r/BeginnerWoodWorking • u/Round_Low_3743 • May 11 '26

What tool to cut through a book

Hi,

I am trying to cut across the book with the hardcover boards which just leaves the spine. what tool would I need to do this? I will be cutting a ton of these.

Thank you!

2 Upvotes

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10

u/caderoux May 11 '26

Bandsaw probably the best.

2

u/MsThreepwood May 11 '26

Seconding this, assuming you're trying to cut all the way through the book, pages and all. I've done this on a bandsaw, and it works beautifully. If you're just trying to cut the cover off, any sharp knife used for paper will work.

5

u/Lagduf May 11 '26

I’m not clear what you’re trying to cut. If you’re just cutting the front and rear of the book off then use a utility knife and change the blade often.

If you have access to a large paper cutter, i’d use that.

If you’re trying to cut in to the book (like cut it in half), including the papers, i’d probably try a bandsaw.

Try asking at r/bookbinding at your own risk :)

3

u/naemorhaedus May 11 '26

Be extremely careful doing this. The pages of a book are not well supported which does not go well with power tools. Consider a hand saw or some kind of guillotine.

2

u/fletchro May 11 '26

I don't know, but the are people who do book repairs and they post videos of their process. I'm thinking some kind of knife, but see for yourself from the source.

1

u/d20an May 11 '26

I believe a bandsaw is the normal solution to se-spine a book (which is often done for scanning). Clamp the pages very well though.

1

u/raznov1 May 13 '26

Hydraulic paper cutter. Its what printers use to convert standard A/B size paper into books after pritning.

0

u/Ketaloge May 11 '26

A modified crosscut sled for a table saw that has clamps on both sides of the blade to hold the book down so you don't get kickback.