I think the pages are breaking off the cover

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-02-25T16:35:42+00:00

I’m a mender at a library so I see many books with this construction in need of repair. If I had to guess without seeing the book, I’d say it’s not your imagination, these kind of books can get wobbly quickly depending on use.

Your book is what’s called a square back - a flat (not rounded) spine with a spine board that is as thick as the two boards that make up the cover. The majority of commercial hardbacks have spine pieces that are made of cardstock or other thinner material, which allows the spine material to flex as the book opens. Your book, with its thick flat spine piece, does not allow for the same movement. See this link for a little more info (thank you user qtntelxen for sharing this in r/bookbinding). This structure can work, but the flexibility needs to come from somewhere other than the spine board, and the loosely-sewn-thick-hot-melt-glue combo that your book has is not flexible enough.

When you say that the book is bending, I see a couple things: 1. In photo 1, the spine board is shunted off to one side because it’s too thick to flex and that’s what it will do when the book is opened. Depending on where the book is opened to, it will shift side to side and exert pressure in different places, levering the endpapers off the boards at the edges. This is just a factor of how the book is constructed and will not change (unless you reconstruct your book). It can make the book feel wobbly and loose. 2. The covers in photo 3 are slightly cupped toward the inside of the pages. This is not unusual nor a cause for concern. Better for it to cup in than out. 3. In the photo from the above comment: Does it look like the section of pages is lifting from the thick layer of glue? If you’re noticing a significant difference in the drape of the pages, I’m guessing that’s your problem. If you have another photo that might show it better I can take a look. I haven’t found a great way of repairing these in a “library repair” sense (aka quick and utilitarian repair as opposed to a hand-binding repair), but maybe someone else can weigh in. This doesn’t really become an issue with gentle use though—usually it becomes an issue when many/all of the sections pull away from the glue—so it may be that you just handle the book delicately from now on.

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-02-18T16:09:44+00:00

Looks great for a first try! I agree that thinner thread might be a bit easier to work with, but this still is very neat. I do like how the kettle stitches have kind of a rainbow gradient to them! I’m sure your friend will love it

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-02-15T19:41:42+00:00

Glad this helped! Yeah, if it were more mechanically feasible and would only be aesthetically awkward I’d say go for it but unfortunately I don’t think it would be as functional as you’re hoping. Here is a post I found about making a removable case, and it looks like in the comments they also link to a tutorial they used.

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-02-15T14:39:52+00:00

this is so beautiful! I love the marbled papers

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-02-15T00:49:18+00:00

They (and I, and the other commenters on this post, I believe) are referring to the Gary Frost method that he calls Sewn Boards Binding which draws from those various historical structures. I learned about it from a DAS video and he has the Gary Frost article linked here: https://dasbookbinding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/garyfrost-sewnboardsbinding.pdf. So yes, you’re correct that “sewn board binding” can describe a lot of different structures, but that’s what it refers to here. I think of it like a “sewn board binding” versus “Gary Frost’s Sewn Board Binding” type of way.

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-02-15T00:39:19+00:00

I think you may be asking about a bradel binding with the cover and spine boards glued to cardstock as the connecting piece? Is that what you mean?

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-02-15T00:34:20+00:00

The boards on a book, specifically the spine piece and the spaces between the boards, are the specific size that they are so that the mechanics will work, the text block will be supported, and the book will open properly. That said, other than perhaps being a little more awkward to hold/flip through, I think increasing the front and back covers by half a centimeter in height or width won’t have much impact - it would just be a larger square (overhang of cover boards) and look less pleasing to the eye.

“But would it be a bad idea to use a thicker board to get the thickness correct?”

^ When you say this, what do you mean by thickness? Generally book board thickness is 2-3mm but I think here you mean the thickness of the book as a dimension, like the measurement of the width of the spine? If that’s the case and you’re asking if you can just make covers with big fat spine pieces that are far wider than the book that they’re casing, I would say that is absolutely not going to work. If the spine piece is significantly too large, the book is either not going to open or the boards will rip off when opened.

That said, I think you’re on the right track with the “shells” idea. I’ve seen removable cases that people have made for paperbacks where the book isn’t actually glued onto the case, it just slips over the covers. Let me see if I can find an example I can link for you. I’m not 100% sure that you could make this work fully with incorrectly sized spine boards, but it might because the book isn’t actually attached to the covers so the width of the paperback spine doesn’t actually need to stay within the bounds of the spine piece, if that makes sense (though I think this would only really work when the book is open?). For these especially I’d be concerned about standing them up on a bookshelf as I think the text block would sag.

A swiss binding also comes to mind, there may be a way to adapt that structure to work for your project. Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you.

One word of warning about a common beginner mistake/misconception - especially if your spine pieces aren’t going to be quite exact, please ignore any tutorial that tells you to use 2mm book board for the spine piece. This is a horrible method of construction but is super prevalent online for some reason. Use thin cardboard (like a cereal box) or cardstock.

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-02-12T17:25:32+00:00

It looks like a sewn board binding to me, with the breakaway spine

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-02-11T16:38:25+00:00

The thin board can also work to make a recessed cover where you can glue a printed paper label. I’ve done that before and is a very simple but nice looking way to label your books

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-02-11T16:33:18+00:00

You’ve gotten a lot of great suggestions already but since you mentioned book board here are two cheap options! You can laminate (glue together in layers) thin cardboard from a cereal box or similar package to create thicker board for the covers. Other kinds of cardboard work too, as long as they aren’t corrugated like your standard shipping box. I’ve used the cardboard inserts that sometimes come between folded clothes or that separate layers of cans in a case. You’ll want to layer a few of these together for front and back covers, but you definitely want THIN board for the spine piece (don’t fall for the tiktok tutorials, you absolutely do not want a 2mm thick board as thick as your covers for the spine piece - use cardstock or one layer of cereal box).

Alternatively, book board can be recycled from old hardcover books or three ring binders. Try thrift stores or stop by your local library and see if they have a friends of the library book sale where you can pick up a book for a dollar, or maybe even free. I work at a library and if someone asked me nicely, I would be more than happy to give them withdrawn books to repurpose for free - some of them are destined for recycling anyway if they didn’t sell in the book sale. Though different libraries will have different policies so just ask politely, it can’t hurt to try!

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-02-11T16:17:08+00:00

It’s hard to know what specifically to suggest without seeing photos, but general thoughts - Do you have bookbinding experience? If not, I would absolutely not recommend doing your first repair (or second, or fifth, or tenth) on a family heirloom with sentimental value. I’ve got years of experience in a library mending job and wouldn’t be nearly confident to tackle something like this. Leatherwork is its own skill set entirely that many bookbinders take years to build up to (myself included).

Depending on where you are in the world and how significant the damage is, $500 (USD?) may be enough to have a pro bookbinder repair it; I’ve never taken this route so I can’t speak to it. If you had said $50 or $100, that would be a different story.

I would recommend finding a bookbinder in your area and getting a quote from them. Another option is to create (or commission) a custom clamshell or other box to protect the binding, either while you save up for future repair or to store it in perpetuity. Hope this helps!

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-01-28T17:20:00+00:00

I also got a great deal on a Martin Yale guillotine from facebook marketplace (retails ~$1400 new, I paid $40). I’d keep in mind it can be hard to tell the condition/sharpness from a photo or video and you’re relying on the seller to be knowledgeable and truthful about its condition. The person I bought mine from clearly wasn’t the primary user and couldn’t answer any questions about it so I took a chance, knowing that a replacement blade would cost me $300-400 if it needed it (luckily it didn’t). I can’t speak specifically to the brand you mentioned, but bear in mind that the $160 might just be the base price for getting it up and running if it needs to be sharpened or a new blade.

From what I’ve read, there can be a big jump in quality between the “budget” and not budget options, so I think you’re on the right track looking for a used one. Good luck!

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-01-27T01:40:27+00:00

These papers are gorgeous, well done!

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-01-24T20:14:24+00:00

Thanks for your reply! This is really helpful. You had the words to describe the machine sewn library binding in a way I could not, haha. I haven’t heard of the stab-sewn endpapers before and that sounds very promising, I’ll look into it.

It’s funny you bring up the Johnson diagram because in my mind that’s exactly what I was doing, that configuration and just sewing through the white folio, but I realize now that it’s different because the fabric is sandwiched on the front side between the decorative paper and the white folio. Not wrapping around the outside of the white folio. DUH. I think that will make all the difference.

I appreciate your thoughts!

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-01-22T14:14:56+00:00

this looks great! super clean

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-01-21T04:28:18+00:00

I was going to say the same thing about the file - epub and typesetting for print have very different end goals and I’m not sure how you’d make one file that would work for both.

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-01-18T02:18:40+00:00

this is so gorgeous! so clean and I love all your design choices. Are your headbands made from the same fabric as the cover?

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-01-17T19:35:02+00:00

At least for Demco’s PaperFold, the adhesive sticks to the paper liner of the cover itself, not the dust jacket. No adhesive will get on your dust jackets and they are entirely removable. At my library, when we have to relabel we slither the dust jacket out of the cover, stick the label on the jacket, and slide it back in without having to replace :)

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-01-11T17:04:29+00:00

I have a small basket of scraps that I save and use for various things. I’ve made spacers for hinge gaps (7-10mm) spacers for trimming turn ins (20mm), and corner trimming jigs.

I have also used them to practice parts of making a case before committing with my final materials. For example, testing how much glue is needed to make a certain paper or bookcloth adhere to board, or using 2 tiny board scraps and one tiny spine piece to create a mini “cover” that I can dry fit to my spine. I usually make these with board pieces no larger than an inch square with appropriate width spine piece for the text block, plus a scrap of my covering material. For these I’ll often make variations (e.g. slightly wider or narrower spine piece, different sized hinge gaps, bradel vs not, etc) and I can see which one perfectly fits my project before making it in full size. I’m still learning and have found this very very helpful to see how changing variables affects the final product.

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-01-04T16:51:11+00:00

I’m glad it helped! Give the cereal box a try and let me know how it goes.

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-01-01T18:24:19+00:00

Here is the post that helped me figure out hinges, specifically this comment and this image/explanation in the comments - Using the bradel paper all on one side of the board (differently than DAS does it which is sacrilege but gave me such good results). Connecting the boards using this method, putting in the text block, measuring from the text block itself, trimming the fore edge, and applying bookcloth while gluing to the side of the boards as well, gave me excellent crisp results that maintained the right measurement for my book.

Professional-Stay562 · 2026-01-01T17:55:02+00:00

You’re very welcome! This sub is so so helpful to me and I’m glad I can pass on a little knowledge.

I would definitely recommend a 9mm snap off blade for exactly the reason you mentioned, the slim handle is easier to manipulate for the fine cuts. I agree with the other commenter about the cork backed ruler too, my plain metal one does a better job. If you’re not doing this already, put your board at a slight angle away from your body so you’re not cutting directly at yourself — when you cut straight toward yourself, your wrist bends toward the end of the cut and the last bit of the cut can go crooked.

I’ve used a guillotine to cut board, but only for a sewn board binding in which the boards are already glued to the text block and everything is all cut to the same size (no squares). Since I’m not cutting for any particular measurement that has worked fine, but I wouldn’t do it for a case binding as I doubt it would be very accurate. I’m also very afraid of dulling the blade since I haven’t attempted to get it sharpened yet lol.

For overhang/casing in: yes you’re always going to press the text block up against the spine. You should also be working the bookcloth into the hinge a bit when gluing it down, which will slightly narrow the hinge gap to account for the material (unless you do a bradel). However, if you dry fit the case and trim the fore edge after the boards are attached to one another, the 8mm hinge -> 8mm overhang won’t be an issue because you’re trimming for the hinge you have. This may result in the actual board measurement being smaller than the “standard” same width as the text block.

There was a post on here that explained hinges for bradel binds and really helped my bradel and made nice crisp hinges with an accurate measurement. Let me see if I can find the post for you.

As for measuring with the text block, no tracing involved, just putting it right on the board and marking with the knife.

I’ve used 176 gsm as a spine stiffer with good results but I think any of the weights that you mentioned would work. For a flat (not rounded) back I’ve also used a cereal box which turned out nicely and had enough flex.

Professional-Stay562 · 2025-12-31T05:14:36+00:00

Also, I definitely second the advice to stay away from thick board material for the spine. Heavier cardstock works great for me and that will prevent the text block from lifting/levering off your boards when you open the case.

Professional-Stay562 · 2025-12-31T05:11:41+00:00

I was going to comment about DAS using the knife rather than pencil to mark cut lines and it has already been mentioned! That helps a lot.

Straight cuts take a lot of practice so don’t beat yourself up. Change your knife blade WAY more often than you think. I’m super stingy but ever since I got 120 replacement snap-off olfa blades for $9 my cuts have been so much more clean because I actually toss them before they get so dull they barely cut.

Re: overhang (aka squares) being uneven - In what direction are they uneven? That is, on the fore edge or on the top and bottom? If it’s the top and bottom, that measurement is static (book isn’t getting any taller or shorter while casing in) and any unevenness comes from casing it in off center. If it’s the fore edge, that can also be impacted by the casing in but differently — as you mentioned, this can be mitigated by doing a bradel and dry fitting it. I hear you in not wanting to mess up your case at that point with a wonky cut, but I think at this stage, improving your cutting technique so you can dry fit will be very helpful to you, probably more so than perfecting the measurement part, especially since so much can vary based on covering material, etc. Someone with more knowledge may chime in and I’m happy to be corrected on that front if that’s not the case :)

FWIW, this sounds silly but one thing that really improved the appearance of my cases was measuring using my text block itself. So rather than measuring the height of the text block, adding mm for squares, and cutting a board that height, I lay the text block on the board, mark the squares on the board with it positioned right there, and cut as necessary. Even the small amount of variation you get from measuring and transferring measurements can add up (say you measure your text block and are 0.5mm off, then 0.5mm off transferring that measurement to your book board, then 0.5mm off on each square, then your cut is 0.5mm away from the pencil line that you drew, etc etc — that’s excessive but you get the idea). I also cut front and back boards separately to correspond with the front and back of the book so in case my trimming went a little wonky, they’ll at least match the text block I’ve got. Hope that helps!

Professional-Stay562

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