Videos of Thompson Type-Casters in Operation

At Skyline Type Foundry, 2010

In October of 2010, near the start of my apprenticeship at Skyline Type Foundry I shot this video late one day. It isn't very good video footage - it was just done in "movie" mode of a digital camera, and I'm no videographer. Still, it shows the operation of a Thompson reasonably well.

I don't have this video set up for streaming from this website. You can view it in two ways.

First, it is on Youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI98-_sbikM

Second, here is the .avi format video file itself, if you wish to download it and view it online: thompson-skyline-2010-10-24.avi)

I generally license material here that I create under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. But Youtube doesn't support that. The only Creative Commons license they do support is the less restrictive "CC Attribution" license. So I've used that license on the Youtube version, and for the sake of consistency will license the video file here under the same Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license here. Have fun. I can't imagine how anyone might want to re-use this material, unless they were doing a study of how to get dizzy while watching bad camerawork.

This machine, which was formerly at Perfection Type Foundry, has two very nice non-standard items: an operating lever on the right, and a water-cooled aluminum Type Receiving Stick on the left. (The counter is non-standard as well, in that the factory never provided one. But every production type caster needs a counter.)

At M&H Type Foundry, 2011

Mark Sarigianis of M&H Type Foundry has posted a short video of one of their Thompsons in operation on Youtube. It is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3FVbTe4o0Y The machine shown is an older style Thompson as manufactured by the Thompson Type-Machine Company before their acquisition by Lanston Monotype in 1929.

This machine has a non-standard "push-down/pull-up" operating device on the right side (much like my own two ex- Barco machines) and a large, non-standard type receiving galley on the left.