You can make a book with some basic equipment and materials. Check Sea Lemon on YouTube.
A bonefolder for folding paper and to assist in multiple tasks of smoothing out material to help you hold something down without physically touching it. My main bonefolders are made of bone, probably cow. However I do have one plastic one but it doesn't work as nice. I've been told the teflon ones work really well.
Lifting blade is used for lifting paper or material with adhesive on them. I use a pair of butter knives that I have ground down so one side is completely flat and the top has a slight bevel to them. Lifting blades should never be sharp!
Boot Knife or Shoe Knife. Mostly used by cobblers (shoe makers), book binders have used these knives for hundreds of years as well. I keep mine mostly sharp but not too sharp.
Awl, punching Awl. I have two types, one is a sharp needle set in a wooden handle, the other is more blunt and produces a larger hole. The Awl is used to puncture paper in specifically measured areas for sewing.
Speaking of sewing, Bookbinders Sewing needles. These are not normal sewing needles. You need a larger eye for the linen book thread and you don't want them sharp, but slightly blunted. This way you don't pierce your thread as you sew.
Beeswax for the book thread.
Scissors
Compass for measuring. You don't need number measurements, use a compass to get the distance.
Small Square for cutting right angles.
Steel ruler, flat
Retractable knives
Scalpel, #3 handle and #12 blades for removing old stiching
Weights
Bookbinders Brushes
PVA Glue, Paste, and a 50/50 mix of the two called Mix.
Isopropyl Alcohol for cleaning paper
Okay that is everything in that picture! Now for the larger of my equipment.
To the left is a finishing press and to the right a nipping press. The finishing press is used to hold on the book while doing work on the spine. A nipping press is used to press the book with considerable force.
Sewing frame. You don't need a sewing frame for small notebooks but it comes in handy with full size books! The Sewing Frame will keep your chords or sewing tapes tight and in place while you sew your sections together.
Plough and finishing press. The finishing press is on the other side if you flip it. However this finishing press has a special groove cut in it to allow the plough to slide back and forth. This is how you traditionally cut your book block to have even pages. Mine is an older Dryad model.
Ignore the mess to the far left. My workshop is still going through stages of upgrading. To the left is the same nipping press, the the right is another form of nipping press of limited size. It also has a steel backed edge to allow you to cut small volumes with a knife instead of using a Plough.
To the right a puncture cradle for using your awl and making the small holes necessary for sewing. To the left my first press which you can find on Amazon or ebay. It works well enough but now I use it mainly to press folded sections.
I've just purchased this nipping press but won't get it for a few more weeks. This is the kind of nipping press used in industrial bookbinders shops. I will need to sand all the rust off, prime it, and repaint it when it arrives. Lots of work to do to make that functional again! It is 160cm high, 74cm wide, and 38 cm deep.
Space is also required and I've been slowly transforming my workshop to be functional for Bookbinding and my other hobbies. Top picture is my messy work space and below is what I want to accomplish by the middle of the summer. Using galvanised steel peg boards and hooked slotted shelving along with 3d printing I should have a more organised space soon.
A bonefolder for folding paper and to assist in multiple tasks of smoothing out material to help you hold something down without physically touching it. My main bonefolders are made of bone, probably cow. However I do have one plastic one but it doesn't work as nice. I've been told the teflon ones work really well.
Lifting blade is used for lifting paper or material with adhesive on them. I use a pair of butter knives that I have ground down so one side is completely flat and the top has a slight bevel to them. Lifting blades should never be sharp!
Boot Knife or Shoe Knife. Mostly used by cobblers (shoe makers), book binders have used these knives for hundreds of years as well. I keep mine mostly sharp but not too sharp.
Awl, punching Awl. I have two types, one is a sharp needle set in a wooden handle, the other is more blunt and produces a larger hole. The Awl is used to puncture paper in specifically measured areas for sewing.
Speaking of sewing, Bookbinders Sewing needles. These are not normal sewing needles. You need a larger eye for the linen book thread and you don't want them sharp, but slightly blunted. This way you don't pierce your thread as you sew.
Beeswax for the book thread.
Scissors
Compass for measuring. You don't need number measurements, use a compass to get the distance.
Small Square for cutting right angles.
Steel ruler, flat
Retractable knives
Scalpel, #3 handle and #12 blades for removing old stiching
Weights
Bookbinders Brushes
PVA Glue, Paste, and a 50/50 mix of the two called Mix.
Isopropyl Alcohol for cleaning paper
Okay that is everything in that picture! Now for the larger of my equipment.
To the left is a finishing press and to the right a nipping press. The finishing press is used to hold on the book while doing work on the spine. A nipping press is used to press the book with considerable force.
Sewing frame. You don't need a sewing frame for small notebooks but it comes in handy with full size books! The Sewing Frame will keep your chords or sewing tapes tight and in place while you sew your sections together.
Plough and finishing press. The finishing press is on the other side if you flip it. However this finishing press has a special groove cut in it to allow the plough to slide back and forth. This is how you traditionally cut your book block to have even pages. Mine is an older Dryad model.
Ignore the mess to the far left. My workshop is still going through stages of upgrading. To the left is the same nipping press, the the right is another form of nipping press of limited size. It also has a steel backed edge to allow you to cut small volumes with a knife instead of using a Plough.
To the right a puncture cradle for using your awl and making the small holes necessary for sewing. To the left my first press which you can find on Amazon or ebay. It works well enough but now I use it mainly to press folded sections.
Backing Boards, Nipping Boards, Buckram, and Head Bands.
I've just purchased this nipping press but won't get it for a few more weeks. This is the kind of nipping press used in industrial bookbinders shops. I will need to sand all the rust off, prime it, and repaint it when it arrives. Lots of work to do to make that functional again! It is 160cm high, 74cm wide, and 38 cm deep.
Space is also required and I've been slowly transforming my workshop to be functional for Bookbinding and my other hobbies. Top picture is my messy work space and below is what I want to accomplish by the middle of the summer. Using galvanised steel peg boards and hooked slotted shelving along with 3d printing I should have a more organised space soon.
So there you have it, my little misadventure in bookbinding!
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