And now for the exciting conclusion...
Gus's Manual - Reunited At Last
With the case now constructed as seen below, outside view...
...it was prepared to fit the book block. To do so, a french groove was pressed into the case.
The book block was first set loosely into the case and the book was placed in this Rock City joint creaser. Front view...
...and here we have the rear view. Look closely and you can see the cover, close to the spine, being pressed between two bars, top and bottom, that have a protruding lip on them that is literally pressing that french groove in the cover. This press is pneumatically actuated using 40 psi but when concentrated on the small lip area, it results in a very high pounds per square inch pressure.
When done this is the result, a french groove which allows the cover to lay open without trying to close itself.
Now the cover is ready to have the title embossed on it. Chris H uses two machine for that. This one is KwikPrint single line embosser...
...that has a 1923 patent date cast into it. You can buy a machine new, today that is identical to this one. They haven't changed the design at all.
The other embosser is...
...this Kensol multi-line embosser. This is the one that was used for the manual.
The kind of type and size was selected trying to mimic the original cover as seen with service type being used. To the right is a small generic design that resembled pilot wings
that was incorporated into the title which you'll soon see.
Here the words MECHANIC'S MANUAL is done, spelled backwards of course. Behind those words you can see a long brass device called a pallet that will hold the type.
Then smaller type was used for the rest of the title. All the type is a zinc alloy which is harder than traditional lead type and because it's lighter in weight, it heats up faster also.
A pallet holding some of the small type together.
All the type is now spelled out, spaced correctly and those pallets are then held by a devise called a chase.
The Kensol embossing machine was preheated and then the chase with all the type was inserted just long enough to warm the type. The black handle of the chase, on the right, provides insulation while handling the chase.
Different colors of foil can be used in embossing, seen here is gold foil. Because our cover is tan, black foil was selected.
The book cover was placed under the type...
...the foil placed on the cover (not seen here) and the type was lowered by hand close to the cover and then quickly pressed on and then off the cover...
...resulting in the black foil being transferred to the cover. You now have have an embossed cover!
After that, the spine was embossed in much the same way.
If too much foil transfers during the embossing or it's a small complex design that can cause the foil to "bleed over" as seen on the right, yellowed circled leaf above...
...a smooth all is then used to burnish the foil. On the left a new smooth all and on the right a used one. It is made of cotton and copper strands.
Here after the smooth all burnished the leaf you can see how it removed excess foil so all the leaf detail can now be seen.
Lastly the case or cover needs to be glued to the book block. Wax paper covers and protects all the pages except the end paper and the little flap of the backing cloth which will serve as the hinge.
Here the flap and end paper are having PVA glue brushed on. When all the glue has been applied the book is then closed, glueing the end paper and hinge to the cover.
It is then placed in this hydraulic book press. To the right you can partially see, in black, an old hand operated book press.
The book is pressed with 1,500 -2,000 lbs (682 - 909 kg) of pressure. It is left there until the glue sets.
In making this book there were many small, subtle, little nuances' that I didn't show or talk about to shorten the overall post. This was just the high points and it was still a very lengthy 3 part post. There are no short cuts when hand binding a quality book, but you can cut corners!
Here's the finished result.
So, after all that, here we see the manual in use in its natural environment perched on the flat fender...
... that Willys thoughtfully provided to hold the manual on. Gus is one happy camper now! We even spelled Toledo on the cover correctly!!
It is with a deep sense of gratitude and thanks to Chris Hohn and his Lincoln Book Bindery for his willingness and patience to first of all take this project on and then let me thoroughly document the process. There were several calls and emails to ensure I got all the details as correct as possible. If there are any glaring errors I trust he'll let me know and I can edit them out.
I am on to the next project so watch this space for more Restored 1930's Auto Shop excitement! Thanks everyone.
Thomas
BTW, please note no animals were harmed in the binding of this manual. The animals used in the glue were already dead!
Gus's Manual - Reunited At Last
With the case now constructed as seen below, outside view...
...it was prepared to fit the book block. To do so, a french groove was pressed into the case.
The book block was first set loosely into the case and the book was placed in this Rock City joint creaser. Front view...
...and here we have the rear view. Look closely and you can see the cover, close to the spine, being pressed between two bars, top and bottom, that have a protruding lip on them that is literally pressing that french groove in the cover. This press is pneumatically actuated using 40 psi but when concentrated on the small lip area, it results in a very high pounds per square inch pressure.
When done this is the result, a french groove which allows the cover to lay open without trying to close itself.
Now the cover is ready to have the title embossed on it. Chris H uses two machine for that. This one is KwikPrint single line embosser...
...that has a 1923 patent date cast into it. You can buy a machine new, today that is identical to this one. They haven't changed the design at all.
The other embosser is...
...this Kensol multi-line embosser. This is the one that was used for the manual.
The kind of type and size was selected trying to mimic the original cover as seen with service type being used. To the right is a small generic design that resembled pilot wings
that was incorporated into the title which you'll soon see.
Here the words MECHANIC'S MANUAL is done, spelled backwards of course. Behind those words you can see a long brass device called a pallet that will hold the type.
Then smaller type was used for the rest of the title. All the type is a zinc alloy which is harder than traditional lead type and because it's lighter in weight, it heats up faster also.
A pallet holding some of the small type together.
All the type is now spelled out, spaced correctly and those pallets are then held by a devise called a chase.
The Kensol embossing machine was preheated and then the chase with all the type was inserted just long enough to warm the type. The black handle of the chase, on the right, provides insulation while handling the chase.
Different colors of foil can be used in embossing, seen here is gold foil. Because our cover is tan, black foil was selected.
The book cover was placed under the type...
...the foil placed on the cover (not seen here) and the type was lowered by hand close to the cover and then quickly pressed on and then off the cover...
...resulting in the black foil being transferred to the cover. You now have have an embossed cover!
After that, the spine was embossed in much the same way.
If too much foil transfers during the embossing or it's a small complex design that can cause the foil to "bleed over" as seen on the right, yellowed circled leaf above...
...a smooth all is then used to burnish the foil. On the left a new smooth all and on the right a used one. It is made of cotton and copper strands.
Here after the smooth all burnished the leaf you can see how it removed excess foil so all the leaf detail can now be seen.
Lastly the case or cover needs to be glued to the book block. Wax paper covers and protects all the pages except the end paper and the little flap of the backing cloth which will serve as the hinge.
Here the flap and end paper are having PVA glue brushed on. When all the glue has been applied the book is then closed, glueing the end paper and hinge to the cover.
It is then placed in this hydraulic book press. To the right you can partially see, in black, an old hand operated book press.
The book is pressed with 1,500 -2,000 lbs (682 - 909 kg) of pressure. It is left there until the glue sets.
In making this book there were many small, subtle, little nuances' that I didn't show or talk about to shorten the overall post. This was just the high points and it was still a very lengthy 3 part post. There are no short cuts when hand binding a quality book, but you can cut corners!
Here's the finished result.
So, after all that, here we see the manual in use in its natural environment perched on the flat fender...
... that Willys thoughtfully provided to hold the manual on. Gus is one happy camper now!
We even spelled Toledo on the cover correctly!!It is with a deep sense of gratitude and thanks to Chris Hohn and his Lincoln Book Bindery for his willingness and patience to first of all take this project on and then let me thoroughly document the process. There were several calls and emails to ensure I got all the details as correct as possible. If there are any glaring errors I trust he'll let me know and I can edit them out.
I am on to the next project so watch this space for more Restored 1930's Auto Shop excitement! Thanks everyone.
Thomas
BTW, please note no animals were harmed in the binding of this manual. The animals used in the glue were already dead!
) job but I've still got quite a bit of material in the pipeline to share here. Just remember to take notes as you go along, you'll thank me later, after the test. 
the next installment. 
