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Wooden Book Press

I made this basic press, based roughly on a design in The Craft of
Bookbinding, by Manly Banister. The book recommends making the
press out of hardwood, which would have been expensive and hard
to work with. Instead, I made it out of pine, which was much
cheaper. I knew the pine would eventually warp under a
combination of moisture and pressure. However, I felt that by the
time it did I would know whether bookbinding was a passing fad or a serious enough
hobby to spend more money on.

The basic design is made up of two flat boards with holes drilled in all four corners.
To provide a smooth pressing surface, the inner surfaces of the boards should be
lined with hardboard. The pressure is provided by wing nuts on threaded rods.

Materials Required
For the press

Plank of wood
It should be at least 15mm thick and large enough to make the two plates
below.
Hardboard
This will give the pressing surfaces smooth surfaces. You'll need enough to
make two of the plates below.
Threaded rod
Get the thickest threaded rods that you can get hardware for (in my case,
12mm). My hardware store sells threaded rod in meter lengths, which can be
cut down with a hacksaw (or a hacksaw blade on jigsaw - don't cut this way
without eye protection)
4 wing nuts
To fit your threaded rod
4 cap nuts
These are like hex nuts with a smooth end that cups the end of the threaded
rod.
8 washers
To fit your threaded rod

For a sewing frame attachment

2 more wing nuts
To fit your threaded rod and support the crossbar.
2 eyebolts
 They need eyes large enough to fit over the threaded rods
Aluminium tubing
It should be large enough to fit over the threaded ends of the eyebolts and long
enough to stretch between the upright threaded rods.

Construction
Here is a diagram of the main part of the press -
the plates. You will need two in wood and two in
hardboard. Click on the diagram to get an
enlarged version with measurements. The
features in red are optional unless you're
making the metal press, and those in blue are
needed to use the press as a sewing frame
You'll notice that there are no diameter
measurements for the corner holes - drill them
just larger than your threaded rod, whatever
size that ends up being.

Glue the hardboard to the wood surfaces. You can use the press itself to apply
pressure to the glued joint.

Assemble the hardware on the threaded rods as below.

1. Threaded rod
2. Wing nut
3. Washers
4. Wooden plates
5. Hardboard plates
6. Cap nut

* The red arrow indicates where the book goes in pressing.

Lessons Learned in Construction

When I originally constructed the press, I cut my threaded rods very long (33cm).
These proved more effort than they were worth, and I subsequently used my
hacksaw to cut them down to 16cm. Unless you seriously anticipate pressing
multiple editions most of the time, the extra length of rod is a serious annoyance.
They complicate storage, catch on everything, and mean that it takes a long time to
screw wing nuts down. If you do want to retain the capacity to do enormous pressing
jobs, I would suggest having two sets of rods, one long and one short.

As I anticipated, the press warped after about four months' continuous use. But by
then I was interested enough in binding to replace it with a metal press.

All images and text © Abi Sutherland 2004