Book Repair Instructions to Save Your Books

Are you looking for a recipe for book repair paste?

Perhaps you need to know how to use document or book repair tape?

Maybe it’s just that your favorite book is falling to pieces………. I’ve now launched a new site that covers many of the simple repairs you need to perform to keep your books looking good and reading great! Click on over to www.bookrepair.awareness-guide.com

New instructions are posted twice a month with step by step instructions on how to carry out those essential book repairs - see you there!

Technorati Tags: book repair glue, book repair paste, book repair tape, book repairs, bookbinding repair glue

pThanks to the wonderful instructions from Artemis BonaDea of the Alaskan State Library, I have posted a step by step process at a href=”http://bookrepair.awareness-guide.com” title=”Book Repair Instructions” target=”_blank”www.bookrepair.awareness-guide.com/a so you can fix those treasured hardback books with worn out corners!/p p style=”font-size: 10px;” a href=”http://posterous.com”Posted via web/a from a href=”http://bookrepairs.posterous.com/repairing-corners-on-hardback-books”bookrepairs’s posterous/a /p

Part 3 of my series of articles on bookbinding instructions for repairing hardback books is

now available at www.ezinearticles.com (use the link at the top of this page). The article

covers sewing however I thought I would also put some of the more common methods of

sewing sections and sheets together here on this blog.

Single section sewing is where thin books are sewn with three holes. The thread is pulled

tightly and a reef knot is used to hold the middle thread down. Sewing can be started from

the middle, the inside or the outside.

Side stitching is suitable for single sheets but the opening will be restricted by thread in the

inner margins.

Blanket stitching is a variation of side stitching. Holes are made with a drill if necessary not

more than 9mm (3/8″) from the spine.

Overcasting is a method of sewing together a number of single sheets. The thread should

be thin and the holes should not be more than 3mm (1/8″) from the spine otherwise

opening your book will be restricted.

Side stitching and overcasting is a method of strengthening the first and last sections of a

book bound in the library style.A saddler’s stitch is made with holes 4mm (1/6″) apart and

3mm (1/8″) from the edge. Thin sections may be put through a domestic sewing machine.

French sewing (or sewing without tapes) is when sections are linked together by passing the

thread under the loop of the preceding section.

Tape sewing is sewing with one length of thread for each section where the thread goes

twice around the tape for extra strength

Overcasting on tapes is a good method to use where your book is made up of single sheets

or where repairs are impossible because of the buildup of swell at the spine.

Sunk cord sewing requires channels to be cut into the backs of the sections with a fine saw

to accommodate the cord. The thread then passes over the top of the cord making it a

quick and easy repair method.

Raised cord or flexible sewing was the usual method until the mid 18th century apart from

sewing on thongs or vellum strips.

If you are having difficuly finding the right thread for your book repair work, there is a link to

the one I recommend in the left hand column here.

Technorati Tags: book binding instructions, bookbinding instructions, hardback book repairs

I’ve had some questions lately about the difference bewteen glue and paste and whether you need both when repairing your books.

Most textbooks on bookbinding instructions will recommend a combination of both - so do I. The choice of the right adhesive for each material or purpose is important.
Durability, water content, pH value, action and effect on materials, penetration and adhesive properties. There seems to be no universal adhesive for all binding operations but some water based vegetable adhesives can be used as glue or thinned down to act as paste.

Flexible glue is used on the spine of a book where movement is necessary.
Organic glues are hard and their setting time is limited by room humidity. Synthetic glues are highly flexible and setting time is governed chiefly by porosity of the material.

Glue should be applied with short stabbing movements using a brush with stubby hairs held almost vertical, starting from the middle of the sheet working outwards.

Paste brushes have long, flexible hairs and are used with sweeping movements from the middle of the sheet outwards.

If you’d like to have a try at making some paste yourself, here’s a recipe:

3.5oz (100g) plain flour; 1 level tsp alum; 7/8 pint (0.5ltr) water; 2 drops formaldehyde

Blend the flour, alum and a little water in a double saucepan until smooth then gradually add the rest of the water. Heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat, place plastic wrap over to prevent a skin forming and leave to cool.Stir in formaldehyde which acts as preservative. Cold paste can be thinned with water.

Technorati Tags: book repair glue, book repair paste, book repair paste recipe, bookbinding instructions

The next part in this series can be found at

 http://EzineArticles.com/?id=1846178

This article covers how to dissemble a book and repair the sections of it. It was published a few days ago  but was in the wrong category so  now it’s back where it should be.

You’ll need to have Part 1 of the series handy to repair your book’s endpapares if you do take your book apart. Part 3 coming late next week.

Technorati Tags: book sections, hard back bookbinding repair, repairing sections

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Repairing a hardback book can often be the same as carrying out a complete rebinding process. I’m going to break the process down into three different categories that cover the most common repairs we need to carry out at some stage of a book’s life. The first one today is repairing endpapers.

Endpapers are the first and last few pages in a hardcover book. Their purpose is twofold - they should counteract the outward warp of the covers (known as boards) caused by the covering material (fabric, leather etc) and they should also protect the opening and closing pages of the text. For these reasons they are generally machine made papers of a particular weight where strength, grain direction and reaction to adhesives is already known. The use of handmade papers can add sentimental value to your book but may add to the difficulty in carrying out your repair work.

Simple tears can be repaired with specialist book repair tape - I don’t recommend standard adhesive tape as thgis can discolor and become brittle with age meaning you will have to do the repair all over again! I have written an article on basic endpaper repairs which you can read by clicking the Ezine link on this page.

If you need to completely replace the endpapers, remember two things. Firstly, endpapers are best made oversize and trimmed later as it is too difficult to join two papers together and line them up accurately. Secondly the grain direction of the paper you are using must run from head to tail (top to bottom not side to side) to avoid any complications in the process.

I recommend using paste rather than glue when working with endpapers as paste is cleaner, more flexible and so makes a more usable bond.

These instructions are for a single sectioned book - the instructions for a multi-sectioned book can be found elsewhere on this site.

1. Cut two sheets of paper and fold in half so that when folded they are about 1/2″ longer and wider than your book.

2. Insert them one inside the other and trim one end square with the centre fold. Mark this corner with a pencil mark across it so that the fold, the cut edge and the pencil mark form a triangle.

3. Remove any old sewing thread or clips and the damaged endpapers completely from your book.

4. Place your book into the centre of the endpapers so that the corner with the pencil mark is exactly level with the top (or head) of your book.

5. Cut a strip of thin cotton material or linen (I use gauze bandages) 2″ wide and about 1/2″ shorter than the length of your book.

6. Brush a thin coating of paste on to the material and place it paste side up on the centre of a piece of clean waste paper larger than your book.

7. Place the centre fold (or spine) of your book on one half of the material and press down firmly. Lift the waste paper so that the remaining half of the material is placed on to your book and press down well through the paper. Leave to dry completely.

8. Trim the endpapers with a sharp knife to be level with the rest of your book.

9. With your book closed place a sheet of waste paper under the endpaper. Completely cover the endpaper in paste working the brush outwards from the centre ensuring that the edges are well covered with paste.

10. Remove the waste paper carefully and shut the cover down onto the apste covered endpaper. The endpaper should not be lifted to the cover as this could stretch the endpaper and move it out of position.

11. Open the cover just enough to see that the endpaper is correctly place. If not, lift off carefully and try shutting the cover again. Don’t open the cover completely as the damp endpaper can stretch and move out of position to form a pocket at the spine. When the endpaper is correctly placed, slip in a sheet of clean waste paper and repeat the process for the other cover.

12. Remove the waste paper and leave you book at least overnight to dry under a light weight.

Stronger endpapers can be “made”. The term “made” is used for two sheets of paper which have been stuck together over the whole of their surface. They are used the same way as is outlined in the process above.

Technorati Tags: book binding, book binding instructions, bookbinding, hardback bookbinding, repairing hardback books, replacing endpapers

Here is a list of the basic pieces of bookbinding equipment you will need to keep your books in good repair:

Folder - this is a piece of shaped bone, hardwood or  plastic resembling in appearance a large emery board about 16cm (6″) long and 2.5cm(1″) wide. It should be smooth and heavy at the bottom, narrowing slightly to a blunt point at the top. For finishing and fine work a folder 12cm (4″) long with a very fine point can be used.Some folders made of plastic wear away very quickly and can leave white markes when used on cloth covers.

Knife - A good sharp penknife will see you through most repairs

Brushes - The two main brushes you will use are the glue brush and the paste brush. A glue brush is round with stiff hairs bound round with wire; a paste brush has long hairs (for brushing out evenly) and is usually bound with string. A small natural bristle nail brush can be used for many activities such as polishing leather.

Scissors - I have both a large pair for general work and a small pair (actually florist’s scissors) for the fiddly bits. A pointed pair of embroidery scissors would also be good for fine work.

Saw - A small tenon saw or a fine hacksaw can be very useful for sawing in the kettle stitch marks before sewing a binding 

Needles - A couple of strong needles with an eye large enough to take the binding thread; I usually get a mixed pack of canvas/sail repair needles.

Awl - A fine awl is useful for making holes for the needle sometimes.

If you are going to attempt washing and bleaching pages you will also need dishes large enough for double page spreads. Stainless steel are best as they don’t leach into the soaking medium and are easy to keep clean.

Your work area - The biggest issue when repairing books is to have a working area that is not too warm to minimise the risk of warping your materials. The best surface to work on is formica or marble - good , hard surfaces that wont let glue or paste stick to them! I find it useful to have all my tools stored above the bench so I can see them and they are out of the way of my work. Good daylight and an adjustable desk lamp are essential. Leather, paper and cloth should be stored separately in flat drawers with protection from the myriad of insects that will delight in living amongst them given the chance. I have found that dried lavender works best for all these materials with the added of bonus of a pleasant smell!

Technorati Tags: basic bookbinding equipment, bookbinding repair equipment, bookbinding repairs

If you haven’t worked in a library or for a commercial bookbinder, the terms that get used in bookbinding instructions might as well be in another language. So it’s time for me to share the definitions I have learned over the years as I pursued my love of restoring old books.

Endpapers - are the first and last few pages of a book;
Board paper - part of the endpaper; its function when pasted in is to counteract the warp of the board caused by the covering material;
Flyleaf - a blank page in the front or the back of a book;
Half Title - the first printed page of certain books, appearing after the end papers and before the title page and containing only the title of the book;
Frontispiece - an illustration that faces or immediately precedes the title page of a book;
Full Title - the page at the beginning of a volume that indicates the title, author’s or editor’s name, and the publication information, usually the publisher and the place and date of publication;
Dedication - a formal, printed inscription in a book, dedicating it to a person, cause, or the like;
Preface - a preliminary statement in a book by the book’s author or editor, setting forth its purpose and scope, expressing acknowledgment of assistance from others;
Contents  - the chapters or other formal divisions of a book;
Signatures - a letter, number, or symbol placed at the bottom of the first page on each sheet of printed pages of a book as a guide to the proper sequence of the sheets in binding;
Sections - a printed sheet folded to page size for binding together with others to form a book;
Quarter Binding - a covering method in which the spine and part of the sides are covered in one material and a cheaper one is used on the remainder;
Half Binding - a covering style in which the spine, corners and foredge are covered in a good material with the remainder in a cheaper one;
Backboard - a board placed at or forming the back of a book;
Frontboard - a board placed at or forming the front of a book;
Head - the top of a binding or page;
Foredge -the front edge of the book; so called because originally this edge faced outwards from the shelves (rather than the spine) and titles were painted, inked or scorched on the leaves;
Tail - the bottom of a binding or page;
Spine - the back of a book cover or binding, usually indicating the title and author;
Headband - coloured threads embroidered round a core and sewn through the sections to make up the difference between the top edge of the sections and the edges of the boards;
Tiedowns - looping the thread under when embroidering the headband to secure the headband to the book;
French Groove - library style book binding where the board is set away from the joint instead of flush to enable thick leather to be used at the hinge;
Linings - Kraft, bond or other strong paper pasted to the inside of boards to counteract warping of the boards by covering material;
First Lining - a lining of mull stuck directly to the back folds of the sections used to reinforce all multisection books;
Guarding - repairing or strengthening the folds of section or leaves by pasting on strips of linen, tissue or paper;
Headcap - a shaped and modelled turn-in over the spine in leather bindings;
Hollow - a paper tube stuck to the spine of the book to which the covering material is attached. This allows for freer opening of sections of stiff paper where entries are made.

Kettle Stitch - a catch stitch or knot made at the end of each section to join it on to the preceding one;
Overcasting - reinforcing a section or joining a number of single sheets together by sewing through the back margin;
Pulling - freeing the sections of a book from the original binding in preparation for rebinding;
Swell - the additional thickness in the sewn folds of the sections caused by the sewing thread and any repair paper.

In the next blog post I’ll have a drawing that shows where all these things are located.

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When one or two pages have fallen out of your favorite paperback- you will need a clean rag, tacky glue (from craft shops), a few wax paper strips, some heavy books.
1. Open the book to where the page/s belong
2. Place a thin strip of glue along the spine (sometimes easier to do with a toothpick dipped in the glue than straight from the glue container)
3. Line up the edges of the loose page with the adjacent pages and carefully press the remaining edge onto the glue at the spine
4. Place a strip of wax paper on either side of the glued edge (to stop any glue from joining the next pages as well!)
5. Close the book and wipe away any excess glue from the top and bottom of the book with the rag
6. Place under a few heavy books until the glue dries (at least 3 hours)

Technorati Tags: paperback repairs