Library Bookbinding Part 17

1 generous fourth teaspoonful of oil of clove.

4 cups of boiling water.

Mix the flour well with a little cold water, beating until perfectly smooth. Add the alum dissolved in a little cold water. Pour on two cups of the boiling water, strain through a wire sieve. Add the remainder of the boiling water and cook, stirring constantly until partially clear.

Add the oil of clove and put into a clean, covered earthen jar. The paste thickens as it cools. Take out small quant.i.ties for use. The materials for this paste cost less than 2 cents for a hundred books.

To all pastes it is best to add a spoonful of carbolic acid or formaldehyde to prevent spoiling. A small quant.i.ty of corrosive sublimate will make paste unattractive to bugs.

Although home-made pastes are cheapest, they are a bother to make and the saving of expense over commercial pastes is not worth while except in the very small library. Besides paste in bulk which can be obtained from the local binder there are many kinds of commercial paste. Some may be bought in powders; others, designed primarily for mounting photographs, in gla.s.s jars; still others in cans ready to use. The powders are cheap, keep indefinitely, but when needed must be mixed with water, and as a rule are not very satisfactory. Higgins' and other photo-mounting pastes are expensive and dry too quickly, but keep indefinitely. In the long run the most satisfactory pastes are those in tin cans with tight lids; these are ready to use, do not dry up and the preservative which they contain keeps them indefinitely. The Arabol Manufacturing Company, 100 William Street, New York, makes several varieties. Their "Sphinx" paste, which gives excellent satisfaction, can be bought in six one-gallon can lots at 75 cents a gallon, f. o. b., and in larger quant.i.ties at slightly reduced rates. Great care should be used to avoid having the paste so thin that it makes the paper stretch.

Although paste is a necessity in every library, there is a tendency to use too much of it, and to use it when it is not necessary. Ordinarily it will injure the book less than other adhesives, but it should be used sparingly on books that must be rebound. When applied to the backs of loose signatures they become brittle; then when the book goes to the bindery a much larger amount must be cut from the back than would otherwise be the case.

If paste is to be applied to part of the paper only, the easiest way is to lay the paper on a board, place another piece of paper over it, leaving exposed the surface to which paste is to be applied. It can be spread more evenly with the finger, faster with a soft, long-handled brush. The larger libraries will find a pasting-machine a great time-saver. Book labels, book pockets, new end papers to freshen soiled books--anything which needs to have the entire surface covered--is pasted on the machine in one-tenth the time required by hand.

_Glue._ For ordinary mending, glue should never be used. (See Materials, p. 82.) Flexible glue, however, is a necessity for recasing and recovering books. It keeps indefinitely, can be used easily by those who acquire the knack of using it, and it sticks everlastingly.

_Mucilage._ Mucilage has no real place in a library. If paste is not the suitable material to use, subst.i.tute flexible glue, never mucilage.

CLOTH

_Cheesecloth._ This well-known cloth is used when pressing down paper or book labels after they have been pasted and applied, and for quickly cleaning the hands of superfluous paste or glue. It should be cut in pieces of convenient size and not used many times before being discarded.

_Jaconet._ A thin, strong muslin will be needed for guarding sections and occasionally for forming joints. Jaconet is the best and may be obtained from a few library binders.

_Canton flannel._ A medium grade of this cloth is used for back-lining.

_Book cloth._ If recovering or re-siding is done the library must have a supply of book cloths in the shades preferred. For re-siding, any cloth in grade 1 (see page 75) is sufficiently good. For recovering cloths in the grade which meets the requirements of the Bureau of Standards are none too good. If much recovering is done it is best to buy the cloth by the piece.

_Crepeline._ This very thin cotton cloth, also called mousseline, through which print is easily read, is sometimes pasted over the entire surface of pages which receive very hard usage, and which would otherwise be literally thumbed to pieces long before the rest of the book.

_Specially prepared cloth._ The g.a.y.l.o.r.d Bros., of Syracuse, and the Multum in Parvo Binder Co., of Philadelphia, manufacture hinges made of cloth. While these are often useful they cannot be used under any and all conditions, as one might be led to believe from the claims of the manufacturers.

PAPERS

_Onion skin._ Onion skin is a very thin, tough paper, used for mending torn pages, ill.u.s.trations, etc., where print must show through. While it may be obtained gummed on one side, very little is gained, for it is nearly as easy to paste the ungummed onion skin as to moisten the gummed. For tears which do not run into the text; a thin, strong bond paper will be satisfactory.

_Kraft or manila paper._ A 30x40 60-pound kraft paper makes good end papers in recasing and recovering. A 70-pound manila paper may be used instead of kraft, if desired.

_Red rope manila._ This is a very strong, tough fibred cardboard which may sometimes be used as covers for books that it will scarcely pay to put into stouter covers. It may be obtained in several weights, the lighter weights being sufficiently strong for library use.

THREAD

Even if no resewing is done, thread is necessary for making various repairs. The best are Hayes' linen thread No. 25, and Barbour's No. 40.

AMMONIA

This is necessary for breaking down surfaces of highly glazed cloths so that labels will stick.

Sh.e.l.lAC

After labels or the backs of books have been lettered in white or black ink they should have a covering of sh.e.l.lac. A supply of the best white sh.e.l.lac may be obtained from the local paint dealer.

Occasional use is found for various other materials, such as powdered pumice stone, sponge rubber, India rubber erasers and art gum.

TOOLS

FOLDERS

Several binder's bone folders, costing fifteen cents each, should be kept in the binding department.

KNIVES

A long knife, broad at the point, thin-bladed but dull, is needed for cutting paper after it is folded and for various other uses. A sharp, pointed knife is needed for removing books from the covers, or old labels from the back.

SCISSORS

Long, thin-bladed, best quality.

NEEDLES

Regular book-sewing needles.

HAMMER

A broad-faced hammer may be required for beating down the backs of sections, or the entire book when it is difficult to replace it in its old cover.

PRESS

Books wet with paste or glue must be pressed. An old-fashioned letter-press which screws down by hand will answer all purposes in a small library. As they are now out-of-date, second-hand ones can be purchased for a small sum. There are one or two inexpensive small presses which are not so heavy as the letter-press, but which hold a larger number of books and are fairly satisfactory. The most satisfactory press is a stationary one which holds a number of books and which will exert great pressure. On account of lack of s.p.a.ce and the cost it is inadvisable to use this in a mending room, and makeshifts are generally necessary.

PRESS-BOARD

A few press-boards with projections which will fit into the joints of books may be necessary. They may be obtained from any dealer in binders'

supplies.

SEWING BENCH

If any resewing is done a sewing bench is a necessity. Ordinarily books needing resewing should be sent to the bindery.

GLUE-POT

A double-boiler glue-pot is a necessity if recovering or recasing is to be done. It should be kept clean.

BRUSHES

A long-handled, small-sized brush with soft bristles will be used for pasting, while glue will require a large, round brush such as is commonly used in binderies.

PASTING MACHINE