Imposing Spec

Very flat indeed, how about saying as flat as a sheet of float glass. Ancient cast iron can and does warp, a permanent section of make ready may help. Re-machining can be problematic.

Surface Plates made from granite and readily available, at least in the US, from sources like Grizzly, for under $100, offer a truly accurate imposing surface.They are also excellent for checking how flat and true chases are. A sound and accurate lockup before and after the quoins are tightened helps in subsequent makeready and printing.

Yep, a great item. Can’t remember what I used before I got a surface plate but they work great. It would be nice if I had one twice as large so I could have two chases at a time on it but then I couldn’t lift it.

Yep, a great item. Can’t remember what I used before I got a surface plate but they work great. It would be nice if I had one twice as large so I could have two chases at a time on it but then I couldn’t lift it.
It was recommened to me by some guy named Clink or some such thing.

Word games. I thought we were talking about composing or was it imposing stones? There’s always headstones, or a kitchen table is fairly flat, at least for ordinary letterpress. We don’t have to worry too much because the youtube handsetting type videos show some really nifty methods of setting type, and a flat surface is the least of their worries. This guy Clink just might know.

youtube has all kinds of interesting press methods. There seem to be a lot of channels that posted a few videos 8-10 years ago and then nothing afterwards. I hope they still have all their fingers, some of them were frightening

To make up some info….

Consider that the thinnest packing most people use is 3-4 mils, I’d say the plate should be flat within 2-3 mils overall, which is readily achievable on a surface/blanchard grinder or a metal shaper.

Has anyone used a piece of granite countertop? Sometimes you can get reasonably-sized pieces, like a sink cutout, for a song, and they seem to be close enough.

z!