Berenger board attachment

...The boards .......
I use a thin Mill-board , as I`m going to build it up ,
laminating layers of paper , this will help against
warping .
A technique i learned at LCP , that is specifically
designed for this purpose , involves wrapping the boards over the foredge and spine with paper.
(British archival grey..??)
The folding over the spine area will protect against separation when lacing-in , and I`m guessing the action of stretching the paper across both sides of the board give it and added stability.
*nb.we used hot glue to do this , and they dried a lot stiffer compared to the jade I`m using.
To recap , layer of thick paper , either side , then the archival grey.
When ready to mark -up , having frayed-out the cords , I mark a square on the inside of the boards , and get the boards in position , then mark up the board for punching holes , and cutting wedges.You have all done this before , so , nothing new....the cords come back outside to the front of the , where they are frayed out , pasted down , and hammered-out.One thing to not is that it is important to lace the boards on with some breathing space at the joint , I just make a fence , keep it in , take it out when covering , put it back in when setting the joint.
That`s when having steel , or iron-topped board-chopper comes in handy!
When the inside slips , have been pasted and hammered , you are ready to set the square ,
that is put the boards in the final position that they will remain in , so it`s important to get it right *nb...watch the tail , you want your book to stand-up straight , right??also , you can leave the foredge of the boards uncut , and finish them half way through lacing for extra accuracy , but I did mine before .
Thats it , really , a layer of thick cartridge paper after the boards have set overnight in the press , and we are ready for covering.

Berenger rounding and backing

.........following on , today the spines were glued up in the press.It is wise to use a finger to spread the jade in between the raised cords , taking care not to go over the cords - that way movement in the back is not restricted.
....give it about 10 min , maybe 15 , then we can round them . I started using dowels of different sizes , positioned at the foredge , this will encourage a smooth foredge round when hammering the spine(thanks mark).
Once a sufficient round is acheived , we can drop them into the backing boards .I`m going to do them at the same time in two presses , using a set of Relma boards , and my prototype hybrid (french/english)boards that are made of maple .NB the real ones will be from air dried 1/4 sawn white oak(you know who you are)!
Now , I confess , that yes I use the claw of the hammer.Now before all the conservators get ready to dispatch me ...I roll the flat line from the middle to the end on each side . Trust me , its useful , and helps give you good form , and no it in no way damages the spine of the book .
Then i`m ready for the hammer(the line will also prevent doglegging), from the middle out , both ways , then change sides ...or hands , whichever you are comfortable with.
When i`m done I`ll finish it with a folder , and sharpen up the bands , with my band nippers.
A layer of tissue , in this case , not only helps set the spine , but will also give uniformity and compactness to the bands.
Tomorrow , board attachment and headbands.............