Any chance of zinc linotype?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Found some strips with letters at the scrap yard. Any chance they are zinc? They seem a bit porous on the ends.

[fredj338]

I doubt it. Can you bend the strips without breaking?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

No. They are quite hard and obviously not pure. The porosity is my main concern, wouldn’t think there would be bubbles in lino, but I haven’t had any before.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Trying a pic

[Dusty Bannister]

I would not think that zinc in a linotype machine is likely to occur. Have you considered the old acid test?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Took a chance on 87 lbs. Passed the acid test.

[Recycled bullet]

Can you melt it with a soldering gun?

[Rickf1985]

Used to see that if the Linotype machine was not up to temp yet before running some lines. Due to the fact that the place I worked was in a 150 year old multistory massive wooden building they had to turn off the burners at quitting time for fire safety. If that place went up it would still be burning, and that was 45 years ago!!! It usually took about two hours for the machine to be ready to cast and then you had to run several lines through to heat up the molds and you would get just what you are seeing there.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Can you melt it with a soldering gun?

No, but worth trying.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Used to see that if the Linotype machine was not up to temp yet before running some lines. Due to the fact that the place I worked was in a 150 year old multistory massive wooden building they had to turn off the burners at quitting time for fire safety. If that place went up it would still be burning, and that was 45 years ago!!! It usually took about two hours for the machine to be ready to cast and then you had to run several lines through to heat up the molds and you would get just what you are seeing there.

Thanks!

[Fritz D]

Used to see that if the Linotype machine was not up to temp yet before running some lines. Due to the fact that the place I worked was in a 150 year old multistory massive wooden building they had to turn off the burners at quitting time for fire safety. If that place went up it would still be burning, and that was 45 years ago!!! It usually took about two hours for the machine to be ready to cast and then you had to run several lines through to heat up the molds and you would get just what you are seeing there.

OP, I have seen Linotype that looks like that. Unlike Rickf1985, I would get lines with porous bases when setting short composition work and cycling the machine too quickly. I wouldn't worry about zinc in your alloy.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

OP, I have seen Linotype that looks like that. Unlike Rickf1985, I would get lines with porous bases when setting short composition work and cycling the machine too quickly. I wouldn't worry about zinc in your alloy.

Thanks!

[Rickf1985]

Fritz, I wonder if you were seeing basically the same as I due to the quick cycles? The mold blocks were not heating up fast enough on the short lines. It's funny how I did not miss that work when I left and now I would do anything to be able to run one again. Just the sound of the letters dropping and resetting was therapeutic.

[Fritz D]

Rickf, just last week I stumbled across a YouTube movie called Linotype The Film - In Search of the Eighth Wonder of the World. It is a full movie, well over an hour. I only intended to watch a few minutes, but I just couldn't stop ... I watched the entire movie. We replaced our Linotype (Intertype) with a photo-typesetter 30+ years ago and at the time, I was not sad to see the Lino go. But now I also miss working on that old mechanical beast from time to time. Not a single circuit board and probably less than 1lb of plastic on the entire machine! It is long gone, but I was already casting/shooting lead bullets at the time, so I kept all my metal (close to a ton). I also kept the Hammond Easy-Caster (which I used to make pigs) and I kept all my pig moulds. I used it this past summer to render 500lbs of "free" range lead.

[Rickf1985]

I was just a young worker so I did not have any ties to the company to be able to get any of the equipment. The machine I ran was a Mergenthaler and they had another one which I believe was an Intertype. I forget what it was that would cause the problem now but every once in a while when you pulled the handle to run the type cast the mold would not fully close and it would shoot a shower of lead all the way to the 30 foot tall ceiling!!! Which was good it was that high since is was cooled and solidified to tinsel (now you know where the tinsel fairy comes from) as it came back down. Scared the crap out of me the first time it happened. The old timer that was teaching me said, "you will get used to it, just look down till it all lands and then carry on". It only happened to me three or four times in a couple years.

[Fritz D]

The dreaded "squirt." They would always get your attention

[Silvercreek Farmer]

I’m really enjoying the drift!

[Rickf1985]

Just a couple of OLD guys reminiscing.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

I’ve always enjoyed listening to the old timers. Lots to learn!