A pallet is used to tool designs on a surface, usually leather. It can be used for both gold tooling and blind tooling. It is most often used in bookbinding, particularly on fine bindings. A pallet can either have a continuous design on it, or be a line or combination of lines.
__------__ \
/ \ |
/ \ | brass plate having a
\ / | curved face with design
\ / | or straight line
\ / |
\ / /
|| \
|| |
|| | brass shaft
|| | approximately
|| | 5 cm / 2 inches long
|| | 5 mm / 1/4 inch in diameter
|| |
|| |
/__\ /
| | \
| | |
| | | wooden handle
| | | approximately
| | | 10 cm / 4 1/2 inches long
| | | 15 mm / 1/2 inch in diameter
| | |
| | V
Many pallets are used in combination with a roll or fillet of the same pattern, to provide a neat finish to a line on the cover of a book. On its own, the pallet is also used to tool the lines on the spine, both between and on top of the bands.
Pallets, like all tools used in tooling, are heated before application to the surface to be decorated. As a result, second-hand pallets are often blackened, particularly where the wood meets the metal. This does not affect their function.