Two
volumes, part of a larger set of New Testament  commentaries
from 1734, bound in wooden boards and covered in vellum. Each was
originally fitted with two brass clasps with brass hasps. One needed
a replacement clasp on the top, two clasps/hinges on the bottom. New
hasps were needed for both volumes. |
|
 Title page of volume repaired. |
||||
| The
Repair |
||||||
|
|
|
|||||
 In
order to get an accurate pattern for the clasp, I took a rubbing
of one of the clasps remaining on the volume. I used 20 gauge brass
to make the new clasps and 22 gauge for the hasps. The rods (catches)
on the clasps were quite heavy, so I used 12 gauge brass wire to
make them and the hinge pins.
I sawed out the clasps using a jeweler's saw, as the tools used on some of the other sample claps shown on this site were not adequate for this job as the metal was too heavy. Clasps were beveled and decorated to match the originals, with holes drilled appropriately. I measured the hasps, hammered them to match and hinged them to the bottom pieces. Photos above show various states of completion. Clasp parts were then given a brushed finish, (upper left pic) and then they were scrubbed clean using an abrasive cleaner to remove any traces of oil before patina was applied. |
||||||
|
||||||
Attaching
the Clasps |
||||||
Before the clasps could be affixed to the book I had to lift the paper paste downs to access the boards in order to remove the last vestige of old rivets, do a little repair to the old holes which held the rivets, and then repair the paste downs with a little thin Japanese paper. To repair the holes in order to make it possible to rivet the new clasp back on securely, I drilled a small hole exactly the size of a small hardwood dowel rod. I trimmed the rod to the right length and glued it into the hole using Elmer's wood glue, keeping the top of the rod as flush with the surfaces of the cover as possible. When dried the rods were carefully sanded flush with the board surfaces. |
||||||
|
The clasps were matched up with the old marks on the leather. New holes were drilled into the boards, and the new parts were riveted back on. Some final adjustments were made to the hasps, and everything worked just fine. The final results are shown above in the close-ups, and in the photos above and to the right. The repaired volume is on the top in the picture above, and on the right in the photo on the right. |
 |
|||||
Clasps
of brass, or possibly bronze were originally attached to the boards
with what looked like headless rusty nails for rivets. The clasps
had a dark patina, possibly intentional, or possibly only due
to age. I used the complete clasps on the other volume as a reference
for modeling the new clasps and hasps. These were large, hefty
volumes. Unfortunately, I forgot to measure them, but they were
at least 12" X 15" and about 3" thick.
Metal
used in the original clasps was heavy, about 20 gauge. The hasp
(below) was a lighter gauge, and was not flat but was hammered
down its length to give it a curved, raised look. This most likely
was done to create more stability in the hasp. 
The
old clasps left some verdigris stains,
(left), which I did not attempt to remove. Nor did I do any
other cleaning of the leather.
Finally,
all the parts were colored with a commercial patina solution to
give them a dark finish. 
Here
are two close-up views of one of the finished replacement clasps.
