Making an Inexpensive Finishing Press

[@SanSeriffe]

Nice and straightforward. Thanks.

[@PierreRiopelClone]

The best option for pressing with or without glueing, for budget wise. Thanks.

[@theBoonarmies]

brilliant, a shame I found this on a Monday, I'll have to wait all week for this to be my weekend project 😅

[@robertsimola1954]

Let me know how it turns out.

[@maritzadavila-irizarry6267]

Just beautiful job!

[@Siltoneous]

Very well done. Straightforward instructions, and nice tips (like the slightly larger drilled hole on one side). Thank you.

[@robertsimola1954]

Glad you liked it

[@red58impala]

Thanks for sharing. I'm going to use your design to make myself a couple of presses. I'm hoping to recover a Bible with a nice leather cover. The text block is still intact, but I'm not sure how tall the finishing press should be in relation to the edge of the spine of the text block. Any suggestions?

[@robertsimola1954]

Most of my presses are about 3 1/4" high so I can easily bend the text block when gluing up the spine of a perfect bound book. With the text block still tight in the press I raise the press by putting wooden blocks underneath it. Then I carefully hold the text from underneath, loosen up the set screws, and pull/let the text slide down to the table so the top of the text spine is below the top of the press. I slide a piece of paper between the press and the text on each side to prevent the glue sticking to the press, tighten up the screws, and let the text block dry. Please let me know how your presses turn out.

[@MrValravnen]

These are fantastic, Robert! Such a clever design. Brilliant to use those knobs instead of the wingnuts that a lot of people go with. I've always found wingnuts awfully fiddly, and these ones look like they'd give you a much more consistent and comfortable grip as you set the press. So simple, yet such a well-designed tool! If I may ask, do you know what that specific kind of knob is called? English isn't my first language, and I'm unfamiliar with the word for them. :-) Cheers!

[@robertsimola1954]

Glad you liked it

[@kyliec9180]

super bad ass Uncle Bob! I miss you 💕💕

[@robertsimola1954]

Miss you too.

[@SanSeriffe]

If the holes are even a bit off perpendicular it makes it impossible to us or at least very difficult. Using the hole in a cotton reel or something similar makes it easier getting the holes right.

[@robertsimola1954]

Using a drill press, I clamp both boards together and drill holes in both boards at the same time. I use 1/4"-20 x 4" bolts so drill holes with a 1/4" bit. Then I re-drill the holes on one of the boards with a slightly larger bit so there is a little wiggle room in case I have mis-measured where the holes for the bolts are to go. The extra room on the one board also allows for easier and smoother clamping.

[@murrayglick8524]

It works like a Moxon vise.

[@karenherrerasequeira4314]

It's a good tool. Thanks for share. Greeting from Nicaragua.

[@robertsimola1954]

You are welcome!

[@anniefeld2158]

2:20 where do you buy your blasck plastic handles your video is fantastic👍👍👍👍

[@robertsimola1954]

I've got them from woodworker.com and also from Amazon.

[@KathleenRenninger]

Wonderful! Thank you!

[@robertsimola1954]

Glad you liked it!

[@maurchesnyman3955]

Thank you. I have been searching for a book for months but can't find it, with your videos i think i might try to make one myself. Do you have a recomondation on a beginner project?

[@robertsimola1954]

If you are using A4 paper a journal with blank pages folded in half is an easy way to get started. I am in the process of putting together a short book for my classes on using my inexpensive finishing press to make perfect bound books. It isn't quite finished and hasn't been edited but if you want it, send me an email request to [e-mail] and I will send you a .pdf copy.

[@trevlix]

Do you have issues with the stain on the wood getting on the paper? I've heard others say that but don't know how much of an issue it actually is

[@robertsimola1954]

I haven't had a problem with wood stain transferring onto paper but then I make sure any stain applied to the wood has completely soaked into the wood and the wood is completely dry. I have also used polyurethane without a problem of it transferring onto paper after it has dried.

[@НатальяПак-я7ъ]

thank you! it's very useful!!!

[@robertsimola1954]

Glad it was helpful!

[@aitormorientes13]

thank you, youll save my life

[@michaeldonoghue9015]

How much would it be for me to buy one of these from you? I’m sort of serious lol. I would buy one.

[@robertsimola1954]

I am happy to send you the directions for making one if you have a table saw and a drill press. It can be made with just a hand drill if you are very careful drilling the holes. But if you don't have the tools or the desire to make your own, I would make you one for $60 plus shipping. It would be made out of whatever wood I have in my shop.

[@michaeldonoghue9015]

@@robertsimola1954 I tell you what, let me try it myself. I don’t have a table saw but like you said, they can cut some wood at the store for me if I ask. I want to do the size you did which is for 8.5 x 11 comfortably. I will be doing the double fan adhesive method for binding printer sheets. I’ll let you know how it turns out! I’ll need to get some of those turn screw things first from Amazon then I’ll head to the hardware store.

[@robertsimola1954]

@@michaeldonoghue9015 What I use are threaded star knobs 1/4-20. Good luck with your project.

[@robertsimola1954]

@@michaeldonoghue9015 How did your press work out? And what did it end up costing?

[@kreativekymona]

Can you send me the directions? I have a table saw and a hand drill.

[@robertsimola1954]

Sure. I sent the directions to your FaceBook page, but just in case here they are: Making and Using a Cheap Finishing Press (It is more fun to make one, but if you don’t want to make one yourself, you can buy one from me.) I couldn’t justify spending several hundred dollars on a finishing press so I decided to make my own and the key was getting these Five Star, threaded Knobs. I got mine from Woodcraft.com but you can also get them at Amazon and other places. Mine are ¼- 20 and about two inches in diameter. When I bought them they cost about $3.00 each. To go with the knobs I got 4” long, round-headed bolts at my local hardware store. I would recommend taking one of the knobs with you to get the bolts because it isn’t good enough that the bolts are the right size. You want the knobs to spin easily along the entire length of the bolts and with some bolts that is not possible. They might be the right size and you can turn them but the knobs won’t turn easily. Two knobs and two bolts cost me about $7 dollars plus tax and shipping. I had scrap plywood and oak lumber so there was no further cost in making my finishing presses. My frames are 15” long and about 3"high. An eight foot length of lumber was enough to make two finishing frames. If you need to buy lumber and you don’t have access to a saw, I would recommend buying a 4” wide board and having the store cut the wood to the length you need. Remember this is the nominal size and a 4” board is going to be closer to 3 ½” wide. If you decide to use a hardwood rather than pine the lumber might cost $60 to over $100 depending on the type of wood you buy. Figure about six feet of lumber for your press. If you do have access to a circular saw or a table saw, a 2’x 4’ piece of 1” plywood will save you money and you can make your presses any height you want. A drill press is a big help when drilling the holes for the bolts, but this can be done with a hand drill if you have one of those jigs made for turning a hand drill into a mini drill press. Just be careful to drill the holes as close to perpendicular as you can. Tape or clamp the two side-boards of your press together and drill the holes to both boards at the same time using a ¼” drill bit. My holes are ¾” from the ends and 1” from the top of each board. Separate the boards and then re-drill the holes on one board using a 3/8” or slightly larger bit so that board will slide easily along the bolt when tightening or loosening the clamp. Glue the narrow board for the base to each of the vertical boards and put them in a vise or clamp to dry. If you don’t have clamps, the boards can be attached with finishing nails or screws. Make sure the nails or screws are inset into the wood so they don’t stick out and jab into your book block when using the press. For the press to work properly, it is important that the glued-up boards be as close to 90 degrees as you can get them. The reason for the base is so the clamp won’t tip over when using the press. When the glue has dried, the finishing press is ready to assemble and use. Most of my books are either 5x8, 6x9, or 7x10, but I can bind 8.5” x 11” book with my presses by simply putting blocks made from 6” sections of 2 x 4 scrap lumber. I have a number of presses which were all made for much less than the cost of buying one press. For a perfect binding, I simply drop my text block in a press and glue it up using a double-fan process. I bend the paper in one direction, paint on the PVA glue, then bend it in the other direction and glue the pages again making sure every page has glue on it. I then either set a second press over the top of the first press and tighten the screws or prop up the press on a pair of 2”x4”s and let the text block slide down the press until it hits the table and tighten the screws on the press. After the glue has dried I put on the mull, add end bands and a spine stiffener and the text block is ready to be cased. Material Needed for Making a Finishing Press Two ¼”-20 Threaded Star Knob. Both Amazon and Woodcraft.com carry them. Two 4” long ¼”-20 bolts Two pieces of lumber approximately 1” by 3” by 15” Two pieces of lumber approximately ¾” by 1 ½” by 15” Two 6” long blocks of 2/4 lumber or 4 blocks if your book is wider than 6” (Or bricks or heavy books. Using either a drill press or a jig designed to turn a hand drill into a mini drill press, drill a ¼” hole through both of the 1 x 3 x 15 boards at the same time. The holes should be ¾” from the top of the boards and 1” in from the ends. Either clamp or tape them together so the drill goes through both boards at same time and. Then re-drill the holes in one of the boards with a 3/8” or slightly larger drill bit. This will allow the board and your press to be easily tightened and loosened.

[@kreativekymona]

Thank you so much!!!!!!

[@robertsimola1954]

@@kreativekymona You are very welcome. Let me know how our press turns out.