Fig. 18. Laying on of the cover.
Fig. 19. Half cloth cover showing turn-ins at a.
Backing boards—Backing.
The book is now placed between backing boards with only a small portion of the book projecting above the boards and then put into the lying press (1. Plate 1), and clamped up tightly. The part projecting should about equal the thickness of the cardboard used for the cover.
This book is not to be rounded any more than is absolutely necessary in the backing. The process of backing is necessary because of a thickened condition of the back as a result of the numerous threads and perhaps a few guards that have been added to it. By clamping the book tightly and hammering the back, the thickness can be reduced by forcing the edges over the boards as at Fig. 16.
After the book is firmly fastened in the press, the back is covered with thin glue, which is rubbed in with a stiff brush and then wiped off, so that it remains only in the little depressions between the sections. Within about fifteen minutes, the glue reaches a kind of elastic condition, and then the hammer is brought into use.
By light strokes along the center of the back, and then gradually farther out toward the end sections, the edges of the sections are forced away from the center and made to project finally over the edges of the backing boards, making the joint.
