There are two large shelf units, to hold all the paraphernalia of a bookbinder's workshop (much of which still has to be made!). There are two tall, deep shelf units. Bookbinders use animal hide, fabric, book-board and lots and lots of paper in their craft. The long table is the general worktable, where more of the messy work is done, while the smaller table is for the finer stuff, like gilding and tooling of leather and buckram covers and spines. The ladder-like unit is a utility shelf which hold smaller bookbinding necessities. Fancy and plain endpapers - I especially like the marbled ones - and tissue to go between plates would also be held on the premises.
I had already prepared the solid wooden block and the wooden mallet; these would be used to thin out leather, along with sharp scalpel-like knives used to "skive" and thin out the edges of leather covers that are crimped or folded over at the corners and the spine.
On this table are a ledger, and a notebook for office use, as well as a simple leather-covered book. Glue pots are a necessity, along with brushes. There is a right angle on the table, as well as the first of a series of bone folders, used to define the creases of the folded signatures. The little box with the padded chamois top has been shown before; it is filled with gold leaf for the tooling and titling, and a rubber mallet used to make those rounded ridges on old leather books, over a filler of twine or rope.
Many books have been prepared to sit here and there. I'll need to make spools for twine, rope, tapes, and threads used in the book preparation. I'd like to try to make some convincing-looking roller tools for the tooling, and am regularly researching bookbinding and making sites. Not a bad way to spend breaks, with a good cup of coffee or tea, and a cookie.
Next up is the floor press; the wood has been cut and sanded, now I need to find a decent maple stain. If I can't find one, it will be done in the golden wood tone I've already used.
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