To make the wooden cover boards for this book I'll need to begin in the woodworking shop. I hunt through my pile of offcuts to find a suitable board. I'm looking for a hard, straight-grained wood. This piece of quarter-sawn red oak should be perfect. I measure and mark the centre of the board. I will next saw it down the middle, which will yield two matching cover pieces. I clamp the piece firmly in the vise and use a ripsaw to make the cut. This saw's teeth are designed to cut with the grain, which makes this difficult task a bit easier. After cutting halfway I reposition the board to cut the other side.
I think it's apt that boards cut from a single piece in this manner are called 'bookmatched'. You can see why. To clean up the rough saw cuts I use hand planes to smooth the boards. With the boards smoothed I need to trim the ends. I mark a line and use another hand plane and a 'shooting board' to trim the ends. This is a controlled way to make an accurate cut, without the need for power tools. I measure the length, mark it, cut it with a backsaw and then trim to the line on both boards.
I do the same thing to bring the boards to the correct width. With the cover blanks done it's over to the bindery to continue shaping them. The boards warped a bit since I cut them apart, but I think it will be okay. It might even be a happy accident – we'll have to see later. First I will shape the inner corners of the boards to allow for the swell at the spine.
I mark each board by eye. I draw a quick reference line to guide me as I shape the curve. I don't have a vise or bench hook handy, so I'll use this registration board to help hold the workpiece steady. Using a block plane I ease the edge of the board, gradually changing the angle of the plane to create a gentle curve. The boards now sit flush with the text block and close to the spine. Next I turn to the inner bevels. Once again I make reference marks to show me where to remove material.
I also mark the edges to make sure I don't cut too far. For this procedure I keep the plane at a constant angle to make a flat bevel. That's all the shaping needed on the inside of the boards. To carve the outer faces of the boards I need to allow for the hardware I will eventually attach, so you get a sneak peek at some of my designs! The outsides of the boards will be beveled as well, but only in between the metal corner guards. As with the inner bevels, I lay out my cuts. I'd better mark the front and back boards before I get mixed up! Next I make up a quick template to mark where the corner guards will be. It's faster than marking out eight individually. I add 2 mm to allow some clearance between the hardware and the bevels. More layout – this time with the dividers rather than the old 'drag-the-pencil' trick. For accuracy. And I mark the edges as well. Since these bevels will stop at each end I can't use the block plane, so its time for some chisel work.
I work carefully, removing only a little bit of wood at a time. This oak splinters easily, so I don't want to mess up. I use a smaller chisel to refine the corners. I forego the mallet on the long edges, which would very likely cause some terrible splitting or tear-out. I take my time working down to my layout lines. Time for a quick test-fit to check my progress and consider my next steps. A common feature on gothic bindings was a rounding of the outer boards toward the spine. Since the book is not backed this shaping will help the book to open. I'll lay that out next. Since this is a structural element I'm shaping the boards all along the spine, despite the hardware. I'll sort out the metalwork later.
Obligatory sandpaper shot so you know I did a whole bunch of it. You don't need to watch that. Now its finally time to unwind those pesky thongs! The thongs need to lay flat where they transition into the boards, so so-long twists. Next I mark the positions of the thongs on the boards. This step is important to ensure the covers are positioned correctly. To attach the covers I will need to cut a series of holes in the boards. Each thong will pass through its corresponding board twice before being secured with a wooden wedge. As always, I carefully measure and lay out the first series of holes, called 'mortises'. To make cutting these slim mortises easier I will use a hand-cranked twist-drill, as well as various chisels and knives.
I begin by drilling a hole at the end of the first mortise. This hole is made at an angle, sloping down and away from the spine of the book. I drill a hole at either end of each mortise. Drilling all of the holes before beginning to cut the mortises builds muscle memory and helps keeps the holes uniform. With a narrow chisel I carefully begin to cut a recess to accept the thong. I outline around where I want to remove material, severing the grain so the wood in between will come out cleanly.
I can then chisel out the wood in between. I need to make this recess as deep as the thickness of the thongs. I use an extra thong to check my progress. Then just nine more! With the recesses cut I get to work on the first series of mortises. These cuts follow the drilled holes all the way through the boards. I work from both sides, following the drill holes until I've made a narrow slot. Next I mark out the next series of mortises. While this may seem like overkill, this method of attaching the covers was very typical of gothic bindings. Now working on the inside of the boards I'll cut another series of recesses to accept the thongs.
Using a mallet I make a series of cuts across the grain. This method of cutting a recess is called 'chopping'. Each successive cut breaks away a small chip. When I reach the other side I can easily scrape out the waste. Once again I drill out the sides of the second row of mortises. These ones are roughly perpindicular to the boards. I've gotten a feel for the wood now and am comfortable using the mallet, even on these parallel-grain cuts. Time to test to see if the thongs will fit. Hopefully this makes clear how they will be attached. Now just to finish cutting the last mortises. I'll do a full dry fit to make sure everything is good. But first I'll trim the ends of the thongs to make it easier to thread them into the boards. The final bit of woodworking is to make the holes and recesses to accept the endband cords.
Now is a good time to mark those out. I put a larger diameter bit into the hand drill to make the cord holes. I found a narrow gouge to be the best tool to carve the recesses for the cords. I did get some splintering in this brittle oak. Luckily these corners will be covered by both leather and the metal hardware. A small recess on the inside of the board will accept the end of the cord. Its cold! Let's go inside and start attaching the covers of the book. The thongs of the book will be attached with both glue and wooden wedges. I'll make the wedges now from these strips of red oak. I never found that one. The wedges are inserted from the inside of the cover. This pulls the thongs tighter and will hold them in place for the next step. I don't hammer the wedges in, as the collective force of five wedges all in a row could very well split the board.
In fact some gothic books had rows of staggered mortises, presumably to mitigate the chance of the boards cracking. With the wedges in place I can begin to glue down the thongs. I'll do this in stages to make the whole process easier. With the book raised up I can actually turn the cover all the way back on itself to expose the outside recesses. I apply PVA glue to each recess and the exposed thong. I then simply close the cover. I wipe up any excess glue and make sure the thongs are untwisted and sitting well. I place a light weight on the book and let it dry well. I'm not using the press in this case as the wedges and cords could crush into the text block. The boards are now partially attached and I can remove the wedges without fear of the covers going out of alignment. To fully attach the boards I will glue the rest of each thong, as well as the wedges.
I'll put in a piece of release paper to protect against any excess glue. The final attachment points are the endband cords. I will glue these in as well. With glue worked into the fibers of the cord, I use a bone folder to force it down into the groove. I trim the inside to length, then glue it well and smooth it down. As before, I let everything dry under some light weight. Finally I need to trim the wedges. I'll first pare away the ends of the thongs. I thought I might use the big chisel to trim the wedges as well, but they were too tough, so I use a small saw to cut them flush to the cover. Then I can use the chisel to pare away any high spots. I repeat the process on the inside, being careful not to damage the thongs. Whoops. I'm ok. And that's the covers done! That was a lot more work than I thought it would be. Wood… be. Don't groan it was funny. Anyway I think it looks great and it definitely has a unique feel. Thanks for sticking with me all the way through! Next time we'll work on covering this book in leather.
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