How to reattach a single lose cover. Please note this cover is not completely detached, the hinge has merely come away from the text block and the front board is still part of the complete cover.
Obviously this repair would not be for any book where a restoration or recasing is worth doing. But it is certainly a good repair to make a book salable and keep further damage to the cover and spine from occurring.
At a book fair recently, a fella showed me his first edition of Huck Finn where the cover had been reattached using a completely unacceptable method. Basically they just piled on the adhesive - to the point where the hollowback was sealed tightly to the spine - to reverse such an abomination involves a full restoration, and has made the book worse rather than better. So stick to things that can be undone whenever you can.
This latest video has pissed someone off. He doesn't approve of my method and requests I take it down and basically i told him to bite me. For anyone who hasn't figured this out, my methods are intend for inexpensive books that are not WORTH sending out to be professionally worked on. If you don't like the methods don't use them. I have seen much worse damage done to books of great value, than clumsily reattaching a cover on a $30 book.
How to Rehinge a Cover
How to Make Book Weights
Making some simple book weights with lead shot or with lentils
with lentils (3:46):
with lead shot (5:40):
with both (9:24):
How to apply leather dressing
How to apply Leather Dressing and how to wrap a text block for protection (6:26 mins)
how to apply a wax based leather dressing (1:12 min)
How to repair a torn cover
A demonstration of the use of document repair tape to repair a torn digest cover; also note the use of a card to apply a minute amount of pva.
How to wrap a text block . . .
. . . for protection while you are working on the rest of the book. (1 min)
tour of R Murphy Knife Company
Recently, my camcorder and I got a very (accent on the very) short tour of R Murphy Knife Co. in Ayer, MA. Let me apologize right now for several things: first the unevenness of the video quality, midway my battery died and I had to pull out my Coolpix to finish the shoot; second the length of time our tour guide's backside is on the screen, the floor was uneven and I was trying watch where I walked and stay in frame; third the lack of FACES of people who are speaking, I didn't get any waivers signed and despite it being their slack time, I was kinda invading their space, so I didn't want to invade their privacy as well - so, basically suck it up you wankers. It's my first video like this and I thought it was kinda cool, but then I am a HUGE tech geek and tended to focus on the big ass noisy machines . . . and the knives.
How to make a Strop
Using very few materials, you can construct your own strop to keep your knives sharp.
