Paper Mould Making – Page 5 – Timothy Moore Bookbinding Tools

#6 Rib Spacing Layout

This step is not too exciting but is important. The two long sides of a mould need to be drilled to receive the rib pegs. Marks are made to show the locations of the holes to be drilled. If the hole spacing is erratic or not symmetrical the mould can be thrown out of square.Continue reading “#6 Rib Spacing Layout”

#5 Mould Frame Joinery

Cut parts to length, scribe and mark joints To make the mould and deckle fit together properly you need to know the deckle overlap (A), the width of the deckle (A+B) and the amount of space to leave between mould and deckle (C). More detail on this will follow later in this post. The mouldContinue reading “#5 Mould Frame Joinery”

#4 Shaping Rib Stock

The wood that has been seasoned for making ribs now needs to be straightened and shaped to a distinctive ‘tear drop’ shape. This is narrow at the top so as not to obstruct the flow of water while forming sheets yet wide enough at the bottom to form pegs at the ends. These rest inContinue reading “#4 Shaping Rib Stock”

#3 Prepare Frame Stock for Paper Moulds

The wood for making Paper Mould frames has been prepared to make pieces that are relatively stress free and stable. Now the stock will be shaped to its final dimensions prior to cutting to length and joining at the corners with dovetails. Shown above is a block of poplar that I shaped to demonstrate theContinue reading “#3 Prepare Frame Stock for Paper Moulds”

#1 Season and Prepare Wood for Moulds, Deckles and Ribs

Mould Frame and Deckle Wood Wood usually contains internal stresses. If the trunk of a tree grows at an angle ‘reaction wood’ will develop on the bottom or top to strengthen the tree. A windstorm may damage a tree causing different growth patterns, introducing internal tensions. Improperly drying wood can also introduce stresses. None ofContinue reading “#1 Season and Prepare Wood for Moulds, Deckles and Ribs”

#20 Making Laid Facings

For a detailed look at how this loom functions go this site: paper.lib.uiowa.edu/epm*. Here you will find an extensive list of related internet links. Near the bottom of the list select “Z3”. It will take you to a video that I made of the process of making a laid facing on this loom. The qualityContinue reading “#20 Making Laid Facings”

#19 Straightening Paper Mould Laid Wires

Wire can be purchased in coils or on spools. In either case the wire comes off curved. In order to make a laid paper mould facing or backing it is necessary to make it much straighter. Above, a piece of .0226″ diameter 1/2 hard phosphor bronze wire right off the spool resting on some ofContinue reading “#19 Straightening Paper Mould Laid Wires”

Order of Operations

Paper Mould and Deckle Construction Following is a list of the topics I plan to cover as I document some European style moulds and deckles that I am making. As you can see this is a big topic. Some fairly simple steps are covered but others will be rather vast. I won’t follow a strictlyContinue reading “Order of Operations”

Further thoughts on mould construction

Those of you who are interested in paper mould construction may wish to read comments posted by Serge Pirard of Belgium. Serge studied with the late Ron Macdonald and makes moulds in the same tradition. His comments appear at the bottom of my September 14th post about repairing a paper mould.

Repairing a broken paper mould

A lot of gorgeous paper was made on this mould before it broke. I undertook to return it to a useable condition and learned a few things in the process. The mould had problems with sides that warped outwards. Braces had been added to restrain this but weakened the mould frame, resulting in a breakContinue reading “Repairing a broken paper mould”