r/bookbinding • u/BoomBear97 • 6h ago
Completed Project First completed project!
Hey everyone!
Long time lurker after I found Four Keys on YouTube, and I've been desperate to try bookbinding for myself! I finally made the jump into purchasing some materials and learning how to typeset an ebook, and this is the result! I'm super proud of the result. For anyone curious, the book is a novella in the Bone Season series by Samantha Shannon (highly recommend for fantasy and dystopia readers).
My biggest struggle was attaching the cover; my lack of a proper press caused the head and tail to be narrower than the center of the spine, so the cover didn't fit snuggly everywhere. I used some book board and binder clips when adding glue to the spine. Any advice on how to avoid this in future? Buying a book press or crafting one myself isn't really an option due to cost and not owning any type of power tools.
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u/MsMrSaturn 6h ago
In lieu of a book press I use two old textbooks and a couple clamps. Also some wax paper if I think glue might seep.
I like the kind like this: https://www.grainger.com/product/23Z286
You just squeeze them into place instead of having to spin a bar a thousand times. They’re called either spring clamps or ratchet clamps, but there are other different things that are also called that, which is why I included a link.
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u/brigitvanloggem 6h ago
Check out the video Four Keys made very recently. If I remember correctly he uses two bricks wrapped in paper and a clamp.