I've not been bookbinding in years due to a hand injury and I'm just starting to get back into the hobby. I did some searching for tools and was astounded by the affordable options that are available now.
Have a look at my previous post regarding my equipment.
The following tools I got between Amazon and Temu for a total of £33.00, I was very excited about the stainless steel corner jigs. The wood spacers are a good value for money but I'm concerned about getting too much glue on them compared to stainless steel, 3D printed or other plastics.
Now lets just hope I get the time to put them to good use!
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| Bamboo hole punch and cradle |
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| Plastic injection mould box making tools |
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| 3D printed spacers, hole punch, and corner jig. |
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| Stainless Steel multi tool |
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| Stainless steel corner jigs |
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| Wood spacers and corner jigs |
Oh these look lovely! I've been 3-d printing a bunch of tools myself using my library's Makerspace (even the materials are free!). I lack precision, although I'm trying to get better, and things like spacing jigs have been vital for keeping things even and square,. I even 3d printed a sewing cradle and a little bookbinding plough (although the bookbinding plough, I assembled wrong so the blade is exposed without a guard, so it's a wee bit dangerous to use right now. 3d printing a new version to fix that up.) and corner jigs. It has helped a lot, although the best way to get better at making books is making books and being meticulous (much to my dismay).
ReplyDeletehappy you're getting back into Bookbinding! Would love to see posts of any of your new projects. I'm currently reading your blog while I sit next to my printer, (an Epson Ecotank, so quite slow for a printer, even for an inkjet) checking each page as it comes out so there's no splotches. I'm so happy to say that cleaning the inside of any excess ink has helped a lot. Sorry for the hand injury. And I agree I'm so happy about the affordable options available now. It makes me happy I got into bookbinding in 2024 (I'm a college student) and there's a surplus of blogs, even youtube videos, as well a Discord server for fanbinding, to teach you so many things.I still would like to learn in-person but I'm making some pretty decent books despite it all.