#tooling

[dbkcustomscabbards]

A recently completed scabbard commission for the Albion Svante sword

[zhalfirin-binds]

Blackpool - detail shots (of parts that have room to improve ^^') See the finished binding here

First is the only structural issue I have with this binding. You can see how the first sheets of the book block are lifted along with the cover. Ideally they would stay flat. How the pages lift is a sign that there is tension on hinge and endpaper. This is not really surprising considering that the book was not intended to become an English case binding (I believe that's the term). The hinges are also too narrow to allow the cover to lift comfortably, but since it's not a tightback binding, the book still opens nicely and it causes no issue when reading.

The next one is paring. I used a Schärffix and did not manage to pare a smooth gradient with it, you can still see the lines. On top of that, I did not notice when a bit of pared leather stuck to the roller part of the paring tool and it created those small indents by lifting the leather there higher than the rest, hence taking more leather off in that part. The bit that stuck to the roller is something I simply need to pay more attention to, the other one I'm not sure on whether to give up on paring a gradient with the Schärffix or put some effort in and get good at it. There is always the option of a paring knife (which I will need to get better with too, but that's another issue)

The rest are simply lack of experience in hand tooling. I de-greased the surface by rubbing it with alcohol to make sure the foil would stick everywhere. But I still need some training with even pressure on the tools. My test tooling took all confidence from me that I could hit the exact same spot 2 or 3 times in a row to allow for blind tooling and to passes of foil tooling. The lines of these stamps are so thin that I had a hard time to avoid shadowing with only the blind tooling and one pass with the foil. I got the best results with just a single layer of foil so I went with that. Still the imprints are not always deep and clear enough. I tried a few times to add a second layer of foil, but the images turned out smudged and shadowy. It might have been a bit too ambitious to start with stamps like those.

For the last ones I used a line tool that was a joy to work with. Much easier than the first time I tried it. The lines are still a bit wonky. First I tried with a piece of board for a guide, but that turned out to be more of hindrance than help so I just blind tooled and then went on with foiling. I wanted to try this for ages though and finally got around to do it.

What thought of hybris made me think I could tool head and tail of the edges first and then manage to connect both with a line on the front edge I don't know. The smart move would have been to tool the front edge of the case first and then, starting from there, tool from the front corner towards the spine, but well, apparently that's not me.

[saintbeckett]

Always the bridesmaid....

…..never the bride.

Three times second prize.

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[things-the-world-must-know]

[warclad]

tooling work I've ever done. So much more to do, but it's progress. I definitely want to do more!

[uwmspeccoll]

Marbled Monday

This Marbled Monday we're sharing volume 5 from a ten volume set of The Plays of William Shakespeare with the Corrections and Illustrations of Various Commentators to Which Are Added Notes by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens with an Appendix. This edition was published in 1773. Volume 5 contains the plays King John, King Richard II, King Henry IV Part I and Part II.

The marbling is (I think) a Turkish pattern with black, yellow, red, and grey on a blue-green field. There is some really nice tooling around the inner edges of the binding as well as on the spine. It was really difficult to get a good image of the spine because the leather is so mottled and the gold is so delicate, but in the last picture shown here you can see the beautiful roses and designs stamped on it.

View more Marbled Monday posts.

-- Alice, Special Collections Department Manager

[noosphe-re]

Roll Form Tooling Design & Manufacturing | Metform