Paper-Cutting Machines A Primer of Information about Paper and Card Trimmers, Hand-Lever Cutters, Power Cutters and Other Automatic Machines for Cutting Paper   By: Unknown

PAPER CUTTING MACHINES

A Primer of Information about Paper and Card Trimmers, Hand Lever Cutters, Power Cutters and Other Automatic Machines for Cutting Paper

by

NIEL GRAY, Jr.

Published by the Committee on Education United Typothetae of America 1918

Copyright, 1918 United Typothetae of America Chicago, Ill.

Composition and electrotypes contributed by The Stone Printing and Manufacturing Company Roanoke, Va.

PREFACE

The paper cutting machine is a recent development in the industrial world. Its importance in the graphic arts is only just being recognized. That it has heretofore been considered an apparatus of minor importance is proven by the lack of information on the subject, either historical or technical. No mention is made of a paper cutting machine in the eleventh edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, either in the index or under the various trade headings. Mention is omitted entirely from De Vinne's History of Printing. There are no references to it in many other standard books, nor in the engineering libraries; neither are there any comprehensive articles on the subject in any of the trade journals, either American or foreign. A few scattered references may be found in dictionaries and manuals having to do with bookbinding and presswork.

This manual on the paper cutting machine has the distinction of being, as far as the author knows, the first book ever written on the subject. It will endeavor to help toward a better understanding of this important mechanism, its use and care, and it may also serve as a starting point from which subsequent treatises may be written.

The difficulty of making a successful machine of this kind to meet the new demands for accuracy, speed, convenience, and safety, has been overcome gradually in recent years and there are now several machines quite efficient and adequate to meet these demands of the modern manufacturer. To coördinate a number of inanimate pieces of steel and iron, to operate at high speed with precision, requires fine skill. The evolution from the first cutting machine the old hand operated wooden plough and press to the present power driven steel mechanism is like the advance from the old wooden sailing vessel to the modern steel ship.

The objects of this manual are to acquaint the beginner with the essential features of the machine itself and to provide clear, comprehensive information which will enable him to become a competent operator. It is not possible within so small a book to give complete detailed instructions for all the different conditions which may arise in the many kinds of work done in establishments where paper cutting machines are used. Each of these places has its own particular requirements; and while the machine can do its part quickly and efficiently it needs the intelligent and skillful operator to get good results. The instructions given herein for a few cases, which have been made as general as possible, indicate the complexity of this operation as carried on in modern workshops. There is necessity for a careful study of the subject in any important industry to insure this part of the work being successful and profitable.

Not all the kinds of cutting machines in use in the printing and bindery industries are considered in the following pages, but simply the typical machines in common use for cutting and trimming printed paper. There are many other styles, such as die cutting presses, automatic book trimming machines, punching, stabbing, and eyeletting machines, rotary cutters and revolving blade cutters attached to presses and other paper machines. These might properly be classed under the title, but as they are chiefly specialized machines the limits of space do not permit a consideration of them here.

CONTENTS

PAGE

IMPORTANCE OF THE PAPER CUTTER 7

EVOLUTION OF THE PAPER CUTTING MACHINE 8

DESCRIPTION OF TYPICAL MACHINES 11

THE KNIFE 16

GRINDING PAPER CUTTER KNIVES 21

HONING PAPER CUTTER KNIVES 22

THE CLAMPING PRESSURE 23

CUTTING STICKS 25

THE BACK GAGE 25

POWER BACK GAGE MOVEMENT 28

SPECIAL DEVICES 28

APPLICATION OF POWER 30

CARE OF THE MACHINE 32

OPERATING THE MACHINE 35

SAFETY OF THE KNIFE 37

HANDLING PAPER 38

TO CUT A PILE INTO STRIPS OF EQUAL WIDTH 43

TO CUT A PILE RECTANGULAR 44

TO SQUARE A PILE 45

TO CUT UNUSUAL SHAPES 46

TRIMMING BOOKS 46

PAPER CUTTINGS AND WASTE 50

DEPRECIATION OF A PAPER CUTTING MACHINE 51

REVIEW QUESTIONS 53

GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED 58

PAPER CUTTING MACHINES

Importance of the Paper Cutter