Novel and excellent press is the American" Boomer"
(Fig. 3). This press consists essentially of screw pressure

applied by a wheel until it is" too great, when a lever working a rachet wheel is brought into operation, and a very intense pressure is obtained-stated by the maker to be greater than that of the hydraulic press. With this press also there is but little jar or shock.
Of the hydraulic press it is not needful to speak, as that is seldom used except in large establishments, and certainly never by amateurs.
The price of a standing-press ranges from £8 for a small wooden press, and from £14 to £26 for an iron one; small Athol, £35; small Boomer, £28.
In most cases (unless, indeed, the purpose is to do a great deal of work) it will not be necessary for the amateur to

purchase a standing-press. If he beat his books effectually, he can make shift without one. They can be screwed up in the laying-press sufficiently tightly to get much smoothness. A large iron copying-press, or even a good wooden napkin-press, are not to be despised as auxiliaries. Mr. F. Ullmer, Cross-street, Farringdon-road, and Mr. Powell, 33A, Ludgate Hill, E. C., keep small iron screw bench-presses (Fig. 4), which would prove very useful, and cost about £5 each.

With every standing-press it is necessary to have a good supply of pressing-boards. These are rectangular pieces of beech, from ½ in. to 1 in. thick, planed perfectly smooth and square, and varying in size, from those capable of receiving a folio to those only large enough for a 12mo (these sizes will be explained in due course).
Next in importance comes the lying (or" laying," as it is invariably called by the professional bookbinders, which form we shall follow) press (Fig. 5). This consists of two large square cheeks of oak or beech connected by two large wood screws and two guide bars. On one side, which is kept uppermost for general purposes, the cheeks are simply planed smooth.

On the other side, however, which is used for cutting purposes, the left-hand cheek has two small pieces, screwed on in such a way as to leave a channel between them, in which the left-hand cheek of the" plough" slides in the operation of cutting. When this side is uppermost, the press is termed a "cutting press" (it is in this position at Fig. 5). This press can be tightly screwed up by the short iron "press-pin" shown at B. When in use, the screws and guide bars should be treated with soft soap and blacklead, or some similar lubricating composition, to allow of their working' freely. If the two small square pins or keys (A, A, Fig. 5) be driven out (which can easily be done with a hammer and a square pin of hard wood), the grooves in. the screws, in which they work, can also be lubricated.

< Binding Tools and Appliances Part 1