Adana 5-3

Hello Edingal, happy New Year. The maximum size base that you should get for a 5 x 3 Adana is 75 mm x 50 mm. But why not try first with a piece of good quality plywood, onto which you stick your photopolymer plate with double-sided adhesive, you can bring it up to type height by underlaying your block with thick grey cardboard, the stuff bookbinders use. That comes in 1, 2 and 3 mm thick. Read some of the older posts here about the size that you can print on presses. Start with something smaller and get to know and to understand your press first!

To get the maximum space just use the bearer chase not the inner chase, unscrew it, lock your job up and screw it back on.
As Thomas wrote use a block of wood. Have several blocks of wood of different thicknesses so you can stick on polymer, lino cut, hot foil type or hot foil plate for printing.

That’s great thanks Thomas and Platen Printer, will go to hardware store and get then to cut me up some plywood of that size and buy various thicknesses, i have lots of off cuts of mount board (the stuff used to window frame photos/art) that can be used to bring up to type high once plate or other material is applied! Hopefully this will work!

Off to check what height this would be !!

Thanks again!

Edingal, ideally starting height/thickness for you base material should be around 18-20 millimeter,s just shy of .850, (the normal/usual height, for mounting material, plus the thickness of (roughly) Photopolymer, or Magnesium, plates and one thickness of D.S.A. (double sided adhesive) the whole still making just less than .918 Type Height?? the difference achieved with acrylic sheet, (stationers in different thickness,s) and/or litho plate, not too hard to source, as underlay behind your form, with conventional packing down to, even, a sandwich of tissue paper, or airmail paper, if needed, always quite normal, way back.???
Plus Ideally your base material, (short of expensive re-manufactured, Base, unless you are very wealthy) to be *MARINE PLY,* at 18 m/m or there abouts, the best bar none, by comparison, look up the specifications on line!!!
Of course a full size sheet would cost an arm and a leg, but you may have, just around the corner, a progressive Woodworking Machine shop, that will help you for just a small contribution to the Coffee Fund, should this be an option, just happen to have your chase with you.??? and at the same visit, just check if they may ever need business cards or similar… Even if you cheat, possibly, with a few of your own Business Cards, done on a computor, Hiss Boo! etc etc, that just happens to have, the years calender on the back??? They do not all get thrown in the rubbish!!!
Good Luck.

Mick thank you so so much for your advice! I am off to google Marine ply! I ordered some sample photopolymer plates from Lyme Bay Press just to give me something to test out before I go full steam ahead and some sample paper from GF Smith to do a few experiments! Still waiting on rollers and ink arriving …

Will contact a wood shop and see if they would be able to help out with what is required!

Thanks again much appreciated!

Edingal, thank you, the point about Marine ply is that your eventual desired thickness, is beneficial to achieve in one go, rather than a compound of different pieces, and various make up,s to height, which will give you a headache in the learning curve.
Many many moons before Boxcar and the English eqivalent were even invented, from the smallest Adana to the Biggest Cylinder, (i.e. American Meihle at maybe 15 tons with the actual cylinder coming in at maybe 2 tons or more) everything was mounted on Either Monotype product Or Elrod Caster product, and in the case of the Monotype, the units were 3 ems x 3 ems (36 x 36 point) completely universal, made up in any configuration, used, dissed back for reuse, virtually indestructable, cast in house etc, and yes!!! one/some apprentices were known to *borrow* the odd few units for the odd little private job on the Baby Adana at home, well I am sure if, The Firm, were aware they would have seen it as an extension of the learning curve!!

I have 2 or 3 preloved (second hand) type high guages, home made, by compositors from a long time ago, one of which I will post of to you, if you wish, as a welcome gift, in the absence of a Micrometer, or a professional shop machine, a boon to a newbie I would calculate. .
Regards Mick

Mick is right about marine ply. Builders use it as well, they tend to make the mouldings in Marine ply when they cast concrete. Halfway down Leith Walk (between the nos 152 and 166) in Edinburgh, you’ll find a fantastic timber merchant, called Thornbridge. They might be able to help you further. If not, a carpenter or cabinet maker.

You guys are seriously the most helpful people I have ever met. Thank you thank you and thank you! Mick you are so very kind I will email you!

Thomas I will look up Thornbridge on Leith Walk and Thanks so much for the heads up!

This community is fantastic! I hope to one day repay the favour somehow!

Edingal, T.G.s info sounds brilliant, if /when you cruise by Thornbridge,s take your chase, tell them what you are trying to achieve and from Thomas,s run down, and possibly with a sweet smile or 2 you could end up with not only the right size, but if Thornbridge,s have a Planer/thicknesser, you could end up with exactly the right thickness as well, but show them or tell them that your, Base material needs to be approximately .064 less than type high, .918, the difference is approximately the thickness of Photopolymer or Magnesium plates, plus or minus a little packing & D.S.A.??? Good luck. Mick
P.S. Be prepared for a little stick, possibly, goes something like, those wicked old guys like T.G. And M.M. are trying to help E.D. Break our Mounting Base Monopoly, not perhaps that The Newbies are running on a shoestring and havent access to the many alternatives that used to exist? very businesslike maybe but not quite in the spirit of the revival!!!

Mick, thanks so much! you guys have been so helpful, it can get quite costly for a newbie so appreciate all the advice and getting started tips and tricks you have been so kind to point out!

Hopefully the Base Monopoly will be kind!

Edingal