Custom chase

A printer here in San Francisco made a one-piece base/chase for his Heidelberg cylinder (one benfit is the high base keeps the sheet from sagging). Very neat. But then there aren’t grippers/frisket fingers on a cylinder press. On a platen frisket fingers may be needed, and an integral base of full size would only be useable on jobs that don’t need them.

Chase/base
Registration can be a problem if your plate is off by more than your guides can adjust for.
Mike

The weight of the combination should also be considered. I was just putting an embossing chase into a kluge and the leaning over the press with that weight creates awkward out of balance positions.
Watch for back issues

All great comments. Thanks for the input.

Well, the one-piece chase I saw was for a Heidelberg KS, so would measure 17.24” x 20.25” outside dimensions, and was made out of aluminum. It’d certainly be lighter than a chase full of lead. But even that is manageable, loading onto a flatbed. A 10 x 15 windmill chase would be half the size.

Aluminium base are nice and light I use them for cold embossing and printing with mag dies. I have an 11x15 brass die heater that I use for larger area foil stamping . I built it to bolt onto the bed of a press so no chase is required but it is still very heavy and not a lot of fun to put in or take out. I should have went with aluminium.
Mike

i would rather have a base locked in a chase, easier if you have to remove it i think. i use 1/4” mag dies, when i crash print i mount them on furniture with two pieces of chipboard under the furniture, i even have used type with this it works for me. good luck dick g.