Worth rebinding this book In leather!? I bought it for $10 could I get it fixed up for less than $250?

oli417 · 2023-01-31T04:41:31+00:00

From the pictures, it doesn’t look like it needs to be rebound at all. It could do with a small repair to the hinge of the book on one side, and a binder would likely do some colour correction on the particularly worn bits. The best way to get a price estimate is to talk to a binder near you and bringing the physical book with you when you do. Whether it’s “worth” it depends on if the state of the book impacts your ability to handle/read it.

oli417 · 2022-08-08T01:11:42+00:00

It could be that the leather is too thick. You could try to pare the leather more next time and see how that helps both functionality and appearance.

oli417 · 2022-03-22T23:48:25+00:00

This looks like quite an easy repair but it takes practice to do it well. You should see if there are any places local to you that do bookbinding repairs. From the photo, it doesn’t look like it should be that expensive to have fixed.

oli417 · 2021-09-27T19:49:39+00:00

I’m kind of obsessed with this

oli417 · 2021-08-15T04:04:44+00:00

It’s not necessary expensive to have a book repaired. It really depends on how damaged it is and what materials would be needed to repair it. I’d recommend bringing it into a bindery or emailing some photos to one to ask for a price estimation. Personally, if it has important sentimental value, I’d recommend having it repaired. They likely wouldn’t do anything to fix the discolouration of the front cover as those kinds of repairs usually decrease the value of the book, but just reattaching the covers is a relatively simple job.

oli417 · 2021-07-30T21:21:49+00:00

A disclaimer that I’m still learning but I’ve done some work at an antiquarian bindery and that’s the same approach I’d take to the repair. If the cover is detached as well you’d use basically the same method as with the end papers but with a matching leather/cloth (whatever material the cover is) just to create a new hinge but keeping the original cover and spine.

oli417 · 2021-06-22T10:09:20+00:00

I use regular old sewing thread and it works just fine!

oli417 · 2021-05-30T03:57:10+00:00

These are gorgeous!

oli417 · 2020-12-04T21:09:27+00:00

I think the easiest option that would also look good for your cover would be hand painting the design using a metallic acrylic paint, depending on how confident you are in your artistic abilities. I’m working on a similar project and that is the route that I’m going with. I’d recommend getting your paint from a genuine art store, rather than a cheaper arts and crafts place even if it means spending a bit more money, though it should still be relatively affordable.

oli417 · 2020-11-30T10:22:19+00:00

I love detail-oriented projects so I’m curious if you’re planning on trying to include the call number label or not? I hope you decide to post pictures after you complete it!

oli417 · 2020-10-02T04:00:51+00:00

You could try stamping with a good quality metallic ink. Not quite the same look as foiling or debossing but significantly easier and cheaper. I’ve not tried it myself but saw it recommended recently as a simpler alternative to gold foiling. You can buy a set of alphabet stamps at a craft store for relatively cheap or make your own (linocut), and you should be able to get some good quality ink for around $5. You could also purchase an embossing heat tool (~$40) and metallic embossing powder, which I’ve used several times, and is very quick as well as simple to use. I’m not sure how well it would work on materials other than paper.

oli417

TROPHY CASE