Collapsible Punching Cradle By Missy Bosch Studio
On the photo above you may see a punching cradle made by Missy Bosch. Last week I have received it as a gift from her and today I had a chance to try it.
I suppose you know what punching cradle is – it is used to make holes in the signatures before sewing. There are many different ways to do that (including sawing). However, many bookbinders prefer punching cradles (which can be made in many different sizes and have varied structures).
I have several cradles of my own construction to give to my students during classes. Next Sunday I’ll ask them to try this new one.
Missy is making her cradles with two stands protruding over the working surface on both sides. You can use one the stands as a stop to align signatures and a template cut to make holes in all the signatures to align nicely. I would prefer another construction – when you have a stop only on one side. However, my personal preference wouldn’t stop me from saying that I really like the cradle made by Missy Bosch Studio.
It is large enough (7” wide x 12” long) to fit most popular signature sizes (up to a 10 ½” tall). It is easily assembled and disassembled. In the disassembled condition, it takes almost no space at all. In addition, it is shipped with a nice drawstring bag – you can put it on shelve or hang somewhere near your working area.
I had no signatures to work with today. However, I have tried the cradle on some waste paper and everything worked fine. The slot is not too wide and not too narrow – exactly like it should be.
I should also mention the design of the cradle. Curved lines of the stands are really pleasing. And these small cornerstone triangles, that help to fix the structure, also look good. I would definitely use that cradle and recommend it to my friends and colleagues. All elements of the cradle are laser cut from birch plywood sheets.
You can buy that cradle at the Missy Bosch Studio Etsy shop. Hope you will like it too =)
Here are some photos:
I’ve also made an unboxing video, but it still needs some editing. I hope it would be ready later this week.
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