everything back onto the verandah...
this time i got the nuts and bolts from the hidden corner of our garage - mcduck's hidden treasure trove
i'm makeing the platen plate today and the bungee rope mechanism...
the double plate - melamine & timber plate combo should make the platen stiffer...
the finished press looked the part, but the real test was how it would go pulling a print...
since i haven't bought a bottle press, i tried with my scissors car jack first...
here is a print done with an etching press...
here is one done with the bottle jack press...
loads of difference!
the pressure was not enough... and it was a collagraph! not even a zinc plate...
:~~~(
abit sad really... esp i have sore muscles and have spent 2 arvos making it...
lucky i didn't jump onto ebay to buy a 20 ton jack! so lucky!
even sadder when i saw the damage to the press after pulling the first print! massive crack above as it de-bolted! and the horizontal hairline crack of the timber beam below...
reflection:
1) timber pieces are too weak - too dry for starters and they are pine, not hard wood
2) bolts are 1/4 inch (could not fit larger ones in the slotts of the slotted steel angles)
3) using too much pressure? (already? but i was using only a scissors jack and it was only rated to 850kg, not even one ton)
4) may work better with a linoprint or woodprint - ink is thinner and rolled on, not like the oil ink used on etched plates, so thick!
so there is still hope yet - first i'll have to change the timber beams and get myself some easy carve lino tiles and a tool set...
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