Hello everyone,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you in advance.

Winter of the White Wolf, by KleCrone

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for any advice you can give me!

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

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

Thanks and have a great day!

I am in the process of purchasing a legacy book binding business in my area. The owner has a bunch of equipment that is old, but all operational and in good condition. I’m wondering how I go about verifying its market value? The people who are helping to finance this adventure would like me to do a more in-depth evaluation of all of the equipment, rather than just based on what he claims it is worth. Any direction, contacts, or resources would be greatly appreciated.

I don't know if i should use pva glue or use an iron to heat up the old glue to reactivate it and glue it back that way, which would be better?

I ordered 5mm T-specar for my hinges, but I don’t have any other material available. Will it work?

I have this lovely 1920s (I think) copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I bought it with the intention of restoring it.

I’ve decided it needs re-sewing as the sewing is quite loose. I’m just looking for some input on what type of stitching was used here. To me, some on the stitching looks coptic (like the one on the left) but I can’t work out how the rest of the stitching was done (like the one on the right). These two rows of stitching are in the centre of the spine for reference.

Could I just coptic stitch the whole thing back together?

Thanks!

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

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

Idk why i typed the title like that... but my book is about to die and i want to rebind it with leather because the original cover has an already leathery look to it so why not just make it leather when i rebind it. .....problem! I don't know how to do that..

One letter didn’t adhere on the cover and I tried to reapply just that letter and it looked even worse. Now I’ve been picking trying to get the one letter off to no avail.

Any advice on how to get this off or am I screwed?

Hey everyone. So I kinda messed up and bought the wrong sizes of leather so now I’m planning to make a patchwork journal using the leather scraps I have. However, the leather isn’t thick enough. I want to add backing to make it look right but if I’m going to sell these in the future, it needs to look good and hold the structure.

What backing should I use? I see folks using a material on tik tok but idk what it is. 🥴

Hi!! I’ve never fixed a book ever but this just happened and I would like to try and fix it to where this isn’t visible. I’m just in need of some advice and help. Thank you all so much in advance!

I wanted to originally rebind my favorite book for a baby shower… but after three attempts of casing in wrong and only a few days left to get it right…. I decided on making a removable hard cover case. It also captured a few of my reader friends who want special cases for some of their favorite books… but don’t want to rip off a special cover. This is a great way to preserve the original cover while adding a cute but protective case to a book.
P.s if anyone has any suggestions for making the pulling the soft cover book out of the pockets easier I’d love to hear them. I want to limit the movement of the soft cover when/ if it has to be removed.

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

Howdy.

What are some less common things you recommend or found useful?

Crepe rubber squares I've found recently to be very useful for removing a lot of old tape gunk for instance. Though I need to figure out a good brand for purchasing. I was leant this one by someone else.

I'd love to hear random stuff. and bonus if you have a specific dealer you prefer for a reason (as opposed to amazon cheapest etc)

Hi all,

I started to make my own tooling on CNC mill, and it looks like it easy, fast and is working.
My only issue now are designs. Are not very artistic person, so I can’t design my own and I have issues finding existing designs I can copy.

Do you know any books or databases of tooling used for bookbinding? It would be also interesting to distinguish them by time they were used, or where etc.

Hi, I need to bound a book for a class project. It has to have printed words. My professor told me that Michael's has leather and twine but anything else that's helpful?

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a very thick hardcover book with 1,248 pages. It's approximately 8–10 cm (3.1–3.9 inches) thick.

I'm mainly concerned about the top of the book. The parts of the cover near the front and back seem to sit a little loosely against the text block, almost as if there is some separation. The top edge of the pages also seems to bulge outward slightly in the middle.

When the book is standing upright, this is more noticeable at the top, whereas the bottom seems to sit much more flush against the cover. The spine itself appears to remain straight.

I realise that the text block isn't necessarily supposed to sit tightly against the back of the cover, and I understand that the considerable thickness and weight of a book like this might cause some unevenness. However, I'm unsure whether the difference between the top and bottom, along with the slight looseness around the top corners, is normal or could indicate a problem with the binding or the way the text block is attached to the case.

Does this look normal for a book of this size, or would you be concerned about the binding? Is there anything specific I should check to make sure the text block is securely attached?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Recently mom gave me a bunch of loose paper and asked me to bind it. Initially I did perfect binding by fanning out the pages and only using glue. While that was sturdy I did find it more prone to damage in the long run. Without hesitating I decided to try overcast binding based on this Video I had seen a while back. And I gotta tell you, it worked amazingly. I enjoyed the entire binding process, and it wasn’t even that difficult.

Few tips:
1. I used a blunt needle, which helped not to accidentally pierce and damage the thread.
2. Having the sewing directions match the direction in which the holes were made helped a lot.
3. Every now and then go back and tighten the thread.

Hi everyone,

I’ve got a hardback bible, relatively inexpensive, but it’s becoming quite flimsy after a few years, it’s some type of cardboard material I think.

I can feel that it’s beginning to get pretty worn down and i want to preserve it as I’ve scribbled loads of notes on the large margins over the years.

I’m interested in possibly getting it bound, preferably with a hardback material, or if leather is easier perhaps this is a better option. I’ve done some googling but I have no idea what kind of shop or specialist could help me. Does anyone know any shops in or around London that could advise and help with re-binding? I’m such a novice I don’t really know where to start… I’ve done some googling but to no avail. Any recommendations much appreciated. Cheers!