1.21.2005
Book Binding 101...Christo Style
Ok, so here's how I have been binding my books. Let me warn you that I am still experimenting, and there are probably numerous ways to do this. But, my books are getting better everytime, so I guess it's all about experimentation. Some of my pictures didn't come out, so you'll have to guess, or else I'll have to get more pictures.
1) First, print out your book and get it cut to the size you want. My printer does double-sided, booklet style. So all you have to do is print it out, cut it in half and put it together.
2) Make sure your edges on the binding side are straight and smooth. Clamp the book with some kind of press or vise. I just use two pieces of wood that I screw together around the book.
3) With the book clamped, put lots of glue all over the binding edge. Make sure it seeps in between the pages. After it dries I put on another coat. It's very important that all the pages are lined up and smooth so that they all get glue on the edges.
Have your daughter help you spread the glue.
While you're waiting for the glue to dry, you can make your cover. There are differant ways to do this, but here's one. Sorry for the lack of pictures.
4) Cut out 2 pieces of cardboard that are just bigger than your pages. It's good to take some sandpaper and smooth out the edges as well.
4) Find some good, fairly thick fabric for your covers. Lay the two pieces of cardboard on the fabric with slightly more than the thickness of the book between them. Leave an inch or so arond the outside of the cardboard and cut it out.
5) Have your wife use her embroidery machine to stitch the name of the book on the fabric. (skip this step if you do not have an embroidery machine, or think of something more creative)
6) Iron and starch the fabric.
7) Cut the corners of the fabric, so that when you fold it over the corner is nice and clean with no overlap. You can coat the edges of the corner with clear nail polish to keep them from fraying.
8) Coat the cardboard with fabric glue and lay it on the fabric (glue side down). Don't press too hard or the glue will come through the fabric.
9) Fold over the edges and glue them down.
Set the cover aside and let it dry.
10) Ok now that your glue is dry on the binding you can do several things.
a) You can cut little grooves in the binding and lay string in them to help the binding stay together (I haven't tried this yet)
b) You can glue binding cloth or cheese cloth to the binding
c) Wrap the binding with cloth tape. Just cut a piece the length of the book and press it on the binding, and fold it over onto the first and last page.
11) Now you need to attach the book to the cover. If you used binding cloth, glue it or tape it to the covers. If you used cloth tape, just use a piece of tape with half attached to the book and the other half to the cover (this is the easiest way, but not the most attractive).
12) Take a thick piece of paper and fold it in half. Glue down one side to the cover to cover up your fabric and tape. Do this for the back and front covers.
That's pretty much it. It just takes alot of practice and trial. Here is a great page describing the process for two kinds of books:
http://www.jmb-publishing.com/fam_memories/book_binding/book_binding.htm
Ok, so here's how I have been binding my books. Let me warn you that I am still experimenting, and there are probably numerous ways to do this. But, my books are getting better everytime, so I guess it's all about experimentation. Some of my pictures didn't come out, so you'll have to guess, or else I'll have to get more pictures.
1) First, print out your book and get it cut to the size you want. My printer does double-sided, booklet style. So all you have to do is print it out, cut it in half and put it together.
2) Make sure your edges on the binding side are straight and smooth. Clamp the book with some kind of press or vise. I just use two pieces of wood that I screw together around the book.
3) With the book clamped, put lots of glue all over the binding edge. Make sure it seeps in between the pages. After it dries I put on another coat. It's very important that all the pages are lined up and smooth so that they all get glue on the edges.
Have your daughter help you spread the glue.
While you're waiting for the glue to dry, you can make your cover. There are differant ways to do this, but here's one. Sorry for the lack of pictures.
4) Cut out 2 pieces of cardboard that are just bigger than your pages. It's good to take some sandpaper and smooth out the edges as well.
4) Find some good, fairly thick fabric for your covers. Lay the two pieces of cardboard on the fabric with slightly more than the thickness of the book between them. Leave an inch or so arond the outside of the cardboard and cut it out.
5) Have your wife use her embroidery machine to stitch the name of the book on the fabric. (skip this step if you do not have an embroidery machine, or think of something more creative)
6) Iron and starch the fabric.
7) Cut the corners of the fabric, so that when you fold it over the corner is nice and clean with no overlap. You can coat the edges of the corner with clear nail polish to keep them from fraying.
8) Coat the cardboard with fabric glue and lay it on the fabric (glue side down). Don't press too hard or the glue will come through the fabric.
9) Fold over the edges and glue them down.
Set the cover aside and let it dry.
10) Ok now that your glue is dry on the binding you can do several things.
a) You can cut little grooves in the binding and lay string in them to help the binding stay together (I haven't tried this yet)
b) You can glue binding cloth or cheese cloth to the binding
c) Wrap the binding with cloth tape. Just cut a piece the length of the book and press it on the binding, and fold it over onto the first and last page.
11) Now you need to attach the book to the cover. If you used binding cloth, glue it or tape it to the covers. If you used cloth tape, just use a piece of tape with half attached to the book and the other half to the cover (this is the easiest way, but not the most attractive).
12) Take a thick piece of paper and fold it in half. Glue down one side to the cover to cover up your fabric and tape. Do this for the back and front covers.
That's pretty much it. It just takes alot of practice and trial. Here is a great page describing the process for two kinds of books:
http://www.jmb-publishing.com/fam_memories/book_binding/book_binding.htm
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I'm afraid most people simply can't afford to bind books using this method. Its outrageously expensive compared to just buying a book from a big publishing house that uses efficient machinery and the labor of other people's wives and daughters. Sure, most of the costs of your book-binding process are relatively inexpensive, such as that nice big Pampers box to prop up the book vise. But do you realize how much it costs to provide for a wife to run the embroidery machine? Not to mention the high costs of a daughter to help you spread the glue??? What an inefficient allocation of resources.
Just kidding of course... Nice job on the book!
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Just kidding of course... Nice job on the book!
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