Twenty-eight tools, with their working ranges
Every tool is catalogued the same way: what it is for, the range it works in, the papers and processes it suits, and the specific way it will hurt you if you are careless. Filter by category, stage or name.
Tabletop Platen Press
A small clamshell press that prints one sheet at a time, by hand, under a platen.
Vandercook Proof Press
A cylinder proof press: the forme stays put, the cylinder rolls over it, and the sheet comes off even.
Letterpress Type Set
Individual sorts of metal, wood or resin, set by hand, one character at a time.
Composing Stick
The L-shaped hand tool that holds a line of type while you set it, and sets the measure.
Quoins & Furniture
The wedges and spacing blocks that lock a forme tight in the chase so nothing moves.
Ink Brayer
A hand roller that picks ink off the slab and lays it on the forme, evenly.
Cotton Rag Paper
Paper made from cotton fibre: soft, strong, acid-free, and the classic letterpress stock.
Handmade Paper
Sheet formed by hand in a mould: irregular, deckle-edged, and unlike anything machine-made.
Cardstock
Heavy uncoated paper between about 200 and 400 gsm: the stock for cards, covers and boxes.
Book Board
Laminated grey board, 1.5 to 3 mm thick, cut to make the covers of a hardback.
Endpapers
The folded sheet that joins the text block to the cover, and hides the join.
Bone Folder
A polished, tapered bone used to crease, burnish and rub down a fold or a pasted sheet.
Awl
A sharpened spike for piercing the sewing stations through a folded section.
Needle & Thread
A blunt-tipped needle and waxed linen thread: the joint that holds a book together.
Bookbinding Glue
PVA for strength, starch paste for reversibility, and the mix that does both.
Sewing Frame
An upright frame that holds the sewing cords under tension while the sections go on.
Book Press
A screw press that holds a text block flat under pressure while the glue dries.
Gold Foil
A thin metallic film on a carrier, transferred to the surface under heat and pressure.
Hot Stamping Tool
A heated die and a press, or a heated hand tool for small work.
Debossing Die
A raised relief that presses an image into the sheet without ink or foil.
Edge Gilding Kit
Gold leaf, size, and a burnisher, for gilding the trimmed edges of a text block.
Marbling Kit
Size, pigments and a comb, for floating colour onto a tray and lifting it onto paper.
Embossing Powder
A thermoplastic powder that melts under heat into a raised, glossy relief.
Nitrile Gloves
Disposable gloves for handling type, ink and solvent — the simplest control there is.
Ink Solvent
The wash-up liquid for rollers and type — and the main vapour source in the workshop.
Paper Cutter
A guillotine or a board shear: the tool that trims a text block square and a sheet to size.
Lead Type Handling Kit
Tray, tongs, wipes and a wash bottle, for handling lead alloy without taking it home.
Ventilation Fan
Extraction that moves solvent vapour and lead dust out of the room you are working in.
No tool matches those filters. Try a shorter search, or clear the stage filter.