standard quoin used in the United States though the wedge style and others persisted in many shops up to the present. To my knowledge, the HiSpeed quoin is the only quoin still manufactured. Bar-Plate purchased the operation from Challenge about 1998. I sold 24 new quoins last week to one customer, so there is still a viable market for the new ones. New HiSpeed quoin keys are still made as well and we sell maybe 200 a year.

Used quoins are also readily available. The year of manufacture is stamped on each quoin, and perfectly good ones from the 1930s on show up in used lots. My largest purchase was about 225 HiSpeed quoins that came out of the letterpress shop at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs when that letterpress plant closed some 15 years ago.

I try not to deal in other makes of quoins but specialize in the HiSpeed ones. I converted my own personal operation to these some 50 years ago and will not use the wedge style, Hempel, or Wickersham quoins. I guess it’s personal preference.

I have heard of plant auctions where 55 gallon drums were filled with HiSpeed quoins, and they were a hot item. I would suppose that production of these quoins has been in the tens of thousands over the years.

Fritz