Piercing signatures

I have found a bit of an alternative way to pierce signatures. I read about sawing the holes from the outside in one of Kevin Smith's books. This method vs. the inside piercing works out well for me. It has greatly improved my accuracy. No more wonky piercing stations!

Kevin Smith's instructions involved using a hack saw... seriously... a Hack saw! This seemed a bit extreme to me. This is like cutting a sapling with a chain saw... can you say overkill! I scaled it back a tad. I use a jeweler's saw. I happen to have several from my goldsmithing days. Even if you are not a jeweler these are very handy things to have around. I have used mine for all types of projects including , in a pinch, cutting down a Christmas tree.

The trick is to use the saw to "mark" the piercing hole. You don't need to go all the way through. If you do cut through all of the signature the hole will be elongated and will rip easily when you are sewing the book. Use a traditional awl to finish the hole from the outside of the signature.

Jeweler's adjustable saw frame