specs for ordering a die for C&P letterpress

.918 cut and .900 crease both in 2point will work and give you the option of using the die on other types of presses. A good crease requires some form of counter many now use channel matrix but some of the old dogs still show off and skiv their own channels into pressboard.

Outstanding Mike, thanks very much.
Drew

Do you understand what a cutting jacket is? and do you have one? Are there threaded screw holes in the corners of your platen to receive the cutting jacket?

If NO Jacket secure some .020” galv or stainless to tympan. start with about .040” total tympan metal and packing add packing as required to cut. Note spot makeready underneath tympan is better than behind die.

If you improvise a cutting jacket, I would suggest you tape it to the platen rather than to the tympan. This leaves the tympan free to receive gauge pins.

Inky are you saying the die jacket should go under the tympan? If so the die would cut up the tympan. generally you give good advice but not in this case. Now get some ink on yer shirt.

You could use some doublestick adhesive and a few tabs of chipboard as sort of improvised guides/lays if you do end up improvising a cutting jacket- I would also suggest making a bit of a ‘fence’ that sticks out, improvise it out of some material like mylar or something- tape it or stick it over the guide and make it so it hangs off a little bit, and then bend the edge that sticks off so it allows your stock to easily slip into place while feeding. This will keep your stock from jumping over the edge of your makeshift guides.

Excellent advice. Thanks!

Inky’s method is very good if using gauge pins. I don’t use them I use a different guide system for hand fed jobs.

Below. ?

Generally here U.K. we gave up sticking Pins etc in the packing a long time ago.
It aint rocket science, to acquire double sided contact (sticky) Pads in sizes and thickness,s from 1/2” x 3/4” x 3/16” and upwards, Ad Infinitum.
Acquire a few sheets of acrylic (colour usually indicates thickness) cut the Tabs/Fingers to accomodate stock, from bible paper to beer mats, and everything in between.

Fingernail size & shape works perfectly.!!! Here we can and do make dozens for a few cents/pennies per dozen.
With just a modicom of practice (about 5 minutes worth) the tabs/fingers stuck to the upward side of the pad, and even, cranked gently upwards to act as *lead In* for positioning for register, stick to anything used as Tympan, EVEN and especially, straight on to *cutting jacket.*???

Pinning the *Tail on the Donkey* or sticking pins in the packing is SO Last century.

Cutting jackets, again it *Aint Rocket Science*

In the absence of OR un-availability OR cost, visit the sheet metal shop, and pay comparative peanuts for a Platen size piece, guillotined, exactly the WIDTH of the Platen, but 1 1/2” inches deeper and have the Metal Shop bend a return edge top and bottom at 3/4” x 90 Degrees to clip over the Platen Proper, minute inward bias of course, your sheet metal shop should still be working to S.W.G. (Standard Wire Guague) and Metric for thickness,s exactly equivalent/compatible for letterpress work.

Way back, here, the Graphic suppliers were and still are, using stainless steel for cutting jacket material, but for those lower down the scale and with cost foremost, now using *ZYNTEC* = chemically plated steel, (the successor to old fashioned Hot Dip galvanized metal).

ZYNTEC, Highly accurate, for thickness, still conforms to S.W.G. specs, or equivalents, nothing better for small Cutting Jackets (on Platens) and Bed Plates for proofing Press,s.