# Lifelong Project Just Slipped Through My Fingers



## CalgaryPT (Apr 16, 2020)

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. My lifelong ambition of restoring a Linotype machine just slipped through my fingers. For months I have been in conversation with a guy in Medicine Hat who owns one that has been in storage for 20+ years. He wanted to sell it as the museum that originally wanted it no longer does. I think he was close to selling it to me, but with the pandemic I suspect lots of guys wanting a long term restoration hobby are now forcing prices of things up. Someone offered him way more than I could pay.

I was SOOOO close. There was even a slim chance the machine could have belonged to my uncles’s print shop in Lethbridge as I know at least one of his machines ended up in Medicine Hat in the 1980’s. There were only a handful of them in Alberta left.

The machines revolutionized printing around the globe, but took a machinist to keep them running. All the old guys who worked in my uncle’s shop in Lethbridge until it closed in the 1980s were hobby machinists as well as printers. Linotypes have been called the 8th Wonder of the World and the “most complicated machine ever built.” Each machine had its own lead furnace built into it.

On the practical side I had no place to work on it. I would have had to build a illegal shed in the backyard to store and work on it. I’d been acquiring manuals and restoration materials for ages in hope that I would one day get my hands on one.

As sad as I am over this, it may be one of those childhood dreams best left unfulfilled. If ever there were a metal restoration project that looked like fun to me, this was it.

Oh well. At least someone made a movie out of it for iTunes before they disappeared altogether. Here’s the trailer:


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## David_R8 (Apr 16, 2020)

I'm very sorry to hear this. I have printing in my blood and I feel your pain.


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## kevin.decelles (Apr 16, 2020)

I’m absolutely going to watch that movie. The trailer raised my heart rate 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## DPittman (Apr 16, 2020)

Oh that's a kick in the pants...sorry to hear that CalgaryPT.  You never know the new owner just might change his mind also.  I'm surprised as heck that people would be bidding things up in this new covid world, I would have thought that something like that would have lost potential buyers.


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## Chicken lights (Apr 16, 2020)

https://hackaday.com/2018/10/13/save-a-linotype-machine-for-future-generations/

Looks like you’re not the only one wanting to save them


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## CalgaryPT (Apr 16, 2020)

Thanks guys. Even my wife was disappointed when I told her, and considering it would have been yet another machine, that's saying something. But I now know it is best as I just don't have the room. I'll watch the movie again instead. Still lots of fun.

My earliest memory of these machines when I was 5 or 6 years old was at night, when I would go back to the shop with my uncle to lock up. All the lights were out and you'd walk through the little in-house machine shop to get to the print floor. You'd see the furnaces glowing all night long, and the lead ingots hanging from chains into their crucibles where there'd be a lake of molten lead. So cool. Like a movie to a 5 year old.


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## YYCHM (Apr 16, 2020)

Bummer


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## Tom O (Apr 16, 2020)

David_R8 said:


> I'm very sorry to hear this. I have printing in my blood and I feel your pain.


What kind of printing? 
I worked at the Calgary Herald.


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## Dabbler (Apr 17, 2020)

I still feel nostalgic when I rember touring the Hamilton Spectator when I was in grade 7, a mere 100 years ago (!) and watching those linotype machines... I even convinced them to give me a row of type (which I have lost throu the ages.

I always wanted a platten press and I almost bought one with 6 boxes of type - I was in a little car, on Vancouver Island, and no way to move it on the seller's schedule.  I regret not being more resourceful.


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## David_R8 (Apr 17, 2020)

There's a platten press in my future as my partner and I have dreams of a small letterpress shop. I love the smell of ink!


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## Crosche (Apr 17, 2020)

Sorry to hear that this opportunity slipped by; it's a shame. Hopefully, the deal will fall through and you will get another crack at it?

I believe that the Canadian Museum of Making has one of these machines.


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## Bofobo (Apr 17, 2020)

You say you collected items to aid in a restoration? you may be able to get your hand in by advertising them, they presumably might be looking for such things


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## David_R8 (Apr 17, 2020)

Tom O said:


> What kind of printing?
> I worked at the Calgary Herald.


My father ran the print shop at U of R and then later owned a print shop in Lloydminster.


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## Chicken lights (Apr 17, 2020)

Crosche said:


> Sorry to hear that this opportunity slipped by; it's a shame. Hopefully, the deal will fall through and you will get another crack at it?
> 
> I believe that the Canadian Museum of Making has one of these machines.


https://museumofmaking.org/?gclid=C...pcwbyovTmIk4PVHWIAyYlofxf-fp3EWxoCWI4QAvD_BwE

Dang, that sounds like an all day field trip!


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## PeterT (Apr 17, 2020)

That's a bummer PT. Well don't give up. Karma has a way with these things.

Somewhat unrelated but inspired by the passion to restore, ever see this movie (Longitude)?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0192263/
Well done as it intertwines the 2 stories, first of John Harrison the master clocksmith & then the person that restores his famous timepiece (and he has his own post war demons). It was possibly a PBS production & then later a mini TV series (not quite as good). I also read the book. Fascinating stuff. Visiting the British museums where this stuff can be seen is on my bucket list.


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## Hruul (Apr 17, 2020)

Hello David_R8 I assume you mean University of Regina?  Small world.  Sorry to hear that Calgary PT.


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## historicalarms (Apr 17, 2020)

That's a bummer Calgary PT...shoulda-coulda is something that age multiplies as well, all to soon it becomes "I shoulda done that when I was able"!!!

    A quantity of Lynotype alloy itself is what would interest me, commonly used to add hardness to COWW cast "freedom pills".


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## CalgaryPT (Apr 17, 2020)

PeterT said:


> That's a bummer PT. Well don't give up. Karma has a way with these things.
> 
> Somewhat unrelated but inspired by the passion to restore, ever see this movie (Longitude)?
> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0192263/
> Well done as it intertwines the 2 stories, first of John Harrison the master clocksmith & then the person that restores his famous timepiece (and he has his own post war demons). It was possibly a PBS production & then later a mini TV series (not quite as good). I also read the book. Fascinating stuff. Visiting the British museums where this stuff can be seen is on my bucket list.


Thanks. _Longitude_ is on my reading list. I think many of us on this forum could spend the rest of our lives touring British museums.  When I was small I hated history. Now I love it, especially the history of machines. I just downloaded _A History of the World in 100 Objects_, so that's next on my list....then _Longitude_. Some of these books lend themselves quite well to Audible, and can be listened to while in the shop. Others I prefer to read oldschool, or at least Kobo oldschool.


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## CalgaryPT (Apr 17, 2020)

historicalarms said:


> That's a bummer Calgary PT...shoulda-coulda is something that age multiplies as well, all to soon it becomes "I shoulda done that when I was able"!!!
> 
> A quantity of Lynotype alloy itself is what would interest me, commonly used to add hardness to COWW cast "freedom pills".


The guy I was talking to had already sold off most of the lead ingots over the years.


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## CalgaryPT (Apr 17, 2020)

David_R8 said:


> There's a platten press in my future as my partner and I have dreams of a small letterpress shop. I love the smell of ink!


You would have loved my uncle's shop David. It even had ruling machines—long oak frame machines with conveyer belts and inked thread that put the lines on ruled paper. The entire shop smelled of ink and was deafening during the day with all the presses operating.


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## YYCHM (Apr 17, 2020)

CalgaryPT said:


> inked thread that put the lines on ruled paper



For what purpose?

Craig


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## CalgaryPT (Apr 17, 2020)

Remember the blue lines with red margins on your three hole punch paper in school? In the old days, this is how it was made. You had a huge machine, 12 or 15 feet long, with a giant conveyer belt that ran down its length. Just above this the pens and thread ran, dipped in ink. The paper sheets were fed under the thread and travelled along the belt, adding the coloured lines to the paper. The paper then ran above the operator about 8 feet high where it dried, then collecting into a pile. Seriously. This is how ruled paper was made.


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## CalgaryPT (Apr 17, 2020)

A variation using brass pens: 




To clarify, the normal process used pens and the thread just held down the paper. My uncle's shop invented a process where the threads were inked for specially jobs. Lots of ruling machines used variations on this. His shop also had an attached custom paper, wedding invitation and writing paper arm in the basement. They made artisan papers for the invitations and writing paper (for hotels) that were very thick and bumpy, so the brass pens didn't work to rule them w/o tearing the expensive paper. The smart machinery guys inked the thread instead, like they used to do ages ago. Pretty clever.


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## YYCHM (Apr 17, 2020)

Chicken lights said:


> https://museumofmaking.org/?gclid=C...pcwbyovTmIk4PVHWIAyYlofxf-fp3EWxoCWI4QAvD_BwE
> 
> Dang, that sounds like an all day field trip!



I didn't know this existed  Right in our back yard to boot.  Maybe we should organize a Calgary area group tour once this COVID crap is behind us.

Craig


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## CalgaryPT (Apr 17, 2020)

It would be a good place for a meet-up.


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## YYCHM (Apr 17, 2020)

CalgaryPT said:


> It would be a good place for a meet-up.



My thoughts exactly!!


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## Dabbler (Apr 17, 2020)

I hope someone else has a easier time dealing with the MoM. They are a PRIVATE museum that is pretty hard to be allowed to see.  I saw it a few years ago with another member here, with my daughter.  It was time very well spent.


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## YYCHM (Apr 17, 2020)

Dabbler said:


> I hope someone else has a easier time dealing with the MoM. They are a PRIVATE museum that is pretty hard to be allowed to see.  I saw it a few years ago with another member here, with my daughter.  It was time very well spent.



Why would that be?  The Website has a booking function?


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## Dabbler (Apr 17, 2020)

As I said, I hope you guys have better luck.  I tried for 2 years and no luck.  Or perhaps things have changed.


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## Brian Ross (Apr 17, 2020)

The museum is part of Ian MacGregor's (Northwest Upgrader) home. There are people that look after the collection but they only do tours for the public a few times a year and those fill up really fast. If you do get a chance it is really worthwhile, I've been a couple of times. There is a good collection of machine tools from the line shaft era and a large steam engine that he bought in England, disassembled, shipped to Canada and reassembled here. Another interesting thing about the museum is that most of it is underground including the huge steam engine. If I remember correctly, the collection of machines was installed when there were just walls and a floor. Then the roof was added and the slope of the hill it is under was returned. So, there is no way to remove any of the larger machines.


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## CalgaryPT (Apr 17, 2020)

Dabbler said:


> As I said, I hope you guys have better luck.  I tried for 2 years and no luck.  Or perhaps things have changed.


I don't doubt you for a minute. My neighbour's hobby is travelling the world (mostly Europe) and visiting museums like this. Apparently in Europe there are a great number of private museums due to some tax exemption rules I don't fully understand. But she once commented that the private ones seem to all have temperamental owners that you need to genuflect in front of, or at least polish their egos passionately to gain access. I find the same is true of archival specialists. It may be a personality thing.

I hope I don't become that wacky as I age more, but the indicators aren't looking so good.


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