Page:The Art of Bookbinding, Zaehnsdorf, 1890.djvu/94

64 the cutting boards are in their proper place, and the mill-boards will then fall down. The book and cutting boards must be held very tightly or they will slip and, if the book has been lowered into the press accurately, everything will be quite square. The press must now be screwed up tightly, and the foredge ploughed; when the book is taken out of the press it will resume its original rounding, the foredge will have the same curve as the back, and if cut truly there will be a proper square all round the edges. This method is known as "cutting in boards."

If the amateur or workman has a set of some good work which he wishes to bind uniformly, but which has already been cut to different sizes, and he does not wish to cut the large ones down to the smaller size, he must not draw the small ones in, as he may possibly not be able to pull the boards down the required depth to cut the book, but he must leave the boards loose, cut the head and tail, then draw the boards in, and turn up and cut the foredge.

"Cutting out of boards" is by a different method. The foredge is cut before gluing up, if for casing, taking the size from the case, from the back to the edge of the board in the foredge. The book is then glued up, rounded, and put into the press for half an hour, just to set it. The size is again taken from the case, allowing for squares head and tail. The book having been marked is cut, and then backed. Cloth cases are made for most periodicals, and may be procured from their publishers at a trifling cost, which varies according to the size of the book and the amount of blocking that is upon them.

This method of cutting out of boards is adopted in many of the cheap shops (even leather shops). It is a method, however, not to be commended.

To test if the book be cut true it is only necessary to turn the top leaf back level to the back of the book and