Will my Kelsey 6x10 work with…

You’ll have a really rough time getting solid coverage. Mostly, it is important to get both at once because rollers can vary a bit from batch to batch and you really need them to be the same.

so then until I get the roller could I just use a brayer to apply the ink

You could, but if you are going to get decent results you should probably remove the chase and ink it while it is flat on the composing stone. You do have a composing stone, don’t you?

Daniel Morris
The Arm Letterpress
Brooklyn, NY

I would have to say I have no idea what a composing stone is. Please tell me.

Letterpress printers speak a foreign language. Like tympan and frisket.
Probably not any more foreign than the jargon of other trades.
The stone is properly called an imposing stone. Often referred to as the stone. It is the very flat and even surface upon which you place the form and the chase and do the lockup. They were originally real stone. Often granite or marble ground very smooth and flat. Later, steel stones were used.
You can use the nice granite counter top in the kitchen, but the kitchen lady might be displeased.
Glass on top of a smooth and firm wooden table works well —- for a while until you hit it too hard.
A piece of slick surfaced formica type countertop material works well.
Try the brayer with the form in the press. If it works it works. You will get tired of doing it that way and will get the second roller.
Half the fun in any craft is just trying things. It is important to find what doesn’t work as long as you don’t harm yourself or your machine.
inky

Thanks a lot. I have no problem trying some stuff out. I have worked with a C&P letterpress in the past, but it was complete so I was concerned about running it with one roller. I will try the brayer, but I will have both rollers by next month. I’m just ready to use the little guy