Harper's indoor book for boys

by Joseph H. Adams

Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fig. 5.

In order to furnish your press with power, you must now pass four large iron “wood-screws” loosely through the blank outer edge of the movable board into holes in the corresponding edge of the other board, where they should “bite.” When a book is put into the press it is a very easy matter to tighten the screws so as to hold it firmly. This simple, inexpensive, and easily made press may be improved in various ways; screws with winged nuts may be used, etc., but in its simplest form it will be found sufficient for all the demands the amateur binder is likely to make on it.

Next in importance to the press is the hammer, and this is the only tool you will be likely to have to buy. It should be heavy, weighing at least twelve or fourteen pounds, and should be rounded at the ends. This is used for beating and compressing the books, shaping their backs, etc. If you live near a foundry it is quite easy to make a model of wood or clay and have a hammer cast. In any case, it is not an expensive tool—any blacksmith can hammer one out in a short time.

The glue-pot may be almost any little crockery dish, but it should never be put on the stove. If you have no regular glue-pot, you can melt your glue in an old cup placed in a saucepan of boiling water.

Besides the press, hammer, and glue-pot, you must have a pair of scissors and a few simple but sharp-cutting tools. When these things are all prepared you are ready to bind your book.

The Practice of the Art

After removing everything that is not to be included in your volume, place the “signatures” or parts together in regular order, striking the backs gently on the table or bench to get them even. Then place them on a block and beat with the hammer so as to flatten and compress them as much as possible. Then they should be put very carefully into the press and the screws tightened firmly, so as to hold the volume steady. The back should project about one inch above the edge of the press. Now, with a common hand-saw, cut four slits across the back at regular intervals, not deeper than the teeth of the saw. Take the book from the press, and into each of these slits or nicks lay a piece of stout cord or twine (not too thick), and to these cords all the signatures forming the book must be fastened with pack-thread. A necessary aid to this sewing process is a small square frame of light wood. The cords must be tied to this below and above, as shown at Fig. 3, and the lower part of the frame must be sufficiently broad and flat for the book to lie upon it. After the cords are laid into or passed through their respective nicks, you must open the leaves regularly and find the middle of each signature, and then pass, with a needle, the pack-thread along the inside, but twisting it around each cord in succession as you go along, making it fast at the end with a hitch or knot. This is much easier than it sounds, and with a little practice may be done very quickly. When you have finished the sewing cut away the cords, leaving an inch and a half or so on each side, which is left to make the attachment to the cover. This completes the first stage of the binding.

The book must now be replaced in the press, and its back covered with a good coat of glue melted in the manner already described. Leave it in the press until the glue is thoroughly dry. In the mean time measure the breadth of the back and go ahead with the preparation of your cover, which may be made as follows:

Cut two pieces of thin pasteboard a little larger than your book. Also cut a piece of cloth—calico, linen, or muslin—so much larger than both pieces of pasteboard either way as to allow for the back and the turning in. Down the middle of this paste three or four strips of the same goods to strengthen the back. Carefully measure the length and breadth of the back, and lay your pasteboard covers on the table, leaving the space of the back between them. Now put on your cloth, turning it around the edges of the covers, carefully avoiding creasing or wrinkling, and lightly glue it fast as shown at Fig. 10. Your cover is now made and must be allowed to dry. Next take your book from the press, unravel and soften the projecting ends of the cord, and wet them with strong glue. Lay the book down carefully on its back into the cover and glue down the cords to the sides. The book should be supported in this position, which can be done in any number of ways, and a slip of cloth glued down over the cords to hold them steady. Then paste over all this a sheet of white or fancy paper to line each cover, and when the job is dry your work is done.