weekend book binding

The work area setup. Plenty of chipboard for cutting surfaces was helpful.

Papers cut down from large pieces of Strathmore 400 drawing paper. I disassembled a Moleskine for reference.

Papers folded in groups of three to form signatures.

Template with hole punch.

Signatures sewn together around binding tapes

Mull is a mesh fabric glued to the spine with PVA archival glue. This plus the binding strips holds the papers to the cover.

Lesson learned: xacto chisel blade does not make a clean edge for trimming. I'll either live with the deckle edges or find a better method next time.

Cover boards glued to mull and binding strips.

Grandpa's old vice makes makeshift book press. It actually worked pretty good. For the other pressings I had more material to even out the pressure.

I used straight fabric here instead of expensive book cloth. Utrechts art store only had nauseating purple book cloth that I couldn't bear to purchase. The cloth had problems though - glue bled through and discolored the fabric a bit. Next time I'll try sizing the fabric by pre-gluing rice paper

Glue brushed on to the cover board, the spine was attached directly to the fabric first.

Boards attached, corners trimmed.

Top part glued in preparation for folding around the edges.

Rough corner fold, I liked how it turned out, but it could have been crisper.

This is my favorite part of bookbinding for some reason. Makes it feel like a book somehow.

Skewers and boards and protective "press n' seal" saran wrap for final pressing. The saran worked very well because it somehow avoided the adhesion of the powerful PVA glue.

This weekend I tried out book binding for the first time. I was pleased with the results, but learned many lessons for doing a better job next time. I was inspired by (but not nearly as careful as) this writeup.

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Comments

extraspecial says:

wowsers. that's quite a process! good job!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

nate steiner says:

Thanks! Next up - printing an actual book and binding that!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

tokyocraiger says:

Nice going -- lookin' sexy!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

nate steiner says:

thanks!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

extraspecial says:

don't get TOO good at it, or you might get enlisted when I need a portfolio made! ;)
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Kerri9494 says:

Great pix, Nate. If you didn't already learn this, there's a really simple technique for making excellent bookcloth without using paper backing. Get a sheet/roll/whatever of WonderUnder or similar iron-on fabric adhesive. It has a paper backing. Put your chosen fabric down, wrong side up, place the 'glue' side of the WonderUnder onto the fabric, then iron the paper side of the WonderUnder (don't move the iron around or you'll wrinkle the fabric -- instead, just press and then lift).

It sort of impregnates the fabric with the glue, feels just like regular bookcloth, and is very EVEN. (Don't ask me about the time I tried to use ModPodge to make bookcloth...)
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

nate steiner says:

Oh thanks very much Kerri9494! I was wondering about how one might do that. The book that resulted from the above pics definitely had an ugly cover due to glue seeping through. WonderUnder it is! thanks.
Posted 33 months ago. ( permalink )

`` Gryana says:

cool!
Posted 30 months ago. ( permalink )

Ente inexistente says:

Hola, soy el administrador de un grupo llamado De Letras y nos encantaría agregar tu foto al grupo.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Durban Daze says:

a sterling effort! you should've seen my first attempt ... definitely not fit to be photographed. this one rocks!
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

nate steiner says:

Thanks! The end result was far from perfect, but I had fun documenting the process.
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

Tanya & Steve says:

Thank you for sharing on this subject, it is very generous of you.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

wucheydi says:

What a great reference -- I've been wanting to try this and now have a go-to if I get stuck. Thanks for posting! :>
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

mlproject says:

thanks for the link. i've been hand stitching booklets for awhile, but haven't gone into multi-signature projects. now's the time!
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

Fer Jimenez says:

very interesting!

Hi! I am manager of a group called Books / libros / livros and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

mdezyne says:

Soo Awsome! Could you do a you tube demo as well. I really love the way you photographed the process. I tried a paper and glue process for a school project for a story illustration, which was the main focus. It bombed compared to yours. I really wish I saw this process first. Thanks for sharing

Mdezyne
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

I®eninha says:

Very very cool!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

Miss Creative says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Study Is Art, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

daniell-o says:

Awesome!
I work at a book factory, so I see quite a bit of this.
It's a process.
It makes me analyze books closer when I pass through the book section.
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

Turner Portrait says:

nice
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

annabelwynne says:

Excellent pictures. One day I will learn how to bookbind - it fascinates me.
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

Thomas W.P. Slatin Photography says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called TomSlatin.com (Your Picture Might Be Featured On My Blog!), and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

.CellarDoor Photography. says:

OoOOo that's some nice work ;)

...I hope to get to that standard!!! x
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

DenaG.M says:

it's very interesting.
thanks :)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

danaz1 says:

It's beautiful.
May I post it on my book blog?
milotkishur.blogspot.com/
Thanx
Dana
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

nate steiner says:

Please feel free danaz1
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

danaz1 says:

Great
Thank you
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

mikemiller28 says:

www.bookmakerscatalog.com/ is a great place for supplies I use it all the time and for gr8 end sheets bradleypaper.com for decorative handmade paper the printed lokta is the best you can also buy the headbands for hard bounds from the book makers cataloge. Hope you continue to make more books, I'm working on 4 hard bounds myself.
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

Fer Jimenez says:

Read is GREAT!!!

""This wonderful photo was seen in "BOOKS"

--
Found in a search. ( ?² )
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

fazer53 says:

Great idea!!! love the pics
Posted 2 weeks ago. ( permalink )

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weekend book binding

Comments

extraspecial says:

nate steiner says:

tokyocraiger says:

nate steiner says:

extraspecial says:

Kerri9494 says:

nate steiner says:

`` Gryana says:

Ente inexistente says:

Durban Daze says:

nate steiner says:

Tanya & Steve says:

wucheydi says:

mlproject says:

Fer Jimenez says:

mdezyne says:

I®eninha says:

Miss Creative says:

daniell-o says:

Turner Portrait says:

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Thomas W.P. Slatin Photography says:

.CellarDoor Photography. says:

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nate steiner says:

danaz1 says:

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Fer Jimenez says:

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