Case Binding 9: Casing the Book
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- This is the ninth video in a nine-part series in which I provide a step-by-step outline of how to bind a case-bound book. Case binding is the most widely-used form of contemporary bookbinding and is a good starting point for anyone who wants to learn how to bind or repair books.
These videos are intended for total beginners and also use the most basic of equipment, as I am aware that not everyone has access to formal bookbinding tuition and/or expensive equipment.
The videos in this series can be found on the following playlist:
• Case Binding
If you'd like to support my making of more bookbinding videos in either a once-off or ongoing way, and keep Certain People in cat food, you can do so on Ko-Fi here:
ko-fi.com/anne...
You can also find me on social media at
/ annesibindings
/ annesibindings
I am so glad I book marked this series. I was working on a book today and the instructions weren't real clear and I had to take it apart and redo it as best I could :) Your videos are very clear and easy to follow. My third book will be much better.
Thanks very much, and good luck with the next book!
This was an excellent series - easy to follow, good clear directions, not too detailed but detailed enough. My first book turned out pretty well. I do not have as pronounced a curve between the covers and the spine that you do and would like to know why that is so,. But thank you very very much. I am inspired to do more!
Thank you so much. I appreciate the careful instructions and your calm pace. I learned a lot from these lessons.
You're very welcome - glad they were helpful.
Thank you for this amazing series of videos - you've reawakened my interest in bookmaking.
Glad you like them!
Thank you for this tutorial. I feel like once I have done a book or two, I'll be back with a lot of questions.
You're welcome - good luck with binding!
Thank you for a very detailed bookbinding instructions. I learned a lot. More power and I am looking forward for your next video.
Thanks very much! I'm afraid I've neglected this channel badly, but am getting going again.
Thank you for sharing this!!! Super helpful, i will definitely try this!
Thank you, Ma'am. I've just binge-watched the entire series. Excellent instructions and interesting to watch a book come together like that. I'm guessing it is far harder than it looks. Especially when involving accuracy. Once again thanks so much.
You're welcome - I'm glad it helped! It does become easier with practice...
Thank you for these videos! A helpful tip that I picked up was to put some wax paper inside your end pages while it dries as the wax paper won't stick to the glue and it absorbs the inevitable moisture from the pva glue.
Yes, that is a good tip. If you do that you also don't need to press them for long (just for a few minutes and then leave them under weights) as the moisture doesn't get into the book block. I do that sometimes, but usually leave the book pressing to ensure that the moisture dries evenly and doesn't warp the paper. I suppose it's just mainly because that was the way I learnt it and it's what I'm used to, but it does sometimes depend on the book one is working on.
Absolutely brilliant series, very helpful. Thank you.
Well, I've just finished putting together my first bound book. My working procedure wasn't neat and precise like this, and Mylf finished product is to compare with this - just about anything I could get wrong I did, and had to go back to the tutorials to find what I needed to undo and redo. But these calm and precise tutorials always rescued me. That's how I learn, by making mistakes and unmaking them, and the next book I make I should be a lot better. But I'm very pleased with the result of my first effort , and it'll serve (I needed to put together a book of my songs to stick in a guitar case, and this'll do fine). And I'm looking forward to having another go, and doing a better job.
A great set of tutorials, and a really pleasant tutor. And no background music!
I just put my first book into its final press following your tutorials, and I can safely say that I think I've found my new favorite craft. Thank you so much for the extremely helpful videos, and I hope to see more soon!
As a side note, you've mentioned in a few of your videos that you might handle an antique differently and that you should consult someone trained specifically for that before you attempt anything. Do you know how to get that kind of training? I would be fascinated to learn!
One thing I'm sure a lot of people would watch and what gets searched for a lot is how to custom modify comic book Omni bus copies however this seems fairly tricky but it's got a good following considering these large collections are prone to spine damage and and aren't manufactured with any sort of longevity in mind which is a shame considering general price points, I watched this series after considering stitching my 3 £35 Omni buses (which collect about 8 volumes in each) maybe forging some sort of leather cover for them Ill check your videos for any leather work since I like your style of working, over all thumbs up from, me your videos have a lovely feel to them also
Thank you for this fantastic tutorial playlist. I’m so pleased with my resulting book!
Would love to see also a softer cover with faux leather! Great vids - thank u!
Thanks very much for making the series!
My pleasure!
Beautiful book. Does it lay flat when open?
Thanks Macrina for sharing this series. I'm sure that many people will find it useful. It's great to see demonstrated just what can be achieved with basic equipment. I've subscribed and I look forward to seeing more of your videos in the future.
Many thanks for your feedback John! I'm deliberately trying to keep the equipment basic as I know how difficult it can be to get hold of supplies in some places.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Fantastic explanation.
You're welcome and thanks for the feedback.
Brilliant! What a great tutorial! Thank you!
fantastic, very helpful, thankyou !
Thank you so much for this super useful tutorial! I learn so much! I always mess it up when I glue the end page to the cover 😅 it seems never fit the cover even if the measures are corrects! I hope with practice I will understand what I do wrong 🤣
So so helpful, thank you so much !
Wonderful videos, thank you!
Thank you
Huge Thanks!🙋♂️
What a great and interesting instruction on the topic - this video and the entire series. Thank you for sharing it. One question, and I was trying to follow to see if it worked out right, you didn't mention making sure that the end pages are turned the same way vertically. In the paper you used, the opening of the "U" either up or down but at least the same way front and back of the book. I couldn't follow it to tell but since you didn't mention it, I'll ask. Did it come out the same?
I just caught it at 10:49 to 11:01. The end pages are reversed vertically between the front of the book and the back of the book. Was this by intent? I know you were just showing a simple project; please don't think I am being critical; I was wondering from the time you glued the end pages to the block and now maybe evidence you're human - or you did it intentionally and I'm an idiot who knows nothing of the topic. Or even if it is evidence that you're human, I'm still an idiot who knows nothing of the topic - in other words, please don't take offense; I'm just asking. 🙂
I'm curious about your thick an thin PVA. Are these 2 different products, or do you use something to thin the PVA? Love the videos, and looking to see what I need to get to start my first project.
No, they're the same product, but either thinned down (with water) or else left uncovered overnight to thicken. I've just done a video on glue and realised I forgot to discuss that!
Is it possible to stitch the end papers to the text block? I see that they are fastened by the little edge of glue and then by the mull, but it occurred to me that doing one more round of stitches to fasten the end papers to the rest of the signatures might be a further consolidation.
Thank you ♥️
You're welcome! I hope it was helpful.
Yes it was 🙏 ♥️
Sorry this is probably a very dumb question, but what happens if you glue the spine of the block to the book case? I honestly thought you would glue all sides 😬
That is only done for certain forms of traditional binding when using leather. With case binding, the structure is designed so that the spine can move freely, separate from the cover. If they were glued together, the spine of both the cover and the bookblock would become damaged due to the pressure exerted on them by being unable to move. If you are concerned about the spine needing more support, you could consider an Oxford hollow, which I demonstrate in this video:
th-cam.com/video/YFn881MYiEo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=l_q0heydMqkdaxFV
For this method, are we only gluing the endpages to the case? I'm curious to try this but I'm conerned that the weight of the text block would tear the paper - is the rounded spine not affixed to the case at all?
Sorry for the late reply! The spine is not attacked directly to the cover, but the mull on the spine goes between the cover boards and the endpages, which helps to hold the book in place. If you want extra strength - for a heavy book or a book that is used often - you can always add an Oxford hollow, which I demonstrate here:
th-cam.com/video/YFn881MYiEo/w-d-xo.html
@@AnnesiBindings Thank you!! That does make sense - I appreciate it
Where do you get your tub of glue? I can't find any in a tub like that.
@@AngelaMichelle7 I made it. It's just a 1 litre bucket that I'd got something in. I made two holes in it and inserted a wooden skewer through them for the brush to rest on (although a metal knitting needle would probably be better as the skewer wears out after a few years).
@AnnesiBindings That’s really cool. How do you clean out the brushes you use for glue? I’ve tried to clean the brushes out but it never works.
@@AngelaMichelle7 I wash them with water, but I find that a little soap helps to keep them soft. The key is to wash them immediately after use, or at least to stand them in water until you can wash them.
Why didn't you put any glue on the spine? Is it just hanging by the end papers?
For me, its really difficult to paste the front page with the cover. Sometimes its tearing, sometimes can't open the book. Still I couldn't find the method to paste it properly.. 😢😢😢 Is there a method to ma'am?
I saw a journal with a cover that was not attached at the spine directly, allowing the pages to lay flat. Is that a standard binding method? Do you know what it is called? Do you have any videos on this method?
I'm not sure what you're looking for, but I've watched several videos on coptic stitch binding. Maybe it's similar. I've also watched hardcover books get made with text blocks that are kettle stitched - this allows the book to open flat.
I used muslin and that worked fine….
Can bed sheet fabric be used instead of the maul?
Yes, that should work.
খুব সুন্দর
Once you have got the book in position in its cover, why do you remove it to glue the first endpaper? Recipe for disaster when you turn it over and fail to get it back in the correct position, especially using PVA! To those starting out, look at this th-cam.com/video/glbe_fDpCiU/w-d-xo.html
My reason for lining it up in position is to make sure that it fits right and to know where I need to put it down once I have glued it, which is usually not difficult if I have checked it first. However, I acknowledge that using something other than pure PVA (such as a mixture of PVA and paste) can give one more "wriggle room" for getting it into the right position once one has glued it.