Bookbinders of MeFi, a request for your wisdom

April 17, 2023 4:46 PM

I am planning a writing/art project, The Book of 1000 Joys (purely personally, not shilling - I am planning to leave it to someone). This will consist of around 1050 pages, mostly with one thing from my life that has brought joy. I'm planning to record them beautifully, ie illustrations, pressed flowers etc. I am thinking of binding the book myself as part of that. Do I need to bear anything special in mind physically for a book that might take 20 years to fill, and, on a physical level, am I better to break it into volumes?
posted by jaduncan to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

Best answer: The spine will crack and a massive binding like that with things inside is hard to manage. Smaller spines are easier if this is your first attempt and means you could bind them and then rebind your earlier attempts as you get better at binding. It’s definitely possible to do, but binding is a craft that takes practice.

Ten books inside a slipcase would be very lovely and easier to browse. Plus you could use different themed book cloths or papers on them. Look up fanbinding and artbooks for inspiration on social media.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:10 PM on April 17, 2023 [9 favorites]

Best answer: Yeah at least 4 volumes, if not 10. It depends on what kind of paper you plan to use and how you want to do the binding. In most cases you can put together a signature of pages made up of 8-12 pieces of paper that are twice the size of your finished page. Each piece of paper will give you 4 pages of book, front and back of each half once folded. You can mix types of paper in a signature if you plan to trim the edge after finishing. Then you can sew multiple signatures into one binding as a volume.

If you want uniform paper, buy it all at once.
posted by soelo at 5:28 PM on April 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you. Oddly I hadn't considered the slip case, but that is a very good idea.
posted by jaduncan at 5:54 PM on April 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Make it in volumes, not one big thingy.

You can bind it yourself, the basics of bookbinding is simple to learn in theory. Just cut a thick spine strip and 2 thick covers, glue them to leather backing, and glue in some stitched pages (uh, that's an over-simplified version, it can get fancy).
posted by ovvl at 6:56 PM on April 17, 2023

The DAS bookbinding videos on YouTube are clear, concise, comprehensive, and mesmerizing.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:45 PM on April 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Source 100% cotton rag [archive] paper if you want your Joys to last.

Better to use A3 paper [ANSI B / Ledger in USland] so sheets can be sewn into signatures. But I have had functional success drilling holes in ~50 sheets = 100 sides of A4 and sewing them together with running stitch.

For a nice binding to do justice to your Joys you'll need a sewing frame to hold the signatures as you bind them, a press to flatten them; a vice to hold them as you process the spine with a binder's hammer; guillotine; glue; library cloth; a real sharp knife etc. etc. Enroll in an evening class which has all the kit and mentory advice.

Sounds like a delightful project. May your words live forever.
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:34 PM on April 17, 2023 [2 favorites]