Rebecca Edition Run Part Three: Rounding & Backing, Endbands, Spine Linings and Boards

Part three in this series of blog posts shows images of the processes the edition run bindings went through in the latter part of the forwarding process. In fact, part three shows everything up until the point where the book blocks were ready to be covered in leather. So you just need to hold out through this slightly boring post (there are lots of pictures of waste sheets, “naked” book spines and sanding to contend with here…) before we can get to the good stuff in the next post: the colour and embroidery on the covering leather!

These posts about the early forwarding stages of the book shows just how much work goes into a binding, most of which won’t actually be seen by the eye, but the better it is done during these early stages, the better the book will perform once it is covered in the leather.

The boards for the binding were made up at this stage, with all the pieces of paper and board cut on my board cutter (above left image). They were constructed by laminating the following together, listed in their positions from the inside of the board to the outside: Kraft paper, 1.5mm Gemini board, 145gsm paper, 1.5mm Gemini board, Zerkall. The glue was applied to the surface of the material closest to the text block and I worked my way out, pressing after each lamination. For one-off books, I always make my boards oversized, and I plough them to the exact size afterwards. However, knowing that I had multiple boards to create, I cut each of the materials to the exact size required (225mm height x 137mm height) in order to save time having to do this additional step in the process.

Once the boards were laminated and dry, I was able to mark the thickness of the board onto the spine edge of the waste sheet on the text block using a set of dividers (above right image). A pencil line was drawn across the waste sheet and this would then be used as a guide for creating shoulders during the backing process, in order for the boards to sit flush (shoulders are the folds in the back of a book that hold the boards in place). The spine and the head of the book were then knocked up square and the book placed between boards with a weight on top. I then applied a thin layer of PVA glue to the spine, making sure I worked it in between the sections with a finger tip, before leaving it to dry. I was then ready to round the spine of the book.

“Rounding” a book refers to shaping the spine ahead of backing. In order to do this, I laid the book flat on the bench with the foredge facing me. I supported the text block with my left hand, with my thumb a few sections down into the book and my fingers on top of the waste sheet. I eased some of the upper sections forward, so that the spine of the book was drawn towards me at an angle. I then struck the spine of the book with the face of a backing hammer, working my way along it with the strikes. I then turned the book over and treated the other side in the same way, and continually turned from one side to the other until I was happy with the shape: an arc about the third of the curve of a circle. Once I was happy with the round, and had checked that it was uniform across the spine, it was time to move onto backing the book.

“Backing” refers to the process of shaping and reinforcing the spine of a sewn text block by using a backing hammer to fold the edges of the sections over each other, creating a joint where the book covers will be attached, essentially creating a rounded and defined spine for the book. This also helps to deal with the swell of the spine from the thread used to sew up the book sections. To back a book it is necessary to have a pair of backing boards which are wooden boards used in bookbinding to line up and shape the book block. They are typically made from a hard wood and are often faced with metal. 

I marked the central point of the text block on the waste sheet, and lined this up with the central screw head on my metal-edged backing boards (below image). The topmost metal edges of the boards were also lined up with the pencil line I had marked across the waste sheet for the shoulders, and the book was secured in this position using small pieces of masking tape, stuck lower down on the waste sheet, to hold the text block inside the boards.

The thick text block, along with the chunky backing boards, were quite a handful as one unit. I therefore made sure that the cheeks of my laying press were open the correct amount so that when I placed the book in the press it slid into the correct position and I could then quickly tighten it without the book dropping through!

I used a piece of dampened cotton wool to soften the PVA on the spine a little. I always try to start off the backing process using the strength in my thumbs initially, working and splaying the sections out as much as I can before starting to use tools. For this particular book that was tough due to the size of the spine, so it was necessary to also use a bone folder to help with this. The following four photographs show the gradual movement of the sections into new positions using a combination of thumbs, a bone folder and a backing hammer.

The aim is to work the sections from the centre out so that there is a gradual shaping of the spine that is equal on both sides.

A backing hammer is a specialised hammer with a rounded head used to shape and round the spine of a book block and is a key tool for achieving a neat and consistent spine on a bound book. Once I was happy with the shape formed by the bone folder, I started to gently strike the spine with the back of the hammer, holding it at a slanted angle and beating the sheets well over towards the backing boards using a raking motion. I started in the center and worked my way out systematically, treating each side in the same way.

This process took a lot of effort and I had to limit the number I could do on one day due to fatigue in my arm and wrist, the most I did in any one day was six.

Once I was happy with the shape, I was able to remove the text block from the press. I carefully peeled the pieces of masking tape that had been holding the book in position from the back boards (below right image).

Although my metal-edged backing boards are shaped at an angle, once the book is removed the shoulder still doesn’t quite sit at the desired 90 degree angle we want for the boards to slot into. An extra step is required to achieve this. Using a metal rule held tightly against the shoulder, I first use my thumbs to pull the shoulder over further (below left image). The same is repeated using a bone folder (below right image), resulting in a nice 90 degree shoulder for the boards to slot into.

Once the text block has its shoulders formed, it is important to always keep boards in position so they don’t get squashed or crushed.

The text block was then put back in the laying press, in between boards, and the whole spine glued up with PVA (below left image). Once that PVA layer was dry, a piece of linen measuring 180mm long by 81mm wide was glued to the spine to strengthen it in the round (below right image).

As the foredge and bottom edges of this book were deckled, they didn’t require ploughing. “Ploughing” refers to the process of trimming the edges of a book block using a specialised tool called a “bookbinding plough,” which essentially acts like a hand plane, allowing a binder to precisely cut the edges of a book while it’s held firmly in a press, creating smooth and even cuts. I don’t own a guillotine to do such processes so the top edge of the book was going to need to be ploughed by hand.

A text block is typically ploughed before the rounding and backing of the spine takes place, but given the scale of this book I changed the order slightly. The ploughing for me was going to be easier to do once the shoulders had been set so that there would be little movement in the text block. I tested this out on the prototype and it worked fine (there is the potential for the shoulder areas of the text block to catch whilst ploughing if done the way I was proposing but I fortunately didn’t have an issue with this).

The top edge of the text block, where I wanted to plough to, was marked with a pencil line on the outer waste sheet using a large set square to ensure the cut was perpendicular to the shoulder of the book. The book was placed into my laying press in between scrap boards, and the blade of the plough was lined up with the line I had drawn on the waste sheet.

Using cutting motions in the direction of the spine edge to the foredge, I began slicing through the pages with the plough. The blade position turns with the movement of the plough handle, so after each pass the handle is spun a little to reposition the blade for the next cut. Due to the thickness of the book, I also had to adjust the blade position in the cheek of the plough throughout the cutting of each individual book (thankfully this is easy on my plough by using a big screw that is positioned on the top of it).

Once I had ploughed the whole of the edge, I then lightly sanded it with some Abranet, ultimately producing a lovely contrast between the flat top edge and the deckled foredge of each book.

The next step was to work on the endbands for the bindings. One of the most distinctive features of a high-end binding is the addition of endbands. These small decorative elements are found at the head and tail of the book block and provide both aesthetic value and structural support. Time wouldn’t permit me to hand-sew silk endbands for this edition so I opted to make leather-covered ones with thread detail attached instead.

Made endbands are typically made using a core of thread or cord, which is covered in leather and then stuck to the spine of the book at the head and tail. Due to the scale of the book, I opted for a 4mm cord for the centre, which I stiffened with PVA glue by pinning the long length of cord between some chairs in my studio and rubbing the glue into it before letting it dry (below left and centre image). The cord was then cut into manageable sized lengths (below right image).

I prepared some off-cut pieces of the pistachio-coloured bull-skin leather, the same that had been used to print the rhododendron flowers onto for the cover. They were cut to the correct width and pared on one edge using a French paring knife (below left image). I also prepared some small pieces of the pink leather, which would be added on to of the bull-skin as detail (below right image).

The pared edge of the bull-skin had PVA glue applied to it (below left image), and this was wrapped around a piece of the cord and left to dry (below right image).

The endband was then cut square at each end (below left image), and the piece of prepared pink leather stuck on top in a central position (below right image).

I then added some thread detail using silk threads. The pink leather was bordered by a strip of lovely grass green thread either side, with the thread being pushed through under the cord with a needle and the ends secured with PVA glue.

I then added a central maroon thread, and two pale green threads either side of this. Again, the threads ends were cut short, frayed out and secured down with PVA glue.

The leather endbands were then glued to the head and tail of the text blocks using PVA glue.

I then cut some pieces of thick linen, 190mm long by 160mm wide which were the correct length to sit in the space between the endbands on the spine. I glued these in place and left then to dry – the overhanging length of linen either side of the spine would later be used to attach the boards. I secondary sewed the linen layer on the spine to the text block through the fold at pages 70 and 487, using 18/3 linen thread sewn through six sewing stations. The sewing holes were pre-pricked with a needle pricker.

The two ends of the secondary sewing thread were pulled taut and knotted together on the spine edge to secure them.

Finally, two pieces of Kraft paper were cut for each book: the first 80mm wide by 193mm long (glued in between the endbands), and a second layer 80mm wide by 245mm long (longer that the length of the spine so that it overhung). Once dry, the Kraft outer layer was sanded lightly to help remove the irregularities in the spine (below right image).

I had already prepared the laminated boards for each of the books, but I still needed to bevel them on three of the edges. Beveled boards are book boards with angled edges that are cut or sanded and help the book look more refined and pleasing to the eye. I initially used an English paring knife to remove material from the boards using cutting motions. The aim was to take off enough material so that the inner laminated layer of 145gsm paper just became visible on the outer edge of the boards (below central image).

Once this material had been removed, I evened out the bevel in the boards using a sanding mouse (below right image). Also known as a palm sander, this power tool typically features a small, triangular or rectangular sanding pad that vibrates or oscillates rapidly when powered on. I did this stage outside due to the dust created when using the sander.

The boards were then ready to be attached to the book blocks. To allow enough space for the joints, I added a spacer to the inner edge of the boards by sticking some little pieces of 1mm book board to this area with PVA glue.

The boards were then positioned correctly and the linen joint was stuck down onto the outer face of the board and left to dry (below left image).

I then applied a hollow to each spine, made from archival Kraft with one layer on the spine and two layers off the spine (otherwise referred to as a “one-on, two-off” hollow). A “hollow” refers to a paper tube or space created between the spine of the book block and the inside of the cover spine, allowing the book to open more easily without putting stress on the covering material, therefore providing flexibility when opening the book. This was made overlong, and stuck down with PVA glue (below left image).

The book was then capped up with a layer of paper and then a layer of cling film (below upper right image). “Capping up” refers to the process of covering the text block and is usually done to safeguard the exposed edges of the book while applying the cover and during the finishing stages of binding. The cling film acts as a moisture barrier against the paste when covering the book.

To mask the linen joint on the front and back boards so it wouldn’t be visible under the covering leather, it was then necessary to add an extra later of watercolour paper to the outer face of both boards. These pieces of paper were moistened on the front with water to relax the paper a little, and then I applied a thin layer of PVA to the book boards before joining them and rubbing down with a Teflon folder (below left image).

I also applied a layer of the green leather to the spine, stuck skin-side down. This leather had a central recess cut from it which the covering leather would be moulded into for the title label to sit in on the covered book (upper right image).

The very final stages in preparing these book blocks for covering where to refine the outer spine leather and boards using sandpaper. The spine leather was sanded to remove any lumps and bumps, and to ensure an even and tapered transition from the spine through onto the boards.

The overhanging spine layers were then finally trimmed off with sharp scissors, level with the end of the endbands below.

Part Four in this series of blog posts will go through the stages of embroidering the cover leather, and how this was the applied to the prepared text blocks.