Constructing the Letterpress

• 1). Cut two of your plywood boards into 15-inch-by-15-inch pieces. Cut the remaining board to one square foot.
  
  
• 2). Cut two of your 2-inch-by-4-inch boards to 15 inches. Cut the remaining four to 18 inches.
  
  
• 3). Pair off the four 18-inch-long 2-by-4s into two sets of two. Spread wood glue over the top of one of the boards and then set another board on top of the glued area, creating one 18-inch-long beam that is 4 inches thick and wide. Repeat with other pair of 18-inch-long boards.
  
  
• 4). Screw one the of the 1.5-inch angle brackets to one of the beams, making sure to install it flush to the beam's top edge and 2 inches from each end. This will be your bottom beam. The other bracketless beam is the top beam.
  
  
• 5). Glue the square plywood board to the very center of one of the 15-inch plywood pieces to build the "platen" of the letterpress--the piece that does the pressing. Secure the plywood together by adding four 1.75-inch brackets, facing outwards, onto the four corners of the square plywood piece. Make sure you install the brackets at least a quarter-inch from the edge of the plywood.
  
  
• 6). Set the remaining two 2-inch by 4-inch boards on their sides, parallel and 15-inches apart; place the remaining plywood board on top of them, flush with their edges. Screw on the remaining angle brackets to each corner. You have now built most of the base. Place this on top of your bottom beam so that the edges of the bottom beam stick out 1.5 inches on both sides. Attach the bottom beam to the boards using screws and the brackets you installed previously on the beam.
  
  
• 7). Place two of your 24-inch slotted steel angles facing outward and each flush against on corner on one end of the bottom beam. Mark two spots through the slots of each steel angle. Set aside the angles and unscrew the beam from the base.
  
  
• 8). Drill pilot holes wide enough for your threaded rods into the marks you just made. Repeat these instructions for the other side of the bottom beam.
  
  
• 9). Re-screw the bottom beam to the base and attach the steel angles to the beam using the threaded rods, washers and wing nuts. Hold the top beam flat in between the sticking up steel angles, and check that the beam is even with the level. Mark where the slots in the angles meet the top beam. Drill pilot holes into the marks you made.
  
  
• 10
  
  Screw the fence anchor into the very bottom center of the top beam.
  
  
• 11
  
  Using a permanent marker and a ruler, draw a grid of 1-inch by 1-inch squares across the Plexiglas; draw a vertical line from each corner to the opposite corner, creating a large "X". Glue the Plexiglas to the top of the base.
  
  
• 12
  
  Attach the top beam into the steel angles about 4 inches down from the top of the angles, using your pilot holes, threaded rods, washers and wing nuts.
  
  
• 13
  
  Set your platen on top of the base. Put the hook on one end of a bungee cord through the one of angle brackets attached the top of the platen and then pull it over the top beam. Attach the hook of the other side of the cord to the opposite bracket on the other side. Repeat with other bungee cord.
  
  
• 14
  
  Place the bottle jack in the very center of the platen, with the top of the bottle jack hitting the center of the fence post anchor.
  
  

Using the Letterpress

• 1). Roll ink onto your plate.
  
  
• 2). Place your printing plate face-up on the center of the Plexiglas. Place your paper on top of the printing plate, face-down. Place a piece of felt on top of the paper, covering it.
  
  
• 3). Check the valve on the bottle jack to assure that it is closed. Pump the jack handle, which will create downward force. Keep pumping until the platen presses down on the bed.
  
  
• 4). Open the valve to release pressure, which will cause the platen to rise.
  
  
• 5). Pull out your letterpress image.