Improvements in or relating to Bookbinders' Presses.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application. 9th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 25th Mar., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Bookbinders' Presses.
I, WILLIAM SPINK, of the firm of Messieurs Spink and Thackray, of Trinity
Chambers, 71 Boar Lane, Leeds, in the County of York, Bookbinders, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in "laying presses" such as are used by
bookbinders.
Hitherto it has been customary in bookbinding when performing the operation
of "backing" or "gilding," that is, after the books have been sewn or otherwise
secured together, to place a piece of wood, called "a backing board," on each side
of and at a suitable distance from the back of the book before placing it between
This
the cheeks of the press to make a groove or joint on either side of the book.
frequently entails à loss of time in arranging the work suitably between the cheeks
of the press.
Now the object of my invention is to enable the workman to perform a greater
amount of work by arming the cheeks with suitable slips capable of being removed
at pleasure whereby the combined operations of "backing" and "gilding" may be
performed in the same press instead of having to use a backing machine and a
separate press, which is usually done. And at the same time provide means for
bringing both ends of the press cheeks into action simultaneously instead of each
end being opened and closed by a separate screw as at present, said screws in the
old method requiring to be operated independently.
I attain these objects by means of the mechanism hereinafter described and
particularly illustrated in the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 is an end elevation and Fig. 2 a plan looking at the top of a press
constructed according to my invention.
Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively an end elevation, and plan of the slips or backing
irons.
A and B are the cheeks of the press which are preferably and usually made of
wood, though not necessarily so, as any other suitable material, such as cast iron,
may be employed. The cheek B is arranged to slide on the guide rods C and D
between the cheek A and bridge piece E, which may be made of cast iron, wood, or
other suitable material. The guide rods C and D are also employed for attaching
the bridge piece E to the cheek A by their respective ends c, c, d, d'. When the
cheek B is made of wood, and in order to prevent as much as possible the holes in
said cheek (through which the guide rods) from wearing away, and to ensure the
cheeks working accurately, I bush the holes with metal such as cast iron or brass as
shown at b, b. These metal bushes also enable the cheek to slide freely on the
guide rods.
The cheeks A and B are armed with slips, which I term backing irons, F and G
preferably, though not necessarily so, made of cast iron, and provided with pins f
and g for loosely attaching them to the cheeks; suitable holes or recesses being
provided in the cheeks for the reception of the pins. The backing irons F and G
may be made of any suitable length, and are made to project above the top of the
cheeks as shown at Fig. 1. Suitable lips or ledges fg, which rest upon the tops
of the cheeks, are also provided for aiding in retaining the backing irons in position.
When the press is required for "gilding" purposes, the backing irons F and G, by
being simply attached to the cheeks by the pins, may be readily removed, and
easily replaced in position when again required.
In order to bring each end of the cheek B simultaneously into operation I employ

page_text: a screw H (armed with a hand wheel I) which is arranged to pass through the bosse
of the bridge piece E. In the boss e is cut a screw thread and which acts as the
nut for the screw, or a nut may be fixed in the boss e as shown. The end of
the screw is attached to the check B by means of a plate 62 or any other suitable
means.
Or when preferred the bridge piece E, guides C and D may be dispensed with,
and in place thereof in each end of the cheek B and at a suitable distance there-
from, may be mounted a suitable metal nut or bearing provided with, a flange, or
flanges for attaching it to the check, that is to say, in one of the cheeks B, of the
press are inserted and fixed two nuts having screw threads cut therein, and in the
other cheek are inserted and fixed two bearings. Through each of the bearings is
passed a screw which works in one of the nuts (fixed-in-the-opposite-cheek) and a
rotary motion is imparted simultaneously to each of the two screws by a shaft
(armed with a hand wheel) arranged at a right angle to the screws through suitable
bevel or mitre gearing, that is to say, a bevel or mitre wheel is placed on the end
of each screw and arranged to gear with a bevel or mitre wheel fixed on the shaft.
The said shaft is mounted in bearings fixed to one of the cheeks and runs parallel
with it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a bookbinders press such as herein described the arrangements and
combination of the following parts:-
The cheeks A and B, the guide rods C and D, the bridge piece E, the backing
irons F and G attached to the said cheeks, and screw H armed with a hand wheel I,
all constructed and arranged as and for the purposes hereinbefore described and
illustrated at Figs. 1 and 2.
2. The backing irons F and G herein before described more particularly shown
at Figs. 3 and 4.
3. In a
bookbinders press such as herein described, the combination of the
cheeks A and B with the means for operating both ends of the sliding cheek
simultaneously, substantially as herein described.
Dated the Eighth day of February 1893.
WILLIAM SPINK,
By W. Fairburn-Hart,
Agent.