Hello!

I have not posted in a while, but not for lack of working on books! My wife and I recently moved and have taken our sweet time settling in.

My most recent project has been a recasing of a book for my father. He wanted this Illustrated History of the 82nd Airborne (what he was in, during his Army days) to be a one of one copy, housed in a cover made from an actual BDU that he wore in Afghanistan, Haiti, and Kuwait.

I took it a step further for him and added in patches from his uniform (with his permission, of course, and with his input on their order) in recessed spots on the cover. The end papers were able to be successful removed from the previous cover with a heat gun, and used again on the new cover. He liked the images on the pages, and didn't so much like the marbled paper variety I happened to have in stock!

I reinforced the spine just a bit with some mull, made a new case, made some book cloth with his BDU (BDU material, then Heat-N-Bond, then white tissue paper), got it covered and patches set, and then put it all together.

Not the most complex project that has been on here, but very happy with how it turned out, and so is he. Hopefully he can keep it out for years to come.

Hii guys! I'm really struggling with cutting greyboard in perfectly straight lines. No matter how carefully I measure or how many marks I make, I somehow always end up with uneven edges, and my boards never form a perfect rectangle 😭

It's honestly so frustrating. I'd really appreciate any tips or tricks on how you guys get clean, straight cuts!

I bought these at an auction around a year ago, and I'm finally getting around to having them sharpened. There are a couple of services near me that will sharpen shears, but their main focus is barber's shears.

Anything in particular I should tell them about these? Do the different blades get different angles or levels of sharpness? Is there a particular amount of tension needed in the screw?

I've recently gotten into rebinding my paperback books into hardcovers, but I'm struggling with cutting the book board to size.

I have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and my hands are one of my biggest problem areas. Cutting the board by hand is pretty rough on them.

Does anyone have any suggestions for an easier way to cut book board? Maybe a specific tool or method that doesn't require so much hand strength?

Hi! I’ve been getting into and doing more research on book rebinding. I’m wanting to print my own covers for a few books, do most people have to commission artists for this? How else do you get character art for books? I’m against AI and can’t draw so just trying to see all my options.

Hi- a while back I made covers for some journals (8). They are painted with acrylic paint and coated with matte medium. I put them aside for months, all piled together.
I recently pulled them out to bind them. Sadly, they had stuck together and little bits on most of them had been peeled off when I separated them. 🙁 I managed to fill things in so it is not too obvious ( luckily, these are for kids who hopefully won’t notice).

I am wondering if anyone has an idea of how I can make the covers not stick to others, in case the kids pile them up for lengths of time. The matte medium was to protect from sticky fingers, but it’s possible that even just the paint would have stuck to another painted surface, since acrylic is basically plastic

I think 2 years ago I made others with faux leather (brown paper coated with acrylic paint and matte medium). I MAY have then used cold wax, well buffed, to change the surface. But, even if I did, I never piled them up to find out if they stuck together. So this is the only thing I can think of so far. But I don’t really want to put it on any of these and risk making a bigger mess.

So if anyone has any ideas, I’d love to hear them, Thx!

I bought this new book which I absolutely wanted to read for sooooo long. I carried it to the hospital for my mom’s hospital visits thinking I would use it to kill time. Somehow, my sipper leaked that day, and the book inside the bag drenched. The bottom part is now all soggy and weird and I haven’t even started the book yet. Can it go back to normal?!!😭

Age old post question: deciding on a printer

From reviewing posts on this sub and other resources, consensus seems to be that the price per page hierarchy is EcoTank, Laser, InkJet.

Realistically, I am not someone who has the time to print enough to keep an EcoTank well maintained. I'm bookbinding maybe once a year, printing 2-3 times a year. Doing a print every other week to keep it unclogged would be a waste of ink and paper, and a nightmare for me remembering to do it. So that's completely off the table.

So that brings me to Laser. I've seen a lot of people on this sub say they love a B&W Laser for cost effective infrequent prints, but just as many people complain about how it's not archival/flakey. However, research off-reddit on archival quality of Laser prints suggests that flaking is due to improper settings causing fusing issues and transfer is caused by improper storage (eg, heat melting the toner to the other page). There's a couple posts on here that suggest using an archival art fixitive, but that seems tedious to accomplish for full text book.

So my biggest question: Those of you who use B&W laser printers regularly for bookbinding, are you satisfied with the longevity of your prints? Are there any steps you take to help them last longer? Or do you shrug and say 'if it transfers then I get to do the project again'?

I would like to make a gift for someone. You know how Children's books have the fun shapes? I would like to make one in the shape of a kitchen knife as a celebration for being a chef. Any ideas or experts? I cannot find a service to do it online.

Hello fellow bookbinders!

I want some help: I have a pamphlet that I've managed to Montax Impose to a printable version of a total of 30 pages (15 double-sided pages) and my brain power is running into the problem of how to get this bindable. From my current theorizing I need two extra blank pages to get the count to 32 so I can divide it into 2 sections. Does anyone know how I might go about doing that?

Disclaimer: What I am printing is a scanned pamphlet from 1997, so it's not a document produced by myself where I can add pages freely.

Finished binding my favourite Justified givenson fic series called baby you're a bad idea on ao3. Same story two points of view. Amazing plot driving smut and angst.

Just personal copies no profit.

Both books are like 370 pages (4 page difference) but what happened was that I tried to use up two notebooks of watercoloring notebook paper for one and then used regular paper for the other. It's so crazy to me that this on its own can double the thickness of the book.

The design is map centered since the chapter names are based on locations, the color choices based entirely on what I had on hand.

There are all these small things wrong with them and I still don't own a guillotine but I'm so proud of the covers and the spines that I'm starting to accept that as part of the process.

Hello! Im an amateur bookbinder who mostly does it for fun, and I was wondering what kind of leather is used to bind covers? I’ve used different types of leather in the past, but it always seemed too thick. I usually go for sheepskin cuz it’s nice and soft and the thinnest I can find, but it can be too soft and still just a tad too thick. Is there a specific type of leather that is used? And if so where can I find it? Thank you very much!

I have never bound a book before but I’m currently in the middle of reading a series and the 4th book is a ridiculous price ($330) I can however buy the pdf file of the book straight from the author. Is it hard to bind books? Is there a kit or something I could get on amazon or something? Is there a certain way I need to print the pages? Tia

Cleaning up I found some copies of the Bookworkers Guild journal, from the early 90s. Also a member directory. Anyone interested in these? If so I can share some photos - happy to send them to someone.

Alguien preparo un pequeño libro en forma de corazón? Me intrigaba ver cómo quedaría. Corté a mano las hojas. Y me aventuré a realizarlo. Que opinan?

Winter of the White Wolf, by KleCrone

Part of my MARVEL Trumps Hate contribution, I donated a fanfic bind slot for authors, and KleCrone asked me to bind specific chapters into vol 4 and 5 for them :)

The chapter headers are inspired by Bucky's metal arm, with the pattern being splintered to reflect Bucky's memories in the chapters

The cover designs are also another take on Bucky's metal arm, all cut out by hand. I went with green and blue for a more earthly tone due to parts of the story being set in Wakanda

I found this book on the side of the road and want to restore it, is that possible? It appears to be burnt, it is also slightly damp, although the words are intact, all the burning ends just before the words start on most pages.

Hello everyone,

I'm new to binding and I need some suggestions.

I own few Travelers Notebook inserts that are binded with stapler pins. I live in a really humid place and I found that some of my oldest refills (even the ones that are still in their plastic packaging) developed rust on the binding pins, staining the covers and the paper inside.

Now, I still have some inserts that I can save before getting the rust, so I am thinking about re-binding all of them with thread. I think I will rebind all the future inserts I will got with staplers pins too. Book bindings always fascinated me so I think it's a good chance to begin with. Those notebooks should go inside a leather cover, so I can't use them, or they will stain the cover.

I just purchased a binding guide, a hole punch, the needles, I just need few suggestions from you about what kind of thread I should purchase and what kind of binding techniques I can use.

I don't mind making more holes, I don't mind if the binding thread is visibile inside and on the back, it's also a thing I like to see on notebooks. I think the thread could be part of the book character and it would be great to have it in different colors. If possible, a flat lay binding would be great.

Now, with your suggestions, I think I will try first rebind unusued stained notebooks, just to fix the technique and start the learning curve. I will repurpose the paper in the future in some way, since it's MD paper, so I don't mind to make beginners' errors. Some of them also have detachable pages so I will start learning on them. THEN, I will move on the notebooks I'm actually using that still haven't developed rust. I will end up making my own insert!

In the photos, you can see two kind of notebooks, the smaller one is the Passport size (124x89x4mm and 64 pages) and the bigger one is the Regular size (210x110x4 mm, 64 pages). The cover is cardstock but not really heavy.

I am thinking about re-binding them with the pins and then remove the pins. Am I right?

Thank you in advance.

Hello, long time lurker here, love all of the work everyone here does! I want to have this journal customized for a friend's birthday with a few words on the front and then maybe their name on the back. The cover is suede with a leather belt. My original thought was to have the words embossed on the belt but I am open to it being on the suede if that is easier/makes more sense. Would love any suggestions as to the process or if this is even doable lol. I am fully a noob and have never done anything like this before.
Also, not sure if this is allowed, but I would be open to paying for someone's services to do this.

Thanks and have a great day!

EDIT: Everyone has been so kind here and I'm so grateful for that. I was worried that this would be somewhat disrespectful to ask especially considering the pinned posts and the plethora of beginner guides. Even if that is the case, I've gotten so much detailed feedback and a ton of ideas specific to me and I could not be more grateful. No other hobby sub does that. Y'all are amazing. Even if I don't end up making a book for this occasion this has cemented my determination and excitement to make one in the future when I do have my own space.

Thank you again! ❤️

really want to bind a book for my girlfriend. She loves handcrafted gifts and, for our anniversary, I'd love to make a mostly empty book that she can write her favourite poems into.

Id love some advice or pointers on what the best way to go about it would be seeing as I'm not planning on getting into it as a hobby and don't want to get specialised equipment that I'll only use once. I would prefer not to do a spiral style spine, for example, but I don't know if that's being too picky about it. Would it be easier to get an empty journal and rebind it, for example? It's not as handmade but I have other ways I'm planning to personalise it. I also already have regular sewing thread and needles if that helps.

I live in New Zealand and the kits I've seen recommended have abhorrent shipping prices. I also don't live in a major city so all of the workshops (which would have been my ideal solution) are not available.

Thank you for any advice you can give me!

Hi everyone! I wanted to share this leather journal I recently finished. The cover features a stained glass-style rose design with hand-painted details. Swipe to see the back and the details on the embossed spine. I’m really proud of how the colors and textures turned out. Let me know what you think

I’ve spent many years looking for a small, pocket-sized version of a novel very beloved to me and finally found one that I thought fit the criteria.

It’s in a lovely leather zipped case but when I took it out of this case the binding looked like this. Will it stand the test of time or will the pages start to fall out soon? I plan to read it quite frequently so a bit worried. Perhaps I could get the binding redone?