Martini Book Sewing Machine Help
Hey all,
wondering if anyone in the tristate area had experience with these machines and was willing to help out. We purchased a Martini FK-IV from Hamburg, Germany and have been trying to get it operating. It runs nice and the machine is clean, but we aren’t sure how to set it up properly for a clean and consistent stitch. We are as well, having difficulty figuring out how to cut apart the book blocks so they maintain their integrity and do not fall apart. Any advice would be greatly welcomed. As well as any manuals or videos. Thank you!
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Put your request here, free of charge:
https://drukwerkindemarge.org/bericht-plaatsen/rubriek-techniek/
You can do it in English, several people I know own and use Muller Martinis, you reach European (Dutch, Belgian, German) users…
Not an expert, so disregard any wrong thoughts, but if the machine feeds each signature as it is sewn, when you have sewn the endpaper perhaps you could drop a spacer of some sort, such as a piece of 3/4” wood, onto the sewn book and adjust the pile before starting the next book. That way you would have a length of thread at each end of each book which can be secured in the finished binding. Also, if you compressed the stack and applied a coat of PVA to the spines before cutting apart that would fix the sewn blocks.
Bob - Just a hand binder
Hi, I bind my books on a Smyth National Book Sewer (Smyth circa 1908 and for you sticklers out there the instructions read SMYTH not Smythe)…it is the grandfather generation of the Muller Martini designs but the core workings are similar. I read Bob’s suggestions and they are both good ideas (a spacer between each book and PVA - I use a small squeeze bottle with a tiny opening and try to keep it close to the threads and the stitch opening, I don’t paint it over the whole spine-I put it on after the blocks are sewn and sitting on the moving book support base)..I have to mechanically do a second stitch without a signature after I sew the end sheets on each block to secure the stitch so they are less likely to come apart. Also I have found that if you use an insert between the book blocks (like a corrugated piece of cardboard the same size as the book block) it is good to carefully apply some shiny packing tape to the topside and top edges of the cardboard so the pva won’t adhere to the cardboard and glue it to the end sheets. Good Luck, Ke (HOOPSNAKE PRESS)