Metallic Waxed Linen Thread

     
     Okay So I have a bit of a bookbinding thread fetish. I have tried many different brands and colors. I do believe it was Patsy Stone who said "You can never have too many Gloves, Hats, & Shoes". Well in my world one can never have too enough  Paper, tools, & thread!
    Most of the time I use18/3 un-waxed Irish Linen thread and custom dye it to match my project. Up until now metallic thread has only been a dream. I have found a rather brilliant product called Gilder's Paste. This lovely stuff is like waxy metallic shoe polish. It is amazing for "gilding" waxed thread. Just pull the thread through the paste and wham bam Metallic thread! You do have to let it dry for 60 or so minutes, unless you want everything you own metallic. I haven't tried it yet, but the Gilders paste would probably work well to gild text blocks. Currently I am working on a book with Cordovan Leather and a red/gold metallic thread. I will post some pics when it's done.

    ~ Eric

Secret no more - The Secret Belgian Binding

So I have seen many examples of the Secret Belgian binding online. After much searching I found some very readable instructions here. Thank you to whomever did this tutorial...good job!
  From what little info I could find, the Secret Belgian binding was re-discovered in 1986. It is composed of 2 covers and a spine that are woven together. The signatures are sewing to the inner weave.

 Here is an example of what is "should" look like.. Boy do I LOVE Dennis Yuen's work

Book Artist: Cailun/ Dennis Yuen

  Instead of trying to re-invent the wheel please follow the this link for the tutorial. After reading it as carefully as I could and following the directions as well as any male can, I do however have some observations.


  1) Do not use tape to hold your covers together while stitching... Tape and paper are never  friends. I  tried to use painters tape (which I do use a lot of in my studio). Even after sticking it to my shirt a few times to take down the adhesive a bit, it still pulled up and tore my paper.... FAIL....
  2) The instructions to not call for an odd number of sewing stations... keep your number odd. Believe me you will be happier
  3) Unlike some bindings, tension is key. Your signatures and cover need to be tight!

 I took some pics of my process. Please be kind, it was my first time.

First 3 stations sewn. Please forgive the horrible photograph (Warning: they don't get any better)

Inside cover completely sewn.  I'm a bit embarrassed of the cheap paper and the nylon thread I used

Please try this binding out. It really is quiet beautiful. I can see a lot of variations using beads or decorative threads that would be next to impossible of most bindings.

   ~Eric

Bibliogami

 I found these online .. cool as hell. The artist is Denise Kiggan. Her work can be found here

This Is Where We Live

This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

Welcome to our city - to our world - of books. This is where we live.

A film for 4th Estate Publishers' 25th Anniversary. Produced by Apt Studio and Asylum Films.

The film was produced in stop-motion over 3 weeks in Autumn 2008. Each scene was shot on a home-made dolly by an insane bunch of animators; you can see time-lapse films of each sequence being prepared and shot in our other films.




London Set Build Timelapse from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

  The word really should be made from Paper, books, scissors, and a glue gun.
     ~Eric

Piercing signatures

I have found a bit of an alternative way to pierce signatures. I read about sawing the holes from the outside in one of Kevin Smith's books. This method vs. the inside piercing works out well for me. It has greatly improved my accuracy. No more wonky piercing stations!

Kevin Smith's instructions involved using a hack saw... seriously... a Hack saw! This seemed a bit extreme to me. This is like cutting a sapling with a chain saw... can you say overkill! I scaled it back a tad. I use a jeweler's saw. I happen to have several from my goldsmithing days. Even if you are not a jeweler these are very handy things to have around. I have used mine for all types of projects including , in a pinch, cutting down a Christmas tree.

The trick is to use the saw to "mark" the piercing hole. You don't need to go all the way through. If you do cut through all of the signature the hole will be elongated and will rip easily when you are sewing the book. Use a traditional awl to finish the hole from the outside of the signature.

Jeweler's adjustable saw frame

Words to live by

swissmiss: "Start brave and brash: you can always make things more conservative, but it’s hard to make things more radical.

Everyone is just making it up as they go along."

Cutting book board: tools

Cheap & Eco-friendly Book Board! Woot!

Cutting book Board can be a real pain in the ass. When I started making books I bought the expensive Davey board. The full sheets of  board were kind of unwieldy in my micro-studio space. My alternative was to use pre-loved book board. It really is not hard to find old books that are past their useful life. Typically I use children's books from Goodwill. They are usually over sized  and thicker then store bought board. I use the insides as scrap/glue paper, so pretty much all of the book is re-used in some way.  Using the more eco-friendly board makes me feel a bit kinder to the planet.  Avoid any books with a glossy coating, unless you want to spend a ton of time sanding so your glue will stick.

When cutting board there are 3 tools that you (IMHO) can not be without.
- A good sized self-healing cutting mat. I have a few because I am not so careful with these.
- A 45mm  rotary cutter. They come larger and smaller, but the 45mm seems to fit the job just right. I always keep mine at hands reach. It is probably the most used tool on my desk. Blades for these cutter are fairly expensive, but they last a long time and can be sharpened.
- The last requirement is a clear  O'Lipfa ruler. This little jem has a turned down lip that acts as a t-square. I think they are designed for quilters. I use painters tape stuck all over the clear ruler to mark repeated cuts and to jot down measurements. My ruler looks kind of tragic with all of the notes on it, but it is seriously damn handy. Slap a piece of Velcro on it and stick it to the side of your work space to keep it accessible yet out of the way

Here is the lip on the O'Lipfa ruler. Sorry for the crappy shot. It's rather difficult to photograph clear objects.