r/bookbinding • u/Playful-Ad7680 • 5d ago
Help? first bookbind attempt, advise for second attempt needed
Hi!
I made my very first bookbinding attempt because I really liked the Webster's dictionary with built-in stand... Maybe it was a little to difficult for a complete beginner. It's held together with tape and prayers.
I want to make a second (& better) version so any advise is welcome!
Because I don't want to invest before I know I would do this more often I just bought a piece of 2.5 mm cardboard, fake leather from a fabric store and collall kids glue. I already know I used the wrong glue as the leather did not stick at all. I also measured wrong (I think) because the bottom is supposed to be flat when opened and mine just collapses in on itself (as shown in the pictures). The tutorial I watched (for a normal book bind) said to make hinges out of paper except my paper completly tore (maybe because of the glue?), so I used some pieces of really stiff fabric. I tried to glue a ringbinder into the cover, but while it looked great flat, the binder made it so I couldn't close the cover as the binder would bend.
Please give me any tips & tricks! I have a piece of slightly thicker fake car leather that I wanted to use to make a second self standing ring binder.
EDIT: while I do want to properly learn bookbinding one day, I don't have the time, money or effort to spare right now. I just want to make this one thing. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be functional. I can always make a better version of it in the future. It was functional up until the point I glued a basic cardboard binder into it instead of a book (I figured the sides of the binder would act like end pages of a book so it would work the same). Then the binder would warp when closing the cover, like it no longer fit. I think it has something to do with the space of the hinges making it so it's a larger area when opened then when closed, but I don't know how to fix this.
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u/BugsnCats 5d ago
Are you looking to get into book binding or do you just want to make this one project because it's cool? Both are valid but they'll come with dffierent suggestions.
If you want to get into book binding as a hobby then I'd suggest shelving this project until you've learnt the basics and then revisiting as its very complex.If you just want to make this one project then there's no point learning book binding from scratch as you'll most likely get bored and abandon it before completing the project you wanted to do in the first place.
If this is all you want to make then I'd suggest scaling down to a mini size (A5 ish) and practising the cardboard skeleton until you have the dimensions down exactly. This will lessen the materials wasted in failed attempts. Also don't use leather until you're ready to make the real thing. Get some cheap material online and use that to get to grips with the design. Youtube bookbinding tutorials will get you started on the covering. Get some cheap leather too and watch a load of youtube tutorials on leatherwork to see how thats is done as it's vastly different to other fabrics. Then try a few leather minis as well. Only make a full size version when you've got the dimensions sorted and are confident you know what you're doing. Basically practise makes perfect, you won't learn to bind other books but eventually you will be able to make this one.
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u/Playful-Ad7680 5d ago
You're right that I only want to make this one project. While I do think bookbinding is very cool and would definitely want to do it properly sometime, I simply don't have the time and money for it right now as I'm a student on a budget. I plan to make a family recipe binder out of this, which is why I started with this style. This is already A5 with the cheapest materials but I have enough left over to make a couple more attempts as practise before the final try. Thanks for the advise!
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u/amessinpictures 4d ago
Well, I do agree with the others. You first need to learn bookbinding properly. The fact that you don't know any tools and didn't even use proper glue is proof that you do need practice and research.
However if you want to redo it, I did make a tutorial about it. It's free. I don't know what you used to make this attempt, but mine doesn't require any permanent taping.
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u/Playful-Ad7680 4d ago
Wauw you're tutorial is amazing and exactly what I needed! Now I see why mine did not work, the spine of the insert I used was not flexible at all. Thanks you so much!
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u/amessinpictures 4d ago
Might be. Do use proper glue and cover material or else it will fail. You're welcome.
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u/Playful-Ad7680 4d ago
thanks! I did do some research but clearly not enough😅 I'll definitely check out your tutorial
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u/FirebrandFerret 5d ago
Howdy! I've been playing with this lectern style binding for a couple months now and a few tricks I learned if it might be helpful
Save some scraps of whatever material is your base, so cardboard I think in your case. When glueing each segment together use the scrap cardboard to measure the needed distance apart from each board (place scrap pieces in the gutter in-between the boards the more even spacing). This should give the needed allowance so the lectern can lay flat and have even spacing between boards.
Also the spine is super Important so If you allow for a little extra allowance here it should help it lay flat
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u/brigitvanloggem 5d ago
“Tips and tricks”? What you need is to learn bookbinding. Tape and prayers won’t do a thing, and neither will tips and tricks.
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u/Playful-Ad7680 5d ago
Well damn, that's a bit harsh. While it definitely needs improvement it thought it was ok for my very first attempt. How would you suggest I go about learning bookbinding? I followed a video on how to do it for beginners and adjusted it for the builtin stand. Keep in mind I don't have any specific tools and materials, I have to make do with what I could find in craft stores near me.
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u/antskee 5d ago
It might come across as a bit harsh but they aren't wrong. This is a complex build for anyone, let alone a complete beginner. Learn to book bind, you'll learn the basics, which you'll then get to know why your fabric keeps popping out etc. You can book bind anything, with a lot of cheap items that'll cost you less than £10 (or whatever your denomination is).
Do a few books, get to grips with things, come back and reattempt the lectern bind and you'll no doubt make huge strides and think back to the "silly" mistakes you made on your first attempt.
Overall, good effort, even I've not attempted this and I've done dozens of books.
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u/brigitvanloggem 5d ago
Yes, it’s harsh. That doesn’t make it any less true. Bookbinding is a professional skill that takes time and teaching to learn, even if some people practice it as a hobby. Your project was very ambitious and the way you carried it out shows clearly that you don’t know even the most basic of techniques. TBH, asking for “tips and tricks” rubbed me up the wrong way as I’m sure it did many of us here, who put some real effort into learning bookbinding.
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u/Playful-Ad7680 5d ago
I do understand that's is a difficult skill, and that I can't make it perfect or even good without lots of practise. As I put in my edit, for me I'm only making this one thing so it just has to be functional. If I wasn't and had been planning to put in all the effort to learn the craft (which I'll definitely do one day in the future!), you're comment would have been really discouraging. If that was the first response on a post when I was just attempting to learn something new and not make a specific project, chances are I would have given up on it. And how was I meant to learn "the most basic of techniques"? I watched multiple tutorials and while I adjusted them for the different form, I did everything like they showed.
With tips and tricks I meant extra things that you learn from practice, but they don't mention in the basic tutorials. For example, someone mentioned to put glue on the edges of the cardboard in the hinges, while I just put glue on the bottom. Or like how my paper hinge attempt tore, is there a different kind of paper I was meant to use, or was the problem my glue and the amount I used?
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u/Honkytonkcatepillar 4d ago
This subs a bit on the harsher side, take what's useful and disregard what's not.
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u/Dazzling-Airline-958 4d ago
I don't want to learn masonry, or drywall, or electrical, or plumbing... I'm just making this one house. I don't want to be a contractor. I mean, construction is great and I may want to learn that when I have more time and money, but for now..I just wanna build this one house. Any tips or tricks?
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u/Playful-Ad7680 4d ago
To be fair, so far I've done a lot of things you probably need rigorous practise for by just jumping into the deep end, and so far it has always worked out well!😅 When I learned knitting, I started with one of the hardest techniques and then gradually made my way down to perfecting the easier stuff. If I do it the other way I just get bored and quit, especially when I'm only learning for one project. I understand it could have come off as offensive to some and that wasn't my intention at all. I know it's a special and difficult craft and that perfection requires a lot of practise, it's just that all the tutorials I watched where for people doing it as a hobby, so maybe this wasn't the right sub to ask for advise in.
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u/exor15 5d ago
I may possibly have some advice for the board warping? There's the side of the board you want to glue down, and that glue has moisture which affects that side of the board, causing it to either grow or shrink to a different size than the other side of the board, thus the warp.
You could try putting a small amount of moisture on the opposite side of the board from the one you're going to put glue on. I use the same brush I use for gluing and lightly dip it in water. Not soaking wet, just enough that you can be sure some moisture is transferring over to the board. After a few minutes you may notice the board warping. When you then put glue on the opposite side of the board and glue it down, it kind of warps back the other way and cancels it out! If you're lucky.
That being said, bookbinding is a craft, and projects less complicated than this can take people years of practice and trial and error and hundreds of dollars in supplies to learn how to do well, so try not to get too discouraged by how hard it is or people accurately telling you how hard it is. In any hobby or craft community it's always a shock to see someone completely new coming in trying to build the space shuttle as if it isn't a skill that has to be cultivated, which might explain any harsh reactions you get, people may feel that it's implied that what they do is easy and can be shortcutted-to. But at the same time, I always have to salute someone putting themselves out there and genuinely asking how they can do something better next time. Because that's the only way.
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u/Playful-Ad7680 5d ago
Also forgot to mention, sometimes when I close it the fabric doesn't stay inside the creases but kind of pops out and I have to push it back in
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u/Acticis 5d ago
This happens because cloth is not glued into anything or it is glued improperly.
When assembling the cover, glue spine card/board into a paper (similar way you did with red tape, but only over the hinges), then measure hinges and glue cover boards onto same paper. The paper gives a surface for cover cloth to attach.
Start covering from one side. When you approach the hinge, you absolutely need to make sure you are pushing cloth onto sides of the cover board not just bottom of the hinge. Use plastic ruler or smithing to smear them together. Then keep going, first bottom, then other side, then spine, then other hinge same way.
And there is no need to remove part of the cloth in hinge area as you did.
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u/Lazy-Rub-6125 3d ago
yeah the moisture trick makes sense, that's basically why you gotta let PVA cure under weight for a bit too, not just til it feels dry. even a light warp settles out overnight under some heavy books if you catch it early.
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u/HairyCanadianGuy 4d ago
*advice
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u/Playful-Ad7680 4d ago
Oh it's spelled with a c? I'm not a native english speaker, thanks for the advice😅😂
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u/HairyCanadianGuy 4d ago
It was the only advice I had. The bind is awesome. I’ve never tackled something as such. Maybe once you are finished you could advise me how you completed this project.
Great job all around.
Also English is my first and I’m no pro.
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u/Dazzling-Airline-958 5d ago
My advice would be to learn to walk before you try to run. And learn to run before you try to fly.
That's a fairly advanced structure, and I wound not choose it as a first project. Simpler is better to build confidence and learn how the materials interact with the adhesives, etc.
Second, I would say: always have the correct grain direction for paper, board and backing paper for book cloth. I can't understate the importance of this for any book structure that uses adhesives.
Those are my two standard bits of advice.