The Bookbinder’s Plough - Trimming a Book by Hand

Hello everyone! Here’s something a little different today. In this short video I’m demonstrating the use of a bookbinder’s plough. I recently acquired this specialized tool, and I intend to do a more comprehensive video on it soon, as it is actually a very cleverly designed 3-in-1 portable bookbinding shop! The bookbinder’s plough is effectively a type of hand plane, though designed to cut the edges of a book instead of wood. The fixed blade is perpendicular to the book that is to be trimmed, which is held firmly in the press. A slot in the base of the plough registers into a runner on the rear jaw of the press, while a handscrew controls the depth of the cut. As I pass the plough back and forth I’m actually giving the screw a tiny turn with each pass, which advances the blade and cleanly cuts through single pages at a time. And because the blade is curved, I can actually cut in both directions, making the job very quick. The advantage of the plough is that it give a