Locing up your die cut
I know I will hear it from several. But, I have been getting by for years now locking up a die cut from a single axis. Well today I had a “Blow out”. Lock up your dies left/right, up/down. Watch for a nice level lockup when tightening the quoins.
A-a-a-Men!!!!!
Frank.
Years ago George Chapman showed large custom-built plywood chases for locking up specific repeat jobs, one benefit being little furniture is used, or taken of out use if the job is stored.
I could see some of those jobs working well with single quoins, especially numbering jobs. It would probably be safer on a flatbed press as well, but the idea of a form breaking on a platen is truly frightening.
wrecked some furniture, but i always put the quoin at the bottom, so if it does blow out the quoin falls out of the pres. Not thru it.
I wish today’s clients understood the idea of “commercial register” which was +/- 2 points. Digerati expect hairline register and you can’t achieve that with quoin at guide edge.
Another point to be made is that a Hi-Speed quoin can be WORN OUT. The little ratchet and pawl that holds it in locked position no longer will hold, and with the pounding of impressions it will loosen up and FALL OUT! A check for this is to stand a quoin on its end expanded, then the other end, and if it moves at all, it’s unfit for service. Also, if there is looseness in the column that you insert the key into (broke loose), then you are playing with fire if you run it . And finally, if you remove the form from the press and the quoin has loosened, don’t use it. Defective quoins have caused a great many smash-ups; particularly true on Miehle verticals and (for those of you that might remember them) New Eras, where the forms are in an inverted position. Most of the newer readers of this forum have probably never seen a new hi-speed quoin, which is a thing of beauty, like brand-new type. Like new type, it works better than a beat-up old veteran.
Frank.