Book Assembly (page 3)
I printed out my covers on the same networked copier/printer, using a heavier cover stock. Measuring from the left I find my spine edges.
In this case 8 1/4" and 8 1/2".
Now I flip my cover over and measure from the left as before. I put a couple of pencil marks at 8 1/4" and 8 1/2".
Using the backside of a kitchen knife I "score" the paper along the marks. Depending on the cover stock, be careful not to accidentally cut through the paper. You just want to create a groove.
This makes a nice clean fold.
Now I've got an empty cover shell to glue my sewn signatures into.
I've gotten my cover and signatures laid out for gluing. You can use any paper binding glue. I used what was left of my Sobo Glue until I ran out then I used my bottle of Craft Bond. Both work well. I think you want something that will bond to the paper well and still be flexible when dry.
Put a nice coverage of glue on the spine of your signatures. I also like to put some glue on the inside of the cover along the spine, making a little side to side pattern. Try not to get any glue on the face of the pages or the inside covers. If you make a mess just wipe it up.
Squish the signatures into the cover and rub them together (watch out for that glue on your hands!).
After I've glued about five books I like to grab them and slam the spines down on the counter in a stack. Then I put them square on my counter and put a heavy object on top. I keep a bunch of hardbacks, art-books, and phonebooks handy for this reason. I double check to make sure the signatures are as flush as possible inside the cover and rub the spine some more. If you used a lot of glue some may squish out the side, that's okay.
I usually let them dry overnight under the weight before taking them out for cutting. I've had a nice guillotine style cutting machine for a few years, but there are plenty of other ways to cut the books square using a knife, scissors or scraping rig. You could even find a local book bindery and get them to cut down your books. Some copy shops may have book trimmers in house as well.
Here are my finished books. I made 31 copies of my new "Punish the Dead" book and 10 new copies of my "Death Swamp" book (the orange ones) this past week. The sewing takes the longest, I did most of that over a whole week, a few hours a day. The gluing was done in one two or three hour stretch. The cutting goes pretty fast.
This isn't the only way or the best way by far, but it's how I made my books for MoCCA. There are tons of great books on bookmaking and bookbinding. There's even a neat LJ community called "handmadebooks", there are probably other good ones too. Well, that's it. I hope it was somewhat interesting. Please add any questions or point out any errors.
Toby is the creator of engine!, monster engine!, death swamp, and punish the dead. His work can be found at www.ithinkican.com
About Toby Craig
Toby is the creator of engine!, monster engine!, death swamp, and punish the dead. His work can be found at www.ithinkican.com.
We hope you enjoy the first featured article on the STAPLE web site. We will regularly run how-to articles and essays to highlight the work and process of independent creators. Our first is a detailed look at how Toby Craig assembled his latest book. It is republished by permission from the original post on his journal.