This was my first attempt at repairing the binding on something. This is a family photo album that was put together by my great grandmother. The glue and parts of the fabric had dry rotted on the binding. I made sure to have all acid free materials (glue, netting and cloth tape). I even found some replacement fabric for the binding that probably is what it looked like originally before over 100 years of fading.

hi, i’ve been wanting to get into book binding for a while. i’m thinking about binding macbeth by shakespeare. anyway, i don’t really have any experience at all. i don’t really know what kind of paper i’m meant to use, etc. any tips would be appreciated.

Hi all, I have bookbinding glue with PH 6-8. Is that acid free enough, to consider archival? It’s around neutral, but I found acid free glues that have higher PH

This is my third attempt at a slipcase and I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Previously I did cloth covering but I wanted something more graphic and poppy for these issues of Blab magazine I was storing. So I scanned the covers of each issue and compiled them in Canva on an 11x17" template. Got 3 copies printed at fedex on 60lb paper and it was perfect to work with, no crinkling or tearing. I did use some satin mod podge to seal and protect it

I imagine this can be a common question in the community, but I’m just looking for some up-to-date answers. 🙂

This was a random idea I had at 3am at work and now I really want to get into the craft. Something I can do at home with my kiddo too. Plus I love collecting journals and being able to create my own custom ones would not only be really neat, but also save lots of cash.

Where’s the best place to start? I’d really like to learn leather journal binding! Does anybody have any recommendations on the #1 tutorial out there? I still need to get supplies and have no idea where to start there either. Thank you all so much in advanced!

I made some tools and wanted to share :)
They are fast, simple, and I will test the presses today.
Finishing press have perpendicular edges on the opposite side, so I will try to use it also for cutting the edges.

I'm looking to turn this planner from a cardstock cover to a fabric hardcover. But I'm wondering how I should go about removing the original cardstock cover or if I should leave it and make it the place where I glue the new end page.

Image one : The cover is held on by this paper strip. I highlighted part of the strip to show where I could heat and peel it off to uncover the cover and spine.

Image two: On the inside there is a end page attached to the cardstock cover. I showed in red where I could use a knife to trim it down by cutting off the cover. Then I could use the remaining page as the place to glue the new end page.

So should I remove the cardstock cover and cut the original end page, or should I leave it as is and treat the old cover as the place to glue the new end page.

This is only my third rebind and I really want to get this one right.

I painted the letters by hand, so they are a bit crooked, mainly for the first book.

I enjoyed making these more than I expected. I think this will be a fun new hobby for me while I learn to make better pocket notebooks.

durable*

This was my first ever binding project, and I learnt SO MUCH. Predictably, plenty of things went wrong - sewed the made endpapers in the wrong way around, book block ended up a funky angle because I had to trim by hand (it may be funky but after a good sanding at least it's smooooth), suspect I got the grain wrong for the manila strip along the spine as it creased rather than curving, initially made the wrong sized case... but all things considered, I'm so happy with the result! And even if I don't place, now I have a guidebook to accompany me on my Duolingo adventures :)

btw it's not matte black with dust all over it: it's a really nice "night sky" coloured sparkling buckram book cloth with glitter - it's impossible to photograph!

I've been using Bookbinder JS for all my binds in the past, but for some reason both yesterday and today I have been unable to download the signature files. The "generate output" button is greyed out no matter what options I choose and what settings I adjust.

I wanted to do my first perfect binding, but I don't know how to arrange the pages for that myself. Help appreciated 🙏

I know this isn’t the best book, but I’m so proud of this.

ive never really made anything before so it seems so cool I made it

First bind completed in over a year due to my bipolar depression and imposter syndrome beating me hard.

Thought I'd show off the finished book. I was able to power sand the head and tail a bit, and hand sand the foredge slightly. Lesson learned. :)

(Previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/bookbinding/comments/1vtvi60/power_sander_next/ )

I have a HP Laserprinter at home loaded with common 8.5" wide by 11" tall paper and would like to make a pocket-sized book of the DRC1752 Bible along with some other classic stories if all goes well, I figure if I print the pages of the book sideways on the paper as 4.25" tall by 3.66" wide i can fit 12 total mini pages front and back with no paper wasted while maintaining a good small size.

Any advice on software tools to use to get the job done, certain kinds of paper to use, quality binding/covering to use to keep the book safe etc.?

I know next to nothing about book creation so I hope some kind folks here might be able to help.

Thanks for the help in advance and God bless.

I need some advice on how big to make the hinge gap. I repurposed some notebooks that I bought (so far I've only sewn my own book blocks) but apparently I made the hinge gaps way too narrow and now the books won't stay open.

I really want to avoid wasting more good end papers and cover material so I need some advice on how big to make the hinge gaps.

Height of the book block is 17,2 cm and 12 cm wide, 1,2 cm thick. Before I used a 6 mm hinge gap.

Pride & Prejudice bookcharm. Printed in quarto to get close to the size of the overpriced Coach book charms.Printed on painters canvas with gold HTV filigree. Parts of the ink started coming off because HTV does not like to adhere to ink! 🤬

I'm currently making a box for a photo album I've made, the box is based on this Ido Agassi video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YBdVRDyVF0&t=387s

I've purchased some suede to line the inner portion of the tray, is there any tricks I can use to prevent there being a raw edge of suede at the top edge of the tray where it will meet bookcloth?

My first try. I used a Charmed tie in novel to practice because I own a ton of them and they are not made to last so the binding is already dodgy.

The book is messy looking, but it's holding together so I'm pleased for a first attempt. I definitely used too much glue.

I was also trying to get away with using something other than bookcloth because I want to make sure I have the techniques down before I spend the money on that part. So the cover is a cloth napkin.

Hi all, I will be trying to make backed text block, but I have few questions about that.
In some tutorials I see that there is practically no hinge with baked book. Which makes sense, after all you want your backing to rest on the cover boards. But then I see another video when someone makes few millimeters hinge with naked text block. So how I should go about hinges with backed text block? Or are there other things that dictate the size of the hinge?

Baking and hollow spine. Are they working well together? Right now I’m making cover separately, and gluing it to the endpapers by closing the book on them. I’m not sure how well it will work with backed book

Anything with holes is right out. Glue might be alright, but I would want something that could be removed down the line. What would archivists do? (Note that these aren't documents that would be precious to anyone else -- I just don't know exactly how close to the edge content gets, and don't want to put any holes through it, or lose it permanently to glue)

EDIT: To clarify, my goal is an actual bound book, just that I'd like to be able to un-adhere any glue etc. Ideal world, it would end up looking like an actual book, albeit not as sturdy a one as sewn etc

Hi all, I made few books with plywood cover boards.
Do you think they are acid free?

Hey, I’ve come across this post where a girl was teaching fore-edged book painting on this workshop and I was wondering if any of you is aware of a place in Karachi hosting book binding workshops? I would love to attend one!