The finisher's tools are: Gold cushion, gold knife, scraper, steel; and furthermore, for hand-tooling, letter-box, fillets, rolls, ornaments, and letters, all very fine and very dear tools, which must be kept in special cupboards and boxes so as to protect from possible injury. The higher the class of work done in the shop, the larger must be the stock of these tools.
These are the tools for general work and which no shop could be without; but what makes our modern workshop so different in character from what it was in former times are the many mechanical contrivances without the aid of which practical and profitable work is now inconceivable.
The most necessary iron ally of the bookbinder is the cutting machine, either with lever or wheel action, the former for light, the latter for heavy work. Machine manufacturers vie with one another in their efforts to introduce inventions and improvements; but to-day it would seem impossible to make a discovery likely to be of any importance.
The second most necessary machine is for cutting boards. Those with a wooden pedestal and table are not so much to be recommended as those made entirely of iron.
When gilding in large quantities has to be done, a blocking press is necessary; lever action is always to be preferred to the balance or rotary action, the latter being of advantage for blocking or relief work, and also for fancy paper work. Even the best blocking press has some drawback; to be of any value, it necessitates quite an arsenal of plates and dies for blocking, and also calls for the constant replenishing and renewing of the same.
The standing press is used for heavy pressure applied to large batches of books. An iron press with two uprights will be found sufficient even for heavy use in most bookbinderies.
The rounding machine is now out of use. The binder rounds the back of the book with a hammer, and then it is backed in a backing machine, which puts the ridges on both sides of the book. The latest machine now being used in some of our large binding shops for this purpose is called the rounding and backing machine, which completely rounds and backs the book.
The rolling machine of to-day is lighter than were the first models of this machine; besides, the work is in many cases unnecessary, as modern printed books are generally carefully rolled before they leave the printer.
The wire-stitching machine came into use in England about 20 years ago, but is now abandoned. The wire-stapling machine is used for pamphlets, school-books, &c. Eyeleting and round-cornering machines are smaller appliances, whilst the backing machine mentioned above is a very useful ally. Machines for scraping and paring leather are used least of all, as there is little for them to do in a small bookbindery.
The foregoing is not an exhaustive list of our tools and machines, but we will bring to a close these introductory remarks on the usual appliances, as mention will be made of the others in their proper place.
PART I.
FORWARDING.
CHAPTER I.
General Preparatory Work.
Books reach the bookbinder either in the sheets just as they left the printing press or folded and stitched. This folding and stitching is, of course, part of the binder's work, so we will begin with the sheet as it left the press; this sheet must in the first place be folded ready for further manipulations.
By folding we mean the arranging of the parts of a sheet in the order of succession required for reading. To facilitate this work the printer marks not only the page numbers on each sheet but also gives each sheet a number, these numbers being known as signatures. Every sheet is printed on both sides; the front side is called the first side, the other side the perfecting impression. Both sides are marked by a number or (more rarely) a letter. This mark stands at the right-hand side at foot of first page and is called the first signature; the second signature takes the same position on the second side of the sheet, that is, on page 3. Take any book haphazard and you will find the true signature on the first and the second signature on the perfecting impression, always in the same position. In order to show at a glance whether the signature is the first or the second, the compositor adds an asterisk, thus—
| 1 | 1* | or | A | A* | |
| first | second | first | second | signature. |
We will see later that there is still another reason for the signature in the place mentioned.
When the sheets are to be folded, all the sheets of an impression are laid one on top of the other and all lying the same way. The modern quick-printing presses gather the sheets automatically, so that a sheet is rarely laid the wrong way, excepting through want of care in looking over them, or in the knocking-up in the printing office a few sheets or a whole batch are thrown out of order. According as we are dealing with folio, 4to, or 8vo format we must order the gathering of the sheets and, of course, the position of the signature. The commonest format is 8vo, that is to say, the size which gives eight printed leaves (or 16 pages) to the sheet. At the same time, the method of folding this format is the most economical and includes the others as well.
When folding 8vo sheets the pile lies in front of the worker in such a way that all the second signatures lie uppermost at the foot of the outside right page and all the first signatures at the left on the under side of the sheet; or, in other words, all first-side leaves are turned face downward and perfecting impressions face upward.
Printed sheets are never folded according to the edges of the paper, but always registered by the printed columns or the page numbers. The novice finds this by holding the sheet against the light, but the experienced worker is able to fold the sheet without so much as lifting it from the table.
The manipulations for the folding of an 8vo sheet are as follows: The right hand holds the paper-folder and creases down the folds, the left gathers the sheets and moves them about aided by the right.
1.—The right hand takes hold of the sheet at the right a little below the middle, brings it over to the left, when it is taken by the left hand and properly adjusted according to page numbers or corner of printed page (Fig. 2).
2.—Crease with folder from bottom to top (the folder is held slanting to the crease, but the edge is used).
3.—With the right hand the right and the left hand the left of the folded sheet are taken