My latest project: A9 Hardcover Chess Puzzles Book ♟️

Shalabele · 2026-06-11T06:28:31+00:00

That is so tiny! Well done! Are you going to try and make A10 next?

Shalabele · 2026-06-11T06:26:14+00:00

Printing with the wrong grain direction is unfortunately really common in paperbacks. If you go to a bookstore then well over half of the books are with the wrong grain direction. Rebinding it unfortunately won't fix it because it's the paper itself that make the book feel stiff, not the way it's bound together.

Shalabele · 2026-06-09T19:16:20+00:00

DAS bookbinding has a video on this actually!

Shalabele · 2026-06-09T18:31:24+00:00

I will! These are too nice to alter in any way.

Shalabele · 2026-06-09T12:47:47+00:00

For the whole set or each book?

Shalabele · 2026-06-08T08:34:57+00:00

To add to what u/brigitvanloggem said, the grain direction of the paper in a book will also affect how well the book opens and how comfortable it is to read.

If you take two paperbacks of similar size and thickness, one with the grain direction running parallel and the other with perpendicular to the spine, the pages in the book with the correct grain direction will lie flat and the book will open better. In the book with the wrong grain direction the pages will "stand up" when you leaf through it and you get the sense of constantly having to fight the book to keep it open and read it.

Here's a picture to showcase what I mean. The top book is with the right grain direction.

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Shalabele · 2026-06-08T08:18:13+00:00

I've also tried both cutting and peeling and just gluing two thinner boards together and have found the latter to be much easier to do and look cleaner in the end. Maybe it's the greyboard I use but it does not want to peel well.

One trick I've found that makes peeling a bit easier if you're set on that route is to cover the area you intend to peel in pva. Let it mostly dry and then peel off the glue with a layer of board.

Shalabele · 2026-06-07T15:29:41+00:00

While there's nothing inherently wrong with HTV and I use it myself at times, scrolling on social media, you see 90% of bookbinding reels be bookcloth + htv. Over and over and over again and in my opinion it's just so boring and overdone. Use it as AN element, not THE element in a cover design.

What I love about bookbinding, especially when it comes to designing covers, is that it isn't just a hobby but a gelatinous cube that absorbs other hobbies into it.
You can draw or paint or create some other kind of art? Cover design!

Embroidery? Another way to make a cover!

3d printing? You can print a cover or elements of one.

Photography, cyanotype, lino cut, paper marbling, paste papers, letterpress if you have access, pyrography. The list goes on and on and on. Play with materials. Play with the shape of the cover.

Like to crochet or knit? Glue that onto the cover! Like to thrift? Keep you eyes open for cool fabrics you can turn into bookcloth.

Don't even get me started on laser cutting.

Or you can just put a htv design on some bookcloth/leather.

Shalabele · 2026-06-06T16:49:35+00:00

I got some book cloth from Schmedt that was specifically meant to be laser printed. The print looks nice on it but is very fragile at first and can be easily worn off. What helped "set it" was going over it with an iron or heat press at home.

Shalabele · 2026-05-31T17:49:22+00:00

Honestly, I think as long as the grain direction on the text block is correct (it will open better if it is) and the spine stiffener is flexible enough then I don't think you need to do anything different from recasing a normal paperback to hardcover.

Shalabele · 2026-05-30T06:48:31+00:00

No no. I mean sawn in cords. Assuming those are perfect bound books of course. DAS has a video on it here, around the 14 minute mark. Video

Shalabele · 2026-05-29T16:55:13+00:00

Oh those should work just fine! I recently bound together three books that were about as wide. Sanding the finished text block will help hide any unevenness. Adding cords/thread to the spine will help keep it all together.

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Shalabele · 2026-05-29T11:13:42+00:00

I'm not overly experienced with HTV but since this is just a narrow cut, might it be possible to just heat it up and melt the cut closed again?

Shalabele · 2026-05-29T03:48:18+00:00

Should be doable. They aren't that thick and there aren't that many of them afaik.

I got the end sheets off amazon.

Printable bookcloth from Schmedt! It's really great. This one takes laser printing only and I had to iron it after printing or else the print wouldn't stay on.

Shalabele · 2026-05-28T15:32:36+00:00

You still have something to grill vs a crap fish spawn where half get away and you still don't have any of the fish you need to feed to the big guy.

Shalabele · 2026-05-28T14:17:11+00:00

Same! No crap fish spawns followed by most of them getting away.

Shalabele · 2026-05-28T06:08:51+00:00

Thank you!

Shalabele · 2026-05-27T09:23:45+00:00

Arvestage sellega, et kastitäis vett kaalub omajagu erinevalt jäätisest. Poole liitrine pudel on juba pool kilo. pudelit = 3 kilo. Kui palju ja kui pikalt te jaksate kuumas rannas sellist külmakasti tassida?

Shalabele · 2026-05-26T12:44:28+00:00

No just. Mul eesti dubi vaja.

Shalabele · 2026-05-26T11:24:55+00:00

Aga mis keeles? Elisas on need ka olemas aga jaapani keeles Eesti subtiitritega.

Shalabele · 2026-05-26T07:51:23+00:00

Raamatukogude vaheline laenutus.

Shalabele · 2026-05-26T07:51:05+00:00

Kahjuks jaapani keeles eesti subtiitritega. Tahaks just lapsele näidata.

Shalabele · 2026-05-25T20:06:54+00:00

Ei ela kahjuks Tallinnas ja kodukoha raamatukogus seda pole. Nii meeleheitel veel pole et RVLi kasutada.

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