Writing Box Part 1 - Bookbinding

Video HERE

If you've watched this month's Report you'll have seen my first attempt at bookbinding... these are much further along, although unfinished...

This whole project started with ivy - I have pressed a load of leaves, see this month's 3-Minute Skill for details - and I drew out a pattern for the covers removing negative space to create a variegated look.

You Will Need:
Very thin plywood*
Light and Dark Veneer*
Acrylic Paint or Stain
Thin Ply Scrap
Packing Tape
Scroll Saw with Spiral Blade
Leather Scraps
Masking Tape
Epoxy Resin
Sandpaper
Paper**

* I cut my board blanks oversized by about 1cm on each side and allowed for that in the cutting pattern.
**Whatever paper you decide on for your pages, I used mostly copier paper, but also bundled together various art papers for a multi-media journal as well.

Method (This is what I did, if you can think of a better way then let me know.)

1. First I sponged on a layer of very thin paint to stain the outer covers - use wood stain if you like.
2. Once dry bundle together between a couple of layers of scrap ply, stick on the pattern and wrap with tape.
3. Drill access holes then carefully cut out the pieces.*
4. Stack the layers of ply and veneer together, then cut a strip of leather to fit at least 5cm wide.
5. Mask off the middle of the leather then layer between the ply and veneer with resin, adding extra thickness of veneer if necessary to fill up the gap beside the leather. Transfer to a lined press to set.**
6. Make your books***. Measure the width of the bound spine and add about 5mm for the width of the covers. Use this measurement to mark the width of the spine on the leather, then laminate the back cover in the same way.
7. Trim the covers to 5mm larger than the pages on 3 sides. Trim the leather to a point, then fold over and glue to create a neat top. Sand the edges and round over slightly.
8. Mask off the inside covers and the leather. Paint on a coat of resin to finish.****
9. Depending on your resin you may need to sand back and add a second coat.
10. Glue the pages to the spine, adding a bookmark ribbon if you like, then glue the outer pages to the covers for extra support. Press closed to dry.

*I usually lay the pieces on top of a copy of the pattern as I cut to keep everything together.
**I made a few folders with paper and sticky-backed plastic then pressed the covers between pages of heavy books to get everything laminated together. Basic, but it worked!
***I will do a bookbinding tutorial in the future, in the meantime you can look for Sea Lemon's bookbinding tutorials, she has lots and very well explained.
****This is where I had to stop because I ran out of resin for a second coat...