The heater box (Fig. 111) is simply a mass of metal pierced with two or more holes, in which lie the atmospheric gas burners which give the required heat. The bottom of this box is planed level and a slot is cut in its entire length. This slot holds the blocking plate (Fig. 112), a flat iron plate, perfectly smooth on both sides. On the upper side is screwed a bar shaped to fit in the slot in the heater box. A lug in front is pierced with a hole, through which a thumbscrew passes to the heater box to keep the plate in position. The bed is also a flat plate provided with gauges at right angles to each other.

An arrangement is provided underneath the bed for raising or lowering it as desired according to the thickness of the work in hand, or forgiving more or less pressure suitable to the various blocks or materials to be dealt with from time to time.
Blocks or stamps are for the most part cut in brass, and when new are generally about ¼ in. thick; they are also made by the electrotyping process, and often ordinary stereotype blocks are used.

A block for a book cover or the lid of a box, etc., may be made up of several pieces. For instance, there may be four pieces of line for the outer border, four pieces with a floral or other pattern, four corner pieces to match, a lettering piece, and a crest or monogram for the centre. These pieces are mounted together neatly so that they fit or cover the desired space as Figs. 113 and 114, which are the halves of an album cover design registered by Messrs. De la Rue and Co., London; the width as illustrated is less in proportion to the height than it should be, owing to a portion of the design being cut out to accommodate it to these pages.

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