Practical Bookbinding Part 9

Many experts glue the hollow backs on and use paste for the board. Very frequently the glue comes through and spoils the end papers. It is better to raise the flaps of the back, paste the tear off of the end paper, paste the bands on to it, and the loose flaps as well, and then paste this on the outside and set the board on it. The latter must be set back a little further in this case so that the book moves freely in the joint. The back, therefore, is a hollow arch stretching over the book from groove to groove, the loose flaps of the packing adhering between book and board. The book is pressed until thoroughly dry--best between zinc plates.

Fig. 57--Section of edge rule.

For shaping boarded books an edge rule is used. This is a thin iron rule not much longer than the width of the book. On the long edge an iron pin about the width of the edge is soldered. This tool is inserted between book and board so that the iron pin lies close to the edge of the book; if the board is trimmed along this it will leave the board exactly as much larger than the book as is the width of the rule.

Knives or points must be well grasped in cutting boards. The edge must be clean and square.

If the boarded book has a hollow back, first one end is shaped and the projecting back is neatly cut clean and straight to the other board with the shears, and then the other end is shaped.

Boards are fixed on a deep groove by pasting them on the outside to a width of about 3 cm., placing them direct on the book, backing them firmly into the groove, and then pasting the bands very smoothly upon the boards. A folded piece of waste paper is placed on the pasted part, a piece of zinc plate over it, and the book then pressed. The double leaf is used to prevent any sticking to the zinc plate, which bands are particularly liable to do if the plates had not been properly cleaned after previous use.

Boards to be fastened into a deep groove must be lined with waste paper; this is done with paste. When packing, a narrow strip of paper must be brought over the inner edge of the board in the groove to the outside, so that the cut edge of the board is covered and does not strain or swell.

This is also done when boarding, as follows:--

At the present time, all good half or whole leather bindings have the boards laced through in good shops. At the outset the bands must be left with longer ends for this--5 cm. at least on each side. A parallel line is marked on the board along the back about 6 to 8 mm. from the groove.

The board is fitted on the book just as was done when fixing in the groove, and exactly opposite each band a point is made on the marked lines. The board is then removed and at the points marked is pierced slanting inwards--about half right angle--with a pointed awl. The board is turned, and sideways, near every first hole, a second hole is made which likewise takes a slanting direction to the board. The bands are drawn through these holes, and to be able to do this the bands must be well pasted and twisted to a point; cutting off the extreme ends of the bands will facilitate the drawing through. To draw the bands quite firm and tight the boards are stood upright in the groove, the bands drawn through as tight as possible, and in this position--that is, with the boards half open--they are knocked down with a hammer upon a firm bed.

The princ.i.p.al thing to be observed is that the bands are pasted fast in the holes, but where they are seen they are knocked down quite flat. The boards are now slowly closed, the ends of the bands projecting at the outside are cut off short, and the book pressed, using zinc plates inside and out.

Fig. 58--English style of lacing boards.

The French method of lacing is not much practised in other countries; it is somewhat more roundabout, and is done before cutting--immediately after glueing up. The boards are each s.h.i.+fted to right or left for cutting and cut together. By so doing, the edges always correspond exactly to the back groove.

Ill.u.s.tration: Pressing Board Profile.

For every band there are three holes bored forming a triangle. The awl holes are directed towards the middle of this triangle. The band must describe this course. The end is pushed under the piece of the band seen on the inside of the board, the bands drawn tight, with board standing upright as before described, also well knocked down in the same way, and the end cut off just beyond the piece under which it is drawn. The book is then pressed between zinc plates.

PART II.

THE COVER.

Formerly only one way of making the cover was known, and that was the gradual making of it on the book itself. This has been considerably changed of late owing to the production of immense quant.i.ties for publishers' requirements. Book and cover are now in many cases made separately, the former being afterwards glued into its cover or "cased."

The publisher's case is nowadays a necessary evil, without which we cannot get along and which we have got to take into account. In spite of it, bindings are still being produced in the old approved way, particularly in small establishments and in high-cla.s.s shops. Before we proceed with the preparation of the cover after the tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, we must know how it is intended to treat the book. In the preceding chapter we have learned the methods of boarding, and this now leads to the methods of covering. Previous to that, however, we would like to give a plan showing the various ways of treating the volumes under consideration, and then the chapter on the covers may be given (see plan on page 94).

VIEW OF THE MOST GENERAL STYLES OF BINDING, SHOWING THE DIVISIONS OF THE WORK.

Table of Headings:

Col. A: Folding. Pulling to pieces.

Col. B: Sewing.

Col. C: Hollandering.

Col. D: Gluing. Pasting.

Col. E: Pressing. Cutting.

Col. F: Marbling and gilding edges.

Col. G: Rounding. Backing.

Col. H: Boarding.

------------------- ------------------------ WORK ON THE BOOK. ------------------------ Forwarding. Second First stage. stage. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Style of Binding. A B C D E F G H ------------------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Brochure -- -- " Paper boards -- -- -- -- -- School books -- -- -- -- Half cloth (bound) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- " (cased) -- -- -- -- -- -- Whole cloth (bound) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- " (cased) -- -- -- -- -- -- Half leather -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Half calf, extra -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Whole leather -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Publishers' cases -- -- -- -- -- --

Table of Headings:

Col. I: Making the case.

Col. J: Covering.

Col. K: Pressing.

Col. L: Preparing the leather.

Col. M: Covering.

Col. N: Fastening the book in the cover.

Col. O: Pasting down.

Col. P: Jointing.

Col. Q: Pasting down end papers.

Col. R: Hand tooling and decorating.

------------------- ------------------------------- WORK ON THE COVER. ------------------------------- Casing. Covering. Finis.h.i.+ng. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Style of Binding. I J K L M N O P Q R ------------------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Brochure -- " Paper boards -- School books -- -- -- Half cloth (bound) -- -- " (cased) -- -- -- -- Whole cloth (bound) -- -- -- " (cased) -- -- -- -- -- Half leather -- -- -- -- Half calf, extra -- -- -- -- -- Whole leather -- -- -- -- Publishers' cases -- -- -- -- -- --

CHAPTER VI.

MAKING THE COVER.

The boards for making the covers are cut the required size exactly as when cutting for glueing; a packing of thin cardboard or thin wrappers is cut for the back. The width of the back from first to last sheet is carefully measured by laying across it a strip of paper, the dividers are adjusted to the measure, and this is transferred to the wrapping paper. The packing is cut to suit the boards in height. When cloth only is used for the cover, the cloth is cut 2 to 2-1/2 cm. longer and about 4 cm. wider than the packing. The width of the back depends upon the question of cost or other consideration. In whole-cloth bindings the cloth is, of course, cut in one piece and 1 to 1-1/2 cm. larger all round than the boards and back taken together. Glue is always used for cloth. As piles of pieces of cloth s.h.i.+ft about in glueing, a touch of glue is given to two corners of the pile and left to dry a little. These corners hold the pieces of cloth in position whilst being glued and prevent the edges from being smeared. In glueing cloth it must be seen that the glue is well rubbed into the grain or artificial indentations.

For covers which have only the back made, the packing is laid upon the middle of the glued cloth and the boards hinged on right and left at side of it, leaving, however, as much s.p.a.ce between as is required by the joint and the thickness of the boards. As a rule, the s.p.a.ce required will be as much as the thickness of the board. In making leather backs one allows a little more.

The cloth back is at once turned in at head and tail after the boards have been laid on, and the cover rubbed down in the groove with the folder.

Turning-in is done by pus.h.i.+ng the side to be operated on a little over the edge of the table, and with the thumbs the cover is pressed over the edges of the boards with a sliding motion, whilst the forefingers hold the cover underneath.

Whole-cloth bindings are turned in in the same way, but in this case the corners must be first cut off obliquely as shown in the ill.u.s.tration.

Fig. 60--Corners cut for turning in.

The cloth is cut off at the corners so close that only as much as the thickness of the board remains. Thick boards have therefore more cloth left at the corners than thin ones.

Fig. 61--Corners: Right and wrong.

The top and bottom edges must be turned in before the fore-edge. At the corners, the cloth is nipped a little with the folder, without, however, making an oblique fold; there should rather be a hollow round turn-over remaining which is only drawn on with the fore-edge, then from the corner slanting to the board.

The edges must always be turned in quite sharp; there must never be a hollow place on the edge of the board. On the other hand, it looks bad if the edges have been much rubbed down with the folder, at least with cloth; it is different with leather.