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Noticed something odd at the Morgan Library bindery demo
Caught a bookbinding demo at the Morgan Library in NYC last Saturday and the guy doing it was using a 19th century finishing press with a brass fillet that had to weigh 4 pounds. He said most folks today skip the hand tooling because of time, but watching him do a single gold line in one pass made me think about my own glue pot setup. Anyone else here still use a heated finishing tool instead of a stamping press for spines?
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samflores1mo ago
That brass fillet catches your eye, but my real change came with a cheap leather strop from a flea market. I used to fight with a dull tool, pressing too hard and getting that ghost line that jumps off the spine. Once I started giving the fillet a quick drag on the strop before each pass, the gold laid down smooth and even, no second attempt needed. Same with my old pallet knife, I keep it honed to a mirror edge and it cuts through the finish like butter.
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