In Don Etherington's presentation at the Standards Seminar in Ann Arbor in October on Japanese Paper in Bookbinding and Conservation he used what he calls the Guardomatic, a tool he demonstrated once before during the Second Standards Seminar in Boston in 1983. It is a guarding jig invented by Barbara Meier Husby while she was at the Library of Congress. It is an extremely useful tool when guarding sections because it accommodates sections of varying thickness and assures an even alignment of the foredge when repairing old books.
We were asked to reprint the original diagram and instructions (not included in this web edition), as we had in 1983. Some changes have been made in the model Don is using currently, so use this as a guide, not a final solution.
Tear strips of Japanese tissue, using a ruling pen or other device. Spread paste on a litho stone or plexiglas, lay guarding strip on paste, blot with waste paper (several strips may be done at once), transfer strip to jig, laying it across the center. Strips should be slightly shorter than book section to avoid showing at head and tail. Lay text leaves on strip and close jig over them. Guard inner folios first so that outer ones can be built around them. Air dry before pressing.