My partner Vanessa practices bookbinding as a hobby. Last Christmas I made her a bookbinder's press to replace the stack of books and gym weights she was using. The press is built around a 12" Pony press screw and has a maximum travel of roughly 6".
The frame consists of two beams stabilized by two uprights. The beams and uprights are 3" by 2" and laminated from two layers of maple for additional strength. The joints between them are dowelled.
The baseplate and plinth are 12" by 15" and made of 18mm baltic birch plywood. The baseplate is screwed to the bottom of the frame and supports front and rear walls made of 1" thick maple. The plinth is grooved so it registers with the walls but is otherwise free-floating. It rests directly upon the bottom beam so the frame absorbs all the force from the screw. The walls are only there to keep the plinth in place.
The press has three top plates of various sizes, to accommodate paper up to 5x7", 8x10" or 11x14". When pressing larger paper, the smaller top plates can be stacked on top of the larger ones to help distribute force. (As shown, the two smaller plates are stacked on top of the paper being pressed, and the large plate is below.)
All surfaces are finished with Osmo Polyx hard wax oil in the gloss sheen.
I would be happy to make more presses like this, so if you're a bookbinder please contact me for details.
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