3d-Printing a Handle for a Soviet Kamaz Bookbinding Press

You may know the Kamaz brand if you are a fan of the Dakar Rally. However, this Soviet/Russian truck and engine factory have produced many other things, including… bookbinding equipment.

I got this Kamaz press along with some other tools and materials from a bookbinders collection while I was back in Moscow. And it’s much more than just a press. That’s a sort of bookbinder’s multitool, that includes a sewing frame, plow, and, yes, a press.

For bookbinding, I prefer using other presses and weights. However, this Kamaz press appeared to be a crucial part of my papermaking experiments.

However, at some moment I managed to break its turning handle. Old plastic didn’t survive my efforts in pressing out as much water as possible from the newly cast paper sheets.

For some time I just coped using pliers. But that isn’t a really good solution. So, as I have a 3d-printer, I decided to print a new and better handle. Handier and with a better lever.

So, here it is:

As the nut inside the handle has to be tightened by a screw, I had to print the new handle with a long channel. Here you can see it in the middle of the printing process:

First use showed that I will probably need to update the design a bit. But it is already much better than the original.

Here is a list of some other mass produced Soviet bookbinding tools, if you are curious.