Jacek's Book: Sewing the Book Block

Day one

I decided to devote myself entirely to this project until I finish it. There are only a few days left until the 15th so I avoided taking other orders during this time. I'm happy, I have all the time I need to work without rush and make this book one of the best I've made so far :)

The day started with the removal of the existing binding and sewing the new book block.

  

As I already mentioned, this is my first project of this kind and I was not aware of some aspects involved in choosing an ideal book for rebinding. This one (as most of the books produced nowadays) is printed on thin glossy paper which does not react well with humidity and tends to get wavy. The adhesive used for the spine was insoluble and I had to remove it mechanically from each signature. Plus, the book is in horizontal format which (for me at least) is harder to handle. So I came with an idea which I think solves more things at the same time. I decided to add some interleaves made of thicker paper between part of the pages. These are made of black and cream Bristol board and by the way, I'm not planning to leave them empty :) This is how I work... when in doubt, just take the creative approach!

The inserts have also helped to increase the thickness of the book block, which was quite thin for the kind of closing system I have in mind.

 

Once the spine was glued I left the book sleep in the press over night and in the next morning I took it to the small printing house nearby where a very nice man always helps me cut my book blocks with the guillotine.

More to come... tomorrow :)