Bookbinding Jig

Re Your first paragraph , second line, i.e.*will not win me etc.,* looks pretty good as a first effort, perhaps the acquisition of a tiny hand held Belt Sander, for where the 2-3, pieces meet, O.M.G. must be a professional *Chippie*

Plus throw away the steel cross head (probably twin start) screws, and fit beautiful Brass Traditional flat screwdriver Screws, countersunk, of course.!!!

No difference to the end result/product but esthetically pleasing after.

According to how many sections Your are sewing together, and if You are tying off, on the outside of the Spine , perhaps, Bookbinding tape as wrap around to cover the stitching, for example >Blood Red< or >sinister Black< *!*!*. There is a mischievous quip in there somewhere.

Offered tongue in cheek, of course, but by way of saying We have admired and appreciate.

My eventual plan is to hand the prototype over to someone who can do the job better. I got a nice mahogany board or two that could be used.

That’s not a bad idea at all. I could see how it speeds up the process. No matter how you do it, hand binding is always labor intensive, but your device will certainly reduce the effort required.

I make a lot of little chap-books and booklets, and bind them just the opposite: I’ve built a “binding hole piercer” attachment for my arbor press…. sort of like a Rossback machine. It’s basically a saddle with a side-guide, and an end-guide….. you just set the collated book onto the saddle, and pierce a hole with a large needle mounted on the arbor-press ram. One stroke, results in a nice, clean hole. Then move the book to the next stop and pierce the next and so forth. Then you sew through the pierced holes. It’s a lot easier than drilling or punching by hand.

I would post a picture of it…. but it’s under a pile of other stuff at the moment… .AND it’s made of recycled plywood…. and has zinc phillips head screws, that don’t match…. and the guide marks are simple sharpie-marker lines… .and the arbor press is a cheap chinese made variety…. and it’s not very pretty. ;) (it does work, though)

on a semi-related note: DNC #3 pearled cotton, such as used by needlepoint ladies, is GREAT for bindinging… plus you can get it at any craft store, or even Walmart.

…. and if you are wondering how a curmudeonly printer might know about DNC Pearled Cotton Needlepoint Thread, you may not want to snicker.

Rosey Grier…the former professional football player for the Rams… and later a Secret Service Agent who wrestled Sirhan Sirhan to the ground after the Robert Kennedy shooting… and a USO performer in Vietnam… and a singer/songwriter… and a Gubernatorial Candidate in California…. was a BIG needlepoint fan, and he loved DNC Cotton thread. So don’t be knockin it! ;)

(actually my wife gave me the thread from her stockpile! )

rosey.jpg

Your idea sounds like a better option, actually. I wonder, would it be feasible to put a cross-bar on the end of the ram and then put “needle holders” in the cross bar? You could punch all three or all five holes in one pass. It could even be done while the folio is still flat. Just a random theory…

As to Rosey Grier and DMC pearled cotton… I am using DMC No. 5 red embroidery floss. For the next project “Ocean Creature” I will be using No. 8. in blue.

I did not know that Rosey Grier had been in the US Secret Service and certainly did not know about his dealings with Sirhan Sirhan. I first became aware of Rosey Grier when he was an actor playing opposite Fess Parker on the old Daniel Boone television series. Very talented man, Mr. Grier. If memory serves, he is also a Baptist minister.

Involvment with sewing, needlepoint, macrame and other textile arts & crafts does not cause me to make assumptions about anyone’s masculinity or the lack thereof. For much of my life, I was a soldier. Lots of soldiers know how to use needle & thread. Sometimes we repair uniforms, sometimes we repair each other. I even once knew a former third reich soldier who became a tailor after the war. He did a better job on my uniforms than I could do.

there is one correction to be made: Rosey Grier was not in the Secret Service. He was employed by Robert Kennedy as a personal bodyguard at the time of the shooting. He DID however, wrestle Sirhan Sirhan to the ground and disarm him. (sorry for the error)

About the crossbar idea…. it is possible. I’ll ponder that one.