u/hk_arnold

It all started when I picked up a new book to read and one of the pages came unglued from the spine. It reminded me how much I miss books with stitches in the pages. A simple joy from a simple time.

A supermassive rabbit hole later, the hours of which I did not (would rather not) track, I’d consumed half of DAS’s bookbinding videos (twice), some of Nik’s - a small side tangent into stitched endbands, a brief glance in fanbinding’s direction - and a whole heap of tips and inspo from this sub. I got to figuring out typesetting and imposition.

And then the real fun began.

Paper grain: I went to all the trouble of printing quattro on A3 to get short grain A4. Silly me, the A3 was short grain and I got long grain A4 anyway. The whole process of formatting, printing and collating was relaxing though. Punching holes and sewing went without a hitch (thank you DAS).

Trimming: I tried three different hand trimming methods. All failed miserably (how does anyone do that without their hands dropping off?? Or is it me? Am I just crazy for trying to hand trim an almost 400 page text block???). To be fair, the chisel method worked great for the first hour - that’s about when I realised I was only through 1/8th. I found a half price guillotine, and took way too much off the fore edge. There’s forever a weird little wave in the head too.

Rounding and backing: Trying to make a shoulder in my hand made press was… fun, but at least my glancing hammering skills are a benefit to backing (now, when I bend nails, it’s in tribute to my emerging bookbinding skills and not just a frustrating mess of random holes and wasted nails). One section wouldn’t roll over. I’m still not sure why.

Edges: my fingernails were too long to be let near smooth edges (the nail marks are a personal touch). The edge painting went pretty good - thanks to an old thread on this sub and the fanbinding community on YT. It is a little patchy and did leak slightly on the first try - but no stuck pages or flaking.

Endbands: I tried a four step pattern with three threads. Silly me. I realised half way and did it right on the second endband. I used macrame thread as a core and contested with an unravelling thread as I sewed. Plus, macrame thread is twisty and too soft, so it pinched and rolled over in spots. I think the thread I used was too thin too. The bead is not as noticeable as I wanted. Some of the anchor points are noticeable (distractingly) inside the book, as well as the tassel (I started at the front of the book for some reason). It’s a fun quirk. Like the close cut margins and slightly patchy edges and crescent shaped notches.

Overall: the book is sturdy (I could club someone with it and it’d come out undented). I love the smell of cloves, lowkey (thank you homemade paste). And it’s just so nice to handle. I may never buy another factory produced book again! (let me dream.)

Help: I’m about to start another project. I’ve found some better thread for endbands (I hope), but I’d love any tips for some of the issues I’ve run into or visible mistakes I might’ve missed? The next book I’m tackling is way shorter (almost half the size), and I’m drawing up a stencil to paint on the cover (nervous it’ll be thick, flaky and lose the fabric texture). I’m doing it as a surprise gift for the author (my brother) and I want to nail it.