Bookbinding and The Care of Books
Douglas Cockerell with Drawings by Noel Rooke and other
Illustrations New York 1902
Book binding Chapter IX Part 1
guided by the runners on the press, is moved
backwards and forwards. A slight turn of the
screw at each movement brings the knife forward.
In cutting mill-boards which are very hard, the
screw would be turned out little each time. If press
and plough are in proper order, that part of the
board which projects above the cheek of the press
should be cut off, leaving the edges perfectly
square and straight. If the edge of the press has
been damaged, or is out of “truth,” a cutting board
knife to run on. The first quality of the best black board made from old rope is the best to use
for “extra” binding. It will be found to be very hard, and not easily broken or bent at the
corners. In selecting the thickness suitable for any given book, the size and thickness of the
volume should be taken into account.
rather over thick board, perhaps with a view to
bulk out the volume. For manuscripts, or other
books on vellum, it is best to use wooden boards,
which should be clasped. For their stability they
form a kind of permanent press, in which the
vellum leaves are kept flat. In a damp climate like
that of England, vellum, absorbing moisture from
the atmosphere, soon cockles up unless it is held
tightly in some way; and when it is once cockled,
the book cannot be made to shut properly, except
with very special treatment. Then also dust and
damp have ready access to the interstices of the
crinkled pages, resulting in the disfigurement so
well known and so deplored by all lovers of fine
books.
For large books a “made” board, that is, two
boards pasted together, is better than a single
board of the same thickness. In making boards a
thin and a thick board should be passed together,
will not be necessary to put a double lining on the inside of such boards, as a thin board will
always draw a thick one.
If mill-boards are used they are first cut roughly to size with the mill-board
Shears, screwed up in the “lying press. The straight arm of the shears is the one to fix in the
press, for if the bent arm be undermost, the knuckles are apt to be severely bruised against the
end. A better way of fixing the shears is shown at fig. 45. Any blacksmith will bend the arm of
the shears and make the necessary clips. This method saves trouble and considerable wear and
tear to the “lying” press. Where a great many boards are needed and may be quickly cut in a
board machine, but for “extra” work they should be further trimmed in the plough, in the same
way as those cut by the shears. After the boards have been roughly cut to size, they should have
one edge cut straight with the plough. To do this one or two pairs of boards are knocked up to
the back and inserted in the cutting side of the press, with those edges projecting which are to
be cut off, and behind them, as a “cut against,” a board protected by a waste piece of mill board.
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