Today's postings
- [Baren 37953] plate clearing/hygiene (Rosposfe # aol.com)
- [Baren 37954] Re: plate clearing/hygiene (eli griggs)
- [Baren 37955] Re: plate clearing/hygiene (eli griggs)
- [Baren 37956] Re: plate clearing/hygiene (eli griggs)
- [Baren 37957] Re: plate clearing/hygiene (Dave Bull)
- [Baren 37958] Baren Member blogs: Update Notification (Blog Manager)
Message 1
From: Rosposfe # aol.com
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 18:23:27 GMT
Subject: [Baren 37953] plate clearing/hygiene
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I've been following the comments of tool use regarding the clearing
chisels. I recently showed a few of my prints and one of my blocks to an older
relative who then brought down a souvenir of Japan purchased when she was in
Japan 40 years ago. It was either a page of a book or newspaper/poetry but was a
long rectangular block of cherry with Japanese characters written in vertical
columns over all of it on both sides (I didn't have my camera or I'd include
a picture). All of the type was barely 1/2- 1mm deep, the close set characters
obviously keeping the paper off the troughs. I say type and set but it was
all meticulously hand carved --the letters all the size of capitals in a
normal page of newspaper print.
What was most humbling/amazing to me was how clean and smooth was the area
between the type and the area in all the cleared areas. Most was very shallow
too; not more than another 1-2mm deep but it was all smooth and even with none
of those little wood fibers or ridges that live between the lines on my
boards to spot the prints or wick ink to the surface when i don't want it.
How do they/did they do that?
With shina, even with my aisuki chisels razor sharp I can polish the
cleared areas but often here and there there is some splintery/shaggy spots that
don't smooth.
This has been true also with in decreasing order the poplar, maple and cherry
I've tried.
My block next to this old block of text/type was very crudely carved in
comparison, full of nicks, ridges, raised fibres, jagged lines and printed
sloppily despite or because of my "deeper" carving.
It was a needed lesson.
--andrew stone
chisels. I recently showed a few of my prints and one of my blocks to an older
relative who then brought down a souvenir of Japan purchased when she was in
Japan 40 years ago. It was either a page of a book or newspaper/poetry but was a
long rectangular block of cherry with Japanese characters written in vertical
columns over all of it on both sides (I didn't have my camera or I'd include
a picture). All of the type was barely 1/2- 1mm deep, the close set characters
obviously keeping the paper off the troughs. I say type and set but it was
all meticulously hand carved --the letters all the size of capitals in a
normal page of newspaper print.
What was most humbling/amazing to me was how clean and smooth was the area
between the type and the area in all the cleared areas. Most was very shallow
too; not more than another 1-2mm deep but it was all smooth and even with none
of those little wood fibers or ridges that live between the lines on my
boards to spot the prints or wick ink to the surface when i don't want it.
How do they/did they do that?
With shina, even with my aisuki chisels razor sharp I can polish the
cleared areas but often here and there there is some splintery/shaggy spots that
don't smooth.
This has been true also with in decreasing order the poplar, maple and cherry
I've tried.
My block next to this old block of text/type was very crudely carved in
comparison, full of nicks, ridges, raised fibres, jagged lines and printed
sloppily despite or because of my "deeper" carving.
It was a needed lesson.
--andrew stone
Message 2
From: eli griggs
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 18:41:12 GMT
Subject: [Baren 37954] Re: plate clearing/hygiene
Send Message: To this poster
I don't know which tools or methods the Japanese used
for your block but it may be that the block was carved
to be decorative on its own, thus the extra care in
the background.
If that's the case, it may be that they used a
variation on the "old womans' tooth".
This routing tool is used to level the surface below a
carved surface and is found in several woodcarving
cultures.
Stanley tools still makes two versions of this and it
is a simple tool to make on your own. Some use a
simple, flat steel blade, others, a chisel blade.
Here is a tutorial on making your own:
http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/OldWoman%27sTooth.html
If you sell blocks after printing them, this might
help 'refine' their appearance, if you're into that
sort of thing.
Cheers, Eli
for your block but it may be that the block was carved
to be decorative on its own, thus the extra care in
the background.
If that's the case, it may be that they used a
variation on the "old womans' tooth".
This routing tool is used to level the surface below a
carved surface and is found in several woodcarving
cultures.
Stanley tools still makes two versions of this and it
is a simple tool to make on your own. Some use a
simple, flat steel blade, others, a chisel blade.
Here is a tutorial on making your own:
http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/OldWoman%27sTooth.html
If you sell blocks after printing them, this might
help 'refine' their appearance, if you're into that
sort of thing.
Cheers, Eli
Message 3
From: eli griggs
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:03:14 GMT
Subject: [Baren 37955] Re: plate clearing/hygiene
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Here is a second design that is very simple and uses
your own chisels.
The advantage of this type design is you can use
several sized tools with the one plane.
If you make one or have one made, Lignum Vitae, Ebony,
Beach or a quality Pearwood would be best, but the
first two can be difficult to work well; not
impossible but challenging!
You also could opt to use a thin piece (3-6mm) of
Lignum Vitae as a sole for a Ebony, Beach or Pearwood
plane and have a very fine tool.
Eli
your own chisels.
The advantage of this type design is you can use
several sized tools with the one plane.
If you make one or have one made, Lignum Vitae, Ebony,
Beach or a quality Pearwood would be best, but the
first two can be difficult to work well; not
impossible but challenging!
You also could opt to use a thin piece (3-6mm) of
Lignum Vitae as a sole for a Ebony, Beach or Pearwood
plane and have a very fine tool.
Eli
Message 4
From: eli griggs
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:17:46 GMT
Subject: [Baren 37956] Re: plate clearing/hygiene
Send Message: To this poster
Message 5
From: Dave Bull
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:35:21 GMT
Subject: [Baren 37957] Re: plate clearing/hygiene
Send Message: To this poster
> ... a page of a book or newspaper/poetry but was a long
> rectangular block of cherry with Japanese characters written
> in vertical columns over all of it on both sides
Sounds like what you have is a block used to print a typical book page.
All books in the old days were printed from hand-carved wooden blocks,
and there was no typesetting (except for some small experiments) until
the modern era.
> it was all meticulously hand carved --the letters all the size of
> capitals in a normal page of newspaper print.
There were hundreds of carvers working at this in those days - many of
them specializing in this kind of work. They were incredibly quick;
what you have there probably represents a couple of days work for a guy
...
> ... how clean and smooth was the area between the type
> How do they/did they do that?
It's just 'normal' carving style. Because Japanese printing uses
pigment brushed over the whole block, rather than rolled onto the top
of the lines, the whole block gets wet. If too many ridges and
roughness is left down between the carved areas, these soon start to
pick up pigment - kind of like how snow drifts against fences on the
Canadian prairies (I sure remember _that_!). After a couple of hundred
sheets have been printed, the buildup has come high enough that it
starts to blotch the paper.
Keeping the wood surface smooth really helps the printers avoid this
trouble. There's no time for them to fool around and keep cleaning the
block all the time - this was _production_ work, just go go go go go
...
As for 'how' it was smoothed; it's just done with the normal set of
aisuki chisels.
I just took a few snapshots of a couple of blocks I have here - an old
book page, maybe just like the one you are describing, and then
something newer, with an example of _English_ lettering carved.
Snaps are here:
http://woodblock.com/roundtable/images/text_carving
And this is the print with the English lettering, for comparison:
http://mokuhankan.com/conversations/images/SA_04_10_large.jpg
Dave
> rectangular block of cherry with Japanese characters written
> in vertical columns over all of it on both sides
Sounds like what you have is a block used to print a typical book page.
All books in the old days were printed from hand-carved wooden blocks,
and there was no typesetting (except for some small experiments) until
the modern era.
> it was all meticulously hand carved --the letters all the size of
> capitals in a normal page of newspaper print.
There were hundreds of carvers working at this in those days - many of
them specializing in this kind of work. They were incredibly quick;
what you have there probably represents a couple of days work for a guy
...
> ... how clean and smooth was the area between the type
> How do they/did they do that?
It's just 'normal' carving style. Because Japanese printing uses
pigment brushed over the whole block, rather than rolled onto the top
of the lines, the whole block gets wet. If too many ridges and
roughness is left down between the carved areas, these soon start to
pick up pigment - kind of like how snow drifts against fences on the
Canadian prairies (I sure remember _that_!). After a couple of hundred
sheets have been printed, the buildup has come high enough that it
starts to blotch the paper.
Keeping the wood surface smooth really helps the printers avoid this
trouble. There's no time for them to fool around and keep cleaning the
block all the time - this was _production_ work, just go go go go go
...
As for 'how' it was smoothed; it's just done with the normal set of
aisuki chisels.
I just took a few snapshots of a couple of blocks I have here - an old
book page, maybe just like the one you are describing, and then
something newer, with an example of _English_ lettering carved.
Snaps are here:
http://woodblock.com/roundtable/images/text_carving
And this is the print with the English lettering, for comparison:
http://mokuhankan.com/conversations/images/SA_04_10_large.jpg
Dave
Digest Appendix
Postings made on [Baren] members' blogs
over the past 24 hours ...
Subject: Spray Paint
Posted by: Annie B
The Separatists' theology was mainly Calvinist. They believed in the absolute sovereignty of God, the total depravity of man, and salvation through divine grace (not self-effort or good deeds). They considered themselves God's elect, specially chosen by God for redemption. Therefore, they saw themselves as exceptional, and they carried a sense of exclusivity that separated them from the rest of the world, whether in Holland or in England. To show this sense of separation, I decided to stay in the vernacular of graffiti and use "spray paint" around the area where I plan to print the group of Pilgrims. Using a can of Krylon spray paint like the taggers use wasn't possible, as I wanted to use sumi ink on top of the spray, so I needed to use waterbased pigment. First I tried watering down some white pigment and squirting it from a plastic spray bottle, but the coverage wasn't opaque enough and the nozzle clogged too quickly. So I ended up dipping a fingernail brush into the paint and using my thumb to push the bristles back to release a fine spray. It was a little wild to control, but definitely fun! After the spray, I added an impression of gray paint along the edges to make the color a little more dirty and dingy. It's a subtle difference, but here's a before and after comparison: here] |
This item is taken from the blog Woodblock Dreams.
'Reply' to Baren about this item.
Subject: TRADE SHOWS 2009
Posted by: Dean Clark
I like to think that I'm smarter than the average bear, of course there are those who would argue the point, and after reading this you'll probably agree. I believe fervently in backing up computers, at least when it comes to Graphic Chemical. We actually subscribe to a service that backs up something like every six minutes!I'm not quite as good about backing up my personal computer, which also serves as my PC workstation at Graphic. Why should I back up? Nothing could happen, right? Well, it did, and apparently it was catastrophic. Everything on my hard drive ceased to exist right around the Holidays. Mostly, I lost most of, but not all of my pictures. I also lost most of the forms used for export shipments, but they can be replaced. I believe that I've learned my lesson this time. So, what's this got to do with the title, " TRADE SHOWS 2009"? Pretty much nothing, but I felt like venting. There are a number of important trade shows coming up this year, that I feel compelled to make note of. January-February 2009- The Paperworld Show in Frankfurt, Germany. This is a huge show, open to dealers, manufacturers etc. in a variety of industries. The art materials part is in all likelihood the largest art . . . [Long item has been trimmed at this point. The full blog entry can be viewed here] |
This item is taken from the blog Printmakingblog.
'Reply' to Baren about this item.