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Book Press
by bgraham111 on December 2, 2007 Table of Contents Book Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Book Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Gather the parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: Make the press plates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: Make the press base. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: Add the posts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: Cutting the metal crossbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 6: Putting it all together. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 7: Using the press. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 2 3 3 5 5 6 7 8 9
http://www.instructables.com/id/Book-Press/
Author:bgraham111
author's website I work as an enigneer. I coach a high school robotics team with the FIRST competition (team 862 - WOO!) I am slowly building my home machine shop (and skills). I like to tinker and make, but I'm mostly on the mechanical side of things. Always looking to learn more.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Book-Press/
Image Notes 1. Bar of steel from local hardware store. 2. Pipe clamps - you only need the one side. 3. Pipe parts
Image Notes 1. This is what you want. The slide parts and the clamp are on the same side. 2. This is what you DON'T want. The slide parts are on one part, the clamp is on the other part. No good.
Image Notes 1. See how the brass strip puts the dent into the book's spline?
http://www.instructables.com/id/Book-Press/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Book-Press/
Image Notes 1. Make sure this is below the surface of the wood base.
Image Notes 1. Make sure this is below the surface of the wood base.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Book-Press/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Book-Press/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Book-Press/
Related Instructables
Upgrade Your Book Making for How to get a Apple MacBook: Kids! by library card in Data Backup Boston by abkeil schnaars and Preservation. by lamedust
http://www.instructables.com/id/Book-Press/
Comments
20 comments Add Comment
jinvent says:
Mar 8, 2011. 12:44 AM REPLY This is several months later and the press I built worked pretty well but over time the pipes began bending outward, and the top granite tile I had underneath the 3/4" wood cracked down the middle under the U-channel bar. So I replaced that granite tile with a 1/4" thick 12" X 12" stainless steel plate, a bit pricey, ($142.00!), but it's smooth and will never crack or rust!. All these extra costs make it much more expensive than the original instructable, but I liked the way it worked so much I thought it was worth the extra money and tweaking to keep using it. I also put a 12" pipe in the middle at the top between two 90 degree elbow pipes to stop the outward bending. By the way I didn't mention it before but I used galvanized pipes, flanges and caps to prevent rusting. Hope this is useful.
Earthlark says:
Nov 9, 2010. 10:02 PM REPLY One purpose of the brass plates is because it is easier to remove glue from metal than from wood and the metal can be more easily cleaned.
jinvent says:
Oct 27, 2010. 9:43 PM REPLY Hi, I'm a little late commenting, I only saw this instructable a couple of months ago. It looked far better and lower cost than the commercially available presses, and look much sturdier than other do-it-yourself presses. So I built one with a few modifications. I made the base as big as the 12" press pieces as another person had commented to do, and I also got two 1/4" thick 12" x 12" highly polished black granite floor tiles and polyethylene glued them to the 3/4" 12" x 12" plywood press pieces. They only cost about $5 each and it solved the problem of getting a really smooth surface. I kept your wood pieces to better spread the load forces so the granite wouldn't crack. For smooth book covers in addition to the tiles I sandwich the book between two sheets of silicon release paper, one top and one bottom, to make sure the cover can't possibly stick to the tiles. My total cost in materials was $95, and lots of sweat equity. I've used it for a couple of months and so far it's worked great, thanks.
arejeff says:
...sorry I missed out the rather crucial word 'glue' from my post (blush).
arejeff says:
May 14, 2009. 3:00 AM REPLY Great project, thanks for sharing. I think the brass is used in these presses because the is often water based paste, p.v.a etc. around and steel would rust and contaminate the covers whereas brass doesn't react in the same way. Any UK users ideas for sourcing? May 6, 2009. 10:01 PM REPLY Great project! I've wanted a bookpress for a while, but horrified at the prices. Grummer sells a popular press for $350 and it's just a little wood and hardware. The key component is the press clamp, and that costs less than $15 (see link: http://toolsandmore.us/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1268 ) . Thanks for sharing!
offdoodykcrn says:
Stick4444 says:
Hey this thing would be great for small veneering projects! Thanks for sharing!
bcr8ve says:
Dec 13, 2007. 12:07 PM REPLY This is great! I'm a trained book conservationist, and I have had lots of experience with book presses. I wish the shop on my old college campus had seen this Instructible. The press they made for me was terrible.
bgraham111 says:
Dec 14, 2007. 1:16 PM REPLY Thanks! Being an engineer, I didn't know all the in's and out's of conservation, preservation, etc... but now that my wife is getting her MLS, I hear about it at the dinner table. And I've learned that conservation is TOTALLY different than what she does - but she still wants to play conservationist (Actually, Preservationist) at home. Thanks for the comment!!
dlregis says:
Dec 6, 2007. 5:59 PM REPLY This is great! There's nothing complicated about book-presses in geneneral, and your solution is elegant, simple, and achievable with only very basic handtools. I helped someone make one a couple years back ... this is better. The only improvement I'd make is perhaps making the bed larger so it could be used to press at the bindings and still support the leafs! Nice work!
bgraham111 says:
Dec 6, 2007. 8:15 PM REPLY Thanks! Yeah - I wasn't sure how big to build it. The original design was not going to have the crossbar, so I wanted to make it as small as possible so the clamp surfaces were as close to the middle of the book. But that wasn't going to work. The first time I tightened it down, the pipes started to spread apart. With the cross bar, I could go alot bigger. Also, If I used longer pipes I could do a taller stack of books. (This provides LOTS of pressure - didn't measure it of course.)
jongscx says:
Dec 5, 2007. 9:31 PM REPLY What is this for? Is it to flatten the wrinkled pages or to keep the book together while a new binding is put in? Not into book repair, so I really couldn't imagine how it works. Great Ible though!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Book-Press/
miss.emma says:
Dec 6, 2007. 6:13 AM REPLY It's for repairing books. For example, if you were reconstructing a book cover, you would press it overnight to make sure the glue adheres and that the book keeps its new shape.
miss.emma says:
So easy a kitten can use it? I can't wait to try this!
PS118 says:
Dec 5, 2007. 12:56 PM REPLY Great job! I've been trying to design something like this using cheap "quick grip" clamps. The brass plates for glueing hardback books is just what I needed! In excange, here's one thought for your design. On the opposite side across the bottom, you could add an even wider brass plate (and perhaps a short one on one corner). That way you'll have a flat surface/corner for aligning the pages when glueing a paperback! ;)
bgraham111 says:
Dec 5, 2007. 6:28 PM REPLY That's a good idea! My wife is going to start using it for any internship, and we might put that extra bar in on one of the plates. That should be easy to put in.
dchall8 says:
Dec 5, 2007. 7:17 AM REPLY Nice one. Just a nit picky comment. At the beginning you make it sound like you are not using clamps, but clearly you are. Even still I like that application for the clamps. Got me thinking of other uses for a similar device to make repairs around the house.
bgraham111 says:
Dec 5, 2007. 6:19 PM REPLY Yeah, good point. I guess I should change that a bit. My thought was that you don't have to JUST use clamps, which looks ugly. Thanks!
gmoon says:
Dec 5, 2007. 6:36 AM REPLY Nice. I've several old bookbinding manuals and some show how to 'roll your own ' equipment. But this is the first modern 'take' I've seen recently. Thanks (great use of pipe clamps, btw.)
GorillazMiko says:
wow, amazing! (favorited) this could really come in handy for me. thanks!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Book-Press/