Page "Hot metal typesetting" Paragraph 28

After a line of type was assembled into the stick a special blocking slug was inserted to seal the end.

Then the stick was placed mold side down into the slot on the table, a clamp locked down to securely hold the stick and the Ludlow activated.

The plunger would snap down into the pot with considerable force, injecting molten type metal into the mold at a high rate of speed to ensure the mold was filled before the metal solidified.

If the stick was not properly filled out or mounted firmly, or the special terminating block was forgotten, a dreaded " squirt " would result, often encasing the operator's toes in molten lead and leaving a mess that needed to be peeled off the Ludlow surfaces.

Operators were encouraged to wear heavy boots with steel toes and be quick at removing one.

It was also not uncommon for some of the type metal to be projected up onto the ceiling, no matter the height.

As with the Linotype / Intertype machines, the Ludlow machines were often fitted with metal feeders to keep the pot filled to optimum level.