[GreenKeys] M36 ( was Replica Stock Ticker?)

[John Nagle]

> From: Jim Haynes<jhhaynes at earthlink.net>
> Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] M36  ( was Replica Stock Ticker?)
>
> That reminds me of an article that was in an old ARTS bulletin.  There
> was some kind of printer called a "bulletin printer" that was used in
> the stock market; and some hams had got some of them.  It was apparently
> 6 level code and the guy who had one had figured out how to convert it
> to use 5 level code and figs/ltrs shift.  (People were desperate for
> printers back in those days)  And it had the correct ltrs case characters
> but was all wrong in figs case.  So he inked the type wheel and rolled
> it on a sheet of paper to get its contents, then made the arrangement
> he wanted and took it to a maker of rubber stamps and they made him a
> rubber plate that he could roll up onto the type wheel.
>
> I don't know if that's easy or hard to do today.

     Easy.  There are many companies that make custom rubber stamps on
line, and you can send them artwork files.  They're routinely made
on laser cutters.

     http://www.epiloglaser.com/sc_stamps.htm

     I once experimented with making a typewheel on a Tormach CNC mill.
I used a rotary table mounted horizontally on the bed to hold the
work, so it was a 3-axis job on a 4-axis setup.  Software was VCarve
for design and Mach III to run the machine.  TechShop has all that.
The setup is a pain, but the milling isn't that hard.  I made a
plastic dummy as a test, but didn't make a useful typewheel.

     I don't know the proper metallurgy for a typewheel.  After
machining, heat-treating would probably be necessary to get a
long useful life.

					John Nagle