Recasing - page 2

How-to

Option 1: Rebuilding the case with the original boards

7. Trim Boards

Trim the spine edge of the original boards so all materials are flush with the edge of the boards. Any loose materials on the inside of the board near the spine edge should be removed.

8. Cut inlay

Cut an inlay strip of 10 pt. bristol or heavy paper stock. The inlay should be cut to the length of the boards and the thickness of the spine.  In the picture to the right, the original board is used as a gauge to cut the inlay to the proper length.

9. Cut book cloth

Cut a piece of book cloth 1 1/2” or more longer than the boards and at least 2” wider than the thickness of the spine.

10. Lift original board cloth

Using a sharp knife, lift the original book cloth to about 1” from the spine edge of the board.

Note: This step can be omitted if the new book cloth is to be placed over the old bookcloth. The original bookcloth need only be lifted if there is information or parts of a design that would be objectionably obscured by new covering material.

11. Apply bookcloth

• Glue up the bookcloth

• Insert book cloth between the board and the original lifted cloth. Align the new book cloth so it is parallel with the edge of the board and about 3/4” onto the board. If the original bookcloth has not been lifted the new bookcloth simply goes over the old, covering it about 3/4” from the spine edge of the board.

• Place inlay onto the book cloth, aligned with the head and tail of the board and about ¼ “ from the board (the 1/4” hinge area is a best guess - proper placement is a matter of experience gained through trial and error)

• Trim the book cloth so an equal amount of material is on either side of the inlay.  The picture shows the binder using a cutting guard that is 3/4" wide.  The guard is aligned with the outer edge of the inlay leaving  an even 3/4" on either side after the excess is trimmed.

• Attach second board equidistant form the inlay as the first board and trim turnovers. The turnover corners are trimmed at about 45 degrees to a point about an 1/8” away from the boards. Trimming the corners is necessary only if the new endsheets will be trimmed down to allow the original board pastedowns to show.

• Bring the turnovers over the head and tail of the case. Work the corners down at the junction of the boards and the book cloth.

• Turning the case over, work the book coth at the edge of the board by running a bone folder along the edge of the board

• Glue the lifted edges of the original cloth down by gluing up a strip of scrap paper and transferring the glue onto the cloth. This should be down quickly to keep the scrap paper from adhering to the cloth. Once the scrap paper is removed the book cloth should be worked down onto the board

12. Case in textblock

• Place the textblock into the finished case and align the two as they should be when finished. Without losing the alignment, lay the book flat and open the top board of the case without moving the textblock within. Place a piece of scrap paper under the pastedown on the textblock and glue out the pastedown using a PVA thinned with methyl cellulose.

• Remove the scrap paper, place a piece of scrap board or a cutting pad between pastedown and textblock, and cut the pastedown about 1” from the spine.

• Discard the the piece trimmed off.

Note: trimming the pastedown is only necessary if there is material or endsheets on the original pastedown or the original covers to be preserved.

• Close the cover onto the book such that when it contacts the pastedown the case is aligned as it should be on the finished book. Turn the book over and repeat the process of pasting down the endsheet on the reverse side.

13. Press book

Press the book with raised edge boards to set the hinges. After 5 minutes (if you are using PVA) the book can be removed from the press and left to dry under a weighted board.

How-to