There’s so little bookbinding info on the internet, it makes it hard for younger people like me to learn, this channel has been a godsend tho!!
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You can probably find more about bookbinding if you search for articles or books about book history or codicology instead of going straight for book binding. It's more how it was historically made instead of a modern take, but it can show you a lot of techniques as well
What helped me learn a lot about bookbinding is watching professionals like DAS and trying my best to copy what I see in the videos. Looking back to my first attempts at making books, they were horrible and cringy, but it is so rewarding to see how far I have come skill-wise!:) There is still so much for me to learn, but what I feel is key is to keep tying to do better and learn from my (many) mistakes. Never give up!:)
DAS does proper old school bookbinding which is great. For a 'younger approach check out sea lemon's bookbinding videos. Non-traditional but pretty good for beginners.
I've been trying to learn how to become a hobbyist bookbinder for a little while now... And this was one of the greatest tutorials I've seen!!!!!! Thank you!!!
Great to see that a professional, taking time to show how he does his job. There is no hesitation in the steps and most of the work is done by eye or feel. as a carpenter this is the same for me. As an apprentice I would be constantly afraid of doing mistakes, but as I have gotten more experience. I’m noticing my mistakes as I’m making them, and are just working around them. Without any thought or anger. And the end result is always better. I love to watch old crafts by craftsmen. And you are a without doubt a craftsman. I understand your frustration in using your experience and time in turning a worthless pocket book to a leatherback. But to comfort you. This is pure entertainment for me.
Thanks! I love watching other craftspeople work too. I may have no intensions of ever using the technical skills being demonstrated, but watching the efficiency of movement, work flow, and their style of demonstration is always interesting and an opportunity to learn and improve. All the best, Darryn
I have a cheap copy of Gormenghast that I first read in high school. It is now crumbling in my hands. But when you talk about your love of that favorite old book, it made me smile. We love books because we read them. We want them to last forever. They become like family. Good video
I knew a guy who used to do that when I was a kid. It was a friend's grandfather who was retired. He had all these paperbacks that he turned into hardcover. He had shelves full of them because even the library wouldn't take them (he said he tried). Some of the old guys restored cars, others did carpentry/woodwork, this was his thing. I have to admit that I though he was doing that for books that I didn't think were worth saving, but that's what he did and it made him happy. God, I haven't though of him in years.
There is something to be said to just wanting to make your books look or feel a certain way. It’s not always to mimic them being older or more expensive or to assume that you’re making them more sturdy or that they will last forever. Sometimes it’s just that you want to make them fit your bookshelf or personality better.
I agree , I want to rebind my paperback books , Why ? Not to make them look older ,but to make them last longer . I care about these books , I want them forever, "put some respect on the books"
3:am I m watching a craftsman bind a book , and I have no idea how I got here nor thought I’d watch any of it let alone till the end,, well done sir , this is really interesting, Informative, and thanks for sharing your craft
Thank you so much, you too Linda. I have been wanting to have the feel of an old Gothic library but could never find or afford to buy all hard covered books I want even at thrift shops. This will be a nice project one year. Great information.
I have the same issue. I have a paperback that ive had for over a decade. Its one of my favourite books in general, but the particular copy i have is a very sentimental item itself. Over the years of re-reading its falling apart. So i want to make it a hardcover. Your the first person ive found that actually shows the process tho.
Before using this method, check out my latest video which preserves the original covers. If it's falling apart you will need to use the double-fan method to put it back together. Good luck! DAS
I have a really thick copy of _The Lord of the Rings_ in paperback, and I had thought about utilizing the pre existing cover, so thank you so much for showing a method for that! I'm really exited for how it might turn out!
Two minutes of watching this video (the first time I've seen any of your videos) and I'm subscribed. Many years ago a man transferred a paperback copy of Huckleberry Finn to a hardcover for me. He didn't charge me a nickle for the job. That book will be cared for as long as I live and hopefully will be passed on to my children and theirs. I do love books. A lot. Thank you so much!
Wow! Never thought of doing this way. I always took book apart in similar projects. But really want to try this way now. Thank you for your videos and inspiration!
I tried this in 1986 in my teens, but used bog oak veneers cut to 3mm thickness, I glued using horse glue and hand engraved the title and used gold leaf embossing. The book was Orwell’s animal farm printed in 1946. 35 years later and it’s still intact. I didn’t know it at the time but apparently this first edition print is very rare. The oak is still good too.
A very timely posting, thank you. I am investigating methods of recovering an 1897 edition of a law book. The covers are off. It is rounded and still has good shoulders so raised bands will look nice on it. I will look at your video on split board bindings as well. This will be in full leather and I’ve been asked to put in marbled endpapers as there were just plain paper endpapers originally. I so,appreciate your videos, I’m still on a steep learning curve and your videos are making me a better binder
Hi Cynthia. I highly recommend following the cloth library binding rather than this video. Also, the raised bands make this binding more complicated than I would like. The more I think about it, I think you should do it as a cased binding. Then you can do the bands and finishing off the book. If anything goes wrong you can redo it. Good luck! Darryn
Another gem! I can see all of the hard work you put into making these videos. They are all easy to understand and a pleasure to watch. Really incredible. I also greatly appreciate that you consciously use tools and equipment that a novice bookmaker might have on hand. It makes the projects seem much more achievable. Can't wait to see the video next week!
Oh hey, you put out a guide just as I put out my imgur tutorial. I'm excited to see how much I screwed up compared to your method! Ah yes, I tried to do this and I screwed up the split board so bad I went with a different method. I like this method! The only time this won't work is when the spine is crooked from the get go. I decided to go with scraping off the glue, removing the cover, and doing a perfect bind with PVA. I couldn't do a Lumbeck (tried, failed) because the factory glue was impossible to clean off without making a huge wavy/curved mess out of the text block.
Good videos, I've been using a similar method of turning trade paperbacks into leather bound volumes. I do a couple of things differently. Firstly before cutting the cover to make slips I glue on a sheet of mull or fray-not over the cover extending an inch or more on both sides. This makes the joint a bit more viable. I've done books twenty years ago in this manner that have been heavily used and are still as good as ever. Secondly I don't use stick on head and tail bands . Instead I achieve a nice head and tail cap by glueing in an inside out raised band to fold the turn in leather over at head and tail. Also when using french grooves you don't ever need to bevel the boards, in fact the leather will go on a lot neater if you keep the boards square cut.
Your point about bevelling the boards, I think you mean the back cornering, because I don't remember bevelling the boards especially at the joint. It's an interesting point. I think I did this out of habit with doing a lot of springbacks in the last few years. But my very first book a long time ago was a rounded and backed book with a French groove, and I was not taught to do back corners then - though it was with cloth. My gut tells me this will result in a vulnerable sharp corner. But if this was the case 19th century library bindings would be back cornered. But checking Johnson now he does not appear to back corner in his library style bindings. I think I'll add a note to these videos pointing this out and suggesting it is optional and may be more aesthetically pleasing without. Thanks! DAS
Your books are all so beautiful! I kinda fell down this rabbit hole because I want to bind a physical copy of something I wrote. I’ve done case bindings before, but they were super amateurish. I can only dream of having a book as beautiful as the ones you bind!
I made a cord bound book out of an old paperback that was falling apart. Used tissue paper and glue to turn the pages into signatures. The round easily absorbed the extra thickness.
Thanks so much for this tutorial. I recently bought a hard-cover book from a university press, and was disappointed to receive a perfect-bound text block with an ill-fitting hard cover. The cover creaked and ripped away more and more from the text block every time I opened it. The spine seemed to be too wide for the thickness of the text block. Eventually, I just pulled it off. I've been looking for a way to make a better cover since then. The book still has heavy card stock waste sheets (almost like a soft cover within the hard cover), so I think this method will work.
Good luck. This method relies of a well attached original cover as the insert for the split-board. You'll have to attach new ones for this purpose. The glue used on the spine of these types of books is notoriously difficult to adhere to. I've had to completely remove the original heat activated adhesive and rebind using the double-fan to then move forward. All the best, DAS
@@DASBookbinding - It's an oddly-constructed book. When I pulled off the hard case, it was like I was left with a soft cover book. The end pages are thick card stock that wrap the spine, so there's no exposed glue.
as a beginner bookbinder I absolutely adore your channel, it has helped me so much! I've only bound 4 or five books so far, but it's my goal to eventually bind leather books in that classic style (and learn all the vocabulary you use in your videos haha). Thank you for the help!
I have a paper back Bible and I'd like to have a hardback leather cover put on it; I don't have the space to do it myself.Please let me know if I can send my Bible to you I will pay what ever you charge.Thanks
Sorry, not taking on work. More work than I can possibly do. You might consider buying a quality bible. The paper in your presumably cheaper bible will be of lower quality and putting it in an expensive binding doesn’t change that.
I found it difficult to see what you were doing. Your work was quick and too far away with no narration. As a beginner, I obviously need more direction. It certainly turned out nicely however.
Wouldn't it be worthwhile, since one is putting such effort into the binding, to have the book de-acidified first, in order to prevent further browning and deterioration of the paper?
De-acidification is a complex subject. For a start, if I just want to put a paperback in hard cover I'd use the Bradel case method I show in another video. This project was a for a specific scenario. It was for a reprint of an old book to make it look sort of old. These reprints done in the last 20 years are usually done on quality paper that is not acidic. Not all books with a soft cover are done with cheap paper. Dover use really good paper for example. Sophia nails the answer in her blog post saveyourbooks.com/studentforum/deacidification-of-book-pages/
Absolutely fantastic - as usual. I have some old paper back text books that are losing their covers and exposing the text, but they are printed on good quality paper; and so they should they were expensive enough. I was considering deconstructing them as they are printed on signatures but I don’t know if the signatures are sewn together as a text block. This solution just fits the bill exactly and will save me a lot of unnecessary deconstruction - many thanks. P.S. it was your videos that inspired me to attempt to rebind them in the first place.
Good luck! If they are in sections I would just do a test to see if you can get the spine adhesive off, maybe with some heat. Just a small test, just enough to see if you can. If so then I would recommend do a cloth covered library binding with proper rounding and backing. I'd also recommend giving the false bands a miss. All the best, DAS
So heating the glue ruins the book? I’ve been thinking about doing that so I could remove the glue and then stitch the pages onto cords and then going from there and rounding it, etc.
No, heating the glue and beating the spine with a hammer to try and make it go round ruins the book. Heating the glue is how to get the glue off the spine. But the book still needs to be sewn as sections and not single sheets to resew on cords. Some books are and some not. Good luck! DAS
@@DASBookbinding Apologies for the late response, didn’t realize you had replied! Thank you for your response. I’m doing some projects such as this and your video has been immensely helpful! Easily the best one available on TH-cam. Cheers🙌
Do you by chance have a comprehensive list of materials for this lol? From the tools to exact types of board/glue/leather/etc.? I need a shopping list basically and I’m not familiar with these materials so I don’t want to make a mistake when buying. This is an older video so I’m not sure if you’ll see this but I would appreciate it so much if you do!!
it would seem that you could round the spine board for appearance but this will probably cauls you some troubles in gluing it to the tube ( what do i know i just make wine for a living lol )
I am glad that you, a professional, did this video. I have watched the same videos by amateurs and the amount of rookie mistakes are uncountable, yet people are applauding them like they did some kind of masterpiece. You have to learn from a master of the trade or you'll end up picking bad habits and do a mediocre job. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. Much appreciated.
I've always wanted to get into bookbinding. But when the books get thicker, you start needing presses and such, and I have neither the budget nor the space for that. My mother even gave away all Dad's C-clamps after he died.
Modern paperbacks are more likely to have quality paper that is acid free due to advances in paper making. The cheap mechanical methods producing cheap paper in the past did not remove the acidic lignin. Paperbacks are made as cheap as possible, and thus used cheap paper. Putting a hardcover on acid paper makes no difference to the paper, and thus why I suggest one should choose the text carefully for this. All the best, Darryn
I was wondering the same thing, and I found an answer from an earlier question: Any strong paper. Kraft paper is good and I think that is what I used int he video. 120gsm is a good weight. Also search for hollows. I think hollows are being over used with case bindings. Adding a hollow to a case binding is overkill and probably making the book harder the open. Anyone going on about "Oxford hollows" is most likely just trying to upsell. There's nothing special that makes them "Oxford". I guess I do that with my "Cambridge" panels. But that is more widely recognised
Huh, using the existing cover for the board attachment is pretty clever. Not what I would do (I'd cut the spine off and double fan the pages) but certainly a good option for a novice. That trick with the cord shoulders is very clever, it solves a problem I'm going to have soon. An old schoolfriend has commissioned me to rebind her set of Harry Potter books in half leather; I'd planned to do a library binding, assuming they would be sewn in signatures, but it turns out that even though they're hardback the textblocks are perfect bound. My plan of attack was to cut off the spines, double fan the textblocks with a slight round (jogging them against a curved surface before clamping up for gluing), tip on endpages with waste sheets, glue on a sturdy cloth spine lining (muslin or ticking) that overlaps onto the waste sheets, then proceed with split board attachment as normal. The problem I couldn't figure out was how to avoid the board standing proud of the spine due to the lack of a shoulder, but using a piece of cord might solve that. My other idea was to shape the spine edge of the board so it tapers to a point and continues the round, then glue it to the waste sheet flush with the edge for a tight joint (cloth lining going over the top) to avoid the shoulder problem all together, but I think I'd need to get very clever with the hollow to make that open nicely. Given me something to think about.
Hi Ed. It seemed like a good idea and went well in the prototype. Now I'm not sure it's simpler. Putting the false bands on really complicated it. Removing the spine has a huge advantage of being able to double-fan with some round. If you time it just right so the adhesive is still tacky you can usually put shoulders on a book done this way too. Much easier in a bindery with a backer. I'll be glad once this project is behind me:) All the best, Darryn
My group decide to follow the idea of converting a paperback by using the split board method. We weren't too bothered about the leather work but followed the concept until then. It was quite correct that the cover needed to be in good condition and well attached to the text block. One member, with her 2nd book, tried it with a weak cover which detached from the book. The solution was to put a piece of fraynot round the spine onto the tongues. We thought the results were good. It's an interesting concept to stick the leaher with PVA - far harder than making some flour and water paste and using that! Thank you for the tutorial as always.
I recently got the entire Bridgerton series (8 main books) in paperback but the modern covers are definitely not my style. This kind of gives me an idea of what I want, but I am leaning more towards fabric rather than leather. That choice is primarily a sensory thing.
Do you think it would be doable to cut the cover completely off, minus the spine, glue some cardstock to the spine to replace your turn-ins made from the cover? I would love to glue the actual cover to the outside of the front cover when it's done.
Thanks for this demo. I have a set of softbacks to convert and it will be my first venture into using leather binding. I have taken an interest in your cutting boards and especially your cutting tools for leather. One thing I have learned about bookbinding is that tips and tricks are all important!
I like what you have done here (and in part 2). My reason for wanting to convert a paperback , you notice I didn't say into a hardcover, is that I like my reading to fit into my coat pocket. This means when I get my latest history book at 3" thick it needs splitting into 4, or maybe 3), separate volumes. I have the idea, but no real idea of how to execute it, of essentially turning it into a boxed set with the cover of the box being mostly the original covers and spine. :)
Only simple way I've ever been able to do book binding is making the cover then use screw posts even though its a pain as measurements off the whole thing ends up off
You talked about the 'lack of round' on the binding of the book - could you add a thin, rounded panel to give the appearance of that on the modern binding?
I experimented with using a rounded spine piece - like I occasionally use on a clam-shell box. It looked okay closed but then looked funny when the book opened. Also, I didn't;t like how the rounded look at the spine wasn't matched with a rounded fore-edge. I did try softening the glue of the spine and rounding the book, but wrecked many books trying to do this. Fail. But it can be done and if you like the look you should do it. All the best, DAS
Really helpful video. I've seen some people use toilet paper or plastic wrap tubes to create the impression of rounded spines. I don't have any paperback I want to recover, but this is very helpful and informative just the same. Love your videos!
As to lack of "roundness" of the spine: When you make your "tube", could you not fold it around a sliver of wood? It would need to be flat on one side, with a slight curve on the other. (in cross section, like a thin letter "D") I guess you'd need to wrap it in wax paper so it isn't permanently glued inside the tube. Remove the wood just before the gold foil application. To avoid having to make a new "sliver" for every book thickness, they could be made in 3 pieces. Only the 2 sides would need to be curved. The center would just be a flat spacer of the width required.
An unsupported hollow would be too easily damaged. It is common to put a rounded "spine" on book boxes to make them look like books. Just sand some board to the right shape. I experimented with this, but to my eye having a rounded spine while the fore-edge was square was very jarring and I didn't like it. All the best, DAS
@@DASBookbinding I'm afraid I don't understand. I have old (hard back) books that look like they were put together in the way I suggested. I can stick my little finger in some of them between the actual binding, and the inside of the (spine) cover when opened. Isn't that spine unsupported, then? (These books are not nessassarily LEATHER bound) Keep in mind I have NO knowledge on this subject. I just happened to see this thumbnail, and click on it, as I have several books that I WISH I could've gotten in hardback. I suspected there would be something wrong with my assumption, or someone with expertise would be using my idea already. I just can't figure why there would be a problem. Edit: What if you glued a strip of leather to the spine that is WIDER than the book thickness before gluing on your "tube"? Could that take care of your aesthetic concern, and also eliminate the need for the cords you glue on later? Haha... Now I'm even wondering if the tube ITSELF couldn't be made of thin leather. On thicker books the underside flaps could be butted together in the center, instead of overlapping each other.
@@lawr5764 Maybe I misunderstood. Your suggestion is to add a hollow to the spine that has a gap even when the book is closed. On books with a hollow spine this gap/hollow is totally closed when the book is closed. When a book is open being read people are being careful with it and the cover of the spine is usually not damaged. But an open hollow on the spine all the time is sure to get crushed in normal handling. Plus you have the issue of a book being rounded at the spine but not the fore-edge which I think doesn't look right. DAS
@@DASBookbinding I have books where the spine has a small gap, even when the book is closed. They look a bit worn, but I've had some of them over 45 years. I think you answered my last post before I went back and added more to it.
Any traditional book binder would have a fit after watching this video. This is not how you do it! Believe much it is easer to do this the traditional way. What you need is a real book binder with over 64 years experience. There is only one way to bind a leather book and this is the presenter admits, not it. I had a DVD series up on Amazon where a bookbinder Peter Goodwin who was a master bookbinder and looked after the first Shakespeare Folios at Auckland Library showed how do do this properly. It is much easier than the video above which is a travesty! Regretfully Amazon no longer sells DVDs and I am too old to put them up on TH-cam. It is amazing how a 600 year craft can disappear in a few years! I am not up to watching part 2 but it was a courageous try!
Actually, a professional bookbinder works for client, and given the instructions I had, I think most would agree this is an acceptable solution. Bookbinding hasn't disappeared. I'm a huge fan of Peter and have watched most of your videos. But I think you're being a bit elitist. Peter was a very solid English trade binder. I doubt his approaches would be acceptable for a First Folio using modern conservation approaches, which have moved on in a positive way significantly. English trade binders did a huge amount of damage to historically significant bindings. I'm not suggesting Peter did, but it was certainly done by his peers with decades of experience as you say. It is a shame the videos of Peter aren't available any more. I think vimeo might be an option for you to make them available and for people to be able to pay to access them. Yours, Darryn
Thank you! My best friend gave me their childhood books for me to rebind so that they can last. I'm going to follow this video to do so. The covers are *mostly* intact, just heavily creased and scratched. Using part of the covers is a wonderful way to keep the soul in the books
If I were to turn a paperback book to a hardcover, I'd do it so it could stand the daily use in church. Given that the pages were originally not sewn, rather glued, can I expect that a book after such a procedure would be as durable as it looks - a hardback (normally sewn) book? Or will I have the same quality as paperback and have it fall apart from the spine?
The binding remains the same. You are just changing the cover. It won't increase the durability. May slightly decrease it as the hard covers will put more pressure on the spine.
Random comment and question: A friend told me that painting the pages of a perfect bound book with Milk of Magnesia slows it's decay. Have you tried this or something like it?
I've done something similar, but i feel the need to preserve the cover art as much as possible. I'll post how it looks on my reddit. Its not simple to explain u/Trigestigro
Yep, my standard "repair" for a Perfect bound book falling apart is to put it in a square-back binding done in a cloth which matches the original covers and then put the original covers and spine on the new case. All the best, Darryn
You can print the cover and put on hardpaper and put a contact plastic. Search how make hardcover comics its the same thing look: th-cam.com/video/fRGR495Nx5Q/w-d-xo.html
@@yoshaosaxofonista Esse é um jeito legal de fazer a capa, mas no caso o que eu disse é mais para preservar o livro o mais próximo do original. É uma técnica de conservação de livros
You are the best, thank you! Three questions: 1. I've rebound 4 books using your other "paperback to hardcover" video (here: th-cam.com/video/IWTANgmtpfQ/w-d-xo.html), and I'm unsure if I should try and learn this (seemingly more complex) one. Any advice on whether it's worth it? Or in what scenarios? I want to do a quarter-bound leather binding with decorative papers on the boards... so i think the "look" is more similar to this video; but, I assume I can still do that covering with a regular old square case back too. Would love to know what you think :) 2. Much simpler question, but what material do you use for the holo-tube of the spine? 3. Lastly, really easy, do you need to include the "false bands" or ridges to the spine? I assume not, but figured I'd check. Thank you!
No. I would just use the simpler method. The split board method was for a very specific purpose of making a passable older looking book. Kraft paper for the tube. The false bands are just cosmetic. Happy binding!
The 4th book binding video I have watched ever great job I’ve enjoyed watching this from soft back to hardback and great information thanks for sharing 😇😎
im trying to bind a book and i can't figure out what im doing wrong or what i can do to make it work! roughly 40 sheets of paper, loose leaf and glued together perfect binding style with pva, has simple cardstock endpages toed on the cover material will not cooperate! .75 mm thick faux leather, trying to make it into a square-back binding... what kind of cover style can i use to make the material work!! (beginner, don't have lots of materials.... no paring knives either, just an exacto)
I actually want to take apart one of my thick paperbacks. It’s the New Cambridge Paragraph Bible paperback edition. It’s just too thick for daily use. I want to split it into three parts: Old Testament, apocrypha, and New Testament.
Great video. I love the use of cord to mimic a proper rounded and backed book. A technique I have used when repairing/ converting paperbacks is to make some saw cuts through the spine of the perfect binding and glue in some thin linen threads. Then when i cover that with fraynot it really keeps the binding from falling apart as a lot of perfect bindings are flimsy.
I don't remember if I mentioned that the false shoulders come from the famous binder Thomas Harrison. I'm guessing you mean Lumbecking or double-fan binding as Perfect binding is machine binding that isn't worth trying to replicate by hand. I've gone off inserting cord in the spine of Lumbecked books. If the spine is going to be fragile for some reason, such as a thick book I might still do it. Years ago when I did many of these, I eventually had a few very well used books, such as cookbooks, come back to me. Ones I hadn't put cords into the spine were easily cleaned off and rebound. But if I'd inserted cords it was harder to Lumbeck them again without trimming the spine a bit. So I figure without the cord the book might need rebinding sooner if it is heavily used, but the spine edges remain in good condition. But a lot of books never get read and it doesn't matter. That's where I'm at with this. But I might change if someone has strong evidence that it is better.
Aesthetically, I like what you've done here. It does have some practical advantages as well, given that it does preserve the original spine adhesive, and reduces the need for rebinding this element, particularly if the original adhesive isn't compromising durability, and the original cover isn't important enough to preserve. However, if it is a consideration to preserve the cover and to add a rounded spine, then you might interested in Peter Godwin's video. He removes the original adhesive, rebacks the book, (including rounding), delaminates the original cover, and glues it to buckram covers. It also is a nice effect with certain other practical advantages.
I wish I had Peter's video on this. It doesn't appear to be available any more. When I first started thinking about this months ago I looked for it and couldn't find it. Yes, if you pull the book you can round it, in which case I wouldn't use this technique. I thought this was going to be a simpler approach, but I'm not sure any more:) All the best, Darryn
Our dextrous friend makes this look easier than it is. It requires considerable skill as well as the special cutting tools, clamps, and adhesives shown. This is an ingenious way to create a hardcover for a paperback book. But remember his initial remarks regarding the acidity and low quality of most commercial paperbacks -- a hard cover does not mitigate those problems or extend the life of bad paper, although it does extend the useful life of the book for a few more years. This is not a technique to use on valuable old books. Historically significant books are better left intact to preserve their value, and some damaged and fragile old books should not be rebound at all. My company, Devon Book Printing, preserves such books without altering the original. Most of the books we rebind using traditional methods are relatively modern hard cover editions. But for cheap modern paperbacks, the method shown here is better than any I have seen elsewhere.
19:21 Is there a video for repairing bent or bashed corners? I have only thought of using epoxy/instant glue or perhaps some starch glue but I'm afraid of causing more damage (e.g. water stains, swelling) or making the corners too hard and thus more fragile.
Quick question, what kind of paper is the Manila card? I was trying to find that but don’t know what to search for, same thing for the Gray boards as well. Thanks!
Bad habit. I should call it by a more generic name - cardstock. Here is a specific brand (they call it a board, but really card), but anything 10pt or about 0.3mm thick. www.talasonline.com/Unbuffered-Bristol Binders' board and millboard are slightly different (millboard is usually a better quality binders' board). It is sometimes called chipboard, but I don't like that name because it means a wood product in Australia. Davey board is a high quality example. The thinnest would be the most useful to most people. www.talasonline.com/Davey-Binders-Board
This video is great! Looking at getting into book binding - I was wondering if you have any suggestions for splitting out a softcover 3-in-1 book into 3 sep hardcover books. Not sure how to approach splitting the book without damaging the pages
Big question for the comments section. I think I'll add this to a Q&A video for the future. Answer is yes. Assuming the book is a Perfect bound single sheet book, the adhesive only comes onto the surfaces of pages a tiny amount. I would remove any spine covering material. Heat will help with this as the adhesive is probably a heat activated type. Then just carefully pull the book apart where you want the splits to be. But the other parts is whether you should split a book. A book bound this way tends to open better when ti is thicker. The three thinner books might not open as well. Just a thought. Good luck! DAS
I just recently started watching Bookbinding videos and so far nobody has really explained what the headbands are for? Is it just aesthetic, to cover the glue peeking out or just to look pretty? Or is there a deeper reason for them?
They have become purely decorative. Way way back - in medieval times - the end bands were sewn through the spine covering material and the core of the ends bands laced into the boards. This was an important structural component. Over many hundreds of years it has been reduced to glue on decoration:)
That is correct. Any conversion to hardcover of a paperback is likely to reduce the lifespan of the book. If preserving a paperback is the goal the best option is to make a simple enclosure and leave the book alone. This reduces the effects on the (usually acid) paper from the atmosphere. A simple 10 minute slipcase made of card will do.
What an absolute pleasure to watch! Thank you for these videos! I am currently also trying to protect paperback books from my childhood while displaying them in my home!
i have been thinking of doing this for some books i have but i think im going to completely deconstruct the book, i need to find the right tape, or glue, but i want to make spine signatures and then just attach the original pages to the “spines”. doing this i will have to find similar weight but strong enough paper, i have broken spines on some books so i have to for some but also a want for others (ex: pocket size lotr) its still a design work in progess but thought i would share since my algorithm brought me here
I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, but what you describe is like saying you want to make a piano and focusing on the type of glue and matching the wood rather than on how the piano actually functions or understanding the different types of pianos and maybe mixing them up. I think what you expect is that when you disbind the book you will have a pile of single sheets of paper (even some paperbacks will be made with folded signatures, but some will have been "burst" which is where a machines cuts grooves in the folds to inject glue). Pulling (the bookbinding term for disbinding) modern books can be difficult because of the adhesives used. Heat (hairdryer) is usually the solution. But, I think in you case you expect single sheets and you want to join these with a folded piece of paper (bookbinders call this a guard). The problem is that where the paper overlaps there is now 2 layers of paper which will cause the text block to be very thick at this point (called swell). This swell in a location you don't want it is very difficult to deal with. Bookbinders have struggled with this for maybe hundreds of years. There are some solutions, but not easily implemented, and not very practical for your goal. In hand bookbinding you would also normally add some compensation (additional material in the spine) for inserts such as pockets. Good luck!
I had a house fire many years ago and a number of prized novels had their spines chard and made the glue brittle. I think I'm going to shave the glue and replace it and recover them. The front of the cover is fine so I think I will save it for the inside cover. I worked at a print shop and one of the services I preformed was making tear away scratch pads so this work is partly farmiliar to me
Hello ! When you cut the tube for the turning, do you cut inside the tube, or behind it ? I'm a total beginner and i cant figure it out, I cut inside the tube but now the back of the tube is visible behind the headband when i put the leathther on, wich is not very esthetic... But maybe it's because the material i used for the back is to thick :( Thanks !
I split the edge of the tube. So the leather is turned down into the tube. The material I use for the tube is about 180gsm I think. Hope this helps. DAS
Sir can anyone say what does it mean of the line atmospheric effect leaching into the paper. What is the meaning of leaching into at 0:26. ❤️❤️❤️❤️🤗 very good content.
This cheap paper contain lignin and is acidic. It interacts with the oxygen in air to decay, or oxidise, and will eventually turn to dust. Unfortunately. Cutting it in a stable environment slows this process a lot. Something like a phase box will make it last a lot longer. DAS
So this is where my midnight youtube adventure leads me to today. Sweet.
It was 11:58 as I clicked on this video
Happy watch until 4am
01:22 here
Follow me to more Midnight TH-cam ventures! I will be your guide!
same, 2:30 here :)
There’s so little bookbinding info on the internet, it makes it hard for younger people like me to learn, this channel has been a godsend tho!!
You can probably find more about bookbinding if you search for articles or books about book history or codicology instead of going straight for book binding. It's more how it was historically made instead of a modern take, but it can show you a lot of techniques as well
What helped me learn a lot about bookbinding is watching professionals like DAS and trying my best to copy what I see in the videos. Looking back to my first attempts at making books, they were horrible and cringy, but it is so rewarding to see how far I have come skill-wise!:) There is still so much for me to learn, but what I feel is key is to keep tying to do better and learn from my (many) mistakes. Never give up!:)
DAS does proper old school bookbinding which is great. For a 'younger approach check out sea lemon's bookbinding videos. Non-traditional but pretty good for beginners.
I do appreciate that you show your mistakes. It makes me feel less of a numpty when I do the same thing.
Hi John. You're certainly not a numpty! All the best! DAS
@@DASBookbinding Probably not but when you cut your corner 1 - 1.5 mm too close to the book board you do tend to wonder! LOL
Numpty! Now thats a word ive never heard! I like it lol.
Just be more careful and you won’t make mistakes
@Deangelo Brentley nobody cares
I've been trying to learn how to become a hobbyist bookbinder for a little while now... And this was one of the greatest tutorials I've seen!!!!!! Thank you!!!
Great to see that a professional, taking time to show how he does his job. There is no hesitation in the steps and most of the work is done by eye or feel. as a carpenter this is the same for me. As an apprentice I would be constantly afraid of doing mistakes, but as I have gotten more experience. I’m noticing my mistakes as I’m making them, and are just working around them. Without any thought or anger. And the end result is always better. I love to watch old crafts by craftsmen. And you are a without doubt a craftsman. I understand your frustration in using your experience and time in turning a worthless pocket book to a leatherback. But to comfort you. This is pure entertainment for me.
Thanks! I love watching other craftspeople work too. I may have no intensions of ever using the technical skills being demonstrated, but watching the efficiency of movement, work flow, and their style of demonstration is always interesting and an opportunity to learn and improve. All the best, Darryn
I have a cheap copy of Gormenghast that I first read in high school. It is now crumbling in my hands.
But when you talk about your love of that favorite old book, it made me smile.
We love books because we read them. We want them to last forever. They become like family.
Good video
I knew a guy who used to do that when I was a kid. It was a friend's grandfather who was retired. He had all these paperbacks that he turned into hardcover. He had shelves full of them because even the library wouldn't take them (he said he tried). Some of the old guys restored cars, others did carpentry/woodwork, this was his thing. I have to admit that I though he was doing that for books that I didn't think were worth saving, but that's what he did and it made him happy. God, I haven't though of him in years.
There is something to be said to just wanting to make your books look or feel a certain way. It’s not always to mimic them being older or more expensive or to assume that you’re making them more sturdy or that they will last forever. Sometimes it’s just that you want to make them fit your bookshelf or personality better.
I agree , I want to rebind my paperback books , Why ? Not to make them look older ,but to make them last longer . I care about these books , I want them forever, "put some respect on the books"
3:am I m watching a craftsman bind a book , and I have no idea how I got here nor thought I’d watch any of it let alone till the end,, well done sir , this is really interesting, Informative, and thanks for sharing your craft
Samee!
3:57
Thank you so much, you too Linda. I have been wanting to have the feel of an old Gothic library but could never find or afford to buy all hard covered books I want even at thrift shops. This will be a nice project one year. Great information.
I have the same issue. I have a paperback that ive had for over a decade. Its one of my favourite books in general, but the particular copy i have is a very sentimental item itself. Over the years of re-reading its falling apart. So i want to make it a hardcover. Your the first person ive found that actually shows the process tho.
Before using this method, check out my latest video which preserves the original covers. If it's falling apart you will need to use the double-fan method to put it back together. Good luck! DAS
I have a really thick copy of _The Lord of the Rings_ in paperback, and I had thought about utilizing the pre existing cover, so thank you so much for showing a method for that! I'm really exited for how it might turn out!
You, sir, have just saved my paperback bibles!
Great to see how this is done! Also, the background sounds of the work being done were a great touch for the video :)
Thanks! Wish there was less background noise from the road outside my house:) All the best, DAS
Two minutes of watching this video (the first time I've seen any of your videos) and I'm subscribed.
Many years ago a man transferred a paperback copy of Huckleberry Finn to a hardcover for me. He didn't charge me a nickle for the job. That book will be cared for as long as I live and hopefully will be passed on to my children and theirs.
I do love books. A lot. Thank you so much!
Wow! Never thought of doing this way. I always took book apart in similar projects. But really want to try this way now. Thank you for your videos and inspiration!
I think Linda originally suggested it to me as an idea. It was such a good idea that I decided to follow up on it. All the best, DAS
I tried this in 1986 in my teens, but used bog oak veneers cut to 3mm thickness, I glued using horse glue and hand engraved the title and used gold leaf embossing. The book was Orwell’s animal farm printed in 1946. 35 years later and it’s still intact. I didn’t know it at the time but apparently this first edition print is very rare. The oak is still good too.
A very timely posting, thank you. I am investigating methods of recovering an 1897 edition of a law book. The covers are off. It is rounded and still has good shoulders so raised bands will look nice on it. I will look at your video on split board bindings as well. This will be in full leather and I’ve been asked to put in marbled endpapers as there were just plain paper endpapers originally. I so,appreciate your videos, I’m still on a steep learning curve and your videos are making me a better binder
Hi Cynthia. I highly recommend following the cloth library binding rather than this video. Also, the raised bands make this binding more complicated than I would like. The more I think about it, I think you should do it as a cased binding. Then you can do the bands and finishing off the book. If anything goes wrong you can redo it. Good luck! Darryn
Another gem! I can see all of the hard work you put into making these videos. They are all easy to understand and a pleasure to watch. Really incredible. I also greatly appreciate that you consciously use tools and equipment that a novice bookmaker might have on hand. It makes the projects seem much more achievable.
Can't wait to see the video next week!
The goal was to do something a novice can do. This project gets a bit hairy in part 2 which I'm not happy about:( All the best, DAS
I'd love to do this I just wish there was a written list of materials
That adventures of bookbinding is magnificent and amazing
I was working on turning one of my beloved paperbacks into a hardback and I was doing it right!! This video is awesome!!
Oh hey, you put out a guide just as I put out my imgur tutorial. I'm excited to see how much I screwed up compared to your method!
Ah yes, I tried to do this and I screwed up the split board so bad I went with a different method. I like this method!
The only time this won't work is when the spine is crooked from the get go. I decided to go with scraping off the glue, removing the cover, and doing a perfect bind with PVA. I couldn't do a Lumbeck (tried, failed) because the factory glue was impossible to clean off without making a huge wavy/curved mess out of the text block.
I don't know why, but this is extremely relaxing!
Good videos, I've been using a similar method of turning trade paperbacks into leather bound volumes. I do a couple of things differently. Firstly before cutting the cover to make slips I glue on a sheet of mull or fray-not over the cover extending an inch or more on both sides. This makes the joint a bit more viable. I've done books twenty years ago in this manner that have been heavily used and are still as good as ever. Secondly I don't use stick on head and tail bands . Instead I achieve a nice head and tail cap by glueing in an inside out raised band to fold the turn in leather over at head and tail. Also when using french grooves you don't ever need to bevel the boards, in fact the leather will go on a lot neater if you keep the boards square cut.
Your point about bevelling the boards, I think you mean the back cornering, because I don't remember bevelling the boards especially at the joint. It's an interesting point. I think I did this out of habit with doing a lot of springbacks in the last few years. But my very first book a long time ago was a rounded and backed book with a French groove, and I was not taught to do back corners then - though it was with cloth. My gut tells me this will result in a vulnerable sharp corner. But if this was the case 19th century library bindings would be back cornered. But checking Johnson now he does not appear to back corner in his library style bindings. I think I'll add a note to these videos pointing this out and suggesting it is optional and may be more aesthetically pleasing without. Thanks! DAS
Your books are all so beautiful! I kinda fell down this rabbit hole because I want to bind a physical copy of something I wrote. I’ve done case bindings before, but they were super amateurish. I can only dream of having a book as beautiful as the ones you bind!
I made a cord bound book out of an old paperback that was falling apart. Used tissue paper and glue to turn the pages into signatures. The round easily absorbed the extra thickness.
Trade paperback graphic novels.
DUDE!!! I have the complete series on DVD, and I've watched it three times already! Excellent choice to convert to hardcover! :)
Thanks so much for this tutorial.
I recently bought a hard-cover book from a university press, and was disappointed to receive a perfect-bound text block with an ill-fitting hard cover. The cover creaked and ripped away more and more from the text block every time I opened it. The spine seemed to be too wide for the thickness of the text block. Eventually, I just pulled it off.
I've been looking for a way to make a better cover since then. The book still has heavy card stock waste sheets (almost like a soft cover within the hard cover), so I think this method will work.
Good luck. This method relies of a well attached original cover as the insert for the split-board. You'll have to attach new ones for this purpose. The glue used on the spine of these types of books is notoriously difficult to adhere to. I've had to completely remove the original heat activated adhesive and rebind using the double-fan to then move forward. All the best, DAS
@@DASBookbinding - It's an oddly-constructed book. When I pulled off the hard case, it was like I was left with a soft cover book. The end pages are thick card stock that wrap the spine, so there's no exposed glue.
Thank you for talking us through the whole process! It seems so do-able when explained this way.
as a beginner bookbinder I absolutely adore your channel, it has helped me so much! I've only bound 4 or five books so far, but it's my goal to eventually bind leather books in that classic style (and learn all the vocabulary you use in your videos haha). Thank you for the help!
I have a paper back Bible and I'd like to
have a hardback leather cover put on it; I
don't have the space to do it myself.Please let me know if I can send my Bible to you
I will pay what ever you charge.Thanks
Sorry, not taking on work. More work than I can possibly do. You might consider buying a quality bible. The paper in your presumably cheaper bible will be of lower quality and putting it in an expensive binding doesn’t change that.
Enjoyed the Goldberg Variations on Guitar here!
I found it difficult to see what you were doing. Your work was quick and too far away with no narration. As a beginner, I obviously need more direction. It certainly turned out nicely however.
I know everyone wants to do this project, but it is not an ideal place to start. Good luck! DAS
Enjoyed the video. It's almost an ASMR video. I appreciated that the sound was left on during the whole video.
Wouldn't it be worthwhile, since one is putting such effort into the binding, to have the book de-acidified first, in order to prevent further browning and deterioration of the paper?
De-acidification is a complex subject. For a start, if I just want to put a paperback in hard cover I'd use the Bradel case method I show in another video. This project was a for a specific scenario. It was for a reprint of an old book to make it look sort of old. These reprints done in the last 20 years are usually done on quality paper that is not acidic. Not all books with a soft cover are done with cheap paper. Dover use really good paper for example. Sophia nails the answer in her blog post
saveyourbooks.com/studentforum/deacidification-of-book-pages/
Interesting version of the Goldberg Variations. 👍
Absolutely fantastic - as usual. I have some old paper back text books that are losing their covers and exposing the text, but they are printed on good quality paper; and so they should they were expensive enough. I was considering deconstructing them as they are printed on signatures but I don’t know if the signatures are sewn together as a text block. This solution just fits the bill exactly and will save me a lot of unnecessary deconstruction - many thanks.
P.S. it was your videos that inspired me to attempt to rebind them in the first place.
Good luck! If they are in sections I would just do a test to see if you can get the spine adhesive off, maybe with some heat. Just a small test, just enough to see if you can. If so then I would recommend do a cloth covered library binding with proper rounding and backing. I'd also recommend giving the false bands a miss. All the best, DAS
ive been wanting to make some of my older paper back books some better covers and this really helps! Thank you!
So heating the glue ruins the book? I’ve been thinking about doing that so I could remove the glue and then stitch the pages onto cords and then going from there and rounding it, etc.
No, heating the glue and beating the spine with a hammer to try and make it go round ruins the book. Heating the glue is how to get the glue off the spine. But the book still needs to be sewn as sections and not single sheets to resew on cords. Some books are and some not. Good luck! DAS
@@DASBookbinding Apologies for the late response, didn’t realize you had replied! Thank you for your response. I’m doing some projects such as this and your video has been immensely helpful! Easily the best one available on TH-cam. Cheers🙌
Do you by chance have a comprehensive list of materials for this lol? From the tools to exact types of board/glue/leather/etc.? I need a shopping list basically and I’m not familiar with these materials so I don’t want to make a mistake when buying. This is an older video so I’m not sure if you’ll see this but I would appreciate it so much if you do!!
it would seem that you could round the spine board for appearance but this will probably cauls you some troubles in gluing it to the tube
( what do i know i just make wine for a living lol )
hemm i must need some coffee there is now spine board here lol but maybe that is the answer.
There is a lot of subtlety in this art and your explanations are great. Thank you for this.
I am glad that you, a professional, did this video. I have watched the same videos by amateurs and the amount of rookie mistakes are uncountable, yet people are applauding them like they did some kind of masterpiece. You have to learn from a master of the trade or you'll end up picking bad habits and do a mediocre job. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. Much appreciated.
absolutely fascinating video for someone still relatively new to bookbinding. feel like I just watched a masterclass !! :^D
I've always wanted to get into bookbinding. But when the books get thicker, you start needing presses and such, and I have neither the budget nor the space for that. My mother even gave away all Dad's C-clamps after he died.
It can stake up some space:) DAS
I really want to learn bookbinding with interactive classes but there are none near me :(
Why is a paper book more acidic? And what does changing the book to hard back have to do with changing that?
Modern paperbacks are more likely to have quality paper that is acid free due to advances in paper making. The cheap mechanical methods producing cheap paper in the past did not remove the acidic lignin. Paperbacks are made as cheap as possible, and thus used cheap paper. Putting a hardcover on acid paper makes no difference to the paper, and thus why I suggest one should choose the text carefully for this. All the best, Darryn
What kind of material are you using for the tube?
I was wondering the same thing, and I found an answer from an earlier question:
Any strong paper. Kraft paper is good and I think that is what I used int he video. 120gsm is a good weight. Also search for hollows. I think hollows are being over used with case bindings. Adding a hollow to a case binding is overkill and probably making the book harder the open. Anyone going on about "Oxford hollows" is most likely just trying to upsell. There's nothing special that makes them "Oxford". I guess I do that with my "Cambridge" panels. But that is more widely recognised
Huh, using the existing cover for the board attachment is pretty clever. Not what I would do (I'd cut the spine off and double fan the pages) but certainly a good option for a novice. That trick with the cord shoulders is very clever, it solves a problem I'm going to have soon. An old schoolfriend has commissioned me to rebind her set of Harry Potter books in half leather; I'd planned to do a library binding, assuming they would be sewn in signatures, but it turns out that even though they're hardback the textblocks are perfect bound. My plan of attack was to cut off the spines, double fan the textblocks with a slight round (jogging them against a curved surface before clamping up for gluing), tip on endpages with waste sheets, glue on a sturdy cloth spine lining (muslin or ticking) that overlaps onto the waste sheets, then proceed with split board attachment as normal. The problem I couldn't figure out was how to avoid the board standing proud of the spine due to the lack of a shoulder, but using a piece of cord might solve that. My other idea was to shape the spine edge of the board so it tapers to a point and continues the round, then glue it to the waste sheet flush with the edge for a tight joint (cloth lining going over the top) to avoid the shoulder problem all together, but I think I'd need to get very clever with the hollow to make that open nicely. Given me something to think about.
Hi Ed. It seemed like a good idea and went well in the prototype. Now I'm not sure it's simpler. Putting the false bands on really complicated it. Removing the spine has a huge advantage of being able to double-fan with some round. If you time it just right so the adhesive is still tacky you can usually put shoulders on a book done this way too. Much easier in a bindery with a backer. I'll be glad once this project is behind me:) All the best, Darryn
My group decide to follow the idea of converting a paperback by using the split board method. We weren't too bothered about the leather work but followed the concept until then. It was quite correct that the cover needed to be in good condition and well attached to the text block. One member, with her 2nd book, tried it with a weak cover which detached from the book. The solution was to put a piece of fraynot round the spine onto the tongues. We thought the results were good. It's an interesting concept to stick the leaher with PVA - far harder than making some flour and water paste and using that! Thank you for the tutorial as always.
I recently got the entire Bridgerton series (8 main books) in paperback but the modern covers are definitely not my style. This kind of gives me an idea of what I want, but I am leaning more towards fabric rather than leather. That choice is primarily a sensory thing.
Don’t know why I’m watching ? Will never hv the skill or the patience to make this 😂😅 good job tho 🤩
Do you think it would be doable to cut the cover completely off, minus the spine, glue some cardstock to the spine to replace your turn-ins made from the cover? I would love to glue the actual cover to the outside of the front cover when it's done.
Hi sir,
What is the covering material name and colour sir..where I can get..thanks for helping me to identify arbelave buckram..
Thanks for this demo. I have a set of softbacks to convert and it will be my first venture into using leather binding. I have taken an interest in your cutting boards and especially your cutting tools for leather. One thing I have learned about bookbinding is that tips and tricks are all important!
Goldberg variations on guitar! Based and bachpilled!
I like what you have done here (and in part 2). My reason for wanting to convert a paperback , you notice I didn't say into a hardcover, is that I like my reading to fit into my coat pocket. This means when I get my latest history book at 3" thick it needs splitting into 4, or maybe 3), separate volumes. I have the idea, but no real idea of how to execute it, of essentially turning it into a boxed set with the cover of the box being mostly the original covers and spine.
:)
For the box you might consider a slip case. Easy and fast to make especially if you don;t put a rounded opening. Good luck, DAS
Only simple way I've ever been able to do book binding is making the cover then use screw posts even though its a pain as measurements off the whole thing ends up off
I have a copy of Watership Down that's falling apart that I would love to turn into a hardback.
I’m just making free hardcovers to save money and ascetic thank you
It' much more convenient to glue only one end page, trim the edge and after that glue the second one.
You talked about the 'lack of round' on the binding of the book - could you add a thin, rounded panel to give the appearance of that on the modern binding?
I experimented with using a rounded spine piece - like I occasionally use on a clam-shell box. It looked okay closed but then looked funny when the book opened. Also, I didn't;t like how the rounded look at the spine wasn't matched with a rounded fore-edge. I did try softening the glue of the spine and rounding the book, but wrecked many books trying to do this. Fail. But it can be done and if you like the look you should do it. All the best, DAS
Nice clip. A lot of talking tho although relevant stuff is told. Liked the clip
Ian from the United Kingdom.
Like your video, i will try it.
I wish to see this video with no commentary and in normal speed! That would be so relaxing
Really helpful video. I've seen some people use toilet paper or plastic wrap tubes to create the impression of rounded spines. I don't have any paperback I want to recover, but this is very helpful and informative just the same. Love your videos!
I’ve been looking for a decent guy for this for so long, yours is the best I’ve seen by far.
As to lack of "roundness" of the spine:
When you make your "tube", could you not fold it around a sliver of wood? It would need to be flat on one side, with a slight curve on the other. (in cross section, like a thin letter "D") I guess you'd need to wrap it in wax paper so it isn't permanently glued inside the tube. Remove the wood just before the gold foil application.
To avoid having to make a new "sliver" for every book thickness, they could be made in 3 pieces. Only the 2 sides would need to be curved. The center would just be a flat spacer of the width required.
An unsupported hollow would be too easily damaged. It is common to put a rounded "spine" on book boxes to make them look like books. Just sand some board to the right shape. I experimented with this, but to my eye having a rounded spine while the fore-edge was square was very jarring and I didn't like it. All the best, DAS
@@DASBookbinding I'm afraid I don't understand. I have old (hard back) books that look like they were put together in the way I suggested. I can stick my little finger in some of them between the actual binding, and the inside of the (spine) cover when opened. Isn't that spine unsupported, then? (These books are not nessassarily LEATHER bound)
Keep in mind I have NO knowledge on this subject. I just happened to see this thumbnail, and click on it, as I have several books that I WISH I could've gotten in hardback.
I suspected there would be something wrong with my assumption, or someone with expertise would be using my idea already. I just can't figure why there would be a problem.
Edit: What if you glued a strip of leather to the spine that is WIDER than the book thickness before gluing on your "tube"? Could that take care of your aesthetic concern, and also eliminate the need for the cords you glue on later?
Haha... Now I'm even wondering if the tube ITSELF couldn't be made of thin leather. On thicker books the underside flaps could be butted together in the center, instead of overlapping each other.
@@lawr5764 Maybe I misunderstood. Your suggestion is to add a hollow to the spine that has a gap even when the book is closed. On books with a hollow spine this gap/hollow is totally closed when the book is closed. When a book is open being read people are being careful with it and the cover of the spine is usually not damaged. But an open hollow on the spine all the time is sure to get crushed in normal handling. Plus you have the issue of a book being rounded at the spine but not the fore-edge which I think doesn't look right. DAS
@@DASBookbinding I have books where the spine has a small gap, even when the book is closed. They look a bit worn, but I've had some of them over 45 years.
I think you answered my last post before I went back and added more to it.
Hello from Scotland! I look forward to trying this out
Hope you enjoy! DAS
Any traditional book binder would have a fit after watching this video. This is not how you do it! Believe much it is easer to do this the traditional way. What you need is a real book binder with over 64 years experience. There is only one way to bind a leather book and this is the presenter admits, not it. I had a DVD series up on Amazon where a bookbinder Peter Goodwin who was a master bookbinder and looked after the first Shakespeare Folios at Auckland Library showed how do do this properly. It is much easier than the video above which is a travesty! Regretfully Amazon no longer sells DVDs and I am too old to put them up on TH-cam. It is amazing how a 600 year craft can disappear in a few years! I am not up to watching part 2 but it was a courageous try!
Actually, a professional bookbinder works for client, and given the instructions I had, I think most would agree this is an acceptable solution. Bookbinding hasn't disappeared. I'm a huge fan of Peter and have watched most of your videos. But I think you're being a bit elitist. Peter was a very solid English trade binder. I doubt his approaches would be acceptable for a First Folio using modern conservation approaches, which have moved on in a positive way significantly. English trade binders did a huge amount of damage to historically significant bindings. I'm not suggesting Peter did, but it was certainly done by his peers with decades of experience as you say. It is a shame the videos of Peter aren't available any more. I think vimeo might be an option for you to make them available and for people to be able to pay to access them. Yours, Darryn
Thank you! My best friend gave me their childhood books for me to rebind so that they can last. I'm going to follow this video to do so. The covers are *mostly* intact, just heavily creased and scratched. Using part of the covers is a wonderful way to keep the soul in the books
It is a beautiful rendition of the goldberg variations.
If I were to turn a paperback book to a hardcover, I'd do it so it could stand the daily use in church. Given that the pages were originally not sewn, rather glued, can I expect that a book after such a procedure would be as durable as it looks - a hardback (normally sewn) book? Or will I have the same quality as paperback and have it fall apart from the spine?
The binding remains the same. You are just changing the cover. It won't increase the durability. May slightly decrease it as the hard covers will put more pressure on the spine.
Random comment and question: A friend told me that painting the pages of a perfect bound book with Milk of Magnesia slows it's decay. Have you tried this or something like it?
Sounds like some sort of home deacidificatimon idea. But applying moisture to a book like this will ruin it.
I've done something similar, but i feel the need to preserve the cover art as much as possible. I'll post how it looks on my reddit. Its not simple to explain
u/Trigestigro
Yep, my standard "repair" for a Perfect bound book falling apart is to put it in a square-back binding done in a cloth which matches the original covers and then put the original covers and spine on the new case. All the best, Darryn
You can print the cover and put on hardpaper and put a contact plastic. Search how make hardcover comics its the same thing look: th-cam.com/video/fRGR495Nx5Q/w-d-xo.html
@@yoshaosaxofonista Esse é um jeito legal de fazer a capa, mas no caso o que eu disse é mais para preservar o livro o mais próximo do original. É uma técnica de conservação de livros
You are the best, thank you! Three questions:
1. I've rebound 4 books using your other "paperback to hardcover" video (here: th-cam.com/video/IWTANgmtpfQ/w-d-xo.html), and I'm unsure if I should try and learn this (seemingly more complex) one. Any advice on whether it's worth it? Or in what scenarios? I want to do a quarter-bound leather binding with decorative papers on the boards... so i think the "look" is more similar to this video; but, I assume I can still do that covering with a regular old square case back too. Would love to know what you think :)
2. Much simpler question, but what material do you use for the holo-tube of the spine?
3. Lastly, really easy, do you need to include the "false bands" or ridges to the spine? I assume not, but figured I'd check.
Thank you!
No. I would just use the simpler method. The split board method was for a very specific purpose of making a passable older looking book. Kraft paper for the tube. The false bands are just cosmetic. Happy binding!
This is just great. Thank you very much
The 4th book binding video I have watched ever great job I’ve enjoyed watching this from soft back to hardback and great information thanks for sharing 😇😎
sir,
could not detect the colour name....and the material
"Shuffled off this mortal coil..." 🥰
im trying to bind a book and i can't figure out what im doing wrong or what i can do to make it work!
roughly 40 sheets of paper, loose leaf and glued together perfect binding style with pva, has simple cardstock endpages toed on
the cover material will not cooperate!
.75 mm thick faux leather, trying to make it into a square-back binding...
what kind of cover style can i use to make the material work!! (beginner, don't have lots of materials.... no paring knives either, just an exacto)
side note: it is slightly lumbacked, and no i can't redo or sow the textblock....
aaaaaaaaaaaaa
I actually want to take apart one of my thick paperbacks. It’s the New Cambridge Paragraph Bible paperback edition. It’s just too thick for daily use. I want to split it into three parts: Old Testament, apocrypha, and New Testament.
I think I would use this method to rebind them
th-cam.com/video/Td9wuyaDmqg/w-d-xo.html
It's simpler, but still very strong.
Hi Darryn 🙂
Would you also suggest this technique for a 1 and a half inch thick paperback books?
Yes it would work for that thickness. That isn't much thicker than the book I did. Good luck! Darryn
@@DASBookbinding thanks a lot!
thank you for sharing your knowledge with us! very helpful videos!
Great video. I love the use of cord to mimic a proper rounded and backed book. A technique I have used when repairing/ converting paperbacks is to make some saw cuts through the spine of the perfect binding and glue in some thin linen threads. Then when i cover that with fraynot it really keeps the binding from falling apart as a lot of perfect bindings are flimsy.
I don't remember if I mentioned that the false shoulders come from the famous binder Thomas Harrison. I'm guessing you mean Lumbecking or double-fan binding as Perfect binding is machine binding that isn't worth trying to replicate by hand. I've gone off inserting cord in the spine of Lumbecked books. If the spine is going to be fragile for some reason, such as a thick book I might still do it. Years ago when I did many of these, I eventually had a few very well used books, such as cookbooks, come back to me. Ones I hadn't put cords into the spine were easily cleaned off and rebound. But if I'd inserted cords it was harder to Lumbeck them again without trimming the spine a bit. So I figure without the cord the book might need rebinding sooner if it is heavily used, but the spine edges remain in good condition. But a lot of books never get read and it doesn't matter. That's where I'm at with this. But I might change if someone has strong evidence that it is better.
Aesthetically, I like what you've done here. It does have some practical advantages as well, given that it does preserve the original spine adhesive, and reduces the need for rebinding this element, particularly if the original adhesive isn't compromising durability, and the original cover isn't important enough to preserve. However, if it is a consideration to preserve the cover and to add a rounded spine, then you might interested in Peter Godwin's video. He removes the original adhesive, rebacks the book, (including rounding), delaminates the original cover, and glues it to buckram covers. It also is a nice effect with certain other practical advantages.
irishguy13 Do you have a link where we might find this video?
I wish I had Peter's video on this. It doesn't appear to be available any more. When I first started thinking about this months ago I looked for it and couldn't find it. Yes, if you pull the book you can round it, in which case I wouldn't use this technique. I thought this was going to be a simpler approach, but I'm not sure any more:) All the best, Darryn
Our dextrous friend makes this look easier than it is. It requires considerable skill as well as the special cutting tools, clamps, and adhesives shown. This is an ingenious way to create a hardcover for a paperback book. But remember his initial remarks regarding the acidity and low quality of most commercial paperbacks -- a hard cover does not mitigate those problems or extend the life of bad paper, although it does extend the useful life of the book for a few more years.
This is not a technique to use on valuable old books. Historically significant books are better left intact to preserve their value, and some damaged and fragile old books should not be rebound at all. My company, Devon Book Printing, preserves such books without altering the original. Most of the books we rebind using traditional methods are relatively modern hard cover editions. But for cheap modern paperbacks, the method shown here is better than any I have seen elsewhere.
19:21 Is there a video for repairing bent or bashed corners? I have only thought of using epoxy/instant glue or perhaps some starch glue but I'm afraid of causing more damage (e.g. water stains, swelling) or making the corners too hard and thus more fragile.
I wouldn't;t use epoxy or CA glue. Starch used paste is typically used because it does get adsorbed. Sorry, I don't have any videos on it.
Quick question, what kind of paper is the Manila card? I was trying to find that but don’t know what to search for, same thing for the Gray boards as well. Thanks!
Bad habit. I should call it by a more generic name - cardstock. Here is a specific brand (they call it a board, but really card), but anything 10pt or about 0.3mm thick.
www.talasonline.com/Unbuffered-Bristol
Binders' board and millboard are slightly different (millboard is usually a better quality binders' board). It is sometimes called chipboard, but I don't like that name because it means a wood product in Australia.
Davey board is a high quality example. The thinnest would be the most useful to most people.
www.talasonline.com/Davey-Binders-Board
This video is great! Looking at getting into book binding - I was wondering if you have any suggestions for splitting out a softcover 3-in-1 book into 3 sep hardcover books. Not sure how to approach splitting the book without damaging the pages
Big question for the comments section. I think I'll add this to a Q&A video for the future. Answer is yes. Assuming the book is a Perfect bound single sheet book, the adhesive only comes onto the surfaces of pages a tiny amount. I would remove any spine covering material. Heat will help with this as the adhesive is probably a heat activated type. Then just carefully pull the book apart where you want the splits to be.
But the other parts is whether you should split a book. A book bound this way tends to open better when ti is thicker. The three thinner books might not open as well. Just a thought.
Good luck! DAS
I just recently started watching Bookbinding videos and so far nobody has really explained what the headbands are for? Is it just aesthetic, to cover the glue peeking out or just to look pretty? Or is there a deeper reason for them?
They have become purely decorative. Way way back - in medieval times - the end bands were sewn through the spine covering material and the core of the ends bands laced into the boards. This was an important structural component. Over many hundreds of years it has been reduced to glue on decoration:)
Am I correct in assuming that this technique is mainly cosmetic and wouldn't help keep a paperbacks binding together over many readings?
That is correct. Any conversion to hardcover of a paperback is likely to reduce the lifespan of the book. If preserving a paperback is the goal the best option is to make a simple enclosure and leave the book alone. This reduces the effects on the (usually acid) paper from the atmosphere. A simple 10 minute slipcase made of card will do.
What an absolute pleasure to watch! Thank you for these videos! I am currently also trying to protect paperback books from my childhood while displaying them in my home!
i have been thinking of doing this for some books i have but i think im going to completely deconstruct the book, i need to find the right tape, or glue, but i want to make spine signatures and then just attach the original pages to the “spines”. doing this i will have to find similar weight but strong enough paper, i have broken spines on some books so i have to for some but also a want for others (ex: pocket size lotr) its still a design work in progess but thought i would share since my algorithm brought me here
I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, but what you describe is like saying you want to make a piano and focusing on the type of glue and matching the wood rather than on how the piano actually functions or understanding the different types of pianos and maybe mixing them up. I think what you expect is that when you disbind the book you will have a pile of single sheets of paper (even some paperbacks will be made with folded signatures, but some will have been "burst" which is where a machines cuts grooves in the folds to inject glue). Pulling (the bookbinding term for disbinding) modern books can be difficult because of the adhesives used. Heat (hairdryer) is usually the solution. But, I think in you case you expect single sheets and you want to join these with a folded piece of paper (bookbinders call this a guard). The problem is that where the paper overlaps there is now 2 layers of paper which will cause the text block to be very thick at this point (called swell). This swell in a location you don't want it is very difficult to deal with. Bookbinders have struggled with this for maybe hundreds of years. There are some solutions, but not easily implemented, and not very practical for your goal. In hand bookbinding you would also normally add some compensation (additional material in the spine) for inserts such as pockets. Good luck!
I had a house fire many years ago and a number of prized novels had their spines chard and made the glue brittle. I think I'm going to shave the glue and replace it and recover them. The front of the cover is fine so I think I will save it for the inside cover. I worked at a print shop and one of the services I preformed was making tear away scratch pads so this work is partly farmiliar to me
Sounds like a big job. Good luck! DAS
Hello ! When you cut the tube for the turning, do you cut inside the tube, or behind it ? I'm a total beginner and i cant figure it out, I cut inside the tube but now the back of the tube is visible behind the headband when i put the leathther on, wich is not very esthetic... But maybe it's because the material i used for the back is to thick :( Thanks !
I split the edge of the tube. So the leather is turned down into the tube. The material I use for the tube is about 180gsm I think. Hope this helps. DAS
Amazing love you books ❤
Sir can anyone say what does it mean of the line atmospheric effect leaching into the paper. What is the meaning of leaching into at 0:26. ❤️❤️❤️❤️🤗 very good content.
This cheap paper contain lignin and is acidic. It interacts with the oxygen in air to decay, or oxidise, and will eventually turn to dust. Unfortunately. Cutting it in a stable environment slows this process a lot. Something like a phase box will make it last a lot longer. DAS