And we'll need decorative headbands and some ribbon to finish the look.ģ. The three edges will need trimming before they can be gilded. The bare spine will have to be prepped before the cover can be attached. There are still some details missing, however. In a paste-off edition, which is the traditional method, the text block is connected to the cover by pasting the endsheets down onto the back of the cover.Īt this point, the book block feels very much like a book. Cambridge typically uses imitation leather endsheets. Suffice to say, Smyth-sewn bindings are very good.Įnd papers are sewn on, too, while the end sheets are "tipped on" - i.e., they are glued. Someone with more knowledge of both processes would have to say whether one is stronger than the other. With the machine there seem to be more points of connection. The former looks stronger to me - perhaps because there are so many more holes! I've hand stitched books together, punching six to eight holes in each signature. The result is a little different in appearance from hand-stitching. Note that these blocks are machine-stitched. The process of binding tightens things up a bit and closes those gaps. Before binding, a sewn text block will show gaps between the signatures when opened, the stitches clearly visible. As I learned in my bookbinding class, when a book block is bound too tightly, the pages don't open as easily as they ought. There are grayscale guides along the bottom and, of course, the whole thing is easier to part than the Nile River. At the same time, the pages are untrimmed, which means the front edge hasn't always been separated. Holding the loose signatures tightly at the spine, you can flip through it and envision the finished book it will become. If the Kingdom of God is already and not yet, the same might be said for this Bible. They're numbered - twenty-six, not counting the maps - and the marks form a diagonal line for easy visual confirmation. The tick marks on the spines of each signature are designed to ensure proper order. The Clarion is printed on a Timson web press "specially configured for accurate lightweight printing." An interesting geographical note: while the sheets are printed in the Netherlands, the Timson is actually manufactured about fifty miles from Cambridge in Northampton, which is also the manufacturing center for English shoemaking.Īfter printing, the sheets are folded into signatures - in this case, 80 pages per booklet, which works out to twenty folded sheets. The Bible in question is the Clarion ESV, but the process illustrated is common to quality Bibles. Bob provided a trio of book blocks in various stages of completion and stepped me through the process. On the next part, I'll explain how to make the cover and put the journal together.Thanks to Cambridge's Bob Groser, I'm able to offer an inside look at how a Bible's book block is assembled and prepped for "casing in" (i.e., for having the cover attached). Let me know if you try this tutorial out. I find sewing the text block kind of difficult to get at first, but I got the hang of it. Now you have your text block! If you don't get it right the first time, try practicing a few times. Sometimes I do this step before putting the text block under a weight. Cut a piece of mull that is a little larger than the spine. Mull is a mesh material that helps to reinforce the text block more. Once it’s dry, take the text block out and remove any excess dried glue. Put adhesive on the side of spine where the stitching is. Use two wood boards or two heavy books (I usually use two encyclopedia books) of equal weight. Put two pieces of wax paper on the front and back of the text block. Once you’ve sewn the book, it helps to reinforce the spine.
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