Do-it-yourself book binding: step-by-step instructions for beginners. Do-it-yourself book binding: an easy way to create a book from scratch

two small flat boards;
two clamps;
strong white threads;
gauze;
PVA glue;
scissors;
glue brush;
stationery knife.

Operating procedure

Spine design

We prepare gauze and special rollers for the spine. We cut the gauze so that its length is approximately 1 cm less than the length of the spine, and its width is approximately 4 cm greater (2 cm on each side). In the same way, we cut out two rollers, but their width should exactly match the width of the spine. Gently coat the edges of the rollers with glue.

Binding process

Cover design

Video on the topic of the article

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I would like to talk about two enough simple ways to bind magazines and books, as well as individual sheets from various magazines with the articles you need, for example, about cooking. Over time, such magazines bound in the form of books will form an excellent library. During the years of stagnation, when good books were in short supply, I collected “fiction”, published in the magazines “Technology for Youth” and “Ural Pathfinder”, in which the stories and stories that interested me were published with continuations. I have never seen the binding methods that I want to suggest here anywhere in the literature. Of course, I didn’t come up with them myself, but I picked them up from a specialist from the city of Priuralsk.

How to bind a book at home

Typically, when binding, individual sheets are stacked, in which holes are punched, drilled or pierced, moving away from the edge of the spine, and then the sheets are sewn together using these holes. However, as a result of this technology, some of the text turns out to be difficult to read, especially on those sheets on which the text is located very close to the edge of the sheet on the spine side of the future book.

A book formed from sheets using the technology proposed below is, to some extent, free from this drawback. At the initial stage of bookbinding, the same operations are carried out in both cases: they fold the sheets into a stack, trim them along the lower and leading edges, the upper edge can be trimmed later. After all, as you know, sheets even from the same magazine, but from different issues, usually do not match in format. The stack is then compressed using a press, vice or clamp. The simplest version of the clamp is two flat boards (two metal corners), tightened on both sides with bolts (Fig. 1). Clamp the stack (from the spine side) in a vice so that the narrowest sheet protrudes from the vice by about 5 mm (see Fig. 1). Then the spine is cleaned with a large file, removing the strongly protruding edges of the sheets, and then transverse grooves are cut into the spine with a hacksaw or jigsaw (the number of grooves is at your discretion) to a depth of 1.5...2 mm. This is the main feature of the proposed binding technology. After all, if the sheets are punched or drilled at such a distance from the edge, then the threads threaded into the holes will inevitably break through the edges of the sheets. So you can place the holes from the edge of the block at a distance of at least 1...1.5 cm, which will certainly lead to “capture” of the text.

Having made the cuts, the block (package) is installed with the spine facing up. Next, coat the spine with PVA glue (or bustylate), diluted thinner, so that it penetrates into the spaces between the sheets, as well as into the cuts. Then, pieces of nylon or other strong thread are placed in the cuts so that the ends extend beyond the spine by about 2...3 cm (Fig. 2, a) or (as you like) the spine is pulled together with one long thread (Fig. 2, b). Finally, the entire spine is coated with glue again. When the glue has dried, the ends of the threads are cut off and a light cover is made for the block, that is, a cover made of thick paper is simply glued to the spine and the endpapers are glued in. (The endpapers are the first and also the last double sheets of a block that connect it to the cover. - Editor's note.) From such a book the sheets will no longer pop out, as they do from cheap store-bought paperback books. The above-mentioned store books that have fallen apart are also strengthened in a similar way. But still, in both cases it is better to make a hard cover instead of a soft cover.

When making a hard cover, a piece of cloth or gauze is glued onto the spine of the block using polyvinyl acetate emulsion (Fig. 3), so that parts of a piece of cloth 2...3 cm wide extend beyond the side edges of the spine. Captals, that is, pieces of finishing material, are glued to the upper and lower edges of the spine. braid with a roll on the edge (bright cloth scraps folded in half are also suitable). However, you don’t have to do it. Next, cut out two cover covers from cardboard. The width of each cover should be equal to the width of the glued block. There are many different options for making lids, but I want to offer what I think is the simplest.

Having cut out the cardboard covers, I select a beautiful fabric, oilcloth, leaderin, etc. A blank for the book’s clothing is cut out of the binding material, not forgetting to provide 2…3-centimeter margins on the side of the top, bottom and front edges. The distance between the covers is equal to the width of the spine plus 2×8 mm (Fig. 4, a). Between the covers on a piece of material, you can glue a gap - a strip of thick paper or whatman paper (the width of the strip is equal to the width of the block). The lids are thoroughly coated with PVA and glued to the piece of clothing, smoothing it well so that there are no bubbles. Then the edges of the workpiece are wrapped on the covers (Fig. 4, b), glued to them and the finished cover is dried under a press.

We prepare two endpapers, each of which is a white sheet of paper folded in half. We glue one half of the sheet to the lid (Fig. 6), and the other to the outer sheet of the block, and the endpaper is not completely glued to the sheet, leaving a 1 cm wide strip without glue adjacent to the fold of the endpaper.

That's it, the binding is finished, and the book is placed under the press. Of course, I don’t know the professional terms, but it seems to me that I presented everything clearly.

I would also like to suggest a notebook method for binding magazines. It is somewhat different from the traditional one, when holes are formed along the spine edges of the magazines, for example, with a hole punch, and the magazines are tied with a cord. It is clear that in this case part of the text cannot always be read. My notebook method does not have this drawback, since the entire binding is made on the outside of the spine.

First, put all the magazines in a stack and mark the places of future punctures on the spines along a ruler (Fig. 7).

Then they take the last issue of the magazine and, using a large needle, follow the marks and stitch it through the middle, forming three or five stitches (Fig.

How to bind books at home with your own hands

8, a). I note that with this firmware, the “native” metal clips of the magazines can even be removed. The next magazine, laid on top, is stitched in exactly the same way, but in the opposite direction. After each stitching, the thread is tightened, removing any backlash (slack). Having completed the stitching of the second magazine, the thread (with a needle) is tied to the end of the thread protruding from the lower magazine (Fig. 8, b). It is clear that the third magazine is stitched similarly to the first, and at the end of the seam its thread is tied to the seam thread of the second magazine, prying the first stitch of the seam of this magazine with a needle.

For strength, the seam threads of all magazines are knitted at their entry and exit points (see Fig. 7). In principle, such a binder can already be used. But it is better to clamp the stitched stack in a press (vice) and coat the spine with liquid PVA glue. After drying, a durable block is already obtained. And of course, it is better to make a hard cover for the stack, as described above. It is advisable to trim the edges, but if the magazines are the same, then you don’t have to do this. Otherwise, without training, the cut will turn out crooked.

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Previous publications:

There are many ways to attach pages to multi-page printed products. Each of them is convenient in certain cases. The following are the main methods of fastening sheets of printed publications:

You can choose any of these methods for your catalog or brochure, magazine and inform the managers of the printing house 03 Press about your choice.

How to bind a book. Two simple ways to bind books and magazines at home

Binding machines with a plastic spring are designed to give documents a presentable appearance. You can quickly receive a beautifully designed catalog, brochure, instructions, abstract or any other document. Plastic spring binding technology allows you to remove or add sheets to the finished product.

Let's take a closer look at what the process of binding with a plastic spring looks like. Place the binding machine on a level surface. Prepare the document you want to bind (the document itself + front transparent and back cardboard covers).

First you need to perforate the sheets - make holes for binding.

The front and back covers must also be perforated.

Since you know approximately the number of sheets you are going to bind, you can select a plastic spring of the required diameter using this table.

Then slide the spring onto the metal comb

and you need to open (unclench) it.

There are two types of binding machines: with one handle, with its help they punch and open (close) the spring and with two separate handles for perforation and for opening (closing) the spring.

And so, if your machine has one handle. Take the recommended number of sheets for perforation from the prepared document. Align the edges of the document. Set the perforation depth regulator (the more sheets in the document, the greater the distance from the edge). To make sure the settings are correct, make a test punch. Next, place the sheets in the perforation slot, lower the perforation handle and return it to its original position. Take out the sheets. And so you perforate the entire document. Next, take the plastic spring. Put it on a metal comb. Open the spring and place perforated sheets on it. When the entire document is placed on the spring, close it by returning the perforation/spring release handle to its original position. Remove the finished bound document. If you have two separate handles on your bookbinding machine for perforating and opening (closing) the spring, do everything the same, only you can open the spring initially and, as the sheets are perforated, immediately put them on the spring (two handles are more convenient).

We looked at binding machines (brochurators) - mechanical ones. There are also electric cars. The principle of operation on them is the same, only the perforation is electric - by pressing a button or a foot pedal. Very convenient, no effort required.

Our company offers a wide selection of flight machines, as well as everything necessary for binding: plastic springs and covers by color, size, thickness and diameter. We will choose for every taste. Plastic springs are elastic and hold the sheets tightly. Documents with this binding are easy to read and convenient to store.

Although store shelves are littered with notebooks and notebooks for any purpose, finding a truly unique item is not easy. It’s faster and more affordable to make your own notebook. It won't take much time, and as a result you will receive a one-of-a-kind accessory for recording the format you need. This article presents a step-by-step master class on making notebooks with tips and video tutorials.

Tools for making a notebook with your own hands

To make a notebook or diary, first prepare paper for writing. Simple notebook sheets (checked, lined) or landscape paper will do. To cut a large number of sheets evenly for a small notebook, use a stationery knife. You will need the following tools and supplies:

scissors;
ruler;
awl;
thick needle and strong threads;
stapler;
glue, double-sided thin tape or adhesive tape;
materials for the cover (base cardboard, colored cardboard, fabric);
decorations (sets for scrapbooking).

How to make a workbook with your own hands?

You can make a notebook with a small number of sheets (up to 10-12) in 2 ways:

Stapling.

Carefully fold the required number of sheets in half.
Open the pages in the middle and staple along the fold line.

Usually 2 paper clips are enough, but if the page length exceeds half an A4 sheet, place paper clips at a distance of 5-10 cm between them. The greater the thickness and amount of paper, the larger the paper clips should be.

Stitching.

Carefully fold the sheets in half.
Mark with a pencil several pairs of future holes for stitching (the distance between the punctures is 1-3 cm).
Punch holes with an awl at the marked points (make sure that the hole does not exceed the diameter of the stitching needle - 1-2 mm).
For thin paper, prepare a needle with a single thread, for thick paper - with a double thread. There is no need to make a knot at the end of the thread.
Sew the pages through the holes along the fold using a simple needle-first stitch, starting the first stitch from the outside (leave the end of the thread hanging 5-10 cm).

The ends of the thread after stitching should be on the outside of the notebook.
After everything is stitched, pull both ends of the thread and tie it with a strong knot.

If you need a thick notebook with many pages, the usual binding technique is suitable, which is done in two ways:

Make booklet blanks (each of 3-5 sheets folded in half; the thicker the paper, the fewer sheets). All books are individually stitched with threads using the above method. Then the blanks are sewn together or glued together.
Method of simultaneous stitching of blank books and fastening them together with one continuous thread:

Sew the first piece from bottom to top.
Without cutting the thread or tying a knot, move on to the second workpiece, only you will sew it from top to bottom, catching the outer stitches of the first booklet with the needle as you go along the seam.
Having reached the bottom, proceed to the third workpiece, stitching it like the first (from bottom to top), while simultaneously grabbing the stitches of the second book. Once finished, move on to the next workpiece.
When sewing, pull the thread tighter so that the pages do not dangle and the books fit snugly together.
Having sewn the last piece, fasten the ends of the thread together with a knot.

If you take colored sheets rather than white sheets, you will get an original notebook with multi-colored sections. You can also experiment with the texture and thickness of the paper. At the end of the work, check that the edges of the resulting book are even. It is most convenient to cut a curved edge using a utility knife along a ruler.

How to make a cover for a notebook?

Bound pages will have an unfinished appearance if not bound. For a thin notebook or a finished spiral bound paper block, cut two matching sheets of colored cardstock. The cardboard is glued to the first and last pages of the book with glue or double-sided adhesive tape, then decorated.

To cover a thick notebook with a wide spine you need:

Make 3 base blanks: the front and back of the cover (cut from thick cardboard to the size of the notebook), a piece of cardboard for the spine of the appropriate size.
Glue all 3 blanks onto one large piece of colored cardboard (fabric or other material that will be the cover) with strong glue or double-sided tape. Fold the edges and corners of the cover material inward and glue it to the base cardboard.
Glue the first and last pages of the notebook you made to the inside cover. As a result, the base cardboard must be completely hidden (on the outside - by the cover material, on the inside - by the outer pages of the notebook).
We put the finished notebook with the cover under the press overnight, then decorate it. The design of the cover depends only on your imagination. Use available materials: colored paper of different textures, lace, fabrics, threads, beads, rhinestones, etc.

Video tutorials on creating a notebook at home

After watching the selection of videos presented, you will learn how to make any notebook with your own hands. This activity is inexpensive and accessible even to children, because does not require complex actions. And an exclusive cover, made by yourself, will turn a purchased notebook into an original thing and will be a wonderful gift for any holiday.

How to make a beautiful notebook with a cover

From A4 sheets

Notebook for Monster High dolls

Do-it-yourself book binding: step-by-step instructions for beginners

Making books, albums and hardcover notebooks yourself is not the most common activity. However, the ability to make book binding can come in handy, for example, if you want to save and arrange a printed book. We suggest you try to make a classic book binding with your own hands using the step-by-step instructions below.

Required materials and tools

two small flat boards;
two clamps;
thin file for working on metal;
strong white threads;
gauze;
high-density cardboard (you can use thin cardboard glued in 2-3 layers);
a book spine roller (you can use braid instead);
colored thick paper for cover design;
PVA glue;
scissors;
glue brush;
stationery knife.

Operating procedure

Books can be sewn or glued. Flashing a book yourself is a very labor-intensive task to do at home. Therefore, we offer a master class on making a binding for a glued book.

We print out the book that we plan to bind. Align the resulting stack of paper along the edge, carefully tapping its ends on a flat table surface. It is necessary to approach the process with maximum responsibility, since the appearance of the future book will depend on it.

Spine design

Carefully place a stack of paper on the table with the spine facing you so that the edge of the stack protrudes slightly beyond the boundaries of the tabletop, and place a fairly heavy load on top. Using a brush, apply PVA glue thickly to the surface and leave to dry for a couple of minutes. Then we remove the weight and move the stack of sheets a little further from the edge of the table. We very carefully place the board on top and clamp the resulting structure with clamps.

After 3-4 hours, remove the clamps and again move the stack of sheets along with the board so that they extend beyond the table surface by about 2-3 mm. Using a pencil, we make transverse marks at the end of the stack of sheets at equal intervals (in our case, 2 cm). Then, using the obtained marks, using a metal file, we make cuts about 1 mm deep. It is necessary to ensure that they are strictly perpendicular to the sheets of paper.

Gently coat the edges of the rollers with glue.

Similarly, we prepare a strip of paper that will be glued to the spine. Its width should be equal to the width of the spine, and its length should be 7-8 mm less.

Binding process

We generously lubricate the spine of the book with PVA so that the glue gets into each cut made. We insert threads moistened with glue into the cuts so that their ends stick out 2-3 cm on each side. Again, lubricate the spine with the threads with glue and fix the gauze blank on top, then the rollers and lastly a strip of paper, pressing each layer as tightly as possible with your fingers. Leave the resulting structure to dry for 8-12 hours.

After the glue has dried, remove the clamps and cut off the excess parts of the ropes.

Next, we begin making the endpapers. We will make them from thick paper such as Whatman paper (white or colored). We make blanks in the size of the future book. The outer edge of the endpaper needs to be trimmed a little to make it easier to glue.

Lubricate the strip at the fold with glue (about 3-4 mm) and glue the endpaper onto the block of sheets. Then we turn the book blank over and glue the other endpaper in the same way. We put the structure under the press for a while.

Cover design

We cut out three pieces from cardboard: a spine and two crusts. The crusts should be 8 mm longer than the glued book blank, and equal in width to it. The spine should be equal in height to the crusts, and in width to the thickness of the block.

Then we select paper of a suitable color and draw the blanks as follows:

the width of one part is equal to the width of the spine + 8 mm on both sides;
the width of the other two parts is equal to the width of the crusts + 2-3 cm on both sides.

Glue the resulting structure together and cut the corners diagonally. We coat the edges of the paper with PVA, bend them and glue them to the cardboard, especially carefully pressing the corners of the cover.

To design the cover, you can use a ready-made dust jacket, apply an inscription using a stencil, or print and stick paper with the necessary information at your discretion. A technology such as scrapbooking is widely used when decorating book covers: decorating products with cut out or die-cut decorative elements, paper with unusual patterns and openwork edges.

Glue the inner block and the cover together. We first try on both parts and only after that we start gluing. A mistake made at this stage will be almost impossible to correct.

Lubricate one edge of the gauze with glue and press it to the surface of the endpaper. Then we smear PVA over the entire endpaper with gauze. We turn the book over with the endpaper facing down and mount the endpaper to the cover, starting from its edges. We coat the gauze on the top side with glue and glue it to the endpaper, then we smear the entire second endpaper and glue it in the same way. To prevent excess glue from staining the book, it should be lined with unnecessary larger paper. When gluing each workpiece, it is necessary to ensure that air bubbles and folds do not form.

The book binding is ready! After production, it is advisable to put the book under a press overnight.

The binding manufacturing process is greatly simplified if the parts are glued together using hot-melt adhesive. In this case, you need to purchase a special machine for thermal binding and hot melt adhesive itself. All cut-out blanks (cover, book spine and endpapers), together with a printed block of paper, are inserted into the machine and crimped using it. The cover is then glued on by hand. However, if you do not plan to constantly work with book products, purchasing a typewriter will not be advisable.

Video on the topic of the article

For those who have mastered the classic binding of books with their own hands and want to continue working with books, the following videos with detailed bookbinding lessons are offered.

Making books, albums and hardcover notebooks yourself is not the most common activity. However, the ability to make book binding can come in handy, for example, if you want to save and arrange a printed book. We suggest you try to make a classic book binding quickly and easily with your own hands using the step-by-step instructions below.

Learn how to make high-quality book binding with your own hands in a master class

Required materials and tools:

two small flat boards;
two clamps;
thin file for working on metal;
strong white threads;
gauze;
high-density cardboard (you can use thin cardboard glued in 2-3 layers);
a book spine roller (you can use braid instead);
colored thick paper for cover design;
PVA glue;
scissors;
glue brush;
stationery knife.

Books can be sewn or glued. Flashing a book yourself is a very labor-intensive task to do at home. Therefore, we offer a master class on making a binding for a glued book.

Spine design.

Similarly, we prepare a strip of paper that will be glued to the spine. Its width should be equal to the width of the spine, and its length should be 7-8 mm less.

Binding process.

After the glue has dried, remove the clamps and cut off the excess parts of the ropes.

Cover design.

Then we select paper of a suitable color and draw the blanks as follows:

the width of one part is equal to the width of the spine + 8 mm on both sides;
the width of the other two parts is equal to the width of the crusts + 2-3 cm on both sides.

Glue the inner block and the cover together. We first try on both parts and only after that we start gluing. A mistake made at this stage will be almost impossible to correct.

The book binding is ready! After production, it is advisable to put the book under a press overnight.

Video on the topic of the article

For those who have mastered classic book binding in a step-by-step DIY tutorial and want to continue working with books, the following videos with detailed bookbinding lessons are offered.

How to bind a book yourself

(Hard cover)

Z Why bind books yourself? Well, for example, you wrote a novel, a collection of poems or memoirs, and you want to give them to friends, but you don’t have money for printing. Or you downloaded your favorite book from the Internet and want to have it not only in electronic form, but also in regular paper form.

I encountered the problem of hardcover when I prepared for publication a collection of local history by I.M. Ulyanov in two volumes (about the village of Unezhma on the White Sea) and wanted to print it in a printing house at her own expense in a small edition - no more than 50 copies. The collection had a large number of color pictures, and it turned out that it would be unreasonably expensive. Then I decided to print it myself - at home, on my own laser printer. The cost of printing turned out to be quite reasonable and I successfully printed the first few copies, intending to send them to a bindery. I definitely wanted a hard binding, always with a dust jacket, so that the book would look beautiful. It turned out, however, that the cost of hardcover exceeded the cost of printing, and then I had to think about it. Everything together (printing + binding) turned out to be too expensive...

There was only one way out - to weave it yourself. After listening to the advice of my husband, Alexei Pilipenok, who had the “Young Bookbinder” set as a child, and having found a couple of articles on the Internet (which, as experience has shown, were not very good), I got down to business. The first pancake came out lumpy (some essential details were not reflected in the found articles), but the second one turned out to be quite durable and beautiful, at least I was pleased with the result.

Books you can make yourself.

Of course, it is impossible to achieve typographic quality at home, but if you need a book not for sale, but as a gift option (as was the case in my case) or for home use, then it is quite suitable. In addition, its “gift” quality can be emphasized by playing with the color of the cover and its design - there is a lot of room for imagination here.

Required tools:

1. Two boards

2. Two clamps

3. Metal file

4. Glue brush

5. Scissors

6. Paper knife

Necessary materials:

PVA glue.

Thick white threads or not too thick white rope.

The material is like gauze, but more rigid. You can buy it at the Fabric store - similar material is used to strengthen the sides of jackets, etc. Gauze is also good, but it is difficult to cut evenly.

Cardboard (any color) – for a hard cover. The cardboard should be very dense and almost rigid. If such cardboard is difficult to buy, you can use regular cardboard, but then you need to glue it in two or three layers.

Colored paper (for covering the cover). Any paper will do. The best one is not too thin and not too thick. Let's say something between whatman paper and wrapping paper (in terms of density).

A fabric roller for the spine (it's called a captal). Look at the spine of any hardcover book you buy and you'll see exactly what's needed. You can buy it in online stores that sell printing products, or in specialized stores for applied arts. At first, in the absence of captal, I used braid with a similar canvas from the Fabric store. Then I managed to buy what I needed. The captal is a purely decorative detail that covers the inside of the spine, so you can do without it.

Spine with roller (captal); captal purchased in a specialized store.

Before starting work, carefully See how a store-bought hardcover book is made. Look inside the spine, you can even take apart an old unnecessary book. For the first time, I advise you to try it on “waste” so that you don’t feel sorry for throwing it away. The second one can be done completely.

Stage No. 1

When the edges have become fairly even, very carefully (so as not to knock them down) place the stack on the table or board (so as not to stain the table with glue), with the spine facing you, so that the edge of the stack protrudes slightly beyond the table (then it is more convenient to smear it ). Very carefully (again, so as not to knock down the edges) place some temporary weight on top. Then thickly coat the spine with PVA glue and let it dry slightly (2-3 minutes is enough).

You can, of course, print a book from notebooks, as is done in printing houses - most printers allow this. But then two problems will arise.

You will need to sew each notebook by hand, which will take time, especially if the book is thick and each has, say, 10 notebooks (one notebook usually has 16 sheets).

It will be necessary to trim the edges because... in notebooks they will never be even. My experience has shown that it is impossible to trim the edge evenly at home, so I settled on printing in separate sheets - then the edges look much better. The binding turns out to be quite strong, does not “break”, and practically does not “eat up” the left margin (so when printing, the left and right margins can be left the same).

When the glue has dried slightly and moving the pack is no longer so scary, remove the temporary weight and carefully move the future book a little further from the edge of the table or board so that the spine no longer hangs. Place the second board on top (so that the spine does not stick out, but is pressed on top), clamp everything tightly with two clamps and leave it to dry for several hours. (It is believed that PVA glue dries completely in 12 hours, but at this stage 3-4 hours will be enough). This initial gluing is necessary to make sawing easier - so that the stack of sheets holds together more firmly and does not move.

Stage No. 2.

Remove the clamps and again move everything to the edge of the table, so that the boards protrude 3 centimeters beyond the edge of the table (so as not to accidentally saw the table), and the edge of the paper stack protrudes beyond the edge of the boards by 2 millimeters. Clamp everything with clamps. Mark the protruding edge with a pencil at even intervals (I do them at 2 cm). In the marking areas, use a metal file to make cuts 1 mm deep. Make sure that the cuts are smooth and strictly perpendicular to the spine.

Now you will need glue, a brush and rope. The rope is inserted into the cuts; its thickness should be such that it fits into the cuts quite tightly. If you use threads, you need to twist them 5-6 times. If the rope is too thick, you can unravel it into pieces. Saws and rope are needed to strengthen the spine - they hold it firmly enough and the spine does not “break”, as often happens in glued store-bought books. Without this, your book may fall apart.

At this stage, you need to have pre-cut gauze and rollers (captals) ready. Cut the gauze like this: the length should be 1 cm less than the length of your spine. The width is equal to the width of the spine + 2 cm on both edges. If, say, your spine is 21 x 2 cm, then the gauze should be 20 x 6 cm. Rollers (captals) are needed but two, the width of each equal to the width of the spine. I lightly coat the edges of the captals with glue to prevent them from falling out.

You should also have a strip of paper at the ready, which is glued to the spine over the gauze and captals, so as not to stain your hands with glue when smoothing the gauze to the spine. This paper can be anything, it will not be visible. I use brown wrapping paper. Its length dimensions are 7-8 mm less than the length of the spine, and its width is equal to the width of the spine.

When everything is ready, start the process:

Thickly coat the spine with the cuts with glue, making sure that the glue flows into each cut. Insert ropes into each cut (I also coat them with glue beforehand), so that their ends stick out 2-3 cm. Pull the ropes by the protruding ends so that they sit tightly in the cuts. Again, coat everything with glue and stick on the gauze, then the captals. You again coat the outside of the whole thing with glue and glue a strip of paper, smoothing it to the spine so that everything is well glued together. Everything needs to be left in this form overnight to dry thoroughly.

Stage No. 3 (next day)

The internal block of the future book is ready. Remove the clamps and cut off the excess ends of the ropes with a knife.

Endpapers

Next, let's move on to the endpapers. They should be made of thick Whatman paper, because... carry half the structural load - it is on them (and also on the gauze or border) that the cover is held. (By the way, they can be colored, not necessarily white). If your to The book is in A5 format, then the endpaper is in A4 format, folded in half. The outer edge needs to be trimmed a little, because... the ends of the ropes protrude slightly from the spine; they will interfere with the endpaper gluing (it is impossible to cut them completely flush with the paper).

When the endpaper is folded, fitted to the book and trimmed, apply glue to a strip at the fold (3-4 mm) and stick it on the block. Then turn the book over and stick another one on it. Leave it under pressure for at least half an hour, and in the meantime you can start working on the cover.

Cover

First we cut out the cardboard. This is a hard base cover, consisting of three separate parts - two equal-sized covers and a spine. The crusts should be 8 mm higher in height than the height of your glued block (so that they stick out 4 mm on each side), and equal in width to the block. Those. if your block is A5 format (21 x 14.8 cm), then the dimensions of the crusts are 21.8 x 14.8 cm. The height of the spine should be equal to the crusts (21.8 cm in the case of A5), and the width should be equal to the thickness of your block. It may be made of thinner cardboard.

Choose paper of a suitable color, cut it out:

In height, it should protrude beyond the cardboard crusts by 2-3 cm on each side. In width (dancing from the middle): spine width + 8 mm interval on each side, + width of cardboard crusts on each side + 2-3 cm on each side (see photo). It would be nice to make markings on the inside of the paper; it makes the layout much easier.

Next comes gluing. Apply glue to one side of the crusts and the spine, stick it on, and press it. Cut the edges of the paper diagonally (with an indentation of 3-4 mm from the corner). Apply glue to the protruding edges, fold them into crusts, smooth them, paying special attention to the corners. At this stage, it is better to leave the cover under weight for at least an hour. In principle, the cover is ready.

Then the question of its design arises. Even if a dust jacket is planned, the author's name and title (or in my case, volume number) should still be written on the cover and spine. How to do it? Not everyone can make an inscription by hand absolutely exactly. I tried to write using a stencil, but it turned out sloppy. The solution came to this: print on a printer a slightly modified fragment of the dust jacket with the author and volume number, and then stick it on. Simple, but it looks, from my point of view, quite decent.

Paste the printed title onto the cover. It is better to do this with pencil markings - so that the inscription on the spine is in the center and nothing moves anywhere. The cover is ready.

Then comes the not difficult, but crucial moment - gluing the inner block and the cover together. This moment requires great precision, so fitting is necessary first. Place the block into the cover so that the edges of the cover stick out evenly, and BE SURE to mark the corners of the endpapers with a pencil.

Apply glue to one edge of the gauze and glue it to the endpaper. Now apply glue to the entire endpaper along with the gauze. To prevent excess glue from sticking the pages together, you can place a sheet of paper inside the endpaper. Lift the book (the cover is lying on the table), turn the smeared endpaper down and glue the endpaper to the edge foot, starting from the edges - aligning the edges of the endpaper with the pencil marks. Make sure that the book does not turn out “upside down” in relation to the cover!

The cover with the block glued to the underside is still lying on the table. Now apply glue to the gauze on the top side, glue it to the endpaper, then apply the entire second endpaper. My experience has shown that it is most convenient to simply “put” the cover on the endpaper without lifting the book from its place. Usually, in this way, the edges of the endpaper are most evenly aligned with the pencil marks, but you still need to check this and align them while the glue is still wet.

You can run a wooden template (or the corner of a plastic ruler) along the spine, but be careful not to tear the paper. This gives the spine a "spiciness".

Now you need to put the book under a heavy press all night so that it dries well.

By morning your book is completely ready.

A dust jacket is just a sheet of paper (its dimensions are easy to calculate). The only point that needs to be taken into account here is that you need to make the final design of the dust jacket after the first hardcover is ready - only then will you know the exact size of your book. (With A5 page format and a height of cardboard crusts of 21.8 mm, the height of the dust jacket is exactly 22 cm (the paper used to cover the cardboard also gives thickness).

With an A5 book format, the length of the dust jacket is slightly longer than A3. I print it on two A4 sheets (good quality paper is needed) and glue it together from the inside with tape. On the sides (which will be folded inwards) I add white stripes to the required width. Since the dust jacket is variegated, the gluing on the outside is almost invisible.

. year 2009

How to bind a book yourself (hardcover).

Why bind books yourself? Well, for example, you wrote a novel or a collection of poems and want to give them to friends, but you don’t have money for printing. Or you downloaded your favorite book from the Internet and want to have it not only in electronic form, but also in regular paper form.

I encountered the problem of hardcover when I prepared for publication a collection of local history by I.M. Ulyanov (two volumes) and wanted to print it in a printing house at her own expense in a small edition - no more than 50 copies. The collection had a large number of color pictures, and it turned out that it would be unreasonably expensive. Then I decided to print it myself - at home, on my own laser printer. The cost of printing turned out to be quite reasonable and I successfully printed the first few copies, intending to have them bound in a professional bookbindery. I definitely wanted a hard binding, always with a dust jacket, so that the book would look beautiful. It turned out, however, that the cost of hardcover exceeded the cost of printing, and then I had to think about it. Everything together (printing + binding) turned out to be too expensive...

There was only one way out - to weave it yourself. After listening to the advice of my husband, who had the “Young Bookbinder” set as a child, and having found a couple of articles on the Internet (which, as experience has shown, were not very good), I got down to business. The first pancake turned out to be lumpy (some essential details were not reflected in the found articles), but the second one turned out to be quite durable and beautiful, at least I was quite pleased with the result.

Books you can make yourself.

Of course, it is impossible to achieve typographic quality at home (the biggest problem is with trimming the edges), but if you need the book not for sale, but as a gift option (as was the case in my case) or for home use, then it is quite suitable. In addition, its “gift” quality can be emphasized by playing with the color of the cover and its design - there is a lot of room for imagination here.

Required tools:

1. Two boards

2. Two clamps

3. Metal file

4. Glue brush

5. Scissors

6. Paper knife

Necessary materials:

PVA glue.

Thick white threads or not too thick white rope.

Cardboard (any color) - for a hard cover. The cardboard should be very dense and almost rigid. If such cardboard is difficult to buy, you can use regular cardboard, but then you need to glue it in two or three layers.

Colored paper (for covering the cover). Any paper will do. The best one is not too thin and not too thick, say, something between whatman paper and wrapping paper (in terms of density).

Fabric roller for spine. This is the most problematic (in terms of purchase) element. Look at the spine of any hardcover book you buy and you'll see exactly what's needed. However, it is difficult to buy. At first, in the absence of a roller, I simply used braid with a similar outline from the Fabric store. Then I managed to buy what I needed at a specialty store, but finding it was not so easy. This detail is purely decorative, covering what remains inside the spine, so in principle you can do without it.

Spine with roller; strips with a roller, purchased at a specialty store.

Before you begin, take a close look at how any hardcover store-bought book is made, and try to look inside the spine to get an idea of how your book should look as a result. For the first time, I advise you to try it on “waste” so that you don’t feel sorry for throwing it away. The second copy can be made completely white.

Stage No. 1

So you have a thick stack of printed pages. They can be of any format (in my case - A5). Now you need to align the edge as evenly as possible. You can level it by tapping different sides of the stack on a level table, making sure that no page sticks out. You especially need to pay attention to the left and top edges - the one where the spine will be, and the one that will be visible when the book is on the shelf. The other two edges are not so important.

When the edges have become fairly even, very carefully (so as not to knock them down) place the stack on the table or board (so as not to stain the table with glue), with the spine facing you, so that the edge of the stack sticks out slightly beyond the table (then it is more convenient to smear it ). Very carefully (again, so as not to knock down the edges) place some temporary weight on top, say, a book. Then thickly coat the spine with PVA glue and let it dry slightly (2-3 minutes is enough).

You can, of course, print a book from notebooks, as is done in printing houses - most printers allow this. But then two problems will arise.

You will need to sew each notebook by hand, which will take time, especially if the book is thick and each has, say, 20 notebooks (one notebook usually has 16 sheets).

It will be necessary to trim the edges because... in notebooks they will never be even. My experience has shown that it is almost impossible to trim the edge evenly at home, so I settled on printing in separate sheets - then the edges look much better. The binding turns out to be quite strong, does not “break”, and practically does not “eat up” the left margin (so when printing, the left and right margins can be left the same).

Stage No. 2.

Remove the clamps and again move the stack and boards to the edge of the table, so that the boards protrude 3 centimeters beyond the edge of the table (so as not to accidentally saw the table), and the edge of the paper stack protrudes beyond the edge of the boards by 2 millimeters. Clamp everything with clamps. Mark the protruding edge with a pencil at even intervals (I do them at 2 cm). In the marking areas, use a metal file to make cuts 1 mm deep. Make sure that the cuts are smooth and strictly perpendicular to the spine.

Now you will need glue, a brush and rope. The rope is inserted into the cuts; its thickness should be such that it fits into the cuts quite tightly. If you use threads, you need to twist them 5-6 times. If the rope is too thick, you can unravel it into pieces. The cuts and rope are needed to strengthen the spine - they hold it firmly enough and the spine does not “break”, as often happens in glued store-bought books. Without this, your book may simply fall apart.

At this stage, you need to have pre-cut gauze and rollers ready. Cut the gauze like this: the length should be 1 cm less than the length of your spine. The width is equal to the width of the spine + 2 cm on both edges. If, say, your spine is 21 x 2 cm, then the gauze should be 20 x 6 cm. You need two rollers, the width of each equal to the width of the spine.
You should also have a strip of paper at the ready, which is glued to the spine over the gauze and rollers, so as not to smear your hands with glue when smoothing the gauze to the spine. This paper can be anything, it will not be visible. I use regular brown wrapping paper. Its length dimensions are 7-8 mm less than the length of the spine, and its width is equal to the width of the spine.

When everything is ready, start the process:

Thickly coat the spine with the cuts with glue, making sure that the glue flows into each cut. Insert ropes into each cut (I also coat them with glue beforehand), so that their ends stick out 2-3 cm. Pull the ropes by the protruding ends so that they sit tightly in the cuts. Again, coat everything with glue and stick on gauze, then rollers. You again coat the outside of the whole thing with glue and glue a strip of paper, smoothing it to the spine so that everything is well glued together. In this form, everything must be left overnight so that it dries well.

Stage No. 3 (next day)

The internal block of the future book is ready. Remove the clamps and cut off the excess ends of the ropes with a knife.

Endpapers

Next, let's move on to the endpapers. They should be made of thick Whatman paper, because... carry half the structural load - it is on them (and also on the gauze) that the cover is supported. (By the way, they can be colored, not necessarily white). If your book is A5 size, then the endpaper is A4 size, folded in half. The outer edge needs to be trimmed a little, because... the ends of the ropes protrude slightly from the spine; they will interfere with the endpaper sticker. (It is impossible to cut them completely flush). When the endpaper is folded, fitted to the book and trimmed, apply glue to a strip at the fold (3-4 mm) and stick it on the block. Then turn the book over and stick another one on it. Leave it under pressure for at least half an hour, and in the meantime you can start working on the cover.

Cover

First we cut out the cardboard. This is a hard base cover, consisting of three separate parts - two equally sized covers and a spine. The crusts should be 8 mm higher in height than the height of your glued block (so that they stick out 4 mm on each side), and equal in width to the block. Those. if your block is A5 format, i.e. 21 x 14.8 cm, then the dimensions of the crusts are 21.8 x 14.8 cm. The height of the spine should be equal to the crusts (21.8 cm in the case of A5), and the width should be equal to the thickness of your block. It may be made of thinner cardboard.

Choose paper of a suitable color, cut it out:

Next comes gluing. Apply glue to one side of the crusts and the spine, stick it on, and press it. Cut the edges of the paper diagonally (with an indentation of 3-4 mm from the corner). Apply glue to the protruding edges, bend them over the crusts, and press. At this stage, it is better to leave the cover under weight for at least an hour. In principle, the cover is ready.

Then the question of its design arises. Even if a dust jacket is planned, the author's name and title (or in my case, volume number) should still be written on the cover and spine. How to do it? Not everyone, even architects, can make an inscription by hand absolutely accurately. I tried to write using a stencil, but it turned out sloppy. The solution came to this: print on a printer a slightly modified fragment of the dust jacket with the author and volume number, and then stick it on. Simple, but it looks, from my point of view, quite decent.

Paste the printed title onto the cover. It is better to do this with pencil markings - so that the inscription on the spine is in the center, and nothing would move anywhere. The cover is ready.

Next comes a not difficult, but crucial moment - gluing together the inner block and the cover. This moment requires great precision, so fitting is necessary first. Place the block into the cover so that the edges of the cover stick out evenly, and BE SURE to mark the corners of the endpapers with a pencil.

Apply glue to one edge of the gauze and glue it to the endpaper. Now apply glue to the entire endpaper along with the gauze. To prevent excess glue from sticking the pages together, you can place a sheet of paper inside the endpaper. Lift the book (with the cover lying on the table), turn the smeared endpaper down and glue the endpaper to the cover, starting from the edges - aligning the edges of the endpaper with the pencil marks.

Place the book on the table (glued side down) and apply glue to the gauze on the other side, glue it to the endpaper, then apply the entire second endpaper. My experience has shown that it is most convenient to simply “put” the cover on the endpaper without lifting the book from its place. Usually, in this way, the edges of the endpaper are most evenly aligned with the pencil marks, but you still need to check whether the corners are aligned with the marks, and if not, then align them while the glue is wet.

You can run a wooden template (or just the corner of a plastic ruler) along the spine, but be careful not to tear the paper. This gives the spine a "spiciness".

Now you need to put the book under the press overnight so that it dries well.

By morning your book is completely ready.

The idea of creating a book with my own hands has been in my head for quite some time. Having studied the practical side of the issue, I only became stronger in this desire, but my hands never even got around to choosing a book. And then some time ago fate decided for me. Due to force majeure circumstances, I had a desire to give a unique thing, and, as you know, there is no gift better than a book. The choice fell on the favorite work of the object of my uncontrolled interest, incredibly wise and capacious, with meaning, not words, the creation of Exupery - “The Little Prince”. The desire to create was also spurred by my personal love for this book. The decision was made, time was inexorably approaching the moment of delivery, and I got to work.

Where to start was the main question. Thanks to Google and Habr, I managed to find several fairly detailed instructions on book binding, promising, with a competent approach, a result that could satisfy the inner craving for beauty.

To begin with, it was worth choosing a format. For me it was a6, because the book is small, and with a larger format it would have turned out to be unpresentably thin, and in this size, in my opinion, it looks much nicer. The first step, as expected, was layout. It took several versions to download before I managed to find a version with appropriate formatting (to edit less) and color pictures, which, however, were later replaced with higher quality ones. The layout itself took several hours; it was necessary to select a font suitable in size and style, replace and arrange the pictures less chaotically, and select suitable indents. When laying out a more capacious book, it will take much more time.

Next is printing. Here it’s worth saying right away that even at the preparation stage I decided for myself that I wanted to get the result as accurate as possible, and therefore throughout the entire production I did not hesitate to use automated equipment - printers, cutters and a laser engraver.

So, print. The order of pages was set using the wordpage program, because it turned out to be the simplest tool and, in general, satisfying me on all counts. The only thing it lacks is calculating numbering for duplex printing.

Everything is simple here, you need to set your parameters - the number of pages, the number of pages in the notebook, print the pages from the first row, turn the sheets over and print the pages from the second row. The main thing is not to confuse the orientation.

The sheets were trimmed to A5 size using a paper cutter designed specifically for this purpose, so everything was neat, quick and hassle-free. You can, of course, cut it with a stationery knife, but the result will be worse, and you will have to spend much more time on it. Along with cutting the sheets for the book, it is worth immediately cutting a couple of blank sheets of thicker paper for endpapers of a similar size.

Now we fold A5 in half and get the treasured A6, and with it the first idea of what it will look like in the end. It is necessary to fold taking into account the page numbers. Since I decided to bind notebooks with 16 sheets each, I had 4 A5 sheets in my notebook. The inner ones should be bent with strong pressure (you can even hold your fingernail in the place of the bend), the outer ones, on the contrary, with weak pressure, this way you get neat notebooks, smooth and with identical edges (which, by the way, still need to be cut off later).

It was decided to sew the binding through. I really liked the way the colored threads looked on the spread of the notebook, and this option looked a little stronger. To pierce the holes, you need to take thicker paper (I used 240 g/m^2), cut it to the height of the sheets and mark it, taking into account the width of the lace around which you will sew the pages, as well as making a 10 mm indent from the edges (not necessary exactly that much, it just looked good in my case).

Next, we apply this template to each notebook in turn (for additional fixation, I pressed it with stationery clips) and with a sharp awl we make neat holes, exactly opposite the marking lines. This is a very important stage that requires maximum care and precision. The more careful we are here, the less we will have to edit later.

I sewed the binding using embroidery thread (floss), it looks good, it holds perfectly, what else do you need?! Since this is a gift, it was worth taking into account the preferences of the future owner, the favorite color is green, all that remains is to find threads of the desired shade. The binding is sewn starting from the first or last notebook, first we thread the thread from the outside into the book, along the edges where the thread passes from one notebook to another, we secure it with knots.

The resulting structure, aligning the notebooks relative to each other, is pressed into a press and carefully coated with glue. I used a special glue for cardboard and paper, UHU creative. It dries quickly, adheres well, is not water-based, so it does not soak the paper and remains somewhat elastic after gluing. Let it dry.

After our book has dried and stuck together, we can take it out and evaluate the result.
Next, we take the sheets for the endpapers that we cut out first, fold them in half and, having coated the edge near the fold with glue (I applied 5mm), glue them on the outer sides.

We wait for it to dry, cut off the excess threads and lace from the binding, secure the edges of the lace and knots with glue, it is perfectly absorbed into the fabric and holds its volume. To strengthen the binding, we glue something “gauze-like” onto it. For me it was canvas (again from the field of embroidery). We are not attaching it to the endpaper for now so that the hardened glue does not interfere with us further.

Due to the fact that the sheets in the notebooks are folded around one another, the leading edge ends up being a little “toothy,” and no matter how hard we try, we still can’t sew the pages perfectly evenly.

Now is the time to do a clean cut. You need to be careful here. Due to the threads and the folding of the paper, the side with the binding turns out to be a little thicker, so you need to squeeze it carefully under the press so that the binding does not move, otherwise the cut will be uneven. The easiest way is to place a sheet of cardboard on top of the central part so that the book is pressed over the entire area.

So, the book is now smooth and looks very cool, but it will get better. It's time to hide the not-so-nice rear end. For this you need captals (captal tape, etc.). In general, you can buy this very tape. But it’s not so easy to find it in retail stores, and not so quickly via the Internet. Time was already running out, and besides, I wanted to make the captals the same color as the endpapers and binding thread. So the decision was made to make them myself. I simply took the ribbon I used for the binding and edged it on one side with the same green thread folded in half, then cut the ribbon into shapes.

This tape seems to be supposed to be sewn to the binding, through the notebooks (in the same holes). But, firstly, I already had them under a layer of glue, and secondly, it would have been ugly on the spread of the notebook, and so on top of that, I assumed that no one would throw the book, so the captals would hold up perfectly on the glue, so that I just glued them on. First, the main part, so that the glue did not protrude from under the thread, but at the same time kept the tape directly under it, and after drying, I shortened the side “sleeves” a little and glued them to the main part crosswise.

Well, the book itself is ready. Now it's up to the cover. The cover should be slightly taller than the book. Since the book is small, I made the cardboards 10 mm higher in height (5 mm on each side), and the same width as the book. The template was drawn in Corel and cut using a laser engraver. For the outer part, I took dark brown textured design paper, drew in Corel the location of the elements on it and the lines for cutting, so as not to measure anything, and printed it all on paper, on a regular A4 format laser printer. Then I cut along the lines with a utility knife. All elements fit on paper + 8.5 mm per folding part.

When marking this way, it is worth taking into account the thickness of the cardboard in order to leave an overlap for bending.

We apply a thin, even layer of glue to the cardboard, sufficient for it to adhere well to the paper, and, applying along the markings, carefully press down. The glue dries quickly, so there shouldn't be any mistakes here. One piece of cardboard shifted by half a millimeter when squeezed, and I couldn’t get it back into place. In this case, the paper was separated only with the top layer of cardboard. It’s good that I cut out 2 sets of cardboard at once, I had to redo everything. After drying, wrap the edges, coated with glue; then leave to dry.

A piece of glue on the inside will be hidden by the endpaper, so it’s not critical, here’s what we ended up with:

Let's try the book:

Everything turned out neat and beautiful, and it seemed like you could paste the book in and then put the image on the cover, but I decided that I could do it better! The cover was good, and would have been even better with an image, but it didn't look durable enough, or unfinished or something. And I decided that the cover should be leather. I had no skills in working with leather, the material is capricious, requiring experience and tools, which I also did not have, and therefore I turned to a person who does all kinds of leather work (next time I will do this myself). We discussed all the details, material, manufacturing, etc., I handed him a paper cover for pasting and stitching with leather cord. This is what happened.

I immediately liked everything on the outside, but there was a surprise waiting on the inside. The edges were horribly crooked. On the long side it was possible to trim them a little to make them even, which was done using a sharp utility knife and a metal ruler.

But there was nothing to trim on the short sides (bottom and top), so I had to play tricks. I smeared a little glue, applied a ruler to the edge, and pulled out the skin where it was missing, pressing it where it protruded. There was a large piece missing in the lower right corner of the cover; I had to cut it out, glue it and straighten it out of the pieces I had cut off. After drying it can still be seen, but it is not noticeable.

After all the above-described events, the cover took on a decent look, which satisfied me. We glue the book.

We coat the surface of the endpapers together with the outline with a thin, even layer and press down. We place a larger sheet of paper between the fold of the endpaper so that excess glue, which in any case will be there, albeit in a small amount, will not stick the pages together. Five minutes is enough, open it, remove excess glue, it is still not dry, and it comes off almost without a trace. Do the same on the other side, then lay it out to dry. Check carefully to make sure there is no glue on the pages.

It's time for decorative work. The image at the top of the post was chosen to be used on the cover.

To get a good result, you need to make a vector image from a raster image. The rough part of the work was done by the Vector magic utility, and a familiar designer helped bring the image to life. This is what happened.

The image is now ready for engraving. Fingers crossed, we place the book under the laser. One minute of worry - and everything is ready. Now all that remains is to remove traces of burnt skin, soot or something similar. It is well absorbed into the small pores of the skin, so it is not so easy to remove. I did it with an eraser, but not everything went as smoothly as I would like.

In general, I was satisfied with the result, but so far the skin was too dirty and not protected. To prevent oily fingerprints from leaving on the leather and to make it generally more protected, you need to apply a topcoat. It is absorbed into the top layer, gives a slight shine (the effect may vary, depending on the composition) and water-repellent properties. And then failure awaited me. In the process of erasing the engraving marks, I damaged the thin top layer of leather, which obviously had some kind of additional covering. After applying the “finish” the skin in this area darkened. And although everyone I asked told me that everything was fine, my frustration knew no bounds.

No matter what I tried to remove the darkening, nothing helped. The solution was found quite quickly.

This was the finishing touch. Now I was happy with everything. The final coating also secured the small elements of the design. Now the book looked and felt truly dignified and durable. Let's see what happened.

Finally, some tips. Consider the placement of page numbers on the spread; I only remembered this when the pages were printed and punched for binding. As you can see, on the left side the page numbers are in the wrong place. I didn’t redo it, I decided that it would only add individuality. Before the book itself, it is worth inserting a blank sheet, or a sheet with a cover, because the first page opens worse than the others, due to the 5 mm that the flyleaf is held on to. Do everything yourself as much as possible, “if you want to do it well, do it yourself.” In the next project (there will certainly be one), I will carry out the work with leather myself, so that I can do it carefully from the very beginning, even if it takes ten times longer. It is better to engrave the leather with the finishing coat already applied; then the soot can be wiped off with a simple cloth or cotton wool, without any difficulties or sacrifices.

Well, what would I like to say? I spent about 2 weeks on this project, an hour and a half a day. I put my own work and soul into this thing. I really like how it turned out. This is a unique thing, this is exactly what I wanted to do. I would never, ever be able to buy something so filled with emotion. This is by far the best gift I have ever given. I think it's clear that it was worth it.

I hope my experience will be useful to someone.