Inking Table
 

Not so long ago, as you may remember, I announced here that all the newly arrived Stanhope was still missing was an inking table before the press would have everything it needed to get properly to work. Well, that’s sorted now. The Stanhope has its inking table. And it has even more than that: it now has its very own cans of cleaning fluids, each one sporting a fine label printed in the workshop—black lettering on fluorescent orange paper, so you can’t possibly miss them. Come on, let’s have a look at the pictures…

The four cans are sitting on the Stanhope’s bed, each with its handsome label and each filled with its own particular cleaning fluid. They are lined up in front of the two-handled hand roller: acetone, F-type solvent, C-type solvent, and white spirit (also known as turpentine).

And here is the homemade inking table, cobbled together from all sorts of odds and ends, some of which have been kept for years with the thought: “These little bits and pieces might come in handy someday for making some sort of thing or other. You never know!”

But, but… oh horror!… we discover that the tabletop, made of genuine glass more than 5 millimetres thick, is absolutely filthy. Quick clean-up!

There, that’s better. With the tabletop this clean, even if we want to ink in white, there’s no danger of dirtying the colour… provided, of course, that the inking roller itself is properly clean too.

The table has only three legs, but they are fitted with casters, so it can easily be moved around. It wasn’t a deliberate decision to give it only three legs. It’s simply that, in our stockpile of odds and ends for making things out of, we could only find three. So we made do with what we had.

But admit it, it does have a certain style, this little table, with its Art Deco glass and its pretty embossed tin edging. Doesn’t it? You disagree?… Never mind. I don’t care. I like it…

To complete the little setup, let me introduce you to this small box on legs (it has four of them!) which a friend gave me because he no longer had any use for it. I use it to store rags and cans of cleaning fluid. The clean rags, waiting patiently to get dirty, are kept in a small compartment that can be closed with a hinged lid. It’s rather sweet.

The little lid is closed.

The large lid of the box is closed as well…

… and the cans of cleaning fluid can be placed on top. Wonderful, isn’t it?

You can also put other hand rollers on the inking table, smaller ones…
—Yes, yes, very nice indeed, old chap, but when are you actually going to use that press of yours?
—Well, er… pfff… when my back hurts a little less from pulling on the bar… Soon… soon…