That clamp trick for pressing books I learned from a woodworker

I was having trouble getting my spines to form right on larger books, like the 10x12 inch ones I do for a local artist in Austin. No matter how long I left them in my press, the spine edges would come out rounded and uneven. Last month I stopped by a custom furniture shop to pick up some scrap hardwood for backing boards, and the guy there showed me how he uses three clamps instead of one on a glue-up. I tried it on my next project, putting one clamp at the top, one at the bottom, and one right in the middle of the pressing boards. The difference was night and day, the spine came out perfectly flat and square after just 6 hours instead of needing overnight. It distributed the pressure way more even across the whole book block. Has anyone else tried using multiple clamps for pressing or am I overthinking this?

2 comments

2 Comments

seth_harris368d ago

Dude I noticed the same thing with my guitar building. When I was clamping necks I would use one big clamp right in the middle and the joint would always have a little gap at the top or bottom. Started using three smaller clamps spread out and it was like magic. It's wild how this one simple rule applies to so many different things. Like hanging a shelf too, if you just put a nail in the middle the ends will sag eventually. But if you put one at each end and one in the middle it stays solid forever. That woodworker knew what he was talking about.

the_derek8d ago

@seth_harris36 nailed it with the guitar clamping example... that's something I've run into myself with cabinet building. Instead of one big clamp I'll use three smaller ones, one in the middle and one near each end, and the joint comes out perfect every time. Shelf hanging too... a buddy of mine put one fat screw in the middle of a heavy shelf and it cracked right down the center after a few months. Spreading out the force just makes everything hold up longer. It's one of those little tricks that saves you a headache later.