how to round a spine

After sewing the book knock it up in a laying press and glue the spine but do not glue the sewing threads. After that has dried, place the book on a flat surface with the spine away from you and secure the book flat with one hand. Gently but firmly hammer the spine towards yourself, flipping the book over at intervals to create an evenly rounded spine. Then mark the joint for your boards (about 3mm in from the spine) and place the book in the laying press with the 3mm lip exposed. 




Using a backing hammer, begin at the side farthest from you and slowly, applying pressure, roll the hammer from the center of the spine to the edge. You want the hammer's edge to line up with the edge of the spine on each stroke. 

(roll from center to edge, lining up hammer/spine edges.) 

Turn and do the same thing in the other direction, rounding the spine from the center to the edge until both sides have been evenly rounded. Then using a gentle tapping motion even out the lines created by doing this. You should end up with a spine rounded over the sides to form a dome almost like a mushroom.