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After I ink my block and place my paper on it, I then gently rub the paper to make sure there is good adhesion to the block. Then I place a piece of newsprint over the good paper and then a single, thin felt blanket over that. You might also check the pressure of your press to make sure you aren't using too much pressure when you are pulling prints. Before I start to print, I take my block the same thickness as the block I am printing from, paper, and felt, and put the sandwich on the right edge of the roller and adjust the pressure. Then do the same thing on the left side so the height of the roller is as even as I can make it. If these don't solve the problem, try using damp paper instead of dry paper. I actually always use damp paper since the ink tends to transfer better for me than when I print with dry paper. I hope one of these suggestions works for you.

This is a no-name 14" cold laminating machine. It is made in China and imported by a number of people and can be found on Amazon and eBay for prices ranging from about $100 to $250. Look for a 14" cold laminating machine rather than for a press. I like the one with the green rollers rather than the red rollers because the ones with green rollers have a metal frame while those with red rollers are hard plastic. The limitation is that without modifying the machine the thickest material that can be put through the press is just under 1/2". I have modified mine so type-high material can be put through my press. And while it is great for making relief prints, it is questionable if you are working with etchings.

Glad it was helpful!

Let me know how it turns out.

Glad you liked it!

Welcome!

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.

I have not yet had one of my a perfect pound books fall apart, but I make my books for myself and not for others. If there is a concern, some people cut a series of shallow groves in the spines of their perfect bound books and glue book thread into the spines to make sure there is no way the book could fall apart. Libraries have paperback books that are all perfect bound and they are probably read by hundreds if not thousands of people. I wonder if a problem of books falling apart is how books are treated and not how they are made.

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I have no idea how many pages may be safely bound together using the double fold method. I regularly bind books that have 200+ pages which means 120 to 150 pieces of paper. I have also bound books double this size but I bind books for myself and for my library. What I don't know is how they would hold together if they were to be read hundreds of times by dozens or hundreds of people. But then commercial, perfect bound books, such as paperback books are read that often without falling apart. The only time I ever had any problem with a book was when I didn't use a mull. At one time I was worried about how long the books would hold together so I cut slits in the spine and filled the cuts with thread and glue before adding the endpapers and the mull. My books made with the double fan method seem to hold together just as well. But if you are worried, then make a series of cuts in the spines of your books with a coping saw, add glue to the cuts, and put unwaxed bookbinding thread in the cuts. I have also seen people who simple rough up the spine before gluing so there is more surface area for the glue to grab the paper. The largest book I have bound with the double fan method is a facsimile of a manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The book ended up being about 12" x 18" and about 460 pages. It has held together just fine, but it I were to do another book this size I probably would make a series of cuts in the spine about 1" apart and place thread and glue in the cuts just as a precaution.

@@robertsimola1954 Thank you for an expedient and comprehensive answer

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

I'm glad you found if useful.

Thank you! Cheers!

Yes. I have used this press to make books that size. You just need larger blocks to raise the press higher.

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 rsimola@yahoo.com and I will send you a .pdf copy.

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.

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.

Thank you so much!!!!!!

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

You are so welcome!

You are welcome!

Since I do not clamp down the press, I use it like in the video with one hand holding the chisel while the other hand holds the press. I am using a 1 1/2" chisel. I tried narrower chisels and they also work, but the wider one seems to work best for me. The trick seems to be laying the chisel flat on the press and the wider chisel, since it has more contact with the press, made it easier to to make smooth, uniform cuts through the paper. Of course it is most important to make sure the chisel was really, really sharp. I also tried regrinding the chisel so it was rounded instead of leaving it square like it came but that did not seem to be a better solution than just using the corner of a square chisel.

Glad you liked it

I am using pva.

@@robertsimola1954 ؟؟

Glad it was helpful!

Any time!

Thank you!

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.

@@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.

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

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

Glad you liked it

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.

Any time

Miss you too.

My laminating machine works just as well and is much cheaper.

Bit late to comment, but what material are the rollers? I was looking for a bigger laminating machine but the description says the rollers are made out of soft rubber. Not sure if that's going to work...

"Soft Rubber" might be a misnomer. They are soft in that if I press hard enough I can squeeze them a slightly. As a comparison, I find them considerably harder than Speedball brayers. In practical terms, it means I usually print either without a blanket or just one thin blanket unless I want my print to be debossed.

No. The gap between the rollers is only about one half inch

@@robertsimola1954 Thank you for your insight. You just saved me from making the wrong purchase, or at least for now.

@@bassethoundjunkie Taking out the locking nut increases the space between the rollers so I was able to put a type-high block through the press.

Good. I'm glad the video was helpful.

They both work. The Fiskar Fuse is no longer being made. The laminating machine is cheaper at about $100 and you can adjust the pressure on the laminating machine. Over all I would chose the laminating machine for pulling relief prints.