290 



the thumbs and fingers and carefully 

 lower it between the jaws of the press. 

 Now hold the book with the left hand, 

 and, using a wrench with the right hand, 

 clamp the jaws of the press against the 

 press boards. 



Mark five lines across the back of the 

 book in the relative positions shown in 



Popular Science Monthly 



Fig. 3. The sewing frame 



Fig. 3, using a pencil and a try square. 

 If a try square is not at hand, a squared 

 piece of card board may be used. 



Guided by these lines, make five saw 

 cuts into the book. The depth of these 

 cuts should be 1-16 inch or less,^ or just 

 sufficient to show when the sections are 

 again opened. A miter box or "back" 

 saw is best for sawing the two-cuts 

 nearest the ends but a wider saw may 

 be used for making the three central 

 cuts. After sawing, the book is re- 

 moved from the press. 



Tie three strong cords to the rods of 

 the sewing frame as in Fig. 3. These 

 cords must be long enough to project 

 about \y-> inch on each side beyond the 

 edge of the book after it is taken from 

 the sewing frame. Cords may be made 

 of strong linen threads folded and 

 twisted together several times. Usually 

 the operator sits in front of the sewing 

 frame, but it is best to sit at the end 

 of the frame, since one can, in this po- 

 sition, see the inside as well as the back 

 of the sections and the arm has more 

 freedom when sewing with long threads. 



The upper halves of the sections may 

 be opened and fastened to the upper rod 

 by means of spring clothes pins, so that 

 the center of the sections will be visible 

 and the leaves will be kept out of the 

 way while sewing. 



Place a section of the folded end pa- 

 pers upon the sewing frame and slide 

 the cords B, C, D, upon the rods until 



their position corresponds with the three 

 central saw cuts. The right size of 

 thread to use for sewing will vary with 

 the size of the book and the number of 

 sections it is to contain. For six num- 

 bers of magazines No. 25 linen will be 

 about the right size. It is best to use 

 unbleached thread. The method of sew- 

 ing is shown in Fig. 4, B, C, D, repre- 

 senting the cords that are tied to the 

 sewing frame and the fine line S, the 

 sewing thread. 



With the right hand, pass the threaded 

 needle in at the end saw cut E, receive 

 the needle with the left hand and pass 

 it out at the next saw cut. Carry the 

 thread around D and in again at the 

 same cut. Sew around the cords C and 

 B in the same way. Pass the needle out 

 at A, draw the thread out until about 

 two inches are left projecting at S. Lay 

 the title page section of the book or 

 magazine face downward upon the end 

 papers already sewn. 



Pass the needle in at catch stitch 

 mark A of this section, sew around B, 

 C, B, and pass the needle out at E and 

 draw the thread down with fairly strong 

 tension, looking to see that it lies straight 

 within the section. The thread should 

 now be tied to the projecting thread S 

 of the previously sewn section. Pro- 

 ceed in like manner to sew all the sec- 

 tions to the cords. When the needle 

 has been drawn out at A, after sewing 

 the third section, it is passed between 

 the first and second sections, back of the 

 connecting thread, Fig. 4, the thread 

 drawn out, the needle passed upward 

 through the loop of thread and the 

 thread drawn down with good tension ; 

 but the ends of the sections must not 

 be drawn too tightly together or the 

 middle of the back will appear swollen 

 and will be somewhat inflexible. As the 

 sewing progresses, every time the needle 

 is passed out at A or B, the thread is 

 caught around the thread that connects 

 the preceding sections in the manner just 

 described, before sewing on a new sec- 

 tion. 



Be careful that the needle does not 

 penetrate the sewing frame cords. As 

 the work advances, the sections should 

 occasionally be pressed together at the 

 points where the cords emerge. 



