Craft Bookbinding E-Book

Linda Orriss

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 166

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Craft Bookbinding introduces some of the numerous binding styles that can be achieved with little or no experience, from simple structures that can be made with folded paper to the classic case binding. Techniques for handling paper and glue are explained in detail, along with a range of different methods of sewing and a variety of cases to be used as covers. There are various ideas for how the different binding styles can be lettered. Lavishly illustrated with photographs and diagrams, clear instructions describe the bindings, which can be adapted to bind books that are uniquely yours. There is a guide to adapting or making tools, plus specialist equipment and an emphasis on best practice so the skills can be developed and used as a foundation for fine binding. Lavishly illustrated with 73 colour photographs and 17 diagrams.

Leseprobe

CRAFT

Bookbinding

Linda Orriss

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2014 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2014

© Linda Orriss 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781847977656

Photographs by MIke Butcher (http://mikebutcher.com)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank all my customers, friends and family for the patience and understanding they have shown me while I have been writing this book, especially Mike Butcher for the work he has put into the photography. Most of all, I would like to thank my husband, Steve, for staunchly being there for me and just getting on with all the things I have been neglecting.

CONTENTS

1 EQUIPMENT

2 PAPER AND BOARD

3 ADHESIVES

4 SEWING

5 CASE BINDING

6 LETTERING

GLOSSARY

INDEX

CHAPTER ONE

EQUIPMENT

Like all crafts, bookbinding seems to have an infinite variety of tools and helpful gadgets associated with it. I have limited my recommendations to ones which I think you will find useful for the projects in this book. They should give you a good foundation which you will be able to extend and adapt as you develop your own method of working.

HAND TOOLS

Measuring

Rulers and set squares

Standard 30cm (12in) steel rule will suffice, but a variety of metal edged rulers and set-squares are useful.

Try-square

A small 75cm (3in) one is the most useful, but a larger one can also come in handy.

Dividers

Small dividers are easiest to use as they can be held and manipulated with one hand. Get at least two sets to avoid having to reset your measurements while you are working.

Cutting

Scalpel

When book-binding, it is best to have a scalpel with a flat handle to allow you to trim pages close to the book-block. I would recommend the Swann Morton No.3 and No.4 handles. For the No.3 handle, the No.10A blade is useful for trimming edges and the No.15A blade is good for cutting out delicate designs. The No.4 handle is more robust and the blades are less likely to bend and break. The No.25 blade can be used for trimming the edges of folded sections, paring paper and card, and cutting board.

Scissors

Ideally you should buy a large pair of shears and small pair of pointed sewing or embroidery scissors, but a sharp general-purpose pair will do.

Utility knife

You will need a general purpose knife for cutting a variety of materials. A ‘snap-off’ blade knife which can be bought at any DIY shop is fine.

Corner cutting guides

You can buy sets of corner cutting guides, but they are difficult to find. It is, however, very easy to make your own and well worth the trouble. You will need at least four to cover different boards ranging in thickness from about 1 to 3.5mm (1∕32 to ⅛ in). Label them clearly so that you can easily find the one you want.

A set of corner-cutting guides will help you to cover board corners neatly and consistently.

Corner-cutting guides can be made with two pieces of wood which have been cut as identical right-angled isosceles triangles, a piece of board and a strip of brass which has been backed with some card or cloth padding. The board should be the same thickness as the board you will be covering, and the brass strip with its padding should be 1–1.5mm thick. Backing the brass first allows you to glue them together with wood glue. Otherwise you can use small brass screws or pins.

Cutting mat

You should buy a large mat to use on your workbench or table and a small one to use in more restricted areas or if you want to trim a page in your book. You could use a piece of greyboard, but it would need to be replaced on a regular basis.

Folding

Creasing board

A creasing board is a board with narrow rounded channels cut in it, used to help to put a crease in thick paper, card or thin board before folding it. It enables you to make a much neater fold and reduces the likelihood of cracking the surface.

A board with narrow channels cut in it can be used to crease thick paper, card and thin board before folding it. You can make folding sticks to be used to push the paper or card into the channels by rounding the ends of appropriately-sized pieces of wooden dowelling. Use these exclusively for creasing as they will need to be kept very clean and smooth. Otherwise you can use glass rods or round ended bone or Teflon folders so long as the rounded end matches the inner rounded surface of the indented line.

MAKING A CREASING BOARD

If you are lucky enough to own a router, you could make a creasing board by routing out channels on the surface of a wooden board or a piece of MDF. Otherwise you can make one with a piece of mill board.

To make one channel, cut up to a millimetre into the surface of the board with a knife along a straight edge on either side of the channel. Then, using the knife freehand at a very shallow angle, cut down both channels so that the cuts meet in the middle and peel off the surface of the board down the channel. Sand the channel smooth and into a rounded shape with sandpaper wrapped tightly round a kebab stick or double-ended knitting needle.

You should make three or four channels about 1.5–5mm in width and 1–2mm in depth.

Finish the board by rubbing beeswax onto the surface and down the channels and then polishing it hard until it is smooth and shiny.

Folders

Folders are small flat implements used mainly for folding paper and rubbing down areas after they have been glued together. They are usually made of bone but they can be made from wood, bamboo or Teflon. It is useful to have a collection of different sizes and shapes, most of which you will have to create yourself. Although wooden folders are easy make and shape to your own size and preference, they are less good than the other materials as they are more likely to mark your paper and need to be kept very clean and very smooth.

Bone folders can be sawn and shaped with a hacksaw and sand paper. Always wear a mask when doing this as it creates a lot of very fine unpleasant-smelling dust which can damage your lungs. I soak mine in mineral oil for a few weeks before I start to use them as it makes them easier to handle and keep clean, but it is not essential to do this.

Folders are made from a variety of materials and come in various shapes and sizes. You will find that you have your own preferences for different tasks, so build up your collection slowly. Start with a 6-inch bone folder with one pointed end which can be purchased from any book-binding supplier.

Gluing

Brushes

You will need a large round or oval brush with a flat end and fairly stiff bristles for gluing large areas, and a few smaller hogs’ hair brushes for more delicate work.

Mini paint roller and tray

A roller and tray is used for gluing out large areas. I prefer the ‘fine furred’ sleeves which are recommended for professional use with gloss paints. Try to get one with a lidded tray.

Misting bottle

These are used to apply a very fine spray of water to your work. The best ones to get are those which are usually used for applying perfume as they give the finest mist.

Pressing boards

You will need a few pairs of smooth-surfaced boards of varying sizes to enclose the book when pressing. If you use boards with a Melinex or water-proof surface, it is a good idea to protect your book with some clean white fairly absorbent paper as trapped moisture can cause staining on some covering materials.

Weights

Weights are needed to pile on top of your work while it is drying. You can use a pile of books, but it is more convenient if you can use a covered lump of lead or an old cast iron weight or iron.

Tweezers

Small pointed tweezers are useful for countless little tasks. I personally prefer curved ones as they keep your hand away from your line of vision.

Sewing

Pricking needle

This is just a needle on a stick. It is used to make holes in the sections before sewing, which helps you to sew neatly. It should be about the same size as the needle you will be using to sew with. If you buy a pin-vice you will easily be able to change the needle as required.

There are a variety of hole punches that you can buy. The best, but most expensive, of these is the Japanese screw punch shown on the left.

Hole punches

You should use these if you need to make a hole that will be visible on the finished book. It is best to buy one that can be used at a distance from the edge of the board or paper and you will probably need more than one size.

Sewing needles

You will need a selection of needles. Bookbinding needles are generally fairly chunky and you may prefer to use slightly smaller darners or sharps. These can be bought at haberdashery shops.

Pricking cradle

This is a handy device which consists of a ‘V’ shaped support with a gap down the middle and a stop at one end. It ensures that all your sewing holes will be perfectly aligned and will enable you to sew very neatly without any previous experience. You will also sew faster and with more confidence so that even with the time taken to pre-form the sewing holes, the overall time taken to sew the book is not greatly extended. They are very easy to make and the effort involved is well worthwhile.

A pricking or punching cradle is a handy device that allows you to pre-form sewing holes along the spine fold. The holes are made with a pricking needle or a needle held in a pin vice.

A pricking cradle can be made with four bits of wood as shown in the diagram. You should make it to suit the size of books you usually bind, but leaving one end open allows you to prick out holes in larger sections if necessary. You can finish it with paint, oil or varnish.

Backing

Backing boards

These are wooden wedge shaped boards. They are usually made from beech and some of them have brass edges. They are essential if you want to round and back a book.

Backing boards and a hammer are used to create the classic spine shape of most hardbacked books.

Backing hammer

Backing hammers have a slightly domed surface and a straight claw. A small general purpose hammer would be adequate for the projects in this book.

LARGE EQUIPMENT

The laying press

A laying press is a large vice with wide wooden cheeks which are used to hold the book steady while you work on it. You can use a Black & Decker Workmate for backing books, but the thin jaws could damage the cover boards or pages if you use it in other situations without any extra protection. Some people use the Workmate as it is, with the book surrounded by an extra pair of boards, but I find that awkward and I think it is well worth making the substitute ‘cheeks’.

A Black & Decker Workmate with some homemade wooden ‘cheeks’.

To make the cheeks, you will need four bits of wood about 45cm long, 9cm wide and 2cm thick. These are joined together in pairs along the length to form two elongated L shapes. Once they are made, place them between the jaws of the Workmate and tighten it up. Sand the whole of the upper surface to ensure that the edges are level. Then take them out and use some fine wire wool to work some boiled linseed oil into the surface before leaving them to dry. This will ensure that they are easy to clean and look after.

‘Cheeks’ can be made for a Workmate by gluing two lengths of wood together at right angles after reinforcing the joint by drilling holes opposite each other and inserting four or five bits of doweling along the length. Oil the wood before using them as it will stop moisture damage and ensure that they are easy to keep clean.

The nipping press

This is the classic press which is often associated with book binding. It is mainly used to apply a lot of pressure for a short length of time to ensure a universal and even adhesion when sticking together the pages or the cover or when casing in the book-block. The press can also be used to flatten pages, sharpen folds and press out creases, and to apply light even pressure over several hours to ensure the book dries flat. The nipping press helps to give your work a neat professional finish and makes certain jobs easier and more reliable. However you can usually do a reasonable job by rubbing your work down hard through kraft paper and/or leaving the book under some heavy weights for a few hours.

If you have the space and money for it, a nipping press can help to give your work a neat professional finish.

The board cutter

The board cutter is one of the largest and most industrial looking pieces of equipment used in bookbinding. It is a large scissor-action guillotine which is used for cutting the cover boards to size quickly with a perfect square edge. The cutter is a useful thing to have, but it is possible to manage without it.

Greyboard can be cut with a knife and straight edge. Some of the modern laminated types of millboard are softer than the more traditional ones. Consequently these varieties can be treated like greyboard if they are very thin, but any that are thicker than 1.5mm should be cut with a railed 90° mat cutter. These are usually used for cutting picture mounts and millboard tends to blunt the blades quite quickly, but they are reasonably easy to use and give a nice clean edge. You will have to cut the denser more traditional types of millboard with a fine-toothed saw and take off the burr with sand-paper.

Some of the softer millboards can be cut with a railed mat-cutter. Otherwise use a fine-toothed saw similar to the one shown here and finish off the edges with sand paper.

CHAPTER TWO

PAPER AND BOARD

Paper is the main component of most books. It is made by straining a dilute suspension of plant fibres which have been soaked and beaten to a pulp, through a sieve-like screen leaving a thin layer of matted fibres on the surface. This thin layer of intertwined fibres is then pressed and dried to form a sheet of paper.

PAPER GRAIN

The physical properties of paper differ along and across the individual cellulose fibres. If all these fibres run in completely random directions the differences cancel each other out and the whole sheet behaves in a similar manner whichever direction you fold, tear or cut it and stretches equally in all directions if dampened with glue or water. However, the way the paper is made affects the distribution and direction of the individual fibres and results in something known as paper grain.

Being able to distinguish and use paper grain is fundamental in bookbinding. This is because books and pamphlets open more easily, look better when open and are easier to handle and read, if the grain direction runs from the head (top) of the book to the tail (bottom). They are also stronger and last longer.

CATEGORIES OF PAPER AND BOARD

As far as the book-binder is concerned, paper and board fall into three main categories: handmade paper, mould-made paper and machinemade paper.

Handmade paper

When making paper by hand, the paper pulp is moved back and forth and from side to side as the sheet is being formed. Consequently the fibres lie randomly in all directions and there is no discernable grain.

Machine-made paper

Machine made paper, which is made on the most widely used paper-making machine, has a distinctive paper grain. The pulp is continuously shaken as it is discharged down a slope onto a continuously moving meshed belt to ensure that the fibres are evenly distributed, which also means the majority of fibres lie in the direction of the flow. The effect of this distribution is exacerbated in the drying section, where the tension affected by the speed of production means that the drying paper shrinks more across the flow than along it.

To illustrate the importance of paper grain these two books have been bound in the same way and with the same type of paper. The one on the left has been bound with the paper grain running from head to tail while the one on the right is cross-grain.

Mould-made paper

Mould made paper is formed on a slowly rotating cylindrical mould which is partially submerged in a vat of slowly moving pulp. It is dried in much the same way as machine-made paper but at a much slower speed. It does have a grain which is caused by the directional movement of the pulp and the drying process but it is far less pronounced than that of machine-made paper and is often quite difficult to distinguish.

The superior uniformity of the paper made on either sort of machine means that they are better suited than hand-made papers for printing and the predictability of the grain direction can be used to advantage when binding too. In general I would avoid using hand-made paper until you have had some experience as they are more difficult to fold accurately and they stretch in all directions when adhesive is applied which can cause the binding to cockle if not handled correctly.

LONG GRAIN AND SHORT GRAIN

When the grain runs along the length of the paper, the paper is said to be long grain, and when the grain runs across the paper it is said to be short grain.

Cross-grain binding

If the grain goes across the book from spine to foredge there are some problems which can arise.

There is some resistance when trying to open the book, and the pages tend to stick up in the air in a fan, instead of flopping down. The book will also tend to close, or some pages turn over if not held open. This is worst in books with a portrait format, but still noticeable in landscape books.

A slight buckling or wrinkling down the spine edge of the pages. This is most noticeable if the glue used on the spine when the book is being made has high moisture content.

If the book is used regularly, a weak line will be created along the joint where the pages have been forced open. This will be exacerbated if the paper contains a lot of mechanical wood pulp or becomes acidic for some other reason.

Testing for paper grain direction

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