Bookbinding

Tools and Equipment

You can bind books using a minimal number of hand tools, and can adapt many things around the home into bookbinding equipment, so do not be put off by the following long list. It has taken me a long time to build up my collection of tools and equipment, and I have managed to bind some very nice books using substitutes such as a vice instead of a finishing press, my knees to hold a book whilst endbanding, and a Black and Decker® WorkmateT instead of a laying press. Many of the pieces of equipment are made of wood, so if you have basic woodworking skills,you could possibly make your own. Be creative!

Hand Tools

Awl

This is similar to a bodkin/bradawl but with a tapered shaft.

Bodkin/pricker/bradawl

A tool to make holes in the spine folds of sections in order for them to be sewn. The shaft of the bodkin/pricker should be roughly the same size as the needle you intend to use for sewing. You can make a perfect pricking tool from an Excel-liteT or X-actoT scalpel handle. Remove the blade and insert a needle instead. Using this tool, you can change the needle to match the one you wish to sew with, for different jobs.

Bone folder

(see also Teflon folder, below) A flat tool made from cow bone, and used for folding, scoring and creasing. Traditionally folders were made of ivory, but now they can be made of bone, plastic or Teflon. Bone folders should be soaked in oil for a few weeks before using them for the first time, to make them non porous and also less brittle. They can be sawn in half with a hacksaw to make individually shaped folders. They need to be sanded to shape - a horribly smelly job - before soaking them in oil. Bone folders are a fundamental piece of bookbinding equipment, and it is good policy to have a few of them, ready rounded and pointed, for specific jobs.

Cutting mats

Ideally self-healing mats should be used, at least A3 in size but A1 would be preferable.

Scissors

A small pair of embroidery scissors is the most useful.

Shears

These are large scissors used for bookbinding. The upper blade has a blunted end, for accurate cutting.

Teflon folder

(see also Bone folder, above) Similar to a bone folder, but made from Teflon. These folders are very useful when making boxes, as you can rub down directly without burnishing the book cloth. Teflon folders must not, however, be sanded down/to shape, as the dust is carcinogenic.

Handtools: (left to right) scissors, shears, two Teflon folders and five different bone folders. Above: tweezers and an awl

Knives

Boot knife/cobbler's knife/clip-point knife

Traditionally a shoemaker's knife. It is used in bookbinding predominantly for slitting paper, but it is a good general purpose knife.

Fish knife

A dining knife, but it makes an excellent tool for cleaning off the residue of old glue from the spines of books, as the metal is soft (particularly if you have one made of silver), and the point of the knife fits perfectly between the spine folds of the sections. It is a very gentle way of cleaning the spine without causing damage to the spine folds. These knives can be found for next to nothing in junk shops and the like.

French paring knife

(see also Paring knife, below) The oldest type of paring knife. It has a rounded blade, which is pushed through leather in a sweeping movement to pare/thin it. It is a difficult knife to use correctly unless you have been trained in France or by a French-trained bookbinder, and many bookbinders use a spokeshave to pare leather instead.

Paring knife

(see also French paring knife, above) Either a right- or left-handed, long-bevelled knife, used for paring the edges of leather. Paring knives can be made from hacksaw blades or bought from bookbinding suppliers. The blade is angled at 12-25 degrees on one side, and is completely flat on the other. It is not to be confused with a chef's paring knife.

Scalpel (and scalpel blades)

A very sharp cutting implement. The best type is by Swann Morton, as the handles are flat and very narrow, enabling accurate trimming. Ideally you should have two handles: a no. 3 and a no. 4, no. 3 being the most useful. You should have an array of blades: 10A, 15 (no. 3 handle) and 24, 25 (no. 4 handle). Other types of scalpel are X-Acto and Excel-lite, but the handles are round and thick, making it difficult to trim right up to an object.

Stanley® knife

A sturdy cutting knife, ideal for cutting through millboard.

Knives: (left to right) scalpel with 15 blade, scalpel with 10A blade, large scalpel with 25 blade, Stanley® knife, fish knife, boot knife

Brushes

Brushes are listed in each project, but it is good policy to have a selection to choose from. For covering large areas I use big paste brushes, and keep one for using Reversible PVA/Evacon-RT and another for paste. Use different sized hog's-hair brushes for gluing small areas: hog's hair is better for this purpose because the bristles are stiff and therefore more controllable than sable or artificial fibre brushes.

Artificial fibre brushes are used for paper repair because the bristles do not tear through the delicate Japanese tissues as would be the case if hog's-hair brushes were used - but are still firm enough to control when pasting.

Brushes: (left to right) stencil brush, Prolene brush, two hog-hair brushes and three paste brushes

Measuring and Engineering Equipment

Dividers (ideally the spring-loaded variety) A tool used to measure and divide accurately.

Engineer's square or carpenter's square

An 'L'-shaped square set at 90 degrees, used for checking that things are square and for marking right angles.

Non-slip rule or safety rule

A heavy, rubber-backed rule used for cutting against, for instance when cutting millboard to size.

Steel rulers

Used for measuring and for cutting against. It is advisable to have both a 300mm (12in) and a 600mm (24in) ruler.

Measuring and engineering equipment: (left to right) set square, engineer's squares, dividers, mini spirit level. Above: 300mm/12in steel ruler, 600mm/24in steel ruler, non-slip straight-edge

Weighting and Pressing Equipment

Barrier sheets

Sheets of thin (0.25mm) acetate, styrene or suchlike, used as a barrier to stop the transference of moisture. A4 is a useful size, though the sheets must be larger than the book-block.

Knocking-down iron

A large block of iron of approximately 250x100mm (10x4in). It is used to knock down laced-on tapes, and as a heavy weight.

Pressing boards

Clean, perfectly flat and smooth boards used either side of books/paper/board for pressing and weighting. Ideally these should be made from formaldehyde-free MDF approximately 10mm (? in) deep and at least A4 in size. Melamine-faced boards are not ideal as they trap moisture, nor are wooden boards with obvious grain, as the grain pattern can be pressed into the work.

Tins

These are thin (0.5mm) metal sheets, used for pressing. They can also be made from aluminium or zinc, but tin is preferred as it is a harder metal. The 'tins' should be perfectly flat and smooth, and should never be used for cutting on.

Weighting and pressing equipment: (left to right) pressing boards, knocking-down iron, weights, styrene barrier sheets, and metal and aluminium 'tins'

Miscellaneous Equipment

Backing boards

Wooden wedge-shaped boards, usually made of beech, used for backing books. They should be approximately 300mm (12in) long and 130mm (5in) wide. The top edge of the boards is shaped at an oblique angle (65 degrees). Brass-edged backing boards are also available, but I do not recommend them because they do not seem to give a good enough shoulder, the brass is hard and can cut through the paper when backing, and it also scratches and scrapes your backing hammer, see below.

Backing hammer

A hammer with a domed face and a claw. Originally a shoemaker's hammer, it is used predominantly for rounding and backing but is also used to hammer down the holes after lacing on.

Chisel

Choose a standard 12mm (½ in) chisel; it is used to make a slot in the portfolio case for the ribbon ties.

Wooden mallet

Used to strike tools that have wooden or plastic handles, such as a chisel, an awl and suchlike. A metal hammer would split these types of handle.

Miscellaneous equipment: (left to right) backing boards, backing hammer, chisel and wooden mallet

Sewing Equipment

Needles

Traditionally size 18 bookbinding needles would be used, but I find these are too thick, and make very big sewing holes. Instead use darning needles between sizes 5 and 9, 7 being the most useful.

Pricking cradle

A hand-made piece of equipment used to hold a section whilst holes are pricked through the spine fold. It ensures perfect positioning of the holes. (See 'Making a Pricking Cradle', page 150, for instructions on how to make one.)

Sewing frame

A wooden frame made of a flat bed, two upright turned wooden screw posts and a wooden bar. You should always use a sewing frame for sewing books that are to have leather bindings or for 'best work', as it keeps the tension even whilst sewing. If you neither have, nor have access to, a...