Linotype? Ha Mono Vs. Foundry

[MediumCore358]

I bought 50lbs of "linotype" on Fleabay but im under the impression that it is monotype or foundry. I know this has been rehashed a few times and ive tried to figure out the composition myself but i figured id leave it to the experts.. thanks in advance. Im hard up for hardening alloy lately so i dont want to waste it.

having trouble getting picture on post via mobile or Pc any help?

[1johnlb]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_metal

Maybe, this will help.

[MediumCore358]

I have checked out Wikipedia for type metal, thanks. I know when in doubt treat it as mono I'm just hoping it might be better than that. I did find some foundry in the mix due to markings and it's special enough to keep out of melt

[lightman]

Linotype is several letters or words like in a sentence. Think "Line of Type". Monotype are larger letters or single letters. Foundry type are larger letters or single letters with a grove in the back. The link above will give you the composition of each. The first picture in the link above is a piece of Foundry type. If you have either mono or foundry type you have a good hard alloy useful for blending with other softer alloys.

[bangerjim]

As said.............there is NO doubt if you have linotype! Strips of entire words and sentences "in a line of type".

Mono and foundry are hand set type with individual letters, numbers, and characters. They can have 0 up to 3 grooves on the back. I have 3 antique printing presses and have over 700# of foundry and mono type in many type drawers. (When I am gone, it goes to a museum, not into a lead melting pot!!)

Linotype was cast for a specific print job and then melted back down for the next run. I have gobs of that also in long lines of type. I melt that down when needed.......NEVER the mono or foundry!

banger

[Budzilla 19]

Banger, I'm proud to say I helped contribute to your museum collection!! One day, I may drive and see it,ya never know.

[therealhitman]

Now you have me feeling guilty for using my mono up! I add mono to Pure and lino to my range scrap and COWW.

[bangerjim]

Now you have me feeling guilty for using my mono up! I add mono to Pure and lino to my range scrap and COWW.

If you have, which most today do have, mixed-up type, do not worry about it. All my type is sorted in printshop type drawers by upper/lower/characters and sorted with each font in a separate drawer, you know, the ones you see with all the many little compartments. I also have a 5 gallon bucket of mixed "stuff" that is use for boolits. Unless a font set is complete with all the upper, lower, & characters sorted specifically in the little compartments, it is just hard lead. Unfortunately most print shops when they went out of business, just dump the type and sell the drawers to crafters for the BS they do with them. And sell the type to a scrap yard.....in buckets. I bought a 5 gal bucket of it several years ago for 20 cents a pound! Not worth sorting.

You can still find lino in scrap yards. Ran across & bought 350# of it a couple years ago.

[white eagle]

linotype is not always in type form
I have a bar that weighs 22# that was its precast form
also bought some lino from rotometals that was in bar form

[bangerjim]

Those are the feed ingots for the linotype machine. You can still find pigs of feed linotype metal out there, but the very common form is strips of type.

[RogerDat]

The "pigs" were the bars of metal added to the pot and will generally have a hole at one end for a machine/hook to grab. Generally at least one side will be flat, maybe all sides, at least in the examples I have seen. More common to see the strips with the letters for whole words cast into the edges, as in the picture of this post.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?41044-Who-has-linotype-for-sale&p=445497&viewfull=1#post445497

close up linotype slug http://www.galleyrack.com/images/artifice/telegraphy/tty/codes/big-scheme-1840-fig-10-1-linotype-slug-crop-2850x1620-scale-1024x582.jpg

This image has what banger was describing, single letters arranged in trays for building a printed page. Along with a type holder.
https://puesoccurrences.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/346.jpg

Google image search for Linotype Pigs showing some of the different forms the bars can take.
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1920&bih=1007&q=linotype+strips&oq=linotype+strips&gs_l=img.3...2172.6151.0.6633.15.9.0.6.2.0.65.540. 9.9.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..5.10.511.PU9Ij9dRCdk#hl =en&tbm=isch&q=linotype+pigs

I will say that in some ways foundry or monotype are a bit harder to use to make standard and lesser alloys. Linotype is a perfect ratio and reduces well with plain with or without adding a little solder to make Lyman #2 or cut to make 2/3/95 using WW's but foundry or mono can give you a really hard, tough alloy and certainly has plenty of alloy "goodness" in it to be used.

[bangerjim]

Yep. I have 40 or so sorted drawers of that stuff. Used in my presses. And numerous sizes of that style of type set-holder.

You will find individual letters of type like that with 0, 1, 2 or 3 notches on the side. That is used to align the type (hard to tell a "b" from a "d" from a "p" from a "q" backwards/upside down!) and to ID different font sets.

One just needs to be cautious when buying ingots of "linotype" from unknown sellers (evilbay) as anything could be melted in there. That is why I always leave lino in the native strips or the foundry-marked pigs and never trust anything re-cast in muffin tins or Lee, Saeco, or RCBS 1# molds!

If you have lino strips............LEAVE THEM THAT WAY! Same with mono and foundry letters!

banger

[Beagle333]

I recently picked up 40# of mono/foundry on fleabay for 60 bucks shipped and it was in notched-block single letter type form! I felt pretty good about it.

[tja6435]

I got a decent load of monotype and foundry type from the local scrap yard this morning. They had a 22# ingot in with the type I pulled out as well for myself.

The guy that's always there working said he'd set aside anymore lino/mono/foundry type that came in for me, also going to keep an eye out for pewter.

I paid $.60/lb for today's scroungings.

[tja6435]

149220What manner of type alloy would you guess this chunk to be? Weights barely under 9#, around 1" thick. Only piece I couldn't get into the pot for ingot making of the lino/mono type score earlier today

[bangerjim]

149220What manner of type alloy would you guess this chunk to be? Weights barely under 9#, around 1" thick. Only piece I couldn't get into the pot for ingot making of the lino/mono type score earlier today


That looks like modern zinc photo resist type plate material. Test with some HCl acid. Look closely as it may be riveted to a lead backing plate.

[mozeppa]

i have a friend here in indianapolis who owns the worlds largest collection of lead, lino, mono & foundry type in the world...no lie!
(mostly mono type.)
has 20 odd antique presses...parts for thousands of other presses.

and more than 150 TONS of type!

all in a 15,000 square foot building and in the full basement of his home.

drawers stacked floor to 10 foot ceiling of type jammed so close together there is only very narrow pathways though the maze of type.
looks like an episode of "hoarders" literally.
if i just cleaned up what has been knocked over and spilled on the floor ...i'd have easy 2 -3 tons of the stuff,

oddly at 83 ...he knows exactly where everything in that shop is!

[tja6435]

It's lead of some sort with a very thin (.125" or less) plate of the brass color. I can put a small dent in the sharp edge with a thumb nail

[tja6435]

I see what you mean now, I peeled the zinc plate off the front of the lead block. It was glued on

[bangerjim]

I have some of those. Zn photo-etched plate riveted to softer lead body. The base did not need to be hard.

Older ones were mounted on hardwood. Have some of those also.

banger